Camera Labs

I see I have to say a lot to your last post, I hope I can answer this day.

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

Everyone wants to know if he/she really needs to spend so much money.
Thanks is not really needed

Well, the NEX may give you dSLR quality because of its sensor, but it still is not a dSLR.
Maybe after two years of using the NEX you will find that the NEX isnt too fast, and, not to forget, dSLRs have become very cheap. And maybe you want to have a dSLR then.

I believe the S90 will fit you, at least for a few years. Youre right, the NEX does all what the S90 does, only better. But in some ways that better isnt that much better, and you may find the quality or speed or whatever to be the same. People always want something better, so if you buy an expensive NEX and upgrade to a better camera or you buy now a cheaper one and upgrade later....

The S90 is a top of the end compact camera, be sure to check Gordon's review. And remember: Those 100% crops are not the quality you will ever see, 100% zoomed in is quite a lot!

If you think selling is quite hard, I think it's worth to find an S90, but if you can find a NEX which you can try for a few days... Your choice!

About the feel of the NEX: You find it professional, but it isnt. When someone with his big dSLR (which looks more pro) comes to stay near you, you wont find it to be professional anymore, that feeling is not funny.
With your S90 you can think ''huh, maybe Ill buy in a few years a far more professional camera than he has!'' or something.

About zoom, if you buy the NEX with the pancake the pancake must have the focal lenght you want.

Ive been writing on this post for a long time over some periods of the day, and I hope I havent forgotten a question yours. If you have a question, ask ask ask!

Cheers
Ruben

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

Haha, true. No one wants buyers' regret.

All right,

1. The NEX-3 and S90 will offer similar IQ to my eyes.
2. The S90 is $300 cheaper than the NEX-3.
3. Buy the S90.

But, the NEX-3 and the S90 will offer similar image quality in some scenarios, but not all! The NEX-3 will show superior image quality in low-light/indoor conditions to basically anyone compared with the S90. And I need good low-light performance: while looking through my photos of Istanbul, I found lots of great shots (and found out my SD1100IS had a max. f/2.8!), but all the "crappy" ones were from inside buildings and at night. The only good night shots were with bulb, set to 5" leaving my camera sitting on a handrail with a self-timer of 2 seconds. The NEX-3 will shoot in low-light more easily and in better quality than the S90 and thus becomes worth the extra premium.

Low-light performance should be superior even at no crop. Not just because of the APS-C sensor, but because of hand-held twilight and anti-motion-blur; none of these three features are found on the S90.

So, would you think that no amateur photographer should ever buy a dSLR? By this reasoning, only people with magical photographic abilities should buy a dSLR because everyone else just won't see the difference between a dSLR and a compact.

Or do you think that, for me, a dSLR of a similar price would be a better camera than the NEX-3? Let's assume the Canon Rebel XS (for example) is a better camera than the NEX-3 without going into the details. However, the Canon Rebel XS is still quite a larger camera than the NEX-3. Thus, and I've seen photographers mention this, I will be more likely to have the NEX-3 on me and more likely to use it in a scenario, giving me more options to take pictures. People gave similar reasoning as to why they preferred the S95 over the DMC-LX5.

Hmmm....maybe I will purchase the NEX-3 and try it out. If it doesn't work out, the S90 will be waiting.

~Ibrahim~

What I find odd is that you are comparing the IQ of a compact camera/point & shoot to a camera that gives DSLR-level IQ .

Today only three (Sony) lenses are available for the NEX cameras, but next year four lenses should arrive, including a Carl Zeiss wide-angle, which should 'unleash' the sensor's full potential .

A list of the upcoming lenses:

Wide fixed focal length CZ : available from 2011
Telephoto zoom : available from 2011
Macro : available from 2011
Portrait : available from 2011
High performance standard zoom G : available from 2012
Wide zoom : available from 2012
Mid-telephoto : available from 2012

Interchangeable lenses make for a far more versatile camera, while giving better image quality in my humble opinion.

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Sony α77V/VG-C77AM/α350/18-70/70-400 G SSM/NEX-5/18-55 OSS/Lowepro Pro Trekker 600 AW/CompuTrekker AW/Nova 140 AW/Street & Field gear/Toploader Pro 75 AW. And a huge wishlist...

My photos on Flickr...

I actually have a question about the current lenses. Some other reviews mention pretty severe barrel distortion, but I didn't see it brought up in the Camera Labs review.

Was it not very noticeable during CL's usage?

And I have a question about barrel distortion, anyways. Is barrel distortion normal on a P&S? Like, do most P&S cameras have barrel distortion, but they just don't mention it in the in reviews because P&S are cheap?

Or does barrel distortion only affect mostly SLR camera lenses?

Thanks,

~Ibrahim~

Most compacts have barrel distortion yes. But often the camera's software removes the effect.

The NEX will show better IQ at some scenes, but you have to think if it's worth the price. Maybe you find the S90's quality okay, maybe not.
I think if you buy the S90 youll be happy for at least one year. Then you can decide if you want a bigger camera, faster camera or a smaller camera Better quality or whatever.

You ar eright that the NEX is far better in low light. But you can do a trick: mount your S90 on a tripod (or anything sturdy) and take the picture with 5s shuttertime and 100ISO.

About buying dSLRs instead of this small cameras with APS-C, there are many reasons why people would buy dSLRs instead of mirrorless EVILs.
And just because of you dont know why you should want a dSLR, buy that S90. You really wont regret. After much time using it you will see you want that especial feature, you can decide what camera you want, a NEX or a real dSLR?

And with the lens on it the NEX becomes bigger than the S90. If youre going on holidays or just to a city for a walk, you may prefer the S90 to take it with you (instead of a NEX or big dSLR). So, you really wont regret and you will still use the S90 even if you have a better camera.
I do the same, I still take my FZ28 with me when I go out.

cheers

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

All right, I tried out the NEX-3 again. I love the Sweep Panorama, HDR is wicked great (though it kind of washes the images out), and low-light performance is fantastic (with the Digital Range Optimizer).

It is a little bigger than I remembered, but it isn't huge. It's also heftier, but that slight discomfort will go away over time. However, and this is the important part, I do not find it so large that I would feel wary to carry it around all the time. It isn't *that* large. I compared it to the S90, which is tiny (!). However, I am willing to carry around a slightly larger camera for the added performance.

The use of a tripod negates the small form factor of even getting the S90; if I'm going to carry around a tripod, why not just get a bigger camera that doesn't need one?

A dSLR, again, is unfortunately out of the question. It just too large; I would feel wary carrying around the dSLR.

I don't know; I tried out the NEX-3, and while it is slightly larger than I think, it isn't that big and the quality is nice.

~Ibrahim~

Here’s what you can do with a Nex 5 and an Alpha adapter (all lenses will fit). Photo courtesy of chris_hotwire…

Holy ****! Is that the (Konica-)Minolta 600/4 G AF ?

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Sony α77V/VG-C77AM/α350/18-70/70-400 G SSM/NEX-5/18-55 OSS/Lowepro Pro Trekker 600 AW/CompuTrekker AW/Nova 140 AW/Street & Field gear/Toploader Pro 75 AW. And a huge wishlist...

My photos on Flickr...

Then, if you are really sure, really really sure, you read Gordon's review two times and you really need that quality, go for it.
I dont stop you. I dont even want

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

“Holy ****! Is that the (Konica-)Minolta 600/4 G AF ?”

That’s the monster. You can still pick one up used if you get lucky, has a 5/5 rating.

Can you hand hold that? Single handed? And put it in your pocket afterwards? (I love stuff like that...)

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Just to say I have got myself a NEX-5 (silver) with an 18-55 OSS lens . After having used it (firmware version 3) last night and today, I can say I absolutely love it .

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Sony α77V/VG-C77AM/α350/18-70/70-400 G SSM/NEX-5/18-55 OSS/Lowepro Pro Trekker 600 AW/CompuTrekker AW/Nova 140 AW/Street & Field gear/Toploader Pro 75 AW. And a huge wishlist...

My photos on Flickr...

I'm amazed at the video quality available with the NEX-5. I've made a short movie with it: http://www.vimeo.com/23286411. Comments welcome!

Great video Strabo! (especially the part with me in it!)