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NEX...a worthy replacement for the R1 ?

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Kodakrevisited

Kodakrevisited

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The R1 is very highly regarded by some, do you guys now consider that the NEX system is a worthy replacement ?....looks pretty good to me, if not, why not ?
 
vaughanB said:
The R1 is very highly regarded by some, do you guys now consider that the NEX system is a worthy replacement ?....looks pretty good to me, if not, why not ?
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Funny, I recall you slamming m4/3 as useless systems a few months ago but now that Sony comes out with a very dumbed-down competitor cam, it looks pretty good... ;)

NEX has one advantage over the R1: a lens mount... and that's only as advantageous as the quality of the lenses. The NEX is much more akin to a W-series replacement, or perhaps my mobile phone, if it could also make calls and connect to the web ;)

Bottom line: ughhh
--
~ Martin
 
Member said:
Funny, I recall you slamming m4/3 as useless systems a few months ago but now that Sony comes out with a very dumbed-down competitor cam, it looks pretty good... ;)
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Uhh ??....you have a better memory than me then, I have been in India for the last 39 days and havent posted for about 3 months, I dont think I have expressed an opinion about M4/3, but its a vague possibility I suppose, but M4/3 is a smaller sensor than the nex is it not ??, does the nex not have the same size sensor as an R1?....hence the comparison
 
vaughanB said:
Uhh ??....you have a better memory than me then, I have been in India for the last 39 days and havent posted for about 3 months, I dont think I have expressed an opinion about M4/3, but its a vague possibility I suppose, but M4/3 is a smaller sensor than the nex is it not ??
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http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1037&message=33549002
Kodakrevisited said:
does the nex not have the same size sensor as an R1?....hence the comparison
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If I owned something like a Leica M8, would I consider replacing it with a Canon dRebel? Same size sensor, after all... ;)

--
~ Martin
 
I think the NEX 7 will be a worthy replacement of the R1.Possibly the only point where it won't,will be the lenses won't be as good...unless you pay huge bucks(when you see that the 18-200 for the NEX 3-5 is $800.)
 
Two items...

The sensor pixel density is a key point. The R1's is 3.2 MP/cm². The NEX's is 3.9 MP/cm². So I suspect the R1's images to be a tad on the sharper side.

If you use manual focusing from time to time I think the R1 will beat out the NEX. There is no electronic viewfinder on the NEX. There is soon to be available an optical viewfinder but I'm not sure how it will help on the focusing issue. Manual focusing with the NEX is done by looking at the LCD screen.

Dave
 
mschf said:
If I owned something like a Leica M8, would I consider replacing it with a Canon dRebel? Same size sensor, after all... ;)
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Well no need to get carried away, I owned an R1 and it was OK, but it was huge, slow and heavy, and I never much cared for the JPEGs. I think it was good, but I didnt keep it for long and I certainly would not buy another. So as far as I can see, for many, the NEX could easily be a more practical alternative, particularly if the lenses are good enough

I use a kit 18-55 lens all the time and the kit lens is really good.....certainly good enough for me, and that could be used on the NEX
 
Hello Vaughan,

The R1 does stir up a certain kind of sentimental attachment - I know you were never really blown away by yours, but I actually have been with mine, at least in terms of low ISO image quality. I guess the attachment to it comes from (a) delight at the image quality and (b) the uniqueness of the product.

I think the NEX is an interesting concept. It certainly appears to have better low light and mid to high ISO performance over the R1. But being a DSLR it's image quality is crucially dependent, as other posters have said, on the quality of lenses, and the current ones on offer do not seem to compete with the R1 in terms of resolution and edge sharpness - David Kilpatrick, for example, comments on his web site that the lenses shown off to journalists at the press launches were distinctly soft in the corners. Anyone with a good copy of the R1 will tell you that softness is not a characteristic of that lens.

So in my book the NEX doesn't replace the R1 - the R1 remains an oddity - a superb lens attached to a quirky body. The interface, ISO performance and speed of operation are a little outdated, but with subjects like landscapes you still can't knock the output from the R1, especially when processed from raw. I think a NEX + a comparable Carl Zeiss or Sony G badged lens (if they ever release one) will be very expensive compared to a used R1.

I'm hanging onto mine - depsite the fact that i run a couple of Sony a700s as well.
 
Interesting point - yes, that's true - useful for indoor event shooting I suppose, although in such circumstances the mediocre high ISO performance of the R1 and shooting speed becomes an issue, so much so that many might still prefer an SLR.
Karsten Meyer said:
The R1 was a absolutely silent camera (if turned off that silly sounds). The NEXes have a standard shutter and will be as loud a a dslr or any FT camera.
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Sometimes it isn't what one would prefer but what one can use. In many churches and concerts silence is golden and flash is also not allowed! Frankly, I have taken many hundreds of photos in poor/very poor light with the R1 and no flash and been rather successful with it. I admit the higher ISO could be better (lots better).

The swivel LCD is also a great tool as well as the live view. I find small and very small cameras to be virtually unuseable for me. YMMV.

--
Busch

Take the scenic route! Life is too short to do otherwise.

http://www.pbase.com/busch
 
Agreed - I have found R1 ISO 800 raws shot in churches quite useable - especially after some PP with Neat image. Let's be honest, the noise is still less than small sensor compacts at the end of the day.
busch said:
Sometimes it isn't what one would prefer but what one can use. In many churches and concerts silence is golden and flash is also not allowed! Frankly, I have taken many hundreds of photos in poor/very poor light with the R1 and no flash and been rather successful with it. I admit the higher ISO could be better (lots better).

The swivel LCD is also a great tool as well as the live view. I find small and very small cameras to be virtually unuseable for me. YMMV.

--
Busch

Take the scenic route! Life is too short to do otherwise.

http://www.pbase.com/busch
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As the DP review says, "It's a miracle of engineering." The sensor is bigger than its competitors, but the camera is smaller. Sony is an experienced and high quality electronics company, not just a camera company. They can go beyond their competitors when they make a device like this.

The lenses are faster than the R1 lens, and that's fun. I'm not convinced that the lenses will be as bad as the trolls are saying. When the R1 first came out lots of people from other fora came over here to niggle at it. But it was a decent camera.
The NEX cameras have more potential, I think.
For example, any lens at all can be adapted to work on them.

I like the smallness of them, because I hate carrying a camera bag. They fit in a pocket, but produce images like the big boys.

The LCD is much bigger and high definition than the R1 LCD, and it can be adjusted too. My R1's LCD isn't working so well any more.

It's time to move on, I think. The R1 is only my second camera now, and if I can get a decent job someday, I think I would like to have a NEX in my pocket instead.
--
John Dunn
Portraits: http://www.fototime.com/users/[email protected]/Portraits
 
interesting take - but wondering who you are labelling as trolls?

Anyways, there is no denying the advantages of a modern LCD and true SLR-style interchangeable lenses.

But let's wait and see if the NEX lenses cut the mustard.
jrdu said:
As the DP review says, "It's a miracle of engineering." The sensor is bigger than its competitors, but the camera is smaller. Sony is an experienced and high quality electronics company, not just a camera company. They can go beyond their competitors when they make a device like this.

The lenses are faster than the R1 lens, and that's fun. I'm not convinced that the lenses will be as bad as the trolls are saying. When the R1 first came out lots of people from other fora came over here to niggle at it. But it was a decent camera.
The NEX cameras have more potential, I think.
For example, any lens at all can be adapted to work on them.

I like the smallness of them, because I hate carrying a camera bag. They fit in a pocket, but produce images like the big boys.

The LCD is much bigger and high definition than the R1 LCD, and it can be adjusted too. My R1's LCD isn't working so well any more.

It's time to move on, I think. The R1 is only my second camera now, and if I can get a decent job someday, I think I would like to have a NEX in my pocket instead.
--
John Dunn
Portraits: http://www.fototime.com/users/[email protected]/Portraits
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I think that occasionally Sony come up with something really special, we had the 717 (my first Sony camera and I loved it), the 828 (shame about the IQ!) and the R1, when Sony make a good one, it really is good and I hope that the NEX will be one of those great Sony products, I have never felt that way about anything Panasonic or Canon, but Sony occasionally produce something special

But then I still love Minidisc and use it every day (the later high capacity Hi-Md), that was an example of Sony excellence....didnt take over the world, but I love it and some of the players were like jewlery
I look forward to owning my new NEX :-)
 
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