The NEX3/5 are NOT enthusiasts cameras

Both systems were/are aimed at the migrator form P&S, which is fine, it is the largest market. The enthusiasts just jumped on board to get the latest novelty. However, one I know just dumped $5000 worth of Nikon DSLR gear because it is very hard to move back to a massive, heavy system once you've used the micro stuff and have seen that in most cases, it is up to the task of producing excellent images, relative to traditional DSLR equipment.

m43 forums is becoming a trash dump of comments re: other mirrorless systems. The name of the forum is micro four thirds, not mirrorless systems.
--

I refuse to wed myself to any of these vendors. I'm just having fun taking pictures,
and watching the technology develop.

--(nt)
Bluephotons
Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now. Bob Dylan

I'm not so sure the target market of the Panasonic G1, the first m4/3 camera, was initially the P&S upgrader. My recollection is that the ads I saw were emphasizing photographic excellence in a small package. The Olympus ads seem much more broadly consumer focused, and they have presumably benefited from that, so perhaps Panasonic has joined in -- though the Panasonic print ads I see still seem to "focus" on quality, in a way the non-enthusiast might not be drawn to.

Panikon said:

Both systems were/are aimed at the migrator form P&S, which is fine, it is the largest market. The enthusiasts just jumped on board to get the latest novelty. However, one I know just dumped $5000 worth of Nikon DSLR gear because it is very hard to move back to a massive, heavy system once you've used the micro stuff and have seen that in most cases, it is up to the task of producing excellent images, relative to traditional DSLR equipment.

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hmmm... you know, perhaps you are onto something with this "wrong forum" idea.

Olympus is a name of a mountain in Greece. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek Alphabet. so shouldn't Olympus be logically discussed in Alpha Talk? there's also a Sigma Talk, but Sigma is the eighteenth letter in that alphabet, so seems like it should be used as a backup in case the Alpha Talk is overburdened and discussions become hard to find.

phototransformations said:

I'm not so sure the target market of the Panasonic G1, the first m4/3 camera, was initially the P&S upgrader. My recollection is that the ads I saw were emphasizing photographic excellence in a small package.

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and my bit is that it is neither and the target market is females everywhere (preferably wearing kimonos apparently). as proof, I have a Panasonic digital camera catalog for April-May of 2009 in front of me, made for the Japanese market naturally. page 2 is a full-page photo op of the then-new G1. on the bottom is a row of five women clad in kimonos, G1's in hand. flipping to the product description page, it is yet again a diagram of a woman handling a G1 to display the G1's live view on screen / EVF options. another page mentions that it is easy to carry, even for a woman's hand.

there you have it, straight from panny. of course, things may be different elsewhere... how things are done in Japan can be perplexing at times.

captain-beardy said:

I've just been reading the production NEX lens thread with interest and dispair in equal measure. People seem to forget where Sony come from. They are a consumer electronics giant. I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, the first NEX offerings aren't aimed at enthusasts, there's just not enough of us to repay Sonys R&D investment. Once Sony have recoped that, they'll look to the neich markets. Therefore the first offerings will be price point driven, not quality driven. As long as the output is good enough for the target Market group, then all is well in the board room.

If you want pictorial perfection then you'll have a FF large format Hasselblad for serious work and a Leica M9 as a carry around. Of course most of us don't have that kind of money, so we make compromises that we find acceptable. At the moment, as enthusiasts, the NEX doesn't meet those standards, but to many who will be primarily driven by cost, the NEX iwill do so given price point.

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I would have to partially disagree with that. If the person is cost driven, then why not look at the E-PL1 as that can be had around the same price as the NEX-3 at $550. Or the GF-1(body only) at $500(at $650 with the 14-45mm lens). These m4/3 camera's obviously have better IQ, and better adapter, and accessory support, so I don't think price is really the only factor. I think another factor is the NEX size. If you see the pictures of the NEX-5 compared E-PL1 you will see how much more compact the NEX is, while offering a larger screen that tilts.

This is actually why I kind of am looking at the NEX vs the E-PL1, they both cost the same, but the NEX is smaller, and offers a tilting screen(which isn't quite as nice as the articulating screen on my S2IS). I know the E-PL offers better IQ(and that is the whole reason I want to upgrade from my S2IS), and better lens options, but for some silly reason the size of the NEX is like saying to me buy.

On an OT point, in the mp3 and phone segment I have really yet to find a player/phone that can offer the sound quality Sony produces. So, if Sony, take that devotion they put in those market, so could make these NEX devices pretty competitive vs the m4/3 camera.

Yes, these NEX posts are getting very annoying. Forum admins need to start doing something.

The NEX system may pull some business from m4/3 with buyers who have not already invested in a m4/3 system, but I don't see that may people defecting who already have an investment in m4/3.

Besides, we all know how this plays out. Panny and Olympus (Panopus?) already have new models about to be released. The current batch are already 12-24 months old (ancient my digital standards) and we'll all get excited again by the new releases. Sure there will be lots to look at by Christmas.

Personally, I'm still have a love affair with my GH-1. I just got my 20mm f1.7 and was out taking photos all around the city all weekend. So liberating as spending grueling hours lugging around a Canon 1DsIII. When I took the lens off, it all actually fit into my purse. A guy friend of mine actually was able to get the two separate pieces into his pockets in a pair of shorts with cargo pockets. Of course, he's gay, so he probably could have fit it into his purse as well.

SF Photo Gal
Canon 1Ds MkIII/Panasonic GH-1-LX-3-FZ-50

The body is small and thin, but once you start putting on lenses, it takes up more space than the E-PL1. If you ever want to take pictures outdoors and want a telephoto lens, then the NEX camera will become rather large.

The other weird thing is the smaller NEX lenses are already too big...their diameter is larger than the bodies height. When Sony does come out with some bigger lenses (wide aperature or telephoto), this will only get much worse.