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How Fast Is The NEX-6?

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Ray Maines

Ray Maines

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I don't mean focus speed, or the aperture of the kit lens or anything like that.

I'm wondering if the NEX-6 feel sluggish or snappy in use?

Does it power up and power down as fast as you would expect it to when you turn it on and off?

More importantly, does it process one picture and ready itself for the next picture quickly enough to keep a DSLR user happy?

I'd also like to hear of any other impressions or surprises it has made on you as you move from a DSLR camera system to the NEX camera. Thanks.
 
Solution
zackiedawg
I can't help on the NEX6, but can offer the general perception of shooting with the NEX-5N and a DSLR side-by-side. The only area where I notice the NEX being a little slower than the DSLR is in 'wake up' from a sleep. Start up of mine seems pretty fast - maybe a hair slower than the DSLR but not enough to affect much, besides which I usually keep my cameras on when actively shooting...wake up can be a little slower, as you have to half-press the shutter to wake up the camera, and can get a pause of about 1 to 1 1/2 seconds at times before it's ready to shoot.


In just about any other measure, it's about the same overall speed and responsiveness to button presses and controls and in all shooting/lag parameters. My DSLR can be...
Power on/off isn't what I would call "snappy". There is some lag. But I find it acceptable and without frustration.

I'm coming from a Nikon D200 and I knew the move to a lot of menu based controls would be something of a step down and it was. But I'm finding it quite a bit easier/better than expected.

With a little more practice I should be able to operate it quite a bit faster too.

My biggest surprise was how well the NEX works with my old Nikon lenses. Manual focus on the D200 is fairly horrible absent a KatzEye focusing screen. But focus peaking makes MF a breeze on the NEX-6.

I'm really happy thus far and will definitely sell some of my Nikon gear -- perhaps most of it. But I will take my time making those decisions.
 
Ray Maines said:
Ray Maines wrote:

I don't mean focus speed, or the aperture of the kit lens or anything like that.

I'm wondering if the NEX-6 feel sluggish or snappy in use?

Does it power up and power down as fast as you would expect it to when you turn it on and off?

More importantly, does it process one picture and ready itself for the next picture quickly enough to keep a DSLR user happy?

I'd also like to hear of any other impressions or surprises it has made on you as you move from a DSLR camera system to the NEX camera. Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
Anybody else care to share their thoughts about the NEX-6 compared to the speed of a DSLR?
Ray Maines said:
More importantly, does it process one picture and ready itself for the next picture quickly enough to keep a DSLR user happy? ...Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
Speed of reaction to individual button presses is fine, I think. The issue is more that it sometimes takes too many button presses to get where you want to go.
 
I can't help on the NEX6, but can offer the general perception of shooting with the NEX-5N and a DSLR side-by-side. The only area where I notice the NEX being a little slower than the DSLR is in 'wake up' from a sleep. Start up of mine seems pretty fast - maybe a hair slower than the DSLR but not enough to affect much, besides which I usually keep my cameras on when actively shooting...wake up can be a little slower, as you have to half-press the shutter to wake up the camera, and can get a pause of about 1 to 1 1/2 seconds at times before it's ready to shoot.


In just about any other measure, it's about the same overall speed and responsiveness to button presses and controls and in all shooting/lag parameters. My DSLR can be 'asleep' for a long time, and can literally take a photo instantly upon pressing the shutter button - it wakes up essentially instantly and is ready to shoot. The NEX has a slight pause when it wakes before the shutter will respond to a full press. One tends to learn workarounds for this, such as setting the sleep mode times longer so it doesn't kick in as fast, or occasionally half-pressing the shutter or activating the EVF's proximity sensor with your finger while walking every minute or so, to keep the camera ready.
 
Solution
Joel Benford said:
Joel Benford wrote:

Speed of reaction to individual button presses is fine, I think. The issue is more that it sometimes takes too many button presses to get where you want to go.
Click to expand...
Well I had a Pentax K20D and the NEX-6 runs circles around it but then again , I dont think the K20D was the speed king any time but truly I dont miss anything about it compared to the 6.
 
Ray Maines said:
Ray Maines wrote:

I'm wondering if the NEX-6 feel sluggish or snappy in use?

Does it power up and power down as fast as you would expect it to when you turn it on and off?

More importantly, does it process one picture and ready itself for the next picture quickly enough to keep a DSLR user happy?

I'd also like to hear of any other impressions or surprises it has made on you as you move from a DSLR camera system to the NEX camera. Thanks.
Click to expand...
I am coming from a D700 (not a heavy user, 21k photos in ~ 3.5 years), but that is my baseline for comparison, and NEX-6 is the replacement (plus the RX1, which I don't have yet).

The NEX-6 is definitely slower to me, but I am adjusting/adapting. Of course it doesn't focus as quickly, either (using SELP1650). The shot-to-shot time is feels downright glacial, if you use image preview (I turned mine off). Power-on time is less than two seconds with the power-zoom.

I rented a D600 over the weekend for a day with the 85 f/1.8G. Good lord: that is a speedy machine at pretty much everything. I really love that camera. BUT, I don't want another heavy beast like that in my life. For me, the NEX-6 is the best option on the market today as my replacement, given all the considerations (particularly handling -- it just feels RIGHT in my hand(s)). Now, the lenses ...

Cheers.
 
Would you be kind enough to expand on your decision to go Nex 6 and RX1 versus your D700. I am in the same boat. Thanks!!
 
John Davis1 said:
John Davis1 wrote:

Would you be kind enough to expand on your decision to go Nex 6 and RX1 versus your D700. I am in the same boat. Thanks!!
Click to expand...
1. Weight
2. Size
3. Weight
4. Size
5. Weight
6. Size

My specific circumstances were a bit different coming from a D200 with a lot of good (mainly FX) glass. But going with a D7000, D600 would have been an easy option.

However, I'm just tired of carting around a ton of heavy gear. And an old back injury has been making it increasingly painful too. I have my beefs with Nikon but they have a darn good system for making wonderful images, if you're willing to carry the weight.

I wasn't any longer. After looking at the RX-100 and a number of mirrorless systems, I settled on the NEX-6 and it's looking like a winner for me.

As an added plus, the NEX-6 works really well with my Nikkor's using manual focus -- but NEX focus peaking makes that a breeze. Especially D type lenses; control is limited on lenses without an aperture ring. My SB-800's work on the hotshoe or as optical slaves (in SU-4 mode).

In most respects the NEX-6 matches or beats my D200. It's not going to beat a D600 but it's not far behind considering the size and weight of the package.

At the end of the day... it all comes down to the weight you're willing to carry.
 
Slower than a DSLR for startup and wake from sleep. Navigating menus it's the same as the D300.

But the D300 has a lot of little buttons all over the place, really very eclectic in it's own way, but all those little buttons give you fast control over the stuff you want to change like ISO, quality, exposure comp, focus, shutter, etc. etc.

The Fn key and other customization gets you close to the Nikon DSLR in terms of settings, but doesn't get you all the way there as there are just not enough buttons and Fn slots to do everything.

And the startup from OFF or sleep is very slow compared to the D300 which is virtually instantaneous. Plus the battery life of the D300 was fantastic, shoot all day and never worry. The NEX-6 battery life is lousy, pack a couple if you're doing to do a lot of shooting.

BUT, the NEX-6 (waiting or an 8 or 7+ or whatever they will call it) has better IQ and detail, and I got tired of hauling around a big bag of Nikon gear; so tired that I left it behind entirely a few times. The NEX bag with a few lenses and batteries is so much smaller and I bring it along.

So as an earlier poster wrote - size / weight, size / weight. The best camera has to be one that you actually take with you. I've now downsized from a D300 and Canon G12 to a NEX and iPhone 5, and the IQ hasn't suffered.

Long answer to a short question.

www.newmorning.info
 
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