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Nex 5n lens question 16mm 2.8 or 16-50

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Easy Rider

Easy Rider

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Long story short I am poor suddenly and sold all my camera gear.

I need a street camera for about £200.

Have found a nex 5n for £99 with an 16mm f2.8 pancake for £100.

Is the 16mm prime _ bearing in mind I'll mostly be at f5.6 or f8 - noticeably better than the pz16-50 zoom or is the difference in output - colour, contrast, detail - similar?

If similar I'd get the zoom for extra reach at times.

Ta
 
I shoot RAW and pp in acr cs6 and nik sefx pro so if the difference is not more than negligible I'd again go for the zoom.

Don't want the old 18-55mm.
 
Easy Rider said:
I shoot RAW and pp in acr cs6 and nik sefx pro so if the difference is not more than negligible I'd again go for the zoom.

Don't want the old 18-55mm.
Click to expand...
in my opinion - go for the zoom. the 16f2.8 is ok but so is the 16-50, with the added benefit of having variable range, if you aren't going to use/need the wide aperture then there doesn't seem to be a point in going with the 16mm unless you are looking to use it for a vehicle for the UWA or fisheye adapters (like i am)

size wise it is definitely thinner, but i don't personally think it is much, if any sharper (my copy, at least) than the kit.

kind of oddly, it seems to get a little sharper on the edges with the adapter?
 
I can't speak to the 16 2.8 but the 16-50 might be the poorest lens I've used. The sharpness and contrast are quite poor. The IQ on my A6000 and it is no better than my RX 100 III which fits in a pocket which makes it utterly pointless. The nice thing about it is that it was tiny and was $100 as part of a kit but even $100 seems like too much given its poor performance let alone the price they charge for it without a kit.
 
I'll get the zoom i think should be fine for street

New question I can get a5000 or nex 5t with the zoom for roughly the same price.

If I'm right the nex 5t has better af and faster fps in high speed mode due to pdaf the 5000 doesn't have?

Also efc shutter and better build and lcd?

Extra 4mp is neither here nor there to me.

Cheers
 
Easy Rider said:
I'll get the zoom i think should be fine for street

New question I can get a5000 or nex 5t with the zoom for roughly the same price.

If I'm right the nex 5t has better af and faster fps in high speed mode due to pdaf the 5000 doesn't have?

Also efc shutter and better build and lcd?

Extra 4mp is neither here nor there to me.

Cheers
Click to expand...
Nex 5t also will have more controls (thumb wheel, FN button). It can also accept the EVF and other flashes.

A5000 has pop-up flash only.
 
Habs Fan27 said:
Easy Rider said:
I'll get the zoom i think should be fine for street

New question I can get a5000 or nex 5t with the zoom for roughly the same price.

If I'm right the nex 5t has better af and faster fps in high speed mode due to pdaf the 5000 doesn't have?

Also efc shutter and better build and lcd?

Extra 4mp is neither here nor there to me.

Cheers
Click to expand...
Nex 5t also will have more controls (thumb wheel, FN button). It can also accept the EVF and other flashes.

A5000 has pop-up flash only.
Click to expand...
Yeah done more research on the nex 5nt and looks like a good affordable piece of kit the zoom can't resolve even 16mp so no point going higher mp really any how..
 
i use the 16-50 PZ on my NEX-5R and like it. the form is a good improvement over the 5n, which i also have.

i prefer the NEX-R vs the NEX-T because it still uses Lightroom 4 which I have a copy, and its otherwise the same camera (ive never used NFC for anything).

the 16mm 2.8 is neat for its package. and with the wide angle adapter, its even neater. but IQ is what it is, and it aint good.

i got a samyang 12mm instead.
 
I used to use the 16mm 2.8 on my old 5R as well as my a6000. The IQ of the 16mm 2.8 is better than that of the 16-50 PZ. However, the flexibility of a zoom is nice. I would not want to have a 16mm lens as my primary lens. The lens is a bit wide for many applications.
 
Last edited:
seuadr said:
Easy Rider said:
I shoot RAW and pp in acr cs6 and nik sefx pro so if the difference is not more than negligible I'd again go for the zoom.

Don't want the old 18-55mm.
Click to expand...
in my opinion - go for the zoom. the 16f2.8 is ok but so is the 16-50, with the added benefit of having variable range, if you aren't going to use/need the wide aperture then there doesn't seem to be a point in going with the 16mm unless you are looking to use it for a vehicle for the UWA or fisheye adapters (like i am)

size wise it is definitely thinner, but i don't personally think it is much, if any sharper (my copy, at least) than the kit.

kind of oddly, it seems to get a little sharper on the edges with the adapter?
Click to expand...
I have the UWA adapter and the lens seems slightly sharper with it than without it. My guess is that the two were designed together and it is more a case of splitting a 12mm lens by removing the front elements to make a 16mm, than adding the UWA as an afterthought.

12mm is too wide for street on a 16 Megapixel sensor, IMO, as you can't crop much without losing quality.

I think the 18-55mm is better optically than the 16-50, but Sam Kanter gets loads of excellent street photos with his 16-50. It isn't a genre that demands ultra-high resolution.

The 5N is a good camera. I use it at waist level with my thumb (rather than index finger) on the shutter button -- this allows you to squeeze the shutter gently.
 
ChapelThrill23 said:
I can't speak to the 16 2.8 but the 16-50 might be the poorest lens I've used. The sharpness and contrast are quite poor. The IQ on my A6000 and it is no better than my RX 100 III which fits in a pocket which makes it utterly pointless. The nice thing about it is that it was tiny and was $100 as part of a kit but even $100 seems like too much given its poor performance let alone the price they charge for it without a kit.
Click to expand...
I suspect that copies vary.
 
The main difference between the 16 and the 16-50 at 16 is distortion. The former has less distortion than any other lens I have had at 16 mm. The later has a more distortion than any other lens I've had. The corners are definitely better on the prime. There is a lot of sample variation with both.

The 16 is the only lens that doesn't support phase-detect AF.

I prefer the 18-55 OSS to the 16-50PZ, but it is not without faults. It is more affordable used.

The Sony 20 F2.8 or Sigma 30 F2.8 are nice alternatives.

I prefer the handling of the A5x00 to NEX 5R and even the A6000.

My cheap NEX is an F3 with the 18-55 OSS.
 
I tried a few of the Nex's out but I Just really need a VF, I just cannot do photography without a VF.

Almost bought a Nex 6 and then a good priced brand new A6000 and 16-50mm on finance for £350 / at £12 a month for 3 years which is a steal but I really want a nice affordable prime and the lens choices for e mount are expensive and as we know SP does not need expensive lenses and most of them cannot resolve 24mp anyhow....

Ended up plumping for a used Canon 100D and a 24mm F2.8 STM. Simple and capable... 18mp is fine... £260 all in , cannot go wrong, used camera but with year warranty and the lens is new....

I'm usually a Nikon man but they just do not do good APS-C wider than 35mm lenses (the 35mm F1.8 dx is not a good lens any how, sharp good colour but slow AF and unreliable and very tight FOV) or WA zooms, Canon APS-C has good pancake primes, cheap nifty's and the WA zooms are crazy cheap....

Cheers for all of your time and advice however and happy shooting!
 
Easy Rider said:
Long story short I am poor suddenly and sold all my camera gear.

I need a street camera for about £200.

Have found a nex 5n for £99 with an 16mm f2.8 pancake for £100.

Is the 16mm prime _ bearing in mind I'll mostly be at f5.6 or f8 - noticeably better than the pz16-50 zoom or is the difference in output - colour, contrast, detail - similar?

If similar I'd get the zoom for extra reach at times.

Ta
Click to expand...
The 1650pz definitely. If you'd like an affordable wide prime the 19mm Sigma is excellent.
 
Robobonobo said:
Easy Rider said:
Long story short I am poor suddenly and sold all my camera gear.

I need a street camera for about £200.

Have found a nex 5n for £99 with an 16mm f2.8 pancake for £100.

Is the 16mm prime _ bearing in mind I'll mostly be at f5.6 or f8 - noticeably better than the pz16-50 zoom or is the difference in output - colour, contrast, detail - similar?

If similar I'd get the zoom for extra reach at times.

Ta
Click to expand...
The 1650pz definitely. If you'd like an affordable wide prime the 19mm Sigma is excellent.
Click to expand...
...but no stabilization on 19mm Sigma.
 
skanter said:
Robobonobo said:
Easy Rider said:
Long story short I am poor suddenly and sold all my camera gear.

I need a street camera for about £200.

Have found a nex 5n for £99 with an 16mm f2.8 pancake for £100.

Is the 16mm prime _ bearing in mind I'll mostly be at f5.6 or f8 - noticeably better than the pz16-50 zoom or is the difference in output - colour, contrast, detail - similar?

If similar I'd get the zoom for extra reach at times.

Ta
Click to expand...
The 1650pz definitely. If you'd like an affordable wide prime the 19mm Sigma is excellent.
Click to expand...
...but no stabilization on 19mm Sigma.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah even kit lenses are good enough for sp these days. The 18-55 vrii I had on my nikon d5300 was capable of great images. Slow af motor though was a bit frustrating.
 
Ended up getting an Canon 100d and 24mm F2.8 stm pancake.

Cheers all
 
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