D
dixeyk
Guest
After about a month of using both I am finding that they are not so much competitors but complimentary systems (at least the way I use them). First off I have been very pleasantly surprised by the NEX. I came into it on a whim and after a month I sold off all but one m43 body (including my GH2 and E-P1) and all but a few primes. The NEX isn't perfect and there are several things keeping me from going all in with the NEX. That said, the NEX is doing exactly what I bought it for... being a digital back for legacy glass and doing it so well that my m43 gear has become my P&S replacement. I have a decent body in the GX1 and three nice primes (P14, PL25 and O45) and it gets used when I want AF, want to move fast and be more spontaneous. The NEX is my choice when I have the ability to take more time and when I want to have fun.
The things keeping me from going all in with NEX are:
1. The NEX has a convoluted menu system and the UI is awful (not too surprising since Sony has always had awful UIs)
2. The NEX has a very small selection of native glass and what they do have (with a few notable exceptions) does not compare to the selection of m43 glass
Now, if you are a fan of manual focusing then NEX is head an shoulders above any m43 camera I have ever used (with or without EVF). Focus peaking alone is worth hving a NEX body for. It makes using MF practical and fun. Once you get the hang of how it works you can walk along, shoot from the hip quickly and accurately and get a very high percentage of in focus shots. Also the APS-C sensor means my lenses give me some more interesting focal lengths because of the smaller crop value. My Pen-F 38/1.8 is a 57/1.8 instead of a 76 and my Konica 24/2.8 is a handy 36/2.8 on m43. Even something like the wonderful Konica 135/3.2 is a bit more more manageable 202/3.2 as opposed to a 270/3.2. Finally there is the overall IQ. Not having an OMD to to compare to I can't say if m43 has reached parity in IQ but with the m43 gear I have (GH2, GF2, E-P1) the NEX (even in JPEG) is more detailed, has much better dynamic range and in general just looks better. When you consider that my NEX is last years low end model and cost me all of $300 I think it is very impressive indeed.
in the end it boils down to what you want out of a camera. M43 is terrific stuff and if I coud only have one set of gear I might go m43 because as a tool it has some the advantages of better lens selection, better UI and usability and in the long run I'd find it hard to not have AF as an option. The NEX stuff is a wonderful luxury that allows me to create images with my old lenses lenses that I couldn't begin to do nearly as well with m43. The NEX is definitely my favorite bit of photo gear right now and a lot of fun to use. I also think that Sony is only a few nice primes and UI face-lift away from turning a lot of folks into fans.
The things keeping me from going all in with NEX are:
1. The NEX has a convoluted menu system and the UI is awful (not too surprising since Sony has always had awful UIs)
2. The NEX has a very small selection of native glass and what they do have (with a few notable exceptions) does not compare to the selection of m43 glass
Now, if you are a fan of manual focusing then NEX is head an shoulders above any m43 camera I have ever used (with or without EVF). Focus peaking alone is worth hving a NEX body for. It makes using MF practical and fun. Once you get the hang of how it works you can walk along, shoot from the hip quickly and accurately and get a very high percentage of in focus shots. Also the APS-C sensor means my lenses give me some more interesting focal lengths because of the smaller crop value. My Pen-F 38/1.8 is a 57/1.8 instead of a 76 and my Konica 24/2.8 is a handy 36/2.8 on m43. Even something like the wonderful Konica 135/3.2 is a bit more more manageable 202/3.2 as opposed to a 270/3.2. Finally there is the overall IQ. Not having an OMD to to compare to I can't say if m43 has reached parity in IQ but with the m43 gear I have (GH2, GF2, E-P1) the NEX (even in JPEG) is more detailed, has much better dynamic range and in general just looks better. When you consider that my NEX is last years low end model and cost me all of $300 I think it is very impressive indeed.
in the end it boils down to what you want out of a camera. M43 is terrific stuff and if I coud only have one set of gear I might go m43 because as a tool it has some the advantages of better lens selection, better UI and usability and in the long run I'd find it hard to not have AF as an option. The NEX stuff is a wonderful luxury that allows me to create images with my old lenses lenses that I couldn't begin to do nearly as well with m43. The NEX is definitely my favorite bit of photo gear right now and a lot of fun to use. I also think that Sony is only a few nice primes and UI face-lift away from turning a lot of folks into fans.