Great Camera + lens for under $500

[fractal]

At the risk of starting a thread filled with disparaging remarks about the man, I found this review of the new Sony NEX-3n by Steve Huff.

About 3 years ago I decided to buy the original NEX-3. I liked the sized of the camera (small) and the size of the sensor (big). I also liked that it was an interchangeable lens camera. I was interested in starting photography as a hobby. If that went well I had the ability to expand by buying additional lenses - if not it didn't cost me too much to have a nice upgrade over my P&S.

Since then I've purchased several new lenses and upgraded to a NEX-7, but I still have my NEX-3 as a back-up.

It seems like we get several threads started here asking about upgrading from a P&S and many times the budget seems to be around $500. I thought I would share this article...


full article here -

http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2013/...8-lens-quick-real-world-review-by-steve-huff/

Sony NEX-3n & 20 f/2.8 Lens Quick Review by Steve Huff
This is one of the best deals in the mirrorless photo world right now, as of this writing (May 2013). For under $450 you can have an APS-C NEX camera with a decent and compact 16-50 Zoom lens included. Great buy.

 

[ddbowdoin]

At the risk of starting a thread filled with disparaging remarks about the man, I found this review of the new Sony NEX-3n by Steve Huff.

About 3 years ago I decided to buy the original NEX-3. I liked the sized of the camera (small) and the size of the sensor (big). I also liked that it was an interchangeable lens camera. I was interested in starting photography as a hobby. If that went well I had the ability to expand by buying additional lenses - if not it didn't cost me too much to have a nice upgrade over my P&S.

Since then I've purchased several new lenses and upgraded to a NEX-7, but I still have my NEX-3 as a back-up.

It seems like we get several threads started here asking about upgrading from a P&S and many times the budget seems to be around $500. I thought I would share this article...


full article here -

http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2013/...8-lens-quick-real-world-review-by-steve-huff/

Sony NEX-3n & 20 f/2.8 Lens Quick Review by Steve Huff
This is one of the best deals in the mirrorless photo world right now, as of this writing (May 2013). For under $450 you can have an APS-C NEX camera with a decent and compact 16-50 Zoom lens included. Great buy.

Steve is the man... knows his stuff.

 

[NowInc]

Honestly, if mirrorless DSLR's came out even 6 months sooner, I'd be using one now. I find them and their quality very appealing.....even tho I am not a huge fan of sony as a product

 

[thomas998]

Honestly, if mirrorless DSLR's came out even 6 months sooner, I'd be using one now. I find them and their quality very appealing.....even tho I am not a huge fan of sony as a product

If I didn't feel that Sony purposely crippled their Nex camera I would get a Nex-7 in a second, but with the video overheating that appears to be more of a result of firmware programming to keep them from cannibalizing the camcorder business, coupled with Sony's policy of quickly walking away from products when the next model comes out so that no firmware updates quickly stall.... well I just can't stomach supporting them.

 

[Zman-ks]

Steve is the man... knows his stuff.

Agree!

 

[fractal]

If I didn't feel that Sony purposely crippled their Nex camera I would get a Nex-7 in a second, but with the video overheating that appears to be more of a result of firmware programming to keep them from cannibalizing the camcorder business, coupled with Sony's policy of quickly walking away from products when the next model comes out so that no firmware updates quickly stall.... well I just can't stomach supporting them.

I used my NEX-7 for video extensively last weekend and did not have any overheating issues. Sony did do a firmware update last fall ( which I downloaded immediately after I bought the camera ) so maybe that addressed the video issue.

Is your statement about them purposely screwing up the video based on any facts or just your speculation?

My NEX-3 I purchased in 2010 still works great - the only issue I have with that is the view screen on the back has lost some of it's coating on the edges - which is why I purchased a protector for the 7. I'm sure I've taken well over 10,000 shots on the 3.

FWIW

 

[thomas998]

I used my NEX-7 for video extensively last weekend and did not have any overheating issues. Sony did do a firmware update last fall ( which I downloaded immediately after I bought the camera ) so maybe that addressed the video issue.

Is your statement about them purposely screwing up the video based on any facts or just your speculation?

My NEX-3 I purchased in 2010 still works great - the only issue I have with that is the view screen on the back has lost some of it's coating on the edges - which is why I purchased a protector for the 7. I'm sure I've taken well over 10,000 shots on the 3.

FWIW

Speculation on purposely screwing up the video is conjecture based on the fact that the Nex camera is pretty much identical to the Nex camcorders VG-30 other than in size/shape.... yet the cameras have limited video length constraints that I've been told are because of how products are taxed in Europe such that if they record more than a max of 29 minutes it is considered a camcorder in Europe instead of a camera... and that there appears to be many tests on the internet where people have done test on video length to discover that there is a pattern of how long they record before shutting down that seem to be more or less determined by the number of times you make a video recorder between times you turn it off and remove the battery regardless of how hot the camera actually is... lets face it if you have a camcorder that sells for 2400 and a camera that sells for under a 1000, even if they are bother really the same besides their shape, wouldn't you want to turn some features off the camera just to pump up the camcorder sales?

 

[fractal]

Speculation on purposely screwing up the video is conjecture based on the fact that the Nex camera is pretty much identical to the Nex camcorders VG-30 other than in size/shape.... yet the cameras have limited video length constraints that I've been told are because of how products are taxed in Europe such that if they record more than a max of 29 minutes it is considered a camcorder in Europe instead of a camera... and that there appears to be many tests on the internet where people have done test on video length to discover that there is a pattern of how long they record before shutting down that seem to be more or less determined by the number of times you make a video recorder between times you turn it off and remove the battery regardless of how hot the camera actually is... lets face it if you have a camcorder that sells for 2400 and a camera that sells for under a 1000, even if they are bother really the same besides their shape, wouldn't you want to turn some features off the camera just to pump up the camcorder sales?

or it's because of the incredibly small size. There are pluses and minuses to everything. I never recorded more than 10 or 15 minutes continuously, but recorded over an hour all together.



Newer generation of NEX can go longer without overheating (probably better heating disipation and maybe lower power electronics). NEX7 is not bad in this regard, if you read , many times you can reach the full 30 minutes. There are ways to increase the time, like moving the LCD. Can overheating be totally gone ? Not likely on this generation so what do you expect Sony tech to say ? This is NOT something you can fix through a firmware update.Of course Sony enginners know about this,they put heat sensors on it, you get wrmings and protection (camera shut downs) so they take care of it.If not your camera will burn and melt.There are allways solutions if you need long recording times, camcorders (bigger bodies, sometimes even including fans). You need to compromise, or you need to wait some years for technology to improve (it allways does, is just a question of time, if not in 5 years for sure in 10 )
It will dissapear in the next gen ? Probably not (NEX has still a very small body) but it may get reduced if they go to a newer gen electronics (same as for any CPU). But, as allways they may push camera to be faster in processing which again increases the heat dissipation, so you may gat back where you are. In my opinnion, overheating in under 5 minutes on a medium temperature is not good, but 20-30 minutes is an acceptable compromisefor a camera of this size.

 

[thomas998]

or it's because of the incredibly small size. There are pluses and minuses to everything. I never recorded more than 10 or 15 minutes continuously, but recorded over an hour all together.



Newer generation of NEX can go longer without overheating (probably better heating disipation and maybe lower power electronics). NEX7 is not bad in this regard, if you read , many times you can reach the full 30 minutes. There are ways to increase the time, like moving the LCD. Can overheating be totally gone ? Not likely on this generation so what do you expect Sony tech to say ? This is NOT something you can fix through a firmware update.Of course Sony enginners know about this,they put heat sensors on it, you get wrmings and protection (camera shut downs) so they take care of it.If not your camera will burn and melt.There are allways solutions if you need long recording times, camcorders (bigger bodies, sometimes even including fans). You need to compromise, or you need to wait some years for technology to improve (it allways does, is just a question of time, if not in 5 years for sure in 10 )
It will dissapear in the next gen ? Probably not (NEX has still a very small body) but it may get reduced if they go to a newer gen electronics (same as for any CPU). But, as allways they may push camera to be faster in processing which again increases the heat dissipation, so you may gat back where you are. In my opinnion, overheating in under 5 minutes on a medium temperature is not good, but 20-30 minutes is an acceptable compromisefor a camera of this size.

I could accept it if it were truly just a matter of heat, but when you see a test where the times of it shutting down follow a pattern that repeats based on time and not heat (testers actually applied their own temp sensors to measure the heat) then I have to think Sony is just purposely crippling the camera.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Steve is the man... knows his stuff.

LOL.

Yeah, him and Rockwell.

 

[ddbowdoin]

LOL.

Yeah, him and Rockwell.

comon... he's not in the same category as rockwell!

 

[BoarderPhreak]

comon... he's not in the same category as rockwell!

Not quite that bad, you're right... But not much better, either.