71 replies to this topic

[aczyzyk]

NEX-5 set was so small that I put complete housing(w/handle) & 3 nikonos lenses & one
strobe+arms+clamps in my carry-on.

That is primary reason I'm looking at NEX. I think about replacing my D200 with it. I now travel mostly with my kids and dSLR with housing is quite troublesome. Being accustomed to 10.5mm with Sea&Sea NX Fisheye Dome I'm still worried that I might be disappointed with quality of NEX lenses.
I'm worried about that

for the cost of the equipment involved

bit...

I know it is a bit subjective, but do you think one would miss a lot compared to nikkor 10.5?
Are there any nex fisheye UW full size samples on the net?

[shchae]

Hi,
Sony is selling 16mm f/2.8 E-mount pancake lens and the VCL-ECF1 Fisheye Converter (is add-on lens to 16mm.U$150.-)
& this combo makes a good fisheye lens. You can see some sample (not UW picture though) here;

http://sonyalphanex.blogspot.com/

Nauticam has a small dome port to use with above combo & I believe they are also, looking at other options
like Tokina 10-17 etc. I was so excited to use Nikonos lenses & did not ordered fisheye converter nor dome port
but, I am thinking about ordering them as I was little tired of doing manual focusing(my eye is getting old...)
& forgot how easy auto focusing is.

Sam

Edited by shchae, 03 November 2010 - 04:11 AM.

[Phil Rudin]

How did you find the sharpness of the rectilinear 20mm equivalent add-on lens? How do you find the control ergonomics of this setup as compared to a traditional DSLR setup?

Cheers

Hi Oskar,

I did not have access to the 20 mm add-on lens so I can't comment on that. Ergonomics on the Nauticam housing are outstanding, the Sony NEX-5 has no command dial or dials like many DSLR cameras so it would be hard to compare with a traditional DSLR housing. Some of the camera settings are a bit harded to change if you had the cameras side by side out of the water, this is part of the trade-off for the smaller size and weight. The controls on this Nauticam housing are everybit as good as they are on other DSLR Nauticam housings if that is your question.

Phil Rudin

[shchae]

Sample pics posted here;

http://wetpixel.com/...mp;#entry264791

More pics with Nikonos 15mm lens posted in above.

[derway]

Hi all. And hi Phil. Thanks for the review on uwp!

This is sure getting tempting, indeed.

How does the autofocus lag and accuracy compare with a real dslr, like a d90?

How much are you giving up by being forced to use contast detection AF?

In practice, is the sony nex5 AF slower than the gf1/gf2, as reported in most of the review sites, including imaging resources?

Giving up a viewfinder, and AF performance, for saving in weight... Hmmm. Might be a good trade off.

Thanks!
Don

[shchae]

There was 2 impresive NEX-5 accessories in Nauticam booth in DEMA.

One was magic filter adapter for Nikonos lenses and the other was
macro port for 30mm alpha macro lens. I place an order for both.

There was a worldwide shortage of 18-200mm zoom lens and fisheye
converter and Sony start shipping it & I got mine yesterday.

Sam

[Edward Lai]

I would like to share a photo shot by our UK distributor showing the details and quality of the 16mm pancake lens with the add-on Sony fisheye converter lens, with the Nex-5 housing and mini dome port.



I hope Alex wouldn't mind I used his image.

Edward

[Alex_Tattersall]

No problem, nice to see the photo on here,

This is a photo of me taking the above photo with the NEX-5 housing and 2x S2000 strobes. Altogether less than 4 kilos of equipment.

Thanks to Nick Watson for the image and my lovely wife/model Kat for her top class modelling skills



I'll be posting some more shots shortly to demonstrate the capability of this housing/camera setup

[Alex_Tattersall]

Here's an Arabian Picasso triggerfish (very probably my favourite fish) with the 18-55mm zoom lens at the 55mm end and the flat port

[gobiodon]

No problem, nice to see the photo on here,

This is a photo of me taking the above photo with the NEX-5 housing and 2x S2000 strobes. Altogether less than 4 kilos of equipment.

Thanks to Nick Watson for the image and my lovely wife/model Kat for her top class modelling skills


I'll be posting some more shots shortly to demonstrate the capability of this housing/camera setup

Very nice small rig achieving excellent picture quality! I'm really tempted to buy into the nex system.

Edited by gobiodon, 26 November 2010 - 05:40 AM.

[Phil Rudin]

These are a few more of mine from NauticamUSA.com. The jellyfish is with the 18-55 "kit" lens and the others are with the fisheye adapter. This system is one of the very best I have ever tested, hats off to Mr. Lai for the bringing back the old school Nikonos lenses combined with the high tech NEX-5 lens set. Now if I can only get my hands on that new Nauticam PhaseOne housing.

Phil Rudin

http://nauticamusa.c...ent918.jpg.jpeg

http://nauticamusa.c...nt1343.jpg.jpeg

http://nauticamusa.c...ent873.jpg.jpeg

[derway]

Very nice small rig achieving excellent picture quality! I'm really tempted to buy into the nex system.

I am tempted as well. My only question is, "how much shutter lag, autofocus speed and ability are we sacrificing" with the nex 5 compared with an slr like the d3100 or d7000?

[shchae]

I am tempted as well. My only question is, "how much shutter lag, autofocus speed and ability are we sacrificing" with the nex 5 compared with an slr like the d3100 or d7000?

I am not Phil but, I can tell you what I think it is.

Re shutter lag, I started my digital photography with Oly 4040 and it was a good camera & it had shutter lag that I could not even feel until
I change to my first dslr D70. NEX-5 has little shutter lag & it is depends on which mode you are using. M mode was faster than A or P mode.
Is NEX-5 faster than my d700 ? no, it is not. but, I think NEX-5 is good enough to use for type of picture I take, 80% macro & 20% WA.

Re autofocus, It is as fast as regular dslr when e-lenses, 16mm & 18-55mm, were used. E-lenses produce good quality picture as you can see
from above post and are in good price range too. NEX-5 allows AF on only 2 types of lens at present time. I just started using 30mm Macro Sony
alpha lens in AF mode & it is about same speed as my old 105mm lens(not 105VR) on d300.

Sam

[meme.may.fire]

I am tempted as well. My only question is, "how much shutter lag, autofocus speed and ability are we sacrificing" with the nex 5 compared with an slr like the d3100 or d7000?

hi derway

didnt u discuss this with @phil rudin at my topic?
http://wetpixel.com/...mp;#entry266484
or is it not fully discussed.
i would like to know too since i will buy it

thanx

Edited by meme.may.fire, 27 November 2010 - 11:55 PM.

[derway]

hi derway

didnt u discuss this with @phil rudin at my topic?
http://wetpixel.com/...mp;#entry266484
or is it not fully discussed.
i would like to know too since i will buy it

thanx

Nah. That discussion was mostly about the epl1 vs nex5, with a bit of gf1 thrown in. Not really about nex5 vs say d7000.

My guess is, the nex5 will not be in t he same league, when light/contrast is dim. Several owners & users of both cameras have said as much, in the dpreview forums.

Thanks all!

Don

[Phil Rudin]

The Nikon D-7000 is a remarkable camera and the best on the market at its price point, to compare the Nikon D-7000 to the Sony NEX-5 both with Nauticam housings is like going out to buy a $250,000.00 home and then making a comparison with a $500,000.00 or $600,000.00 home.

Nauticam now makes a housing for the $40,000.00 PhaseOne camera would it help you to make that comparison as well?

Phil Rudin

[derway]

The Nikon D-7000 is a remarkable camera and the best on the market at its price point, to compare the Nikon D-7000 to the Sony NEX-5 both with Nauticam housings is like going out to buy a $250,000.00 home and then making a comparison with a $500,000.00 or $600,000.00 home.

Nauticam now makes a housing for the $40,000.00 PhaseOne camera would it help you to make that comparison as well?

Phil Rudin

I don't understand where you are coming from.

The d7000 system, only costs a few hundred dollars more than the nex5 system, after you add in a housing and ports and so on, the difference in price is not much at all. Certainly not double!

What do you get for the price difference, is what I want to know!

The difference in weight, and bulk is very large, in favor of the nex5.

It appears that the nex5 will do much better for video. True? How much better?

The difference in the AF system is probably huge in favor of the d7000, when using optical view finder, yes?

Is the live view AF on the d7000 much much worse than the nex5?

In the past, all the DSLRs have had crippled live view contrast detection, AF systems, compared to the good pany or sony implementations. Does the d7000 break that barrier finally, or not?

[Phil Rudin]

Hi Don,

Alex Mustard is doing a great job of reviewing the Nikon D-7000 here, http://wetpixel.com/...showtopic=38794 I suggest you look for your answers within.

The Sony NEX-5 with kit lens runs around $700.00, the Naticam housing without ports runs around $1550.00, total $2250.00.

The Nikon D-7000 with kit lens runs around $1500.00, the Nauticam housing without ports runs around $3100.00, total $4600.00.

If this does not seem like much of a diffenence to you then I suggest the D-7000.

Phil Rudin

[derway]

Hi Phil.

I have been following his review, and looking forward to more.

Yeah, I was looking at the ike housing prices - $1500 for the d7000. Probably close to that same price for a TBA nex5 housing...

In that scenario, the prices are much closer, obviously.

[meme.may.fire]

The Nikon D-7000 is a remarkable camera and the best on the market at its price point, to compare the Nikon D-7000 to the Sony NEX-5 both with Nauticam housings is like going out to buy a $250,000.00 home and then making a comparison with a $500,000.00 or $600,000.00 home.

hey guys
i like your point phil

seriously,if anyone can afford a dslr just go with it. theres NO NEED comparing a M4/3rd with a DSLR really.
i owned a nex 5 now and have friends with dslrs, and i admit it myself that in terms of IQ and what not, dslr prevails.

the thing is im still a student and a newbie in both diving and underwater photography.
i do have budgets, a long journey in terms of learning and pure stupidity.


peace out

Edited by meme.may.fire, 29 November 2010 - 05:06 PM.