Mini-review of the NEX-5R and NEX-6

I’m a big fan of the Sony NEX series – my main underwater setup is a Sony NEX-5N in a Nauticam housing. So of course I was excited when the NEX-5R and NEX-6 came out.

I’ve been able to spend some time shooting the NEX-5N, the NEX-5R, and the Sony NEX-6 recently. I’ll be doing a full review soon including high ISO performance, focus speeds, lens tests, and more – but I wanted to share these initial finding with you first.

NEX-5R, Compared to the NEX-5N

–          The NEx-5R has anextra dial for controlling aperture, shutter speed – no more need to use the menu driven system to select between aperture and shutter speed.   This is a huge advantage while underwater

–          Programmable function button-Allows you to program your favorite settings using the new “Fn” button.   Very useful for accessing things such as white balance, focus mode, iso etc.

–          New “phase detection” auto focus-Although  on paper the Nex-5r is supposed to focus faster a saw no noticeable difference during my testing

–          Mode changes is unfortunately still menu driven

–          Has many more focus points-99 vs. 25

Sony NEX-6, Compared to the NEX-5R

–          Feels much more substantial-The Nex-6 has a slightly re-designed grip which feels much more comfortable in your hand.   I think the 30% size increase is actually an improvement making much more comfortable to hold

–          Has the electronic viewfinder – which is excellent for those who prefer to compose their shots using a viewfinder.   Also you can significantly improve battery life by not using live view

–          Has amode dial which is great – No more use of a pesky menu driven system to change your mode.   By far this is one of the greatest improvements in my opinion to the camera

–          Has a hot shoe, which allows for the use of accessory flashes while top side.   Also has a built in pop flash which eliminates the bulky screw on flash the other models use.

–          Nauticam has provided a bulkhead port on their housing which is a great sign that you will be able to utilize sync cords with these housing dramatically reducing recycle time of external strobes

–          Has an AEL focus-lock button

–          Comes with the 16-50mm kit lens, instead of the 18-55-The 16-50mm lens allows for a slighter wider image as well as a smaller profile as it is retractable

–          Motor-Driven lens-The new 16-50 lens is motor driven allowing much better focus speed while shooting videos.   The power zoom also makes this camera superior while in video mode

Sony NEX-6, Compared to the NEX-7

–          Less megapixels (16.1 vs 24)

–          The Sony NEX-6 adds a mode dial and hotshoe

16-50mm zoom lens, compared to the 18-55mm kit lens

–          Smaller

–          Slightly wider, 16mm vs 18mm

–          Zooming is slower, quieter, smoother, and motor driven

–          Best macro is 3.5 inches across, vs 3 inches for the 18-55mm

–          Best macro with a +7 diopter is 1.5 inches, same as the 18-55mm

–          16-50 is superior for shooting movies

Image Quality, High ISO

I took photos with the NEX-5N, NEX-5R and NEX-6, and couldn’t find any substantial differences in image quality or performance at high ISO.   Most of the improvements are in added features, buttons and dials.   All cameras all boast the 16.1 aps-c dSLR crop sizes sensor except for the Nex-7 that utilizes 24 megapixels.

 My recommendation:

After initial testing of the NEX series cameras, i find the Sony Nex-6 to be at the top of the pack.  The improved battery life, power zoom lens, viewfinder, mode dial, customizable “Fn” button, built in flash and dedicated shutter-speed and aperture wheel will make shooting this camera underwater and topside a dream.

Shot with nex-6 at 50mm, f/5.6, 1/640th, iso 100

Look for the full review soon!

The post Mini-review of the Sony NEX-5R and NEX-6 first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.

At the end of November, I got to test out the Olympus 9-18mm micro four-thirds lens. This is one of several lens options for micro four-thirds users looking for a good wide angle lens choice. Other options include the Panasonic 7-14mm and the Panasonic 8mm Fisheye. Here’s a couple sample images as well as my initial thoughts on this lens.

Overall it works great. Having the wide angle with zoom capability is great compared to the 8mm fisheye with no zoom capability. This lens gives you a little more flexibility, especially when shooting animals that you can’t get close to. However, the 9-18 just doesn’t compare with the 8mm fisheye in terms of dramatic scenes. The 9-18mm is a rectilinear lens, meaning that you don’t get any distortion – bending of straight lines – like you do with the fisheye lens. However, that also means that the angle of view is limited to standard focal length proportions, so at 9mm you get approximately 100 degrees and when zoomed into 18mm it drops to around 60 degrees. This is still fabulous, and for most wide angle shots will work great, but it just doesn’t portray the depth that the 180 degree field of view of the 8mm fisheye creates. While I have not had a chance to test it yet, the 7-14 gives an extra 10 degrees field of view and has the same minimum focus distance as the 9-18, making it a little better choice for wide angle, but it is also about twice as expensive of a lens.

Dive with Gorgonian, Olympus 9-18mm Lens @ 9mm

Focus speed is good, on par with any other M4/3rd’s lens, and I noticed no hunting, making for quick and easy use.

What I found to be the largest downside was the focus distance. The 9-18mm focuses only down to .25m, about 9.8in where as the 8mm fisheye has a focus distance of .1m or about 3.9in. This means you can’t get right up on the dome port with the 9-18mm like you can with the 8mm fisheye for close focus wide angle. One thing I love about the 8mm is getting in super close, but still being able to see the full background of the scene.

Sheephead in Kelp, Olympus 9-18mm @ 9mm

I did notice that there was some blurring in the corners with the 9-18mm which I do not see on the 8mm fisheye. This seemed to happen mostly with the lower apertures over the higher ones. Nothing that i found too distracting, but it is noticeable.

My final thoughts on this lens is that it is a great option for those dives when you are shooting animals or other subjects that you cannot get right up close to, but for reef scenes and general wide angle the 8mm fisheye still gets my vote. Having the flexibility of the 9-18mm is wonderful, but doesn’t trump the 180 degree field of view of the 8mm fisheye.

The post Olympus 9-18mm Lens – Quick Look first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.