Top positive review
10 people found this helpful
Impressions after a summer in Europe with the family and the NEX-3n
By M. Herbst on Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2014
First things first, this a a remarkably small, genuinely pocketable camera that has the outstanding APS-C 16.1 sensor that is in first rate DSLR's like the Nikon 5100 and Sony 580. The Dxo scores for the sensor nearly match that of the Canon mark II. In order to get this sensor in a small, inexpensive package, you get very minimal additional features and controls. The 16-50 lens is mediocre, but very compact and the distortion can be corrected in lightroom. The lens is not very robust and does break easily if bumped hard in the front. There is an adaptor, which I used and later sold, but the bulk of the adaptor,the loss of optical stabilization, make using this camera with the adaptor a poor choice. An alpha55 dslr with a 16-105mm is just as compact and much easier to use. The native e mount lenses are much better but limited in selection. The 50mm 1.8 is a first rate portrait lens. The 55-200 is reasonably good. I don't see the point in lugging around an 18-200mm with this camera, where the whole point is to be small. My suggestion is just travel light and get the 16-50 only or get a small case and add either the 50mm 1.8 or the 55-200. The moveable flash is a very useful feature for indoor portraits. I strongly suggest getting the 50 mm 1.8 and a small case to clip on your belt, if you want to make this a bit more serious. You can get some of the "magic"of the narrow DOF and clarity of the prime lens without breaking the bank.Mostly, the point is that the image quality is excellent from the sensor and cant be matched by small sensor cameras. Even though the lens is not as fast as I would like, the DOF control is still superior to the small sensor cameras. Charging is really not a problem, just get the charger and extra battery if you take more than 200 shots a day. This is a casual camera, not for doing weddings. The LCD is lousy, but that is part of keeping the price down. Menus take a bit of getting used to but can be mastered in a week or so.If you want a small camera you can take with you everywhere, this is a serious winner. If you want to make the NEX system your main thing, you should probably get a more expandable model like the NEX6, If you want a travel camera, that you slip in your pocket, but shoots raw, has a great sensor and you can add one lens to make a kit that you can fit on a belt clip, this is the way to go. I have gotten some seriously good shots with raw and lightroom that would be absolutely impossible with the typical point and shoot, but the minimal expandability and lack of controls, makes this no substitute for a serious DSLR.
Top critical review
7 people found this helpful
Cannot recognize lens
By Jan K. on Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2014
I was very happy with my camera until one of my lenses went bad and the camera refused taking pictures saying "Cannot recognize lens. Attach it properly". I was in Europe for couple months and I quickly found the Sony does not have international warranty and I could not get the lens repaired. Luckily I have more lenses so I kept using my other lenses until I went back to US. But couple week after that the camera body started reporting the same error. Sony service line told me that the cost of the repairs is 200+ USD for post warranty repairs of the body and that the lens will be considered "In warranty".I searched on the Internet and found that all the forums are plagued with the same complaints. Do your search and type "Cannot recognize lens" to see yourself. Sony should be recalling these cameras/lenses and just fixing them, because the NEX can break down even with careful handling. Now I wish I never bought the camera and all the lenses. I am stuck with Sony E-mount lenses which will likely fail when I start using them regularly. My Panasonic camera&camcorder took really hard beating compared to Sony and they still work after years of service. I do not trust Sony quality any longer.Because I had nothing to lose due to the 200+ USD repair costs and I was positive that it is a mechanical issue, I opened up the camera to see myself. I found out that there is a series of springs which push the contacts back against the lens. These springs are badly designed and they only generate very little force, so one of the springs was not pushed all the way through to make contact with the lens. This is clearly an internal mechanical problem on Sony's side. So the more you swap lenses, the more prone the camera is to stop working.Here is a picture so you can see what I am talking abouthttp://tinypic.com/r/fxutxj/8UPDATE JANUARY 2015This product and the whole Sony support is a bad joke. I gave another camera to my brother as a gift and the camera is now broken too! The display just gave up one day - when the camera started, the display would shut down after like 5 seconds. Luckily the camera is still under warranty, so I sent it for repair in mid December and I still don't have the camera back. The service sent me back wrong part and they are holding me hostage before they send my camera.Lets summarize the score2 cameras stopped working, 1 lens stopped working, no international warranty, over two months to get your gadgets repaired. I am making damn sure that I am not buying another Sony product no matter how appealing they are.
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