Sony NEX5NKB Compact System Camera Zoom Kit - Black (16.1 MP, SEL 18-55mm Lens)

I've been using a Panasonic GF1 for two years now and quite happy with it. It offers good image quality and flexibility - though I must admit I spend most of the time in aperture priority mode and change aperture size to suit the subject and light levels.I also have a Nikon D700 digital SLR but its just so big and heavy and so often gets left behind in favour of the lighter Panasonic GF1.What tempted me to upgrade to the Sony NEX 5N was:1. Sweep panorama feature. This makes creating panorama photos, whereby multiple photos are joined in to one extra wide photo, very easy. To do this normally you'd need a tripod and a fair bit of time and patience. I have created a panorama with my Nikon D700 but it involved carrying a heavy tripod and takes around 15 - 20 minutes including post processing. With the Sony the same thing takes less than a minute and no need for a tripod. I was surprised at how good the results from a Sony Panorama shot are. It tends to work better at the wider end of the 18-55 lens - more hit and miss at the telephoto end with some blurring.2. Auto HDR. Cameras just can't cope with the wide level of light intensity you get in some scenes in the way our eyes can. One solution is to take multiple photos of a scene at different levels of exposure and then back home process the images with software to create an image that combines the right exposure for the bright areas and also for dark areas. Again this requires a tripod and quite a bit of time. With the Sony NEX 5N it takes just a few seconds! I was bowled over by how good the results are.What I like about the Sony's auto HDR is its subtle. For example when you have a shot on sunny day and you want both the sky and ground to be correctly exposed. Normally the issue is which do you expose for - sky or ground - but now you can have your cake and eat it and have both correctly exposed - within limits! While its "auto" you can change its settings and sometimes this is necessary to get the best result.What the auto HDR won't do is create the freaky/alien looking photos you often see people create using HDR. I personally don't like these unnatural looking shots but its personal preference. I just want to make sure shadows retain details and the highlights are not blown out.3. Light weight and small body. I was surprised how tiny the camera and lens are - even compared to my Panasonic GF1. To compare:* Panasonic GF1 with zoom lens, battery and inside the smallest case available weighs 710g approx.* The Sony NEX 5N with battery, zoom lens and case weights just 600g.* My Nikon D700 with battery, lightweight bag and general purpose zoom is almost 2400g!!!! That's 4 times heavier than the Sony NEX 5N.4. NEX 5N's amazing high ISO quality. After looking at a number of reviews I realised the Sony NEX 5N has amazingly low levels of noise even at high ISOs of 3200 or 6400.I did some test shots with the old Panasonic GF1 and the new Sony NEX 5N and there's just no competition. Its not like its a subtle difference you really have to look for - the difference is huge. I guess ISO 800 on the Panasonic is just about on a par with 3200 on the Sony - even then the Sony is marginally better in terms of noise. High ISO images are not just less noisy but the colours are punchier than the Panasonic.I used to avoid above ISO 800 on my Panasonic GF1 but with the Sony NEX 5N I'm happy to go up to ISO 3200 and know the results will still be good. Even ISO 6400 is acceptable - things do get a bit noisy after that though.I also compared the Sony NEX 5N to my full frame Nikon D700 DSLR - which is known for having excellent high ISO capabilities. The Nikon high ISO images are very slightly better - less grainy, less noise and punchier. But the difference is very small until you get to ISO 6400 and above, then the Nikon is clearly better but the Sony gives the Nikon a run for its money. At ISO 3200 viewing images on screen at 100% you can see a very slight difference - but at normal print size I think you'd struggle to tell the two apart.5. LCD display that tilts. This didn't influence my decision to buy the Sony but something I have found useful since buying the camera. The ability to shoot over a crowd ( or low on the ground ) and flip the screen so I can still see it is definitely very useful, though not something I use all the time.For me the pro's more than outweigh the cons but here are the downsides:1. The Sony has very flexible controls - not quite as easy to use as the Panasonic. The Panasonic GF1 has more buttons that act as short cuts to changing ISO setting, camera mode, etc. You can program the Sony buttons but there's not quite enough physical buttons for all the settings I need - so occasionally there can be some going through menus. Not a major chore but it does lose out to the GF1 in this respect. However I notice the newer Panasonic's don't have the buttons of the GF1 anyway.2. Range of E mount lenses if quite limited. For most people its just about enough. The kit lens is good but not stellar - option to buy a better quality general purpose lens would be nice - but then perhaps it'd also be heavy - spoiling the Sony's light weight advantage. I understand from the Internet more lens are likely to be released in 2012 but nothing definite.3. Clicks during video filming. A problem so wide spread Sony now has a news announcement on its site telling you about it and recommending you send the camera back. Sony have promised to fix the issue for later production I would say until current stocks are used up the issue will remain. I guess if you buy this camera in 2012 the issue will be solved. But it certainly wasn't with the camera I bought in early November 2011.I use the camera as a still camera mostly and the clicks I find moderately annoying rather than show stopping - so rather than part with the camera I've not sent it back.4. Ok build quality but you'd not want to knock it around too much! Unlike Nikon D700 which is built like and tank and feels as heavy as one - the Sony doesn't feel like it could take too much abuse. Don't get me wrong its well built but the SLR does win in terms of the level of abuse it can take - especially water. The Nikon is semi waterproof and I have used it in the rain - I don't dare test the Sony but I doubt it would survive a heavy rain shower.Overall I'm really pleased with this camera. Good image quality - some genuinely useful features and very lightweight for this type of camera. But if movies are your priority wait a few months till they fix the click issue.5. Battery life. I could take the Panasonic GF1 on holiday for a week, shoot a couple of hundred photos and still have loads of battery life left. I've not yet holidayed with the Sony but after a day out taking around 30 or 40 photos it was down to 70% ( very approx ). I guess time will tell how well the battery does but I think a spare would be useful.6. Lens flare with Sony 18-55mm kit lens. I've been on a few day trips with the camera and have noticed its very susceptible to lens flare - much more so than any other lens I've owned ( and I've owned quite a few over the years ). In a recent photo the sun was actually not in frame but shining strongly from the left hand side - even with the lens hood that caused flare.Its not a disaster - lens flare doesn't happen every time and often its quite small but certainly something this lens seems prone to compared to the kit lens on my Panasonic GF1.7. Issues with battery compatibility. At the same time as buying the camera I bought the "Sony NPFW50 Battery for NEX/A33/A55" from Amazon themselves ( not a marketplace seller ). But while the battery is the same size, when I installed it an "Incompatible battery" message appears and the camera shuts off!I contacted Sony support but they were distinctly unhelpful and said must be a fault with the camera - even though the battery it came with works perfectly. I notice a search on the Internet shows I'm not alone in suffering from this issue. It seems sometimes batteries work, sometimes they don't - but not easy to be sure which will and which won't. I assumed because I bought a genuine Sony one it would work - at least I assume its genuine! I wonder if there's a firmware issue with the NEX 5N but don't have enough evidence to be sure.*** Gotcha to watch out for ***May just have been my bad luck but when my Sony arrived all batteries main battery and also internal battery for storing settings were drained.I charged up the main battery but hadn't been aware of the internal battery. So when I tried to set the date it appeared to work, but when I checked it'd not saved the date changes.I must have spent 20 minutes thinking I'd done something wrong - but each time I tried the date just wouldn't stay set and when I tried to take a photo nothing happened!Eventually I discovered in the manual that the internal battery gets charged up over time by the main battery.After an hour of leaving the charged main battery in, the internal battery was charged enough to store the date and actually take photos.*** Update 25 May 2012 ***I've taken almost a thousand photos now with this camera.Having used the camera now for a while my impressions are:1. Still image quality is really, really good.2. Its a very lightweight and portable camera - I use it with a Sony NEX LCS-BBF Carry Pouch for NEX with 18 - 55mm Lens - Grey case which fits the camera and lens well and adds very little weight. Because its so lightweight and small I now often take my camera with me - bigger cameras I've owned often got left at home.3. The Sony 18-55mm lens is very good. Its especially good between 24mm and 35mm. I purchased a Sigma 30mm f/2.8 EX DN for Sony E-mount Cameras because its very small and light and assumed being a fixed lens it'd produce higher quality images. In fact there's nothing between the two lenses at 30mm.4. Where the Sony 18-55mm lens is weaker is at the 18mm end - especially wide open ( f3.5 or f4 ). Stopping down to f5.6 produces better image quality. I also purchased the Sigma 19mm f2.8 lens and this does give a noticeable improvement in image quality - especially at f4 and below but even at f8 to f11. The corners are where the most improvements is noticed. I take a lot of landscape shots and almost half at at 18mm - so now I often use the 19mm Sigma instead.5. Sony provide RAW image conversion software - which produces terrible results when using the 18-55mm lens when compared to the JPG produced by the camera. Even Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop don't produce quite as good results as the camera can. However the reverse is true when using the Sigma 19mm lens - RAW images in Lightroom are much, much better than the JPG produced by the camera.6. If you want the smallest and lightest bag possible then the Lowepro Apex 60AW Digital Camera Pouch To Fit Panasonic TZ6, TZ7, Canon G10, Canon SX200, A1100 - Black is the best choice if using the Sigma 19mm or 30mm lenses ( which are smaller than the 18-55 Sony ). I've not tried it but the 18-55mm lens may just fit but it'd be a very tight squeeze!7. The menus take a little getting used to but the ability to have customised buttons saves the day and makes this a usable camera. Without the customisable buttons it'd be a nightmare to navigate menus for simple setting changes.8. Battery life is fantastic. Two batteries are enough to last a weeks holiday and still have some spare power left. I don't bother taking the charger on holiday - two batteries is enough.I've had this camera 7 months now and its the best small camera I've ever had. Image quality continues to wow me and its so easy to carry around.I recommend the 18-55mm lens and if you take landscape shots the Sigma 19mm lens. The Sony 55mm-210mm lens is well worthwhile if you plan wildlife shooting.I also recommend the Sony NEX LCS-BBF Carry Pouch for NEX with 18 - 55mm Lens - Grey case. Or with the Sigma lenses then the Lowepro Apex 60AW Digital Camera Pouch To Fit Panasonic TZ6, TZ7, Canon G10, Canon SX200, A1100 - Black case is the smallest one that fits the camera.*** Update 28 April 2012 ***I often shoot RAW files ( usually RAW + JPG ). The Sony Image Data Converter 4.0 Software can convert RAW files to JPG. However it does a shockingly bad job when compared to the JPG created in camera. Images suffer badly from chromatic aberrations and look - especially in the corners - a bit blurred.I think the reason is the camera itself knows about the lens used and its weaknesses - such as distortion and chromatic aberration issues. It uses this info to correct using its internal software the problems. However Sony Image Data Converter 4.0 Software appears not to attempt any corrections - you get the image with all its faults.You can also use software such as Adobe Lightroom 4.0 - as I do - to convert RAW images. This does a much better job than Sony Image Data Converter 4.0 Software. However Lightroom still doesn't correct as many of the lens faults as the camera itself can. So its worth always shooting either JPG or RAW + JPG.*** Update 7 March 2012 ***Video quality is excellent from the camera - but I couldn't bear the clicking. My parter has no plans to use the video feature so I gave my old one to her and bought a new one off Amazon.I'm pleased to say in the new silver one I received today ( 7th March 2012 ) the clicking issue was largely resolved. However be aware clickers are still being sold - Sony didn't pull them back in but instead let them be sold to unsuspecting consumers - which personally I think is shameful and does nothing for their reputation. I guess over time there will be less and less clickers in the wild.It does still click - but less often and when it does its a much quieter click. To be honest you'd have to really listen out for the clicking to notice it. With the original NEX 5N you didn't have to listen carefully - the clicking was loud and proud and not ashamed to show itself!Having put the clicking issue behind me I've taken a few videos and the image quality is excellent. It probably doesn't autofocus as fast as my camcorder but its good enough for general use. Image quality is very similar to my old ( 2009 ) and over £1000 Sony top end consumer camcorder.*** Update ***After using this for a month now I'm still very pleased with the still images. The sweep panorama has been useful but what's really been great is the auto HDR - used at around 3 to 4 stops difference it really can capture more of the extremes of lighting - very useful for sunsets or exceptionally bright days. I've found at 5 or 6 stops difference the loss of contrast makes the scene look a bit flat.The autofocus doesn't seem to be quite as quick to focus as the old Panasonic in difficult situations ( moving targets or low light ) but its more than good enough.The movie mode however sucks big time! I did a short moving while slowly walking along a coastal path - and despite the background noise all I could hear in the recording was "click...click...click..click" Its not subtle of something you have to listen out for - its loud and proud and in your face. Which makes the camera useless for videos unless you remove the audio.It rarely clicks if you stand stock still and don't move at all. Start to pan or walk and its " click...click...click".It worries me that Sony say they have a fix that "reduces" the clicking - I would expect NO clicking at all except in extreme circumstances.Videoing is a disappointment - in fact I usually use my smartphone for videos as the clicking annoys me too much!********

Having decided that I was due a change from my usual choice of Panasonic cameras, and looking for a compact interchangeable lens camera that produced great out of camera jpegs as well as very good 1080p HD video, I decided to order the NEX5N. I have been rather frustrated and uninspired by the Panasonic GH2's JPEG images, and simply don't have the time to process raw files to get the best out of them. The compact size and APS-C sized sensor drew me to this model, along with the hype over its video quality. There is no doubt that the Nex is a very very good stills camera, the JPEG quality is superb and easily on par with consumer level SLR,s. Noise control and image sharpness are both very good and its handling, once you get familiar with the unusual menu layout is also quite acceptable for such a small camera. It is a very desirable and stylish bit of kit, the ideal package? If you are not too worried about Video then it is, but for those expecting to be able to do away with that HD Camcorder you have to carry around as well, possibly not.Part of the requirement for me was to combine a Full HD video camera and quality still camera in a compact package as I like to have both available. Unfortunatly, while the video quality itself is very good, Video shooting is limited to approx 29 minutes before the camera reports an overheat warning and stops recording. I tested this and it lasted exactly 29 minutes and 33 seconds, to be fair it does mention this in the user manual so it's a "feature" and not a fault, this was at 19 degrees C ambient temperature, aparently this can be as short as 13 minutes in hot conditions. After a minute or two break it was able to recorded another file of 28 minutes. If you plan to film an event this is something you need to be aware of when choosing this camera. Basically its fine for short clips but is not fully able to replace a dedicated HD Camcorder in all situations.Clicking IssueI was aware from the numerous forum reports of a widespread issue that NEX5N cameras suffer from a loose linkage in the body which can rattle during video shooting and be picked up by the internal microphone. I decided to leave it a while hoping that this problem was resolved as it was first reported several months ago, I went ahead and ordered from Amazon on Dec 14th, I assumed they would have a good turn over and new production stock that Sony claim would be free of this issue.The camera arrived the next day and even without powering it up there was a very obvious ticking noise from inside the camera, even when moved very slowly from side to side. I was not ready to return the camera without some real world testing but unfortunately after shooting several videos; it became rather obvious what people have been complaining about. To put this in perspective, this is NOT a minor thing that occurs if you shake the camera and is audible and very annoying even in slow panning and almost constant when walking in quiet settings. Sony are aware of this yet don't seem to have decided not to recall the product although they can offer a resolution if the camera is returned to them!! In all other respects this is a fantastic camera, the still images are brilliant. I am disappointed that Sony are distributing stock with a known design issue and that Amazon are also still selling them as this problem has been well reported on the trusted dpreview website and forum, which is sponsored by Amazon. Compared to the Panasonic GH2, I have to say the video output from the Nex5N is not as sharp or detailed, but it does beats the GH2 hands down on its out of camera JPEGS. The perfect convergance product is yet to come.

I have been a keen photographer for 50 years, owned many good cameras, Rolliflexes, Nikons, etc. I can honestly state that this camera is impressive, the image quality is breathtaking, the options for image management offer extended horizons for your creativity. I agree with all the previous reviewers comments regarding this cameras image quality. However the first camera arrived mid December having read the reviews on Amazon and other internet sites I tried the video, sadly the click and I mean click was evident on playback. Good old Amazon sent a replacement immediately, most annoyingly this also clicked, Amazon are now refunding my money, although I did state I would be happy with another replacement. Amazon are great I purchase all my electronic items because of this. Sony in my opinion have been extremely naughty, notwithstanding, when Amazon recieve good stock from Sony I will purchase another one, it is a 5 star camera if not for this problem.

I've had the following NEX-5 cameras:NEX-5NEX-5N * 2NEX-5RThe only one worked without any problem was the NEX-5, the other 3 just developed all kinds of serious problems. The NEX-5R and one of the NEX-5R won't turn on says camera error. The other NEX-5N picks internal noise during video recording.I won't try the 5 series any more. I would suggest the NEX-7 or A7, for those worked for me trouble free.

As the title states; Sony NEX5NKB compact system camera (16.1 megapixel).That's what I expected to get. Instead, I got the NEX5 (14.2 megapixel).Don't understand why you would do such a thing.Safely say I won't be buying from you again.*thumbs down*