Switching to mirrorless.. Nikon or Sony?

[f18]

Hey guys,

I have been thinking a lot about switching to mirrorless, and recently I was reading about the new Nikon 1 V3. It looks really nice, especially as it comes with the EVF etc. I was thinking it was a choice between either that or the NEX7. I've been looking at comparisons such as this one (Nikon 1 V3 vs Sony NEX-7 - Cameras Specs Comparison), and it seems quite even. The 1 V3 comes with an EVF which I like, and the EXPEED 4 seems to be great with that 20fps, although I don't think I really need that! The focus system seems superior too.

On the other hand I think I trust Sony more when it comes to mirrorless, the sensor is bigger and there are more (I think?) lenses available. Also the sample shots of the V3 don't look so great.... https://www.flickr.com/photos/nikonfrance/sets/72157642287620513

Actually, after writing the pros and cons out, I am definitely leaning towards Sony.. Any advice?

Thanks

 

[ronlane]

Have you considered the Fuji Film x-t1 or x-100s? This is something that I have been considering as a second body more for travel and street photography.

 

[goodguy]

If I would consider mirrorless I wouldnt go with either.
Currently the only mirrorless camera that really impresses me is the Sony A7 or A7R
If thats not for you then the Fuji X-T1 as ronlane said is a good option and there are few more like the Olympus OM-D camera line which I heard is impressive.

 

[SpikeyJohnson]

I would go to a high end sony or go to a fuji. I'm not impressed with the v3, it has a small sensor for it's price.

 

[ConradM]

The Sony a6000 comes out this month which replaces I think the NEX7. Its boasting the fastest AF ever.

Amazon.com: Sony Alpha a6000 24.3 MP Interchangeable Lens Camera with 16-50mm Power Zoom Lens: SONY: Camera & Photo

 

[goodguy]

The Sony a6000 comes out this month which replaces I think the NEX7. Its boasting the fastest AF ever.

Amazon.com: Sony Alpha a6000 24.3 MP Interchangeable Lens Camera with 16-50mm Power Zoom Lens: SONY: Camera & Photo

Yep saw the a6000, very impressive camera but the way I see it in the mirrorless world currently there are 2 kind of cameras the A7/A7R and everything else.
The A7/R was voted camera of the year and I think that speak volume!!!

 

[ConradM]

The Sony a6000 comes out this month which replaces I think the NEX7. Its boasting the fastest AF ever.

Amazon.com: Sony Alpha a6000 24.3 MP Interchangeable Lens Camera with 16-50mm Power Zoom Lens: SONY: Camera & Photo

Yep saw the a6000, very impressive camera but the way I see it in the mirrorless world currently there are 2 kind of cameras the A7/A7R and everything else.
The A7/R was voted camera of the year and I think that speak volume!!!

Yeah, I don't follow mirrorless as much... I just pay attention to FPS and AF speeds as I do a lot of action shooting. So if it were looking for mirrorless I'd be all over the a6000.

I think someone on the Sony subforum said the A7 was best for landscape?

 

[goodguy]

The Sony a6000 comes out this month which replaces I think the NEX7. Its boasting the fastest AF ever.

Amazon.com: Sony Alpha a6000 24.3 MP Interchangeable Lens Camera with 16-50mm Power Zoom Lens: SONY: Camera & Photo

Yep saw the a6000, very impressive camera but the way I see it in the mirrorless world currently there are 2 kind of cameras the A7/A7R and everything else.
The A7/R was voted camera of the year and I think that speak volume!!!

Yeah, I don't follow mirrorless as much... I just pay attention to FPS and AF speeds as I do a lot of action shooting. So if it were looking for mirrorless I'd be all over the a6000.

I think someone on the Sony subforum said the A7 was best for landscape?

a6000 probably would be better for sports, for general use the A7/R is very good.

My only worry with Sony is that they seems to be all over the place, they dont seem to focus at one thing in particular and I dont know in the long term is it smart to commit to a system that I dont know 100% if it will be there in lets say 5 years from now.
In general we can see there is a big change starting to sweep the photography world but I dont think anyone knows exactly what is going to be the next standard.
Thats why I rather stick to DSLR, it will not go away anytime soon, its a proven mature technology and I am sure while it looks like both Canon and Nikon are not showing any interest in moving ahead that they have deep in their R&D basement room the prototype for the next big thing (well I hope so anyways).

 

[ConradM]

Yep saw the a6000, very impressive camera but the way I see it in the mirrorless world currently there are 2 kind of cameras the A7/A7R and everything else.
The A7/R was voted camera of the year and I think that speak volume!!!

Yeah, I don't follow mirrorless as much... I just pay attention to FPS and AF speeds as I do a lot of action shooting. So if it were looking for mirrorless I'd be all over the a6000.

I think someone on the Sony subforum said the A7 was best for landscape?

a6000 probably would be better for sports, for general use the A7/R is very good.

My only worry with Sony is that they seems to be all over the place, they dont seem to focus at one thing in particular and I dont know in the long term is it smart to commit to a system that I dont know 100% if it will be there in lets say 5 years from now.
In general we can see there is a big change starting to sweep the photography world but I dont think anyone knows exactly what is going to be the next standard.
Thats why I rather stick to DSLR, it will not go away anytime soon, its a proven mature technology and I am sure while it looks like both Canon and Nikon are not showing any interest in moving ahead that they have deep in their R&D basement room the prototype for the next big thing (well I hope so anyways).

I'm confident the Alpha mount will be around for a while. Sony may move away from using a mirror in the SLT's but as long as it's still A mount it doesn't much matter.

 

[Ysarex]

The Nikon V was a bad idea from inception; the V3 is a bad idea with duct tape.

Sony is schizophrenic and doesn't know who they're making cameras for. Here they go abandoning the NEX now. The A7 is a great camera Sony just forgot one thing: lenses. Oops! those can be important if you want to actually use the camera. If you buy a Sony camera Sony will abandon you in their next schizophrenic episode.

Fuji rules mirrorless. Fuji makes cameras for photographers. Fuji makes lenses for the cameras they make for photographers.

Back in the old film days we had rule: Lenses take pictures, cameras hold film. In other words you buy a lens and/or lens system as first priority and then you select the camera body to use with those lenses. It's a little more complex today, but that should still be the rule.

If you look at the Nikon V system lenses, the Sony system they're currently abandoning or forgot to fully create lenses, and the Fuji XF system lenses a logical choice becomes crystal clear.

Joe

 

[ConradM]

The Nikon V was a bad idea from inception; the V3 is a bad idea with duct tape.

Sony is schizophrenic and doesn't know who they're making cameras for. Here they go abandoning the NEX now. The A7 is a great camera Sony just forgot one thing: lenses. Oops! those can be important if you want to actually use the camera. If you buy a Sony camera Sony will abandon you in their next schizophrenic episode.



Joe

Please tell us more about how the axxxx series isn't replacing the NEX series... Or does a different naming scheme = abandoning?

 

[Ysarex]

The Nikon V was a bad idea from inception; the V3 is a bad idea with duct tape.

Sony is schizophrenic and doesn't know who they're making cameras for. Here they go abandoning the NEX now. The A7 is a great camera Sony just forgot one thing: lenses. Oops! those can be important if you want to actually use the camera. If you buy a Sony camera Sony will abandon you in their next schizophrenic episode.



Joe

Please tell us more about how the axxxx series isn't replacing the NEX series... Or does a different naming scheme = abandoning?

I'm not the only one who's noticed: f?-t?-gr?-f?: Sony's Upcoming Full-Frame NEX-9 Makes Me Angry (UPDATED: Names are A7 and A7r)

 

[nzmacro]

All Sony has done is drop the name NEX for marketing reasons. The shape and design of the A6000 is exactly the same based design as the old NEX series. I use at the moment a NEX-7 and will happily go to the range finder shape that Sony has kept from the NEX and add an A6000 to the NEX-7.

At the end of the day, what's in a name. Same shape, same design, etc. Heck Sony changes a name and the world is ending

The A7 and A7r seem to be amazing cameras for IQ. Its the lenses that are not there yet unless you add an adaptor to take the Sony SLR or SLT lenses, then you have fast PDAF, but without any stabilisation. By all accounts they seem to be not built for fast action, where as the A6000 seems to be. A few decent reviews need to be seen first though. It offers several advantages that the NEX-6 and NEX-7 miss out on. So that's all a bit of a bonus.

If Sony has the lens range that suits what you take, its a good system, but you need to make sure the lenses you want are in that system. For a lot, its lacking, for others its fine. For me I couldn't care less because I only use Canon legacy lenses on the NEX anyway, but it is a big deal for others.

M4/3 also have some excellent cameras if you can live with a smaller sensor. Also a great range of lenses for the m4/3 system as well.

Look at that date on that article you linked to Yasrex ....... Wednesday, October 2 2013. The A6000 is out and about now. Specualtaion is a worry on the net

All the best and just my views.

Danny.

 

[Ysarex]

All Sony has done is drop the name NEX for marketing reasons. The shape and design of the A6000 is exactly the same based design as the old NEX series. I use at the moment a NEX-7 and will happily go to the range finder shape that Sony has kept from the NEX and add an A6000 to the NEX-7.

At the end of the day, what's in a name. Same shape, same design, etc. Heck Sony changes a name and the world is ending

The A7 and A7r seem to be amazing cameras for IQ. Its the lenses that are not there yet unless you add an adaptor to take the Sony SLR or SLT lenses, then you have fast PDAF, but without any stabilisation. By all accounts they seem to be not built for fast action, where as the A6000 seems to be. A few decent reviews need to be seen first though. It offers several advantages that the NEX-6 and NEX-7 miss out on. So that's all a bit of a bonus.

If Sony has the lens range that suits what you take, its a good system, but you need to make sure the lenses you want are in that system. For a lot, its lacking, for others its fine. For me I couldn't care less because I only use Canon legacy lenses on the NEX anyway, but it is a big deal for others.

M4/3 also have some excellent cameras if you can live with a smaller sensor. Also a great range of lenses for the m4/3 system as well.

Look at that date on that article you linked to Yasrex ....... Wednesday, October 2 2013. The A6000 is out and about now. Specualtaion is a worry on the net

All the best and just my views.

Danny.

I know axxxx = NEX -- not a good specific example but the overall assessment of Sony as unstable stands. Changing the system name after 4 years for what reason? They make some great cameras. I've personally bought 5 Sony cameras in the last decade. Still there's a reason the Pros don't use them and it's not because the cameras are no good. The systems are full of holes; they can't design a consistent camera and stick with it; and the Pros are in business and it's bad for business if one of your partners keeps going off their meds.

Joe

 

[nzmacro]

Sony have already stated why NEX was becoming the name of the camera system and not Sony Alpha. They have always been been named Alpha, but NEX was taking over the Sony brand name with that series of cameras which has always been Alpha. Simple easy marketing strategies, but who are we to argue marketing when we know little about the Sony corporation.

Your bad news for changing the name is short term only, eventually once the NEX name is dead and gone, it all becomes normal That won't take long at all as new NEX based designs come about, next year it won't even matter. Rumours and bloggers that get involved with corporate decisions must feel foolish as Sony produces cameras that they said Sony gave up on. It is kind of humorous IMO.

That is an old post on that site and already proved wrong with the design issue. I am a NEX-7 user, so he is wrong there for a start, I couldn't care lees what Sony calls it, the camera I use still works and its also very old news now in this fast moving industry. But to each their own.

All the best.

Danny.