After the PMA announcement in Feb 2010, Sony has finally released the NEX-3 and NEX-5 pseudo DSLR cameras into their Digital Imaging ecosystem. Now I was aware of the product for over a year, but since I had a NDA tied to this, I had to respect the paper which I signed. To be fair, I was already toying with the G1 during that time, thinking how it would fit into the camera line up that Sony had already released so far. Needless to say, they have created a completely new line of cameras which will compete directly with their A200 series DSLR. So how will this compare with the Micro Four Thirds system from both Olympus and Panasonic? Well it will be pretty close.
Body wise it is smaller but the lenses are bigger than the micro four thirds
The Sony sports a APS-C sized sensor, the same 14.2 megapixel sensor as the A380, so in terms of imaging performance, you can expect it to be the same. In terms of dynamic range, has about 8.8EV in ISO400, which is higher than that of what you get from the G1 or G2 Lumix. This is to be expected from a much larger sensor. Only the GH1 will be on equal standing with the Sony NEX. Olympus on the other hand will have the clear advantage, beating the NEX with a 9.1 Dynamic range output.
High ISO handling, well the Lumix will have to take a back seat as there is clearly an advantage of the Sony NEX over the Lumix G series. If you use the ISO figures from the A380, you’d realize that imaging performance will be better than the Four Thirds sensor but not a whole lot. The Pen will be on par but the Lumix G2 and its elk will be below. The GH1 may also be on par, with acceptable results at ISO1600 but anything beyond that, the image will start to crumble.
It is the same for the Pen, ISO performance will start to take a hit at ISO1600, so the only real losers here are the Lumix G10 and G2. Finally we have the image stabilization issue, which unfortunately has been changed from in-camera on the Sony Alpha, to a Lens stabilizer on the NEX. This is bad. Coz we all know for a fact that it only makes the lenses more expensive when you do this. Furthermore lens stabilization works better for longer focal lengths and is less effective for shorter or Macro distances.
The body is extremely slim on the NEX
This means the only clear winner here is the Olympus as it will remain the only camera which has in body stabilizers. This is of course very important for low light photography but if you are going to be using it for daylight shooting, it should not pose a problem. Anything to do with AF will be a bit spotty as Sony has never really excelled in AF control and had for years tried to rectify the problem. And since we do not have an actual unit in hand, we can’t say for sure if this will beat the Pen or the Lumix.
Some of you would be jumping for joy at a camera that offers 14.2 megapixels. For me, this is hardly a reason to be joyous since many of you do not make full use of the sensor resolution for poster size prints. Sure it will be useful for cropping, but this also means you need to have sharper lenses which at this stage has yet to be proven. The new Sony NEX will support a completely new lens mount. This route was similarly taken by both Panasonic and Olympus when they dumped the Four Thirds system in favor of the Micro Four Thirds.
To be fair, the Sony will be a promising alternative to the Micro Four Thirds only if it offers a cheaper alternative. Sony is famous for releasing systems which are price competitive, and it was this strategy that won the hearts and minds of amateur photographers. As a professional tool, its lenses are no cheaper than that offered by Nikon or Canon.
We can only come to one conclusion, Sony wants you to upgrade your compact but they do not want you to buy into the Micro Four Thirds system. And judging from their pricing strategies, Sony will pound Panasonic to a pulp. And depending on how Panasonic will respond, I see an all out price war once these three systems are freely available in the market.
