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Despite mirrorless cameras have so much in common with DSLRs, their handling is quite different. Mirrorless cameras being much more compact are quite fiddly sometimes. Changing camera settings on the fly is more difficult with mirrorless cameras, the AF system is also less superior than DSLRs. If you are not sure whether to choose mirrorless camera or DSLR, this post will give you some tips.
There are a lot of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras out there, check out which one is the best for you here.
It is a fact that DSLR can be intimidating, but sometimes you want that attention in your photos. You want to let people know your presence and give you that connection. With mirrorless cameras, do you still get the same attention? Do you find your models less engage to you if you are not using a pro body camera?
I went out to capture some of the Rugby 7 craziness without the DSLR, instead I took the NEX-5N (reviews here, here and here) . Partly because this is just for fun (i.e. not for work) and partly I just want to see how the NEX-5N performs.
There is no doubt photographers with DSLR get all the attention and I had to make extra effort to get the attention. Being a photographer is not just about clicking but also engaging with your models. If you know how to engage with your models, you are half way there in making your images.
Just a little bit about the NEX-5N during this field test:
- I shot only with the kit lens E 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6. I am happy with the lens for casual shoot, though I am not a pixel peeker.
- Auto ISO worked well as I cruised between indoor and outdoor.
- I did have some issues with AF + auto tracking turned on. it didn’t track my subject very well; so I turned off at the end.
- Face recognition worked well particularly when I need to be quick shooting a bunch of hyped people.
- Flash sync was only up to 1/160s, which made flash pretty useless in such a bright day. I didn’t have a ND filter for the NEX-5N.
- It is a bit fiddly changing the camera settings on the fly. e.g. spot metering to matric metering, etc.
Check out some of the Rugby 7 photos taken with the NEX-5N. Leave us a comment below and tell us what you think about the Sony NEX-5N.
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It seems that a large part of some images are washed out (over exposed), is that correct? Didn’t you use the exposure compensation? Or didn’t you use it on purpose?
Thanks for sharing …
I am guessing you are referring to the over exposed background on some of the images? Unfortunately, I didn’t plan to use flash with the Sony NEX-5N, so to correctly lit the subject, I had to over expose the background which I think is okay for the situation.