NEX-3N for Japan Trip: Hands-On and Thoughts

Hey sorry guys for the long overdue update! A heck lot of stuff are going on and I have been busy with sorting out them and again, sorry for writing this post so late!

As I mentioned in my previous post that I went on a trip to Japan. Japan is such a wonderful country to visit with very kind people, lots of tasty food and great sightseeing. It would have been better if its summer were less hotter (38 degrees when I was in Kyoto!).

I brought all three Sony cameras on my trip, my own RX1 and NEX-5N, and the review unit of NEX-3N. Carrying 3 cameras seems overwhelming but thanks to their small sizes, I managed to put them into one bag without much effort. NEX-3N is still the smallest among all due to its smaller lens. Here are some pictures I took using NEX-3N when I was in Japan. All the pictures are taken using 20mm F2.8. 

ISO 2500, F5.6, 1/60s

Testing the self portrait shooting.. a bit blurry if it's zoomed in. But I guess it's good enough for Internet use.

ISO 1250, F5.6, 1/60s

Waiting for Airport limousine (OK, don't get misled by the name, it's just shuttle bus).

ISO 200, F3.2, 1/500s

The city view of Tokyo from Bunkyo Civic Centre. The huge tower in distance is the Sky Tree.

ISO 200, F2.8, 1/200s

A close-up shot of a tea bottle bought from vending machine. I just wanted to try out the bokeh of the lens at F2.8. It seems not bad, just a bit vignette effect at the corners.

ISO 1250, F2.8, 1/60s

Shibuya Station.

ISO 800, F2.8, 1/60s

The grand cross at Shibuya. I set ISO as Auto so that it keeps a minimum of shutter speed at 1/60s, but it is not fast enough to capture the moving people. So ISO should have been higher for this picture.

ISO 200, F4.0, 1/1250s

Muji Shrine. Although NEX-3N has in-camera distortion correction, the lens distortion is still visible.

ISO 200, F8.0, 1/100s

Kofuku-ji in Nara.

ISO 200, F4.5, 1/160s

A portrait shot.. The highlight is a bit overdone but I guess this is kind of Japanese style.

ISO 200, F2.8, 1/160s

There are so many deer in Nara! This is a very little gentle deer (before it saw the food in my palm). 

ISO 320, F5.6, 1/60s

Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, The Senbon Torii is a MUST-SEE! The red wood gate is called Torii in Japnese, and senbon means a thousand. But there are definitely more than a thousand torii like these there!

ISO 1250, F5.6, 1/60s

Handkerchieves in Kyoto. There are many Japanese traditional patterns and prints.

ISO 200, F5.6, 1/640s

Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto.

ISO 800, F5.0, 1/60s

The Ramen in Japan is unbeatable! This one is from Santouka Ramen. I've also tried Ippudo. They are so much cheaper than the same in Singapore!

Here are some of my thoughts after using the camera on the trip:

1. The NEX-3N is positioned to strike a balance between portability and image quality. To be honest, many of the times I still used my own RX1 and NEX-5N on the trip for better image quality. But I guess for many consumers who are less demanding in image quality, NEX-3N is good enough as well. It's MUCH better than normal point-and-shoot cameras and just takes a little extra space in your bag

2. Image quality wise, the color seems less saturated compared to NEX-5N. That could be due to slightly different settings and lenses.

3. The camera's main body is made of plastic, although it feels less solid than a metalic body, it's less of weight and easy to slot in a small bag (most pockets are still too small for it though).

4. E-mount 20mm F2.8 is good for daily use. It's 30mm in 35mm equivalent, slightly wider than 35mm which makes it great for portraits with some background included. The lens itself is very thin and doesn't take up much space. However, the image distortion is quite obvious even after the in-camera correction. The pictures taken are somewhat soft (probably I am now too spoiled by my RX1!) and F2.8 is just not 'super fast'.

5. The interface is largely similar to other NEX models. Compared to NEX-5N, it offers electronic zoom joystick to conveniently zoom in and out using 'clear zoom'.

6. The flip screen helps in taking self portraits and the soft face touch makes the picture look greater! (Very important for girls :p)

7. The lack in wifi connectivity is kind of disappointing. Though it supports the Eye-Fi card, it would be good to have some basic wireless transferring feature in the machine itself, which makes instant sharing easier.

I could have taken more pictures using NEX-3N, but I think in the end bringing 3 cameras together is still way too much. Two cameras are good enough to complement each other on the trip. So I would suggest photographers to do that as well. 

In a nutshell, You should consider NEX-3N if you fall under one of the situations below.
1. upgrading from your point-and-shoot camera.

2. desiring better image quality with tight budget.

3. Getting a second NEX camera body to avoid hassle of changing lens.

4. wanting a camera to take good self-portraits (most likely for ladies).

Hope you have enjoyed this post and feel free to ask me any questions! Happy Friday!

Technorati Tags: Camera, Hands-on, Sony, NEX 3N

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NEX-3N First Impression

While I am still waiting to have a more in-depth review on Sony's latest camera, RX100II, I can't just let my vacation pass without something new! So I got this new member from Sony's NEX family, NEX-3N!

I've got many friends asking me before, "How do you think about the NEX-3N?" My answer is always neutral: only get it if you need it. To be honest, I wasn't particularly excited about this camera. As compared to my NEX-5N, which is an older model in the NEX 5 series, it has less control, not better image quality (although it is still far better than most point-and-shoot cameras). The advantage of NEX-3N is that it has a flip screen, that makes self-portrait much easier. Apparently, the target market is young ladies with passion about taking self-portraits and also want superior image quality. It is also smaller in size that makes this camera suitable for daily uses.

Below are some unboxing photos of NEX-3N. I am bringing it to Japan for vacation and more photos will be uploaded soon!

  

The front view. My unit is a white body made of plastic. The camera comes with lens 20mm F2.8 pancake lens. It suits NEX-3N great in terms of portability.

Top view. The playback button now is place at the top panel, which takes me a little while to adjust to that. The shutter, zoom and power button are integrated together.

The control wheel is similar to those on other NEX bodies.

The built-in flash light that NEX-5N doesn't have! The trade off is that NEX-3N doesn't have hot shoe.. But I believe most NEX-3N users won't need that anyway.

Flipped screen makes self-portraiting fairly easy. However, that's the only way you can flip the screen. It can be flipped in the other direction.

The 20mm F2.8 pancake lens is somewhat similar to the previous 16mm F2.8, a fast and wide prime lens. The 16mm F2.8 has been criticised on its image quality. Let's see how the new 20mm F2.8 performs!

The lens also comes with a lens cap/hood that is used on E30mm 3.5.

The SD card slot is now put together with other output port, different from NEX-5N where battery and card slot are placed next to each other.

A side-by-side comparison with my Sony NEX-5N. NEX-3N is slightly taller but narrower. The most noticeable difference is the size of the grip. Clearly, NEX-3N's grip is much smaller. I guess that's also because the target group is young ladies?

From the top, the NEX-3N body is thicker than 5N, which offsets the slimmer E20 2.8 lens and makes two cameras almost identical in thickness.

I just landed Tokyo a while ago. Please check the blog regularly for more photos taken by NEX-3N!

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Unveiling RX100II in Singapore: Exclusive Preview Session with Sony!

Sony's RX100 has gained a lot of popularity among camera users. It has been enjoyed by both groups: amateurs and professionals.  I believe that's because it is a right combination of the size and the photo quality. And now the camera just gets even better. Its successor RX100II is launched in Singapore. I was invited to the RX100II preview session with Sony tonight. 

It's quite an exclusive session with about 20 guests and a number of Sony staff on the site. The venue is a cosy and nice café called 'Symmetry'.  It is beautifully decorated and RX100II and accessories were on display. 

 

Introduction of RX100II

The session started with an introduction to the upgraded RX100II. The highlights in the new model include better low light performance, tillable screen, multi-purpose hot shoe and NFC and WiFi connectivity.  

 

Shooting Session

It was then followed by a hands-on session where we were given test machines to walk around and shoot night scene in one of the streets around the café.

I got one test unit with me and yes it feels great in hand! 

I didn't use RX100 before and had very limited time spent with RX100II. So just a few brief thoughts first:

1. Camera body is well built and solid. It is small but not too small that you can't hold it properly.

2. Camera starts up pretty quickly, within 2 seconds I think

3. The settings can be easily navigated (or maybe because I'm a current user of NEX-5n and RX1?). But I still prefer a physical zoom ring over an electronic one..

4. Glad to see that finally the photo ratio could be 1:1 and 4:3! In NEX-5N there are only 3:2 and 16:9 available :(

5. Blur will still be expected if you shoot photos at telezoom end in a low light condition. 

6. I have not yet tested out the WiFi and NFC sharing features, but I can see that will bring a lot of new use in the daily shooting!

Here are some of shots I took with RX100II.

 

Food

Besides the shooting session, one of the highlights in tonight's event is food!  So many of them and I didn't get a chance to take pictures for them all. So below are some good delights. :p

According to Sony, RX100II will be in Singapore's stores 'in a few days'. Hopefully I'll get a test unit with more thorough review pretty soon! So stay tuned if you would like to get to know more about this camera! 

Technorati Tags: Camera, Photography, Sony, RX100II, Event

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Fresh New Look for Flickr!

I complained about Flickr last time when I was writing about 500px. I was not very happy with its old, clumsy UI and not motivated at all to upload new photos. Luckily, Flickr seems to have realized this as well. After a major revamp of the UI and free 1TB storage for everybody, it looks all new again!

The before and after screenshots well explained the change. Photos are now nicely displayed by fitting in place rather than piece by piece. It also introduces the concept of cover photo, like many other social websites and a high resolution profile picture. 

In the Homepage, contacts' activities are more 'photo-oriented', and it's easier to find photos that one will be interested in.

The Uploadr also seems better tweaked. Now Flickr offers 1TB free storage space and original images to all its users. In the Uploadr it indicates that how much you have used of the 1TB storage. Not sure how the previous paid users feel about this upgrade? However, it is definitely some change that is welcomed by the majority of Flickr community.

I feel more motivated to upload my photos to Flickr after the change. Of course, it still has its shortcomings, for example, I can't change the layout of the photostream. I want to reduce the photo size to display more photos in one screen.  It also only has the option to add photos to favourite but not simply 'like' it, which makes the social feature less interactive. 

Anyway, Flickr has done the right thing. People must feel more encouraged to upload their photos to Flickr now (at least I do). So do check it out if you haven't come back to Flickr for long! 

You can check out my Flickr site here :)

Technorati Tags: Photography, Website, Flickr

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Swim with Your Beats On! Sony Waterproof Walkman NWZ-W273

Swimming is fun, but could sometimes be dull as well. You can't watch your favourite TV show on Youtube, or even just listen to some light music. Luckily technology nowadays has enabled us at least to enjoy some music while taking a dive in the water. This is Sony's latest wearable walkman NWZ-W273. 

This is actually the second generation of this line. The previous generation offers similar design and water-resistant functionality, however, it's only splash proof, meaning that you still can't swim with it. The latest NWZ-W273 just upgraded the storage and more importantly, it offers waterproof up to depth of 2 meters! 

The Walkman itself looks like a sports headphone, but its chip hides inside the module near the ear. Printed on one module is Sony's logo and the other is Walkman's. 

All the controls are at the bottom of two ear pieces. The buttons, however, are a bit lack in feedback so you may find it hard to press. The ear plug snug pretty fit in my ears. It also comes with 4 different sizes of ear plugs so I am sure you will find one that fits you the best. 

The power button is on the side of right ear piece. To switch on the MP3, press it for 3 seconds until the green light is on. The switch beside is a power button lock so that it won't be accidentally put on.

 

By slotting the MP3 in the stand, it can be charged or connected to the computer for music transferring. Pretty cool!

This is how it looks like when I wear it.. It's quite comfortable wearing it. By the way, bright pinky actually looks not that bad :p

It has 4GB internal storage and I believe that is sufficient for an MP3 used in workout. The sound quality is not so bad given the fact that it's selling point is about waterproof and wearable sports MP3. It can be easily cleaned with some flowing water from the tap. One thing to notice that is you have to use the best fit ear plug when you swim. It is because that if the ear plug is too loose, the water will come in between the ear and the MP3 and affect the sound reception.

In short, Sony NWZ-W273 is a great MP3 for exercise and one of the few that can actually accompany you when you are in the pool. If you are in the market for getting a sports MP3 or even sports earphones, this Walkman piece is worth the money. Oh, did I mention its retail price is only 129 SGD? Also do share with me if you have any other alternative MP3 for workout / swimming in the comment!

Technorati Tags: Accessory, Hands-on, Sony, Walkman, MP3, Sports

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