First Photos

First set of images from the new camera. Am really enjoying playing around and learning how to use the camera. All images have been shot using the 'Intelligent Auto' mode as I'm still getting the grips of the basic settings. No post processing and all images have been re-sized to 640 x 425 and .jpg file type.


This image was taken on a cloudy day when the little one was particularly cheeky and thought a couple of well timed shots could be good. Really like to colour tones through the image which seem to work well together. In this image I used the 16mm lens to give a nice Wide Angle effect and through an automated setting you can choose to increase or decrease the depth of field.

Close Up with Shallow Depth of Field - 16mm Lens, ISO 100, 1/1600, F2.8 

One of the best features of the Sony NEX-5N is the ISO range that goes up to 25,600 in manual modes or 3,200 on automatic settings. Simply put, it allows you to capture images in low light without use of the flash. Within the 6,400 range the camera works well with little distortion and grain through the image. 

Low Light No Flash - 16mm Lens, ISO 2500, 1/60 sec, F4.0

Using the 18-55mm lens gives the camera a little more zoom, not really sure what the equivalent zoom multiplier is but it feels similar to my old Panasonic Lumix with about 10x zoom. This shot was taken at night and using the flash attachment and full zoom. Managed to capture a bit of a life and death struggle ... btw, the ant somehow managed to get out of this situation. Very lucky.

Zoom/Macro - 18 - 55mm Lens, ISO 1600, 1/60 sec, F5.60

One of the features I've really enjoyed playing with is in the programmed effects. You can select one of 4 settings which strips out all but the primary colours at the click of a screen. By completely stripping out the colour and rendering in black and white the result can be some striking images, which really highlight the primary colours as seen in the shots below.

Programmed Effects - B/W + Green

Programmed Effects - B/W + Red

All in am really happy with the images, the camera does everything I was looking for from an entry level DSLR and am looking forward to taken some more snaps around the place as i get to know it a little more.

The new toy - Sony Alpha NEX - 5ND

In 2010 I was in Parede Portugal, spending sometime with my Vóvó (Grandmother) who is 81 this year and as usual she brought out the collection of family photos. The large majority of which family was together, celebrating, smiling and of course the talking point eventually, me, as the centre piece of a number of photos. A young kid that I can barely recall. 
What followed was the familiar recount of events leading up to that specific moment the camera lens opened for a fraction of a second and snapped shut. The moment the lens captured and exposed photosensitive film to a certain level of light forever imprinting it with an image which would bring about a recurring conversation, laughter and create a lasting memory which will outlive my grandmothers and has mine. This is my love of imagery.

My Vóvó still uses a Minolta, frail but held together, by a few purposely stitched strips of tape. A camera that I need to know more about and will in time and remarkably still takes amazing photos.

Today, technology is different. Images are captured by processes which are too hard for me to explain but can be found here Digital Imaging Processing. The outcome, however, is still the same.

Sony Alpha NEX-5ND, 16mm & 18-55mm lens kit

To the right, my own story telling machine, a Sony NEX-5ND which I hope will keep the test of time as well as my Vóvó's Minolta.

I chose a Sony NEX 5N over a Canon 550D and a Nikon 5000 due to the practical, compact and equally good image quality. Initially looking into a full DSLR but was completely won over by the design of the Sony NEX 5N.

The Sony NEX 5N comes with a 16mm and 18-55mm interchangeable lens kits, shoots 16 Mega Pixel images and a ISO range up to 25,600. It has a range of features that allows for stunning visual effects to manual mode with full camera control. It is an amazing camera, portable and easy to use with a very intuitive touch interface and is great for beginners looking to test different levels of perspective and learn photography.

A full review of the camera can be found on the DPReview blog, check out page 15 for a nice comparison tool against other leading brands.