Which nex camera

The same thing happens every time I review a mirrorless camera — they're designed to be comfortable to hold, carry, and use, while most DSLRs are all function and no form. The NEX-6 and its tiny mm kit lens weigh only a hair over a pound, and the camera itself is barely over an inch thick.

The whole setup fits neatly into my jacket pocket, and I hardly noticed its heft. Many smaller cameras are actually harder to handle, just because there's less to hold onto, but the NEX-6 has a big, leathery grip on its right side that makes it totally usable in one hand.

On top of the grip are the power switch, shutter release, and a programmable Function button I used it for quickly changing between manual and automatic focus, which is pretty handy. There's a full-sized hotshoe on top of the camera, next to a flexible pop-up flash that you can point up or down rather than just blasting it at your subjects. It's the same flash as you'll find on the NEX-7 or F3, and it's the only internal flash I find myself actually using. The back of the camera is hard to tell apart from its brethren — there's a five-way dial, two menu buttons that correspond to on-screen options, and a dedicated button for starting video recording.

I like that there's no separate mode for shooting video — you just hit the button and it starts recording with whatever settings you've already chosen. There aren't as many buttons here as on many DSLRs, but most of the key options are certainly within reach. Really, though, the NEX-6 is all about a dial.

The full-fledged PASM mode dial on the right side of the camera's top edge, on top of the scroll wheel itself new to the most recent NEX models by itself transformed how I used the camera. I tend to shoot either in Aperture priority mode or Manual mode, and on previous NEX models switching was a clumsy process that required digging into the camera's menu system each and every time. Having a physical dial means I can keep focused on what I'm shooting, rather than what mode I'm entering or leaving, or how to find it — it also makes the NEX-6 a LOT easier to just hand to someone and have them use, since the dial's so familiar and you don't have to teach them a series of taps and scrolls to get through the menu system.

When the top wheel set to Aperture priority mode, scrolling the bottom dial changes aperture; same goes for shutter in S. In Manual mode, the dial controls aperture, and shutter speed is managed by the wheel on the back — that one can take a minute to figure out, but is totally intuitive once you realize the back wheel spins.

The mode dial itself is a little hard to spin, and really requires two fingers to move properly, but that's for the best since changing shooting modes by accident can cause huge problems. The control layout is the best Sony's ever put on a NEX model, full stop. It's better than the unmarked wheels on the NEX-7, which are remarkably powerful but occasionally confusing and unintuitive — having a mode dial and two control wheels is what most photographers are used to, and for good reason.

Even some more advanced controls like ISO and exposure are accessible via the hardware buttons on the back, and I found myself almost never having to go into the menu system at all. If you ask me, that's the goal with a camera — the less I have to scroll through menus and options, the better. The UI is the same as it ever was, by the way, a functional camera interface that occasionally tries too hard to hold your hand and teach you how to use the device.

While Sony's figured out how to put DSLR-like controls on a much smaller camera, it unfortunately can't achieve the physics-bending required to get an optical viewfinder onto a mirrorless camera. The mirror on a DSLR is used to deflect light into the viewfinder, and then it flips up when you hit the shutter so light can get to the sensor — that's why the viewfinder goes dark while you're capturing a shot with a DSLR.

Sony's EVFs are easily among the best on the market, with sharp and clear screens, and electronic viewfinders are able to show information and options that an OVF can't — you can scroll through menus and change options without ever taking your eye off the viewfinder. But it's like looking at the world through a TV versus looking through a window: the picture looks nice, but it's not the real scene. The EVF makes pictures out to be slightly brighter and higher-contrast than they actually are, and gives everything a slightly cartoony feel.

I eventually learned to compensate, and could figure out what a shot would look like, but it's really hard for me to get over the fact that what I'm seeing in the viewfinder isn't what the scene looks like, or how the camera will capture it. The sharp, 3-inch, ,dot LCD on the back of the camera gives a much more accurate picture, and as with most NEX cameras it quickly became my default way of using the camera — I'm a die-hard viewfinder user in general, but I didn't mind it too much in this case.

The screen articulates so you can hold it above your head or below your waist and still see the display, though it's not as versatile as the NEX-5R's degree tilt that lets you take self-portraits. Also unlike the NEX-5R, it's not a touchscreen. That's mostly an insignificant loss, especially since the NEX-6's controls are so robust already, but I did miss being able to tap to focus — it's a handy way to get more control without switching into fully manual focusing mode.

Jump to: navigation , search. NEX-3 with original E-mount lens image by Uwe Kulick Image rights In the number of available E-mount lenses was doubled to six, and the camera series was updated. SR5 New third party lens announcement soon! Navigation menu Personal tools Log in. Namespaces Page Discussion. Views Read View source View history. To view this site, you must enable JavaScript or upgrade to a JavaScript-capable browser. SKU: sn-BN UPC Code. Pick Up. Add to Cart Add to Cart.

Custom Options. Price as Configured. In technical terms, the APS-C image sensor is 13 times the size of the typical sensor.