NEX-5N firmware update wishlist!

[mmaddock]

I know it's quite new, but there are a few things I'd love on my NEX-5N, the first would be an intervalometer to let me do time-lapse photography without having to babysit it with an IR remote control and stopwatch!

I hold my NEX with a wriststrap so it's always ready. I'm forever finding that (as I leave the camera turned on all the time whilst out) I've accidentally gone into movie mode and I hold it up to find the past few minutes of my legs in a video! So I'd like the ability to turn the video record button off, or at least assign it to something else - physically moving the button elsewhere would be far better, but I know that isn't possible now!  I do use video mode, but I rarely need to quickly switch between the two as I generally plan in advance which I'm going to be doing so for me at least a prominently placed record button isn't all that useful.

The ability to turn Peaking on/off using one of the custom key's - it's a fabulous function, but the Peaking coloured pixels can get in the way sometimes and being able to just quickly turn it off to check composition without distraction would be great.

EDIT: Something else I've just remembered - the ability to do a 'narrow' panorama as the default is often far too wide for me. Also the ability to shoot a landscape panorama with the camera in portrait mode, that way you could get even more into the image - I have always shot panoramas with my dSLR in portrait mode to get as much in as possible, obviously I had to stitch the images afterwards and I suppoe I could still do that, but it is nice to have the conveinence of doing it in-camera!

I've sold all my Pro Nikon gear to move over to Sony, and specifically the NEX system (desperately waiting for my NEX-7 order to arrive!!) because I realised that it fits my needs better, along with the LA-EA2 adapter it's a great system -it just needs a few minor tweaks to make it so much more useful!  Being able to carry around 3 or 4 lenses and a body with an APS-C sensor in a tiny camera bag is nothing more than amazing after carrying a backpack full of gear for the past few years doing the same thing!

Message was edited by: mmaddock

Message was edited by: mmaddock

[Emacs23]

At first, I would like to thank the Sony for such a tiny but capable camera.

I have some great fast SLR (Pentax) and Leica lenses. I have to use manual focus with them. To nail the focus it's better to magnify the area, but the problem is to choose what area to zoom.

When using back LCD the selection is not a problem at all. Just tap the screen at the point and get a zoomed area about it. Great, but not for ones who uses viewfinder.

Things are much more complicated with EVF. Using touchscreen in this situation is inconvenient, since you have to lose the touch with the EVF, then tap the area, then bring the eye to the EVF again. It's annoying, it's disturbing, it's slow. Bad way.

Another method is touch the magnifying button and then move to the area I need with joystick. It's even slower than the first method. I usually breaks the composition since I tend to slightly move a camera when touching the joystick. So, it's a bad way too.

I want to suggest the method which is very similar to AF with object tracking. Let we have some selected area (shown as some mark on the frame). It can be at the center, at or the previously selected one place.

First, we need to point it against the object we wont to focus at, then slightly press shutter button (just like we are doing this for activating the AF), then compose the scene. Camera should catch the object and try to track it, just like it do when using AF with object tracking. The magnification area should move to that object.

This would be a HUGE improvement over the conventional OVF in regard of manual focus accuracy and speed.

Please Sony, made this, utilize your great EVF completely! It looks half-baked right now

Message was edited by: Emacs23

Message was edited by: Emacs23

Message was edited by: Emacs23

Message was edited by: Emacs23

[coolcurrent]

I'll try to be short n to the point.
First i would like to know; are we heard by sony here?
I believe that the below upgrades are not too big to be missed, or made a new camera for. :smileyhappy:.

And these will be very helpful.

- Few features that i love in Lumix-GH2 and made me think again, are:

     - Extra Tele-Conversion (ETC).

     - Mega O.I.S.

     - Wind cut.  

you can check them here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicDMCGH2/page16.asp , and page17

If sony can achieve these then it would be Grt!

- We shall be able to turn off LCD during video recording, to save battery when ur camera is fixed.

- 720p video recording option.

- Another AF option in video mode; focus anything that is at the center (the small green box).
currently its AF is based on contrast detection of whole screen, which has a major problem that it focuses the background if it is more contrasty and then u dont have any option to bring ur subject to focus during video recording. 😕

- Digital zoom in stills.

I used nex-5 and felt need of the above upgrades. I sold nex-5 for 5n.

Rest is great!

Message was edited by: coolcurrent

Message was edited by: coolcurrent

Message was edited by: coolcurrent

Message was edited by: coolcurrent

[aleksey_ka]

I'm using my NEX-5N for astrophotography. The sensor is great, the size is right. There are many things in the camera that are clearly done with this kind of usage in mind. But to make it a still better competitor in the field with Cannon and Nikon DSLRs the following features would be invaluable:
     1) Longer autimatic exposures (before BULB): ..., 60", 120", 240", 480", BULB
     2) Longer series in drive mode: 10s / 5 shots, 10s / 10 shots, 10s / 25 shots, 10s / 50 shots
     3) Enabled IR Remote control in drive mode
     4) Camera remote control from computer would be also great as many people in the thread have already requested

To keep the user interface concise the above features could be hidden by default and turned on by a single switch in the camera settings like: "Astrophotography Mode", "Long exposure photography extentions"...

The first three items seem simple enough for a firmware update )

[falsedroid]

1) Ability to disable the display of info during video recording. On LCD and external monitor with hdmi output.

2) Ability to select 50p/60p, 50i/60i, ...

Message was edited by: falsedroid