EVILs !!!


alantkh

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Jun 16, 2009
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EVIL stand for electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens camera. A thread for EVIL camera owners.

I was very interested in EVILs ever since olympus came out with micro fourthirds but got a fuji F200EXR instead for its portability and DR. But since my F200EXR died when I dropped it I decided to buy a EVIL instead for the higher image quality

I just found out that courts at Mid point Orchad is a great place to try out cameras. They have many cameras with batteries for you to test. No salesman to breath down your neck either. They have pany G2, GF1, G10, sony NEX5, samsung NX10, oly, EP1, EP2, EPL1. Almost the entire range for you to compare side by side.

They also have many DLSRs too.

my subjective opinons
Tried the NEX5. Looks the best. Reviews say has the best IQ too. But the interface for me is toooo P&S, very few buttons and knobs. I think I will go nuts using it. And the screen although is 3" but is smaller than the other models as I think they used a wide screen format so the actual live view is smaller. Not many lens though and sony isn't forthcoming about the upcoming lens either.

The panny G2 looks really great but the grip is plastiky, very different from a DSLR grip. Lots of knobs and controls and a full swivel screen with touch screen to select AF.

The samsung NX10. That is what I got :) It is also very cheap at $936 body + 30mm lens (SLR revolution). After using the NX10 for one day,

things that I like
1) rubber grip. Very easy and comfortable to hold
2) easy to control with a nice dial to switch aperture, ISO, AF point sizem etc. All these is very impt to me especially if you are used to using a DSLR.
3) 30mm lens is really sharp even at F2. The 30mm is THE reason I got the NX10. Among the EVILs out there, I think this one offers the shallowest DOF? The only other choice is probably the panny 20mm f1.7 which is more expensive and not that shallow DOF.

Thing I don't like
1) the AF is slow (compared to DSLR) and impossible to track moving subjects. Perhaps this is the reason why there is not many bright teleprimes with shallow DOF for EVILs.
2) framing using the EVF somehow makes my eyes tired so I ended up using the AMOLED screen a lot. If only the AMOLED is swivel
3) auto ISO implementation is stupid. On my 30mm lens, it increases the ISO when shutter speed hits 1/45 but it stops at ISO400 and then it start to drop shutter until 1/15, before it starts increasing ISO again.... They should have a minimum shutter speed setting for auto ISO.
 

sample pic from my NX10 with 30mm lens shot at f2.

NX10 really can give DSLR like performance with the 30mm f2 lens. One of the main reason for getting a DSLR is for the DOF.

The only problem is the contrast detect AF. I think phase detection is still way better as it can recognise foreground vs background. Contrast detect AF can sometimes focus on the background if it is more contrasty. But the NX10 has a way around it by allowing you to change the size of the AF spot very quickly by hitting on button and turning the dial. One of the most useful function.

sample1.jpg


100% crop
sample2.jpg
 

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the samsung screen is very nice indeed. only problem i found is the slower Af speed.
but the build quality and sharpness as well as image quality looks pretty darn good for a camera at that price.
 

I happened to try my friend's Samsung 4/3 before and it has this really neat function. Once it focuses on an object, it can recognize, automatically track and focus to follow the object , every if the object moves from one corner of the frame to another :p. Think of a video game screen when you "lock-on" an enemy plane or something :p
 

I happened to try my friend's Samsung 4/3 before and it has this really neat function. Once it focuses on an object, it can recognize, automatically track and focus to follow the object , every if the object moves from one corner of the frame to another :p. Think of a video game screen when you "lock-on" an enemy plane or something :p

Hmmm? My cameras can do that too, I don't think it's a samsung feature.
 

Beautiful shot.
 

I happened to try my friend's Samsung 4/3 before and it has this really neat function. Once it focuses on an object, it can recognize, automatically track and focus to follow the object , every if the object moves from one corner of the frame to another :p. Think of a video game screen when you "lock-on" an enemy plane or something :p

samsung is not 4/3rd lah. Anyway, the tracking looks good only. I feel the AF for EVILs is still quite far away from DSLR and the problem is more obvious when you use a lens like 30mm f/2.
 

EVIL stand for electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens camera. A thread for EVIL camera owners.

I was very interested in EVILs ever since olympus came out with micro fourthirds but got a fuji F200EXR instead for its portability and DR. But since my F200EXR died when I dropped it I decided to buy a EVIL instead for the higher image quality

I just found out that courts at Mid point Orchad is a great place to try out cameras. They have many cameras with batteries for you to test. No salesman to breath down your neck either. They have pany G2, GF1, G10, sony NEX5, samsung NX10, oly, EP1, EP2, EPL1. Almost the entire range for you to compare side by side.

They also have many DLSRs too.

my subjective opinons
Tried the NEX5. Looks the best. Reviews say has the best IQ too. But the interface for me is toooo P&S, very few buttons and knobs. I think I will go nuts using it. And the screen although is 3" but is smaller than the other models as I think they used a wide screen format so the actual live view is smaller. Not many lens though and sony isn't forthcoming about the upcoming lens either.

The panny G2 looks really great but the grip is plastiky, very different from a DSLR grip. Lots of knobs and controls and a full swivel screen with touch screen to select AF.

The samsung NX10. That is what I got :) It is also very cheap at $936 body + 30mm lens (SLR revolution). After using the NX10 for one day,

things that I like
1) rubber grip. Very easy and comfortable to hold
2) easy to control with a nice dial to switch aperture, ISO, AF point sizem etc. All these is very impt to me especially if you are used to using a DSLR.
3) 30mm lens is really sharp even at F2. The 30mm is THE reason I got the NX10. Among the EVILs out there, I think this one offers the shallowest DOF? The only other choice is probably the panny 20mm f1.7 which is more expensive and not that shallow DOF.

Thing I don't like
1) the AF is slow (compared to DSLR) and impossible to track moving subjects. Perhaps this is the reason why there is not many bright teleprimes with shallow DOF for EVILs.
2) framing using the EVF somehow makes my eyes tired so I ended up using the AMOLED screen a lot. If only the AMOLED is swivel
3) auto ISO implementation is stupid. On my 30mm lens, it increases the ISO when shutter speed hits 1/45 but it stops at ISO400 and then it start to drop shutter until 1/15, before it starts increasing ISO again.... They should have a minimum shutter speed setting for auto ISO.

Nice things I want to add for NX-10:
1. One touch White balance adjustment, although AWB is quite reliable.
2. Display
3. Battery life is very reliable, but still not as good as DSLR's.
4. 30mm pancake again, 18-55 kit lens is very good also. though I wish that it has metal mount. :)
5. solid build.
 

you have seen how good the NX10 is at low ISO.

so here are some of the NX10 high ISO pics. Processed with noiseware and CS4. ISO800 is pretty good even at 100% view. ISO1600 is not that good anymore.

ISO800. nighttime in hawker center
sample4c.jpg


100% crop
sample4b.jpg



ISO1600 nighttime in hawker center
sample5c.jpg


100% crop
sample5b.jpg
 

Nice things I want to add for NX-10:
1. One touch White balance adjustment, although AWB is quite reliable.
2. Display
3. Battery life is very reliable, but still not as good as DSLR's.
4. 30mm pancake again, 18-55 kit lens is very good also. though I wish that it has metal mount. :)
5. solid build.

yup the battery life is also very impt as I really want the camera to last one full day of intensive shooting. The amoled low power consumption probably helped.

Actually I compared the displays indoors for NX10 vs NEX5 and G2. not much difference....
 

Thing I don't like
1) the AF is slow (compared to DSLR) and impossible to track moving subjects. Perhaps this is the reason why there is not many bright teleprimes with shallow DOF for EVILs.

Make sure your firmware is updated to version 1.15 - AF speed has shown massive improvements from FW version 1.10 onwards.

I think contrast detect has certain advantages because AF speed is consistent over any lens - unlike phase detect AF.
 

Make sure your firmware is updated to version 1.15 - AF speed has shown massive improvements from FW version 1.10 onwards.

I think contrast detect has certain advantages because AF speed is consistent over any lens - unlike phase detect AF.

it is on 1.15. Maybe slow is not a good word. Inconsistent. Maybe I am still unfamiliar with the camera but I am getting quite a few OOF pics. Worse is that there is no immediate shortcut key for 100% image preview.
 

recent firmware 1.25 quoted "improved system stabilization"? wondering what it meant? have you tried it out?