Just to let you all know that:

The NEX-5 does not suffer from sound pressure break up, as the Nikon D5000 and most other small condensor mic cameras do. It can record amplified or loud music at very close quarters cleanly without distortion.

Stereo separation is excellent, with a strong front-of-camera bias despite the odd position of the mic vents on the top of the camera. Handling noise is non-existent in practice, and sound behind the camera is recorded with a muffled (bassy) EQ and lower volume, compared to the crisp sound in front of the camera. Someone nearly walking across my shot, and apologising just a yard or so to the side, hardly records as a 'sorry' is said.

Wind noise is pretty bad, as with nearly all such cameras (the add-on microphone with windshield may help, or may not). However, if a good sound level exists from the scene recorded, auto gain does not bring wind noise into prominence.

Stabilisation during hand held shooting with the 18-55mm is simply perfect, so is follow focus and auto exposure. The sun goes in, and the scene darkens naturally, not to an extreme, but smoothly and without apparent 'exposure change'.

I have had a chance to record a take indoors at our open mic, and then a few takes outdoors in windy conditions at the Newcastleton Folk Festival (just went up for an hour - seems a pity as it's an hour's drive each way! - to see friends). Tomorrow, we head for a small animal zoo then a deer farm, and scenic parts of Fife, maybe Edinburgh.

On Monday or Tuesday a NEX-3 arrives from Sony for official test review, and it is easy to understand why I never bother with their review samples - I will have it for exactly one WEEK and no accessories are available. This is a joke. It is impossible to review any new camera properly in one week; I managed the Canon 550D in two weeks, but I had already tested the 500D and 7D so the benchmarks existed. Even someone who has never used a NEX before will get the same deal, loan for a week. Crazy.

David

Sounds good! I look forward to taking some video, but I'm afraid I should have bought more memory. It looks like 8 gb is only 1 hr! Not good if you want room for stills too! Ah, the price we pay for HD. It's my only hd recorder though-- it's my first opportunity to burn an HD disc... That no other family member can view. Hmm... My only use for video is "home movie", but I have run into being able to record the odd band before; I'm glad to hear that the mic is up to it.

I wonder if a small bit of foam taped to the top would help with wind noise? I'm reminded that I saw a diy approach a while ago for an unrelated camera (of course).

I made a foam shield for the Nikon D5000, it had some effect, but the odd placement of the Sony mics might make this difficult and it seems that the apertures have a very precise effect on sensitivity pattern. I had the flash fitted while recording, and this creates a sharp angle right above each mic; with it removed, the wind turbulence might not be exactly the same. For that matter, the stereo quality might change too.

The 8GB card is the least of your worries with a NEX - the battery will be exhausted after one hour. Sony provided an 8GB card with the test NEX in Croatia, and filling it with stills and movies almost exactly matched the life of the battery. I have ordered a second battery but it has not come yet.

David

I'm a little confused with the mike and the flash apparently being on the camera at the same time, I understood it was an either/or situation? With foam though, there are two types that I know of, could be more, and I don't really know how to tell the difference between the two I do know about, there is open cell and closed cell types, I'm guessing the open cell type would be the one too make mike sock out of, but there again there are various densities as well.
Greg

Here's a post about the time limits and heat for video recording:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1037&message=35714002

Pretty long clips are possible.

I've read that and it has just saved me a lot of time. The NEX is almost unique in offering such long continuous recording times - Nikon can't, Canon can't, Oly. Pany, etc - not one of them can do this. Nikon for example even on the top end D3S limits you to a 5-minute 720p take.

We decided not to go out today (raining this morning) and now it is brilliant sunshine but with 50-70mph wind gusts promised, not ideal for checking out video sound!

David

Hmm your idea of using a hot NEX to make a cuppa might not catch on...right away, Henry. I know where you're coming from, I haven't been bitten by the NEX bug yet either, but a lot of people seem enthusiastic about it, so I'm just watching with interest, I still can't quite grasp what all the excitement is about...the one thing I can see that makes me take it more seriously is that it can take decent video, not that I really need video.
I saw some funny cat and accident videos on you-tube earlier today and as usual the video was mostly terrible, they must have been taken on a cell phone, with the NEX being available that situation might improve as time goes on....hopefully, maybe if Sony added a phone into the NEX somehow....
Greg

The trend is to combine functions. These days cell phones/mobile phones can take photos, video, and have many, many other built-in apps. I suppose the iphone is the epitome of this trend. Heating water for tea is just one more step along the spectrum of phone functions, I figure.



David really should be getting regular checks from Sony because even though I am sure I won't get one of the current NEX cameras he has started to make me feel sort of tempted. If the price was a maximum of $300 including a lens then I might get one to play with even though it has all the important drawbacks I mentioned elsewhere. It isn't worth the $600 or so for me though.



Yes, that is what NEX will mostly be used for.

Overheating from shooting video outdoors should be very different.

There are two more factors added - sun heat and air movement. The the freely moving air should be more important here - the cooling it provides even at 30C at the sea shore may well extend shooting time or even prevent overheating altogether. That's very different from 50C in some desert, though

Putting the 16mm lens barrel to your ear while talking into the grip makes for some pretty good phone ergonomics...
P.S. Just checked - it really does...

this is what Sony marketing information says about the video mode:
"
* 1920 x 1080 recording (max)
* AVCHD or MP4 Format (selectable)
* 60i AVCHD or 30 fps MP4
* 29 minutes or 2GB files #5
* (In AVCHD after 2GB new file automatically created with no interruption)

#5: Movie recording is limited to segments of 29 minutes, maximum. When using movie mode Memory Stick PRO Duo with MARK2 logo, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG HX Duo or Class 4 or higher for SD/SDHC media are recommended.
"
So, other than overheat, you can keep recording in AVCHD and the camera will write 2MB files until the battery is dead or the memory card full.

A 4.9% tariff is levied on all video cameras imported to the EU. Video cameras record up to and over 30 minutes of video at a time apparently. As for shooting beyond the limitations of the battery, Sony offers an AC adapter for the NEX system, which tethers you to less mobile power supplies, but it's better than nothing.

Bingo!

Tonight I placed a NEX-3 just one metre from a 12 inch PA speaker blasting out sound.

The result, without the external mic, is almost perfect sound. It beats Nikon into the ground; no Nikon camera can record this sound pressure. It beats Canon. In fact, the autogain compression and general sound quality beats anything I have used previously.

May be a few days before I post a video. But trust me on this - the NEX can record live amplified gigs at extremely close quarters, and get a clean recording.

David

great as soon as Sony finds this out they will ban their own cameras at Sony Music Corp's sponsored events