Thread: tips for better Nex-5n jpg's ?

Hello guys,

I just bought a NEX-5n. I'm comming (still have) from Olympus PEN.
The NEX is undoubtly a very good camera, but one things enoys me;
the incredible poor jpg-output en raw output in terms of color.
Those pictures need to get processed in lightroom. And I don't simply have te time to process them all.
The vivid mode gives ok results outdoor, but gives horrible results indoor with people fe.

I'm used to the georgous out from my E-P1, where most picture come out very nice and warm.

Any tips how to create better straight out of the camera colors with my NEX ?

I'm sure an experienced NEX user can tell you how what in camera settings will make them best. Perhaps you could shoot the same scene with both cameras and share them here so we can see the difference. It may help someone diagnose your problem or dial in the "look" you want. I always love Oly JPEGs.

I only had the NEX5n briefly, but did have the NEX3 for a few months. My NEX3 appeared to be a bit heavy handed with the noise reduction, which took away from the details in the JPGs. It's hard to beat Oly's JPG engine, and unfortunately, Sony has not been known for great JPG engines. Instead of using "Vivid" mode, try just using the normal mode, but increase saturation, sharpness and contrast (assuming those options are available in the NEX5n).

As for LR, you can create a profile that can be applied automatically to all the RAW files from the NEX5n you upload. It'll save you a lot of time.

I'm back and forth on my 5n. The only lens I like on it is one MF lens (CV40). I do like the over-cooked looking colors sometimes, but then I get tired of them, and the only option is RAW. So, I'm buying back a Pen, and am using a number of systems now. I'm having cameras for certain specialties, lol. I just don't find NEX enough of an "all-rounder" as a sole system. I did some testing yesterday, coincidentally, and have concluded that I'm going back to RAW on the 5n. The jpgs just aren't there, but I'm going to use a profile upon import.

Thx guys,

I don't want to bash the Nex. It is a nice camera, but the color output is so bad that I'm going to sell it and go back to Olympus.
I probably buy the E-PL or OM-D. The NEX output is just 'loveless'. A pitty.

OMD!! My most used camera this year!

Your experience is not unique. I had the 5N for a year. The accuracy of colour varied with prevailing light. I gave it every chance but its colour rendition never engaged me on an emotional level.

I always shot in RAW. It was wildly inaccurate in warm golden light, greens almost always dipped into neon green and it was very inaccurate with dry foliage and grass in summer. This was the case with AWB, manually selected 'daylight' and adjusted WB colours. I learnt to live with it by adjusting, in LR,individual colours, adjusting saturation and LR's white balance and it took hard work and a lot of time.

My GF1 was always easier and still gives better colour. I then sold my Nex5N when I saw what DP2 M did. The Sigma has now arrived and is much more accurate with colour & a joy in comparison but the Nex5N trained me on how to use LR better.

Nex has good dynamic range but in my experience colour accuracy is limited to overcast or 'cold' light with a lot of blue in it; otherwise, I found it too 'warm' for Australian light most of the year. But neon green was always a problem.

And what miffed me even more was the fact that no reviews of the Nex5N mentioned this odd behaviour with colour.

Hmmmm.... I hadn't put my finger on it, but I think I might agree with you. Blue one moment, warm the next.

And moving to a wide gamut monitor simply confirmed earlier obsaervations.