Abhijit's blog

I was in the market for small backup camera mainly to use in situations where I can not use my Canon DSLR.

"Mirror less" cameras like Sony NEX series with its APS-C size sensor (same as most DSLRs), provide excellent
option.

So far I am very pleased with IQ and versatility provided by Sony NEX in a much smaller form factor compared
to DSLR.

Another advantage of "Mirror less" camera is ability to use old manual lens like Canon FD with the proper adapter.
You can also definitely use new EF lens (with EOS-NEX adapter ) but I would not prefer those mainly because
they do not have aperture ring. so you will be restricted to use at wide-open. also old minolta, canon fd
"manual focus" lens are much cheaper (e.g. I bought 200mm f4 + 50mm f1.4 < 120$ ) which might cost you 10
times if you go with eqv. EF lenses.

Here is recommended setup.

1. Sony NEX 7 or F3

2.Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter, Canon FD, New FD, FL Lens to Sony Alpha Nex E-mount Camera Adapter
You will find many adapters starting $12 on ebay. I would pay more for US made adapter for build quality.
Also on ebay where most are shipped from overseas wait time can be more than week.

3 Sigma 30mm F2.8 EX DN. Worth it !!
.
4.Canon FD lenses from ebay.com. 200mm f4, 50mm f1.4

Well here is my experience with Sony NEX 7 using Canon Manual FD Lenses ( 200mm f4, 50mm f1.4 ) and
Sigma 30mm f2.8 and kit lens Sony 18-55mm.

final thoughts:
1. If you are in the market for light weight small camera with excellent DSLR image quality, Sony NEX is for you.
2. If going light is the reason for buying this camera, it does not make much sense to use NEX with
bulky lenses with adapters.. :).
you can still buy few manual lenses and use in special situations.
2. I really liked Sigma 30mm f2.8. it is very very sharp and light weight, perfect go around lens.
Small and light highly recommended.
3. NEX comes with very good kit lens 18-55mm . Quality is excellent than most kit lenses normally
found other DSLRs.
4. NEX has very advanced "focus peeking" feature (found in advanced video cameras) to help with manual focusing.
This makes using manual lenses very easy. This can be reason enough to choose NEX over others for many people.
5. I also like NEX for shooting videos compared with my Canon 7D, it is smaller and also has AF,
so I do not have to continuously adjust focus while recording my running kids.