I bought the NEX-5N in mid-October 2011 just before a trip to Europe from which I've now returned. The bottom line: it takes superb photos without flash, especially in truly adverse lighting conditions (wine caves 1,000 years old, for example). As others have written, the camera with the 18-55 zoom takes extremely high quality photos - there's no quality penalty to get the benefit of the small size and light weight vs. a top DSLR. So I think it could be used happily by both people trading up and people trading down. But the camera does have quirks, some serious. Many other reviews cover the overall high points of the camera, so I'll focus on a few review elements I think need reinforcement.

The NEX-5N has a full auto mode, but I hope most buyers will take the trouble to learn the camera's full capabilities, because the camera can produce some amazing photos once liberated from auto mode. However I have to say that the learning curve is steep, not just because the... Read more

I am a long-time DSLR camera user who wanted a small camera to travel with. I was looking for a camera which would produce results similar to my DSLR and allow me to change lenses yet be lighter than my current Canon DSLR camera.

I like:

(1) The camera is really light compared to my DSLR. Several times I panicked "where is my camera" while it was hanging around my neck. It was so light that I did not feel its weight.

The body of the camera is 4 1/8 inches wide x 1 inch wide in the narrow part. It is small but not so small that is inconvenient to hold or operate. Overall the camera feels good in your hand, the mechanical parts (hinges and other controls) feel well made and pretty sturdy.

(2) I am pleased with the quality of the photos I took.

(3) Features that I loved, two features I never had in other cameras I owned:
* Sweeping panorama - I absolutely loved it! It worked fantastically even hand held taking photos of night... Read more

This is my first SONY camera and the 2nd mirrorless camera to replace DMC-GF2.

NEX5N is the final choice after compared with pervious NEX5, incoming NEX7, DMC-GF3, and PEN3 mirrorless cameras because of below reasons.

ADVANTAGES (GOOD):

1. Faster focus and 0.02 sec release time log (Yes, NEX5 is not so good for fast action shooting, but NEX5N improved.)

2. APS-C is better than M4/3 for low light performance. It has less high ISO noise comparing with DMC-GF2. (After own DMC-GF2 for few months, I would like to say goodbye to M4/3 and move back to APS-C)

3. Touch Screen for focus. (I bought DMC-GF2 and skipped NEX5 due to it, but NEX5N improved it now) Notes: currently, it doesn't work as well as DMC-GF2 for this function, but SONY should be able to improve it per future firmware update.

4. 10 Pictures / SEC (You know how amazing it is)

5. 210g (when no lens) That's what mirrorless for.

6. 430... Read more