Sony Alpha NEX Cameras and E Mount Lenses

Carl Zeiss Touit 32mm Planar Touit, pronounced "do it," is the new name of Carl Zeiss autofocus lenses for NEX cameras. There will initially be three Touit lenses, 12mm, 32mm, and 50mm. They are expected to be available by the summer. From the Carl Zeiss camera lens blog : Touit is pronounced like the English “do it.” Touit stands for good visibility, agility, mobility and diversity, qualities which also aptly describe the new ZEISS lenses for mirrorless camera systems. The name Touit comes from the band-tailed parrots. This bird is very small and agile, and its plumage is deep green. The Touit parrots live in Latin America and the Caribbean in a wide range of different habitats, from damp-tropical island regions to lowland rainforests to thorn-bush savannas and even high in the Andes Mountains at altitudes of up to over 20,000 feet. Please check our previous post for details on the three Touit lenses from Carl Zeiss. Carl Zeiss Touit 32mm Planar mounted on Sony NE

If you are in the US Military you can pick up the Sony DSC-RX100 at the AAFES for $488. The AAFES price is $575 and with the "x2175vip" code the final price will be 15% less.

NEX-7 with Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 Ultron via Novoflex Leica M to E-mount adapter . TechTalk with Ron Sheffler tested the new Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 Aspherical Ultron against three other Leica M 21mm lenses on the Leica M9. He also used the lenses on the Sony NEX-7 and found that the Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 the best at farther distances and large apertures. The Leica 21 f/3.4 Super Elmar-M came in second, the Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 Biogon in third, and the Leica 21 f/1.4 Summilux at the back of the pack. At f/4 all the lenses performed equally well on the NEX-7's APS-C sensor. Here are some samples from the NEX-7 and the Voigtlander 21mm wide open at f/1.8. You can see more samples at TechTalk. Sample Images from NEX-7 with Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 Check out TechTalk with Ron Sheffler for an extensive review and comparison between the four 21mm Leica M mount lenses mentioned above. There are also plenty of sample images from the Leica M9 with the lenses. Voigtlander 21m

DEO Techart Contax G to E-mount AF Adapter by MX Camera. Contax G rangefinder fans take a seat. Your autofocus lenses have been brought back to life with an upcoming Sony NEX E-mount autofocus adapter. The video above from MX Camera shows the NEX-7 controlling the Contax G 45mm f/2 lens in autofocus mode. We hope to discover more about this adapter soon. We'll have to wait two weeks. We have the manual focus adapter for Contax G lenses and we love the images that come from the lenses by Carl Zeiss. Taken with a Contax G 90mm on Sony NEX-7.

Sony DSC-RX1 Sample Images Slideshow from Sony Electronics Sony RX1 with Zeiss 35mm f/2 Sonnar Lens Sample Images from Sony We posted the first Sony DSC-RX1 sample images two weeks ago and now Sony Electronics has published more samples from the full frame, fixed lens, compact wonder. The images seem to be jpegs straight from the DSC-RX1 . They show very nice out of focus rendering, minimal artifacts at high iso, and great lens performance from the autofocus Zeiss 35mm f/2 Sonnar lens. Sony RX1 Bokeh Sony RX1 at f/4 ISO 100 Sony RX1 ISO 6400 Sample Pre order your Sony DSC-RX1 for a December 19, 2012 ship date. Thanks Sony!

32mm f/1.8 Zeiss Planar Autofocus Lens on the Sony NEX-7 (rendered) Here is more good news from Photokina 2012. Zeiss will expand their line of E-mount autofocus lenses from 1 to 4 by summer of 2013. Here is what we know so far about the new Zeiss lenses: Optimized for APS-C sensors and made in E-mount. Focal lenghts to be offered: 12mm f/2.8 Distagon (18mm efov) ø67mm filter 32mm f/1.8 Planar (48mm efov) ø52mm filter 50mm f/2.8 macro (75mm efov) Zoom lenses are being considered. Autofocus with manual override. High quality and lightness are driving factors. Each lens will be comparable in price to the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 ZA E lens , around £1000. Made in Japan. We were off by a few mms on the focal lengths when we posted about this a ten days ago. The prototype lenses will be on display at the Zeiss booth at Photokina. Here is the interview with Carl Zeiss' Dr. Pollman with respect to the new Zeiss lenses for Sony NEX cameras. Video from Zeiss booth at Photokina

Sony RX1 35mm Zeiss Sonnar Autoocus Lens Sony RX1 35mm Sonnar Lens MTF Chart at f/2 and f/8; 10 and 30 lp/mm Here is the calculated MTF Chart for the 35mm f/2 Sonnar lens on the Sony DSC-RX1 . We will try go give a quick explanation of the RX1 MTF charts above. The red lines show how well contrast will be reproduced by the lens. The green lines show sharpness or resolving power of the lens. The higher on the chart the better. The horizontal axis represents the point from the center of the lens. This tells us the corner performance of the lens. The Sony's RX1 35mm Zeiss Sonnar lens as described in the press release: Complementing the full-frame sensor is a fast, bright Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* lens with a fixed focal length of 35mm – a versatile choice for portraits, street photography and everyday shooting. Recordable dynamic range is reduced at sensitivity levels below ISO100. Full-frame Image Sensor APS-C Image Sensor3 Derived from the German word “Sonne” (“sun”), the Sonna

Sony targeted the smallest package which can house a full-frame 24x36mm sensor and the result is the Sony DSC-RX1 . Features 24x36mm Full Frame Sensor Fixed Zeiss 35mm f/2 Sonnar Autofocus Lens Aperture Ring Macro Mode Threaded Cable Release 50-102400 ISO Multi-interface ISO hot shoe Electronic or Optical Viewfinder AVCHD 1080p / 24p-60i-60p Mic Input PlayMemories Lite Edition Software Pre order now for $2800 for a December delivery. Sony DSC-RX1 with Zeiss 35mm Viewfinder and Thumb grip Sony DSC-RX1 Sample Video Size Comparison RX100 vs RX1 vs NEX-7 Sony DSC-RX1 with tilting FDA-EV1MK electronic viewfinder Rear View of the Sony RX1 Sony DSC-RX1 Specifications Model DSC-RX1 Image Sensor 35mm full-frame (35.8mm × 23.9mm) Exmor CMOS Sensor, aspect ratio 3:2 (Effective resolution) Approx. 24.3 megapixels (Gross resolution) Approx. 24.7 megapixels Lens Carl Zeiss Sonnar T*, 8 elements in 7 groups (3 aspherical elements including AA lens); maximum aperture F2; focal length = 35mm (Still

Carl Zeiss Photokina Booth 2012 It looks to be an exciting time at Photokina in Cologne, Germany this year. Carl Zeiss may be exhibiting three new E-mount lenses which will be available next year. The new prime lenses will be autofocus similar to first Zeiss lens for the Sony E-mount, 24mm f/1.8 ZA E . Zeiss will exhibit a wide angle lens (16mm), a standard lens (35mm), and a macro lens (60mm); the focal lengths are our guesses. Here is the excerpt from the Carl Zeiss blog that has everyone excited. Another highlight will be the presentation of a design study, with which Carl Zeiss will offer a sneak preview of a new family of autofocus lenses for mirrorless system cameras (CSC) that will most likely be available in mid-2013. Due to their performance and high speed, these new lenses will be ideal for deliberate photo composition, making them perfect for more sophisticated photographers as well. Carl Zeiss plans to initially offer fixed focal lengths in the wide angle and standard

Sony NEX with Zeiss Super Speed 16mm f/1.2 Arri Bayonet Mount Lens Here is an interesting lens we ran into on eBay. It is a Carl Zeiss 16mm f/1.2 lens made for the Arriflex Super 16mm cameras. Breguet Camera of Hong Kong is offering this lens and has modified it for the NEX E-mount. This Super 16 lens will not cover the NEX-5's APS-C sensor and will cause vignetting as seen in the sample pictures below. This may not be a problem if you crop the image or use it for videos. This lens will work with NEX cameras via an Arri to PL to E-mount lens adapter which is included with the auction. Here is more information on the Carl Zeiss Super 16mm MKI lens from cinematechnic.com : Super 16mm Mk. I Set The 16mm set comprised of four Distagons: 9.5, 12, 16 and 25mm, f1.2, all with a photometric aperture of T1.3. These were the first 16mm prime lenses designed to cover Super 16mm format. The 9.5mm focal length covers the full S16 aperture, but is somewhat compromised in sharpness and ill

Here's the cliff notes to Engadget's review of the Sony NEX-7: Access to DSLR features and performance in a small body. Provides DSLR quality images. Provides 10 frames per second shooting. Room for improvement on high-ISO capability, recommends ISO6400 max. To fully exploit the NEX-7's 24mp sensor, quality lenses like the Zeiss 24mm Sonnar ZA E will help. 18-55mm Kit Lens is capable and performs decently in low light. Focusing system accurate but not the fastest. No reason to hold back on ordering the NEX-7 . Read the full NEX-7 Review by Engadget here . Thanks Engadget!

Eight New NEX Lenses Planned Here is the new NEX E-mount lens roadmap by Sony. It shows that there are eight new lenses coming within two years. There will be four new E-mount lenses in 2012 and four more planned for 2013. The chart above describes each upcoming lens but does not get into specifics. Here is the description and our best guess on focal length and aperture combination based on current Sony Alpha lenses: Sony G High Performance Standard Zoom - 16-50mm f/2.8? High Magnification Zoom - 18-250mm? Standard Zoom - 24-70mm? Wide Angle Zoom - 11-18mm? Large Aperture Standard Prime - 35mm f/1.8? Medium Magnification Zoom - 70-300mm? Medium Telephoto Prime - 85mm f/2.8? Thin Prime - 28mm f/2.8? Here is the complete Sony NEX lens roadmap which also shows the seven released Sony E-mount lenses . Current Sony E-mount lenses available for use with the NEX-3, NEX-5. NEX-C3. NEX-5N, NEX-7, NEX-VG10, NEX-VG20, and NEX-FS100. 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom Lens (SEL18200) 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom L

Here is Brian T's Sony NEX-5N with a Carl Zeiss Contarex 115mm f/3.5 Tessar macro bellows lens. The lens was produced between 1962 and 1972 and only 1500 were made. A Contarex to NEX E-mount adapter was used. from Brian: Surprisingly, it's pretty easy to hand hold with the bellows attached, holding the bellows in the left hand, and the camera in the right. It's super easy to focus using the bellows adjustment or on the lens. The bellows also pretty much removes the need for a tripod, as you can just support it on anything available for stabilization. NEX-5N with Zeiss Contarex 115mm f/3.5 Tessar Thanks Brian!

Zeiss 24mm vs E 18-55mm OSS Lens on the NEX-5N mco_970 took out the Sony NEX-5N and tested the kit 18-55mm OSS against the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 Sonnar ZA. The camera was set on a gorrilla pod and self-timer was used for stability. Autofocus was used on both lenses. Here is the overall scene. All the crops have the Zeiss on the left and the kit lens on the right. Thanks John. Now lets look at the focus point, yellow sign, at f/4. The focus point at f/8. Left corner at f/8. As we can see the 18-55mm OSS kit lens does not do too bad when it is stopped down in landscape situations where the subject is distant. There is also plenty of light where the speed of the Zeiss 24mm is not required. The photo below is indoors and close quarters. Here is where the Carl Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 Sonnar Lens shines. You can see a lot of detail that the 18-55mm lens did not resolve. Check out the full post by mco_970 with more samples at fredmiranda . Thanks mco_970!

A Owens posted pictures of his adventure with his sons in the Sahara desert. Here is what he wrote: Left all the Canon gear at home for this trip and went light with the NEX C3 only together with Voigty 15mm , Zeiss 21/4.5 and 50/2 and Elmarit 90/2.8. My youngest 2 sons were with me camping into the desert to sample life without Xbox, TV, western comforts etc.. They loved it. Here are A Owens shots with the Sony NEX-C3 and some manual focus lenses. It's nice to see that the C3 won't be a stumbling block for making great memories. Check out more of A Owens NEX-C3 Western Sahara / Morocco shots in his dpreview gallery . Thanks A!