Sony Alpha NEX Cameras and E Mount Lenses

Sony NEX-5N with new 16.1 MP Sensor The Sony NEX-5N on Amazon reveals the much awaited specs for the new camera. Here are the highlights: 16.1 MP Exmor APS HD CMOS image sensor Maximum 25600 ISO for extreme low light images. Full 1080p HD movie shooting 60p/24p - 24 frames per second for film like motion capture Photo Creativity Touch - touchscreen lcd. Object Tracking Autofocus (AF) via Touch LCD - lock onto an object using the touchscreen and the NEX-5N will maintain focus as it moves. 20 millisecond shutter lag - fastest interchangeable lens digital camera. Optional XGA OLED Viewfinder - part number FDA-EV1S - 2,395K dot viewfinder. The Olympus VF3 for the Olympus E-P3 is 920k. New LA-EA2 Phase Detect AF Lens Adapter with a translucent mirror. Super fast AF with Sony Alpha lenses including Carl Zeiss AF lenses. 25 point autofocus sensors 430 shot battery life - we were getting around 300 shots with the Sony NEX-5. Projected price of $699 with 18-55mm OSS Lens. Sony NEX

Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA Lens Here is the Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA Lens for the Sony NEX E-mount camera, official Sony part number SEL24F18Z. This lens gives us an equivalent fov of 36mm - the perfect wide-normal lens. The maximum magnification ratio is 1:4. It has 8 elements in 7 groups. The minimum focus distance is 0.16 meters or 6.3 inches. The filter diameter is 49mm. The overall dimensions are 63mm (2.5") diameter by 65.5mm (2.6") long. It weighs approximately 225 grams of 0.5 lb. The lens will approximately cost $999 and will be released in December 2011. Pre-order the Zeiss 24mm Sonnar ZA E-mount from Amazon for $999. Carl Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 Sonnar ZA Lens Construction Carl Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 Sonnar ZA Lens MTF Charts Sony NEX-7 with Carl Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 Sonnar ZA Lens

Here's the new Sony Alpha NEX-7 and the Carl Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 ZA Sonnar.

Sony NEX-7 and NEX-5N Price Revealed by USA Today Here's an article from USA Today which reveals Sony's upcoming digital camera line-up: Sony NEX-7 $1350 with lens (Carl Zeiss 24mm f/1.8?) - the $1350 is with the 18-55mm OSS. Pre-order the NEX-7 body here for $1,199. New 24 MP sensor. has a shutter lag of 20 milliseconds. The Canon 1D Mark IV and Nikon D3X has a shutter lag of around 40 ms. The Leica M9 has shutter lag of 100 ms. Available in September 2011. Sony NEX-5N $700 with lens (18-55mm OSS?) New 16.1 MP sensor, similar to the one in the NEX-C3 . Available in September 2011. Pre-order the NEX-5N with 18-55mm OSS lens here for $699 Sony NEX-VG20 $2199 with lens (18-200mm OSS?) New 16.1 MP sensor, similar the one in the NEX-C3 ? Sony Alpha SLT-A77 $1999 with 16-50mm f/1.8 lens - is that a typo? If not a 16-50mm f/1.8 lens on an NEX would be excellent! New 24 MP sensor - most likely shared with the NEX-7. Maximum shutter speed of 12 fps. $1399 for the SLT-A77 bod

Sony NEX-5N Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) Here is the first image of the new electronic viewfinder (EVF) on the upcoming Sony NEX-5N camera. Press the button on the NEX-5N EVF and choose between the EVF or the rear LCD for shooting. The battery life should last longer by using the EVF instead of the rear LCD. The NEX-5N EVF reportedly can be tilted for different shooting angles. We are hoping that this is backwards compatible for the NEX-3 and NEX-5 cameras. We also have no information if this will work on the NEX-C3 . What are your thoughts on the NEX-5N EVF? Here was our first NEX-5N post . Thanks eddieaus!

Sony NEX-C3 vs NEX-5 Sample 1 bigpen from xitek forums was lucky enough to have the new NEX-C3 and the NEX-5 for a red shift battle. The red shift, vignetting, and / or discoloration is caused by wide angle rangefinder lenses (28mm or less) on the NEX. The light rays from the wide angle lens hit the edges of the NEX sensor at extreme angles since the lens' rear element is so close to the NEX sensor. The comparison was done with a lens adapter and the Contax G 21mm Rangefinder lens, which is known to produce the red shift on the NEX-5 and NEX-3. It looks like the Sony engineers know of the red shift and has addressed the issue with the new NEX-C3. The 16.2 mp sensor of the NEX-C3 seems to handle the light from problematic lenses in a different way - better. The NEX-C3 samples are the ones on top in each set. But don't worry, the red shift, vignetting, and / or discoloration can be fixed in post processing by using CornerFix . The same issue exists for the Leic

Let's see what's inside the box of a brand new NEX-C3 . It's always good to see what accessories to expect with a new product. Thanks ThePrestige813 !

Sony NEX E-mount Lenses: 16mm, 30mm Macro, 18-55mm Zoom, 50mm, Carl Zeiss 24mm, 18-200mm Zoom, 55-210mm Zoom Here are images of the upcoming Sony NEX E-mount lenses. Fhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifirst is the most anticipated E-mount lens, the 24mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss lens, equivalent FOV of 36mm. Second is a fast 50mm f/1.8 lens, equivalent FOV of 75mm - perfect for portraits. The last one is a 55mm to 210mm telephoto zoom lens, equivalent FOV of 82.5mm to 315mm. The perfect companion to the NEX-C3 kit with the 18-55mm zoom . Carl Zeiss E-mount 24mm f/1.8 Lens Sony NEX E-mount 50mm f/1.8 Lens Sony NEX E-mount 55mm to 210mm Zoom Lens Thanks to eddieaus and PaulPI for the photos. Carl Zeiss 24mm ZA Sonnar $999 available 12/07/2011. Sony E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 OSS Lens available 10/19/2011. Sony E 50mm F1.8 OSS Telephoto Lens available 12/14/2011.

The New Sony NEX-5N? A member of the xitek.com forums, stevenyu123, has posted pictures of what could be the new Sony NEX-5N. The NEX-5N surfaced for a new Sony commercial which is being filmed in China. We can see that the Flash marking on the wheel seems to be gone and that there is an extra button on the top panel, to the right of the Movie button. Sony may have relocated the Playback button. A Scene From the NEX-5N Commercial Thanks stevenyu123 !

Here are some pictures by Terry of new Arca Swiss accessories for the Sony NEX. The cold shoe adapter uses the same interface as the standard flash. Screw it in and now you have a place for an accessory viewfinder, similar to the Sony FDA-SV1 . The Arca Swiss L-bracket provides a solid platform for attaching the NEX to a tripod. The camera can easily be changed from landscape to portrait orientation without moving the tripod head. The Arca Swiss NEX Cold Shoe and NEX L-Bracket will be released next month. The pricing has not been announced. Thanks Terry!

A Russian blog, habrahabr.ru, has posted an very interesting DIY intervalometer remote for the Sony NEX-5. The intervalometer uses an MP3 player which has an infrared dongle to transmit the shutter command for the NEX-5. Remember that only the NEX-5 , which has an IR receiver, can use a remote to control the shutter. You can then modify the MP3 file to create an intervalometer out of the MP3 player by adding gaps between the shutter release signal. Create an IR transmitter for your MP3 player. Set the NEX-5 to remote shutter mode. Play the MP3 file and the shutter of the NEX fires. We have not tested it. Check out habrahabr.ru for full instructions. MP3 Player with Infrared Transmitter

Here is Adam Roberts' tips and tricks on using the NEX-5 for film making. He discusses setting up the soft keys to help in creating videos. He then goes through the custom white balance setting. He used a very flat setting for the videos, reduced contrast, reduced saturation, and reduced sharpness, which was changed through the NEX's Creative Style menu. After the NEX-5 settings, he discusses the hardware he used. He quickly talks about lens adapters, third party lenses, Lensbaby Tilt Transformer , and follow focus. NEX-5 with Shoot35 Follow Focus The last part of the video is on video workflow. Adam R. used AVCHD (.MTS) to film with the NEX-5. The files (.MTS) were then converted to quicktime files (.MOV) by using ClipWrap before using Final Cut Pro to do the final edit. Here is "Another Yesterday" by Adam Roberts using the tips and tricks in the video above. Thanks Adam R and for the tip Anon on 6/21!

Helical Mount Leica M to E-mount Lens Adapter Extended Helical Mount Leica M to E-mount Lens Adapter Retracted Hawk's Factory has produced a Leica M lens adapter for the NEX E-mount that incorporates a helicoid. The helical mount, when retracted, places the Leica M lens at the correct flange focal distance from the NEX's APS-C sensor to achieve infinity focus. At minimum focus distance (MFD), the lens can be moved further away from the sensor by using the helicoid, acting like a macro extension tube . This will allow for focusing closer than the lens' native MFD. The Helicoid Leica M to NEX E-mount Lens Adapter was tested on several lenses and here are the outcomes: SUMMILUX 50/1.4 V1: MFD 1 meter, with adapter 0.43 m SUMMICRON 50/2 V5: MFD 0.75 m, with helicoid adapter 0.38 m HEKTOR 73/1.9: MFD 1.2 m, with helicoid adapter 0.73 m SUMMICRON 90/2 V3: MFD 1 m, with helicoid adapter 0.73 m Rangefinder shooters know that MFD is one of the drawbacks of using rangefinder len

246-You posted some high iso shots from the new Sony NEX-C3 . The shots range from ISO 200 all the way up to ISO 12800. The noise reduction was varied, Long Exposure NR was Off or On, and High ISO NR was set to Auto or Weak. The Noise Reduction settings on the NEX-C3 can be accessed b going through Menu then Setup. Read more about the NEX-C3 here . Sony NEX-C3 High ISO Sample Shots Thanks 246-You!

Macro extension tubes for the NEX E-mount are finally available. Macro tubes move the lens farther away from the sensor which allows for closer focusing which means higher magnification of the image. The tubes are hollow and have no optical elements to degrade the image. The current NEX macro tubes do not have electrical contacts, therefore the 16mm Pancake, 18-55mm OSS Zoom, and the 18-200mm OSS Zoom lenses will not work with the macro tubes. Adapted lenses will work great with them, NEX-C3 to Macro Tubes to E-mount lens adapter to adapted lens. This will be very helpful for rangefinder lenses and their large minimum focus distance (MFD). Sony NEX Macro Extension Tubes are available on eBay .

ByMac Inventions sent us an email informing us of their new creation. It is an all mechanical intervalometer which is perfect for the Sony NEX-3 and NEX-C3 . The NEX-3 and NEX-C3 do not have infrared remote capability, which previous NEX-5 intervalometers used to control the shutter. The Tempus ALL uses a servo arm to press the shutter button. It will work with the NEX-3, NEX-C3, NEX-5 and many cameras that it can be properly attached to. An all mechanical intervalometer like the Tempus All has several advantages on the NEX cameras. The NEX can go to sleep and have it's LCD off to preserve battery life. The NEX can be in any shooting mode. Set the NEX to HDR mode and you can create an HDR time lapse movie. The Tempus ALL Intervalometer will be released on July 19th at a price of $149.

Upcoming 2011 Sony NEX E-mount Lenses Knight Like the Wind Child from Xitek Forums posted a picture of a slide from a recent Sony presentation in China. The slide shows the updated NEX lens roadmap with the newest E-mount lenses to be released this year. We posted the roadmap back in February and it has changed considerably. First the 30mm is now clearly defined as the Sony NEX 30mm f/3.5 Macro Lens with a 1:1 reproduction ratio. The SEL30M35 lens will be sold at a price of $250 and will be available in September. We have more info here . Second, the most awaited NEX lens, the Carl Zeiss 24mm in native E-mount is now closer to reality with the maximum aperture of f/2 being defined. The lens looks to be a bit shorter than what was shown in the February lens roadmap. We are in favor of lighter and more compact lenses to keep with the NEX system's main advantage over DSLRs. 36mm FOV on the NEX is nearly the perfect normal / wide angle view for most photographers. Third is tha

Sony NEX Firmware Version 04 Features: (thanks for the correction J.D.) Addition of the [Picture Effect] function. Addition of the [Peaking] function in manual focus mode. Focus peaking videos can be found here . Sony NEX Firmware Version 04 pdf manual . Here are the Sony NEX Firmware Update Version 04 links from Sony North America: NEX-5 http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=NEX5A NEX-3 http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=NEX3A Here are the Sony NEX Firmware Update Version 04 links from Sony Europe: NEX-5 http://support.sony-europe.com/dime/crl/nex/nex.aspx?site=odw_en_GB&m=NEX-5 NEX-3 http://support.sony-europe.com/dime/crl/nex/nex.aspx?site=odw_en_GB&m=NEX-3 Sony Asia NEX Firmware Update Version 04. Thanks for the email A.L. http://www.sony-asia.com/support/announcement/404503/product/nex-5a Sony Japan NEX Firmware Update Version 04. http://www.sony.jp/ichigan/info2/20110620_02dl.html The links include instructions on performing a firmware upgrade o

Time Lapse Video with Sony NEX-5 Here's another time laps video with the Sony NEX-5. This video was created by myreiseblog . The NEX-5 was triggered via infrared using a Pclix XT intervalometer. The images from the NEX-5 were edited and the cool zooming effect was done in the video editor. We can see the Sony NEX's auto-HDR being utilized. Thanks myreiseblog!

Here is the Sony NEX-C3 with a manual focus Jupiter-9, 85mm f/2 lens. The NEX-C3 comes with firmware upgrade 04 and will have the focus peaking feature. As the lens' focus ring is moved from minimum focus distance (MFD) towards infinity, the LCD screen of the NEX shows red highlights or peaking. The red highlights indicate greatest sharpness. Watch as the green leaves edges turn red and as the ring is brought back towards MFD the features of the Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera turn red as they come into focus. This is great news for NEX users who enjoy using adapted manual focus lenses. The use of manual focus aid, zooming in at 7.5x and 15x, can be eliminated for casual focus. 7x and 14x zoom can still be useful for very critical focus. This will mean quicker captures. Frame, focus, shoot; instead of 7.5x zoom, move focus point, focus, exit to frame, frame, and shoot. We think that this feature will influence other manufacturers to incorporate peaking in their d

Here is a video from Sony Europe highlighting the features of the new Sony NEX-C3 . Tiltable LCD screen Background Defocus Soft Skin Effect (Available with new NEX Firmware Upgrade 04.) Easy Sweep Panorama Shooting in 2D or 3D Picture Effects (Available with new NEX Firmware Upgrade 04) New HVL-F20S Flash Low Noise - High Sensitivity Sensor Easy Operation - Professional Quality Sony NEX-C3 Mount vs Sony Alpha Mount - is Sony hinting at a full frame NEX? Check out some hands on video reviews of the NEX-C3 here. Read more about the Sony NEX-C3 here .

mobile01jim shows us the picture effects, creative styles, and the new soft skin mode of the Sony NEX Firmware 04 via the new Sony NEX-C3 in pink . Firmware 04 for the Sony NEX cameras is scheduled to be released on the 20th of this month. Stay tuned...

whatdigitalcamera is nice enough to share a hands on video of the new Sony NEX-C3 . You can see how much smaller the NEX-C3 is compared to the old NEX-3. The video also shows the new HVL-F20S flash for the NEX system. We can also see the new focus peaking feature of the new FIrmware 04, available later this month, the 20th. Focus peaking highlights the image to show what is in focus. This is great help for using manual lenses on the NEX system. Sony NEX-C3 in Japan Sony NEX-C3 and Sony SLT-A35 in Italy Sony NEX-C3 in German from Chip.de Sony NEX-C3 Review from CNET in English Sony NEX-C3 in Vietnamese Sony NEX-C3 in Pink Read more about the NEX-C3 here .

Sony 30mm f/3.5 Macro Lens for NEX Cameras Here is the fourth E-mount lens for the NEX cameras from Sony. It is the new E-mount 30mm Macro Lens with a maximum aperture of f/3.5. The official part number of the lens is SEL30M35. This is a true macro lens and provides a 1:1 magnification or reproduction ratio. The lens has a minimum working distance of under an inch, 0.94 inch or 2.4 centimeters. The lens will work with the new NEX-C3 , NEX-3, NEX-5, NEX-VG10, and NEX-FS100 in all modes, autofocus and auto-aperture. At 138 grams or 0.3 pounds this is one lightweight macro lens. The lens will provide an equivalent FOV of 45mm on the NEX APS-C sensor for photos and 54mm for videos. When used on the NEX-FS100, the lens has an FOV of a 45mm lens for HD videos. The price of the new NEX 30mm f/3.5 Macro is listed at 30,000 Yen from the Sony Japan website. This the same price as the NEX 16mm f/2.8 Pancake Lens which currently goes for $249 dollars. The SEL30M35 will be available in Se

Sony HVL-F20S Flash Sony NEX HVL-F20S Flash avaiable now. With the announcement of the Sony NEX-C3 comes a new accessory flash for the NEX cameras. The new Sony HVL-F20S flash is a larger, more powerful flash for the NEX system. The Guide Number of 20 (50mm, at ISO 100) is a considerable increase from the GN7 (in metres at ISO 100) of the basic external flash (Sony HVL-F7S) provided with the NEX-C3, NEX-3, and the NEX-5. The new HVL-F20S also has an adjustable head to provide flash bouncing abilities. The new flash, as with the old flash, draws power from the NEX's camera's battery - just clip it and go. It is scheduled to be released in the summer. From the Sony press release: Also available as an option, the new HVL-F20S is a style-matching flash that clips onto the camera’s Smart Accessory Terminal. Powered directly by the camera, the flash requires no batteries, achieving an ultra-compact size and light weight when you're travelling. With a generous GN20 (50mm, a