Sony NEX E-mount camera system

Sony NEX mirror-less camera system:

introduced in 2010 to compete with the incredibly successful Olympus/Panasonic Micro Four Thirds camera system which was the first of the digital mirror-less interchangable lens camera systems.
uses an even shorter sensor to lens mount distance than Micro Four Thirds system
HOWEVER, the E-mount diameter is large enough to permit use of full frame sensors allowing Sony the exciting option of 2 systems with the same mount - but again, the diameter of the mount is too small super wide angle lenses with full frame sensors
uses new E-mount lenses but unfortunately the current range is poor, the price high and the size too big for the concept of a compact mirrorless camera.
can use Alpha-mount dSLR lenses via:
- LA-E1 and LA-EA3 offer contrast detect autofocus for lenses that have built-in focus motors (i.e. SAM and SSD), but only manual focus with other lenses
- the LA-EA2 and the new LA-EA4 use Sony's 'Translucent Mirror Technology' to offer autofocus with all Alpha lenses
the new models in late 2012 such as the NEX6, Sony appear to be abandoning their non-standard Minolta legacy hotshoe at last!
see here
All Canon EF glass can be used on these cameras and via the Metabones Smart EF adapter or Sigma MC-11 adapter and you will have optical IS functionality if it exists on the lens (not with the Sigma adapter though), and aperture control on the body and variable AF functionality.
in 2016, Sony developed a TTL radio remote flash system:
- FA-WRC1M wireless radio commander
- FA-WRR1 wireless radio receiver attaches to flash unit
- can do 15 flash units in up to 5 groups but only up to 30m distance

FX full frame sensor E-mount cameras

Sony NEX E-mount cameras with full frame sensors designed to use Sony FE full frame lenses
see Sony NEX FX full frame mirrorless cameras

DX cropped sensor size E-mount cameras:

2023:
- Sony a6700
  - 26mp sensor same as in the FX30;
  - 11fps mechanical raw; same EVF; 1.04Kdots rear LCD now fully articulating; same AI AF subject detection processor we have seen introduced in the recently released a7R V ;
  - USB-C charging; single SD slot;
2019:
- Sony a7000 leaked specs:
  - 32mp pro body build with some Sony a9's features such as blackout-free shooting
  - 925-point PDAF, 60fps AE/AF
  - 10fps/16Bit Mechanical Shutter / 20fps/14Bit Electronic Shutter / 30fps/12Bit AE-L/AF-C E.S.
  - 4K/60p 10Bit Super35mm Video / 4K/24p 10Bit 2.4:1 WDR Movie
- Sony a6600
  - announced Aug 2019 to replace the a6500
  - 425 PDAF points with 84% coverage; 11fps; flash syc still only 1/160th sec;
  - similar specs to a6400 but
    - improved Real-time Tracking autofocus, which seamlessly transitions from subject tracking to face and eye-detection with 14 bit RAW and 4K 30p video in HLG but rolling shutter is still an issue
    - Z-type battery with 2.2x the battery life of the older, smaller W-series battery but makes it 100g heavier
    - now has headphone and mic ports thanks to the larger grip to accommodate the battery
    - no longer has built-in flash
  - $US1400
- Sony a6400
  - awesome Real Time AF tracking at 20fps
2016:
- Sony A6500:
  - announced oct 2016
  - similar to A6300 but adds 5 axis 5EV IS, touchscreen, larger buffer and faster processor to give 11fps up to 100 RAW
  - $US1400
  - a6500 compared to Olympus E-m1 Mark II
- Sony A6300:
  - 24mp, Fast Hybrid AF with 425 phase detect pts 4D focus can lock on in 0.05secs
  - new high density AF tracking - can quickly activate a large number of AF points surrounding a subject – approximately 7.5 times more density than the α6000
  - 11fps burst or 8fps continuous uninterrupted live view
  - 6K oversampled 4K XAVC S codec video, full pixel readout, and no pixel binning
  - 1080/120fps continuous at 100Mbit/s and ISO to 25,600
  - 14 stop dynamic range in S-LOG 3 with S-Gamut 3 for a wider colour space
  - Gamma Display Assist; zebra and focus peaking have been enhanced
  - supports Sony’s XLR adapter unit
  - 2.4m dot EVF
  - articulated LCD screen
  - silent shooting functionality
  - the ability to use AF in focus magnifier mode, expanded flexible spot AF, Eye AF in AF-C mode
  - $US1000
2014:
- Sony A5000:
  - 20mp
  - WiFi; NFC; flippable 3“ 460K-dot LCD;
  - 210g w/o battery or lens;
  - $600 with kit lens
2013:
- Sony A3000:
  - entry level SLR-like mirrorless
  - 20mp; 1/4000th sec shutter; budget quality LCD and EVF;
- Sony NEX-5T:
  - features of the NEX-5R plus NFC WiFi for smartphone pairing
  - hybrid AF: 99 phase detect points plus CDAF - tracking AF up to 10fps
  - 16mp; 1/4000th sec shutter
  - still no image stabiliser in camera
- Sony NEX-3N:
  - 16mp entry-level replacing NEX-F3; tiltable LCD screen;
2012:
- Hasselblad Lunar:
  - made by Hasselblad with Sony parts and designed for the rich who just want “style” and can pay ~$6,500 for what appears to be the functionality of a Sony NEX-7
  - will be available to lunatics in early 2013
  - see dpreview.com
- Sony NEX 6:
  - higher spec version of the 16mp NEX-5R adding:
    - high-resolution, 2.3M dot OLED viewfinder as in the NEX-7
    - an additional external mode dial for P/A/S/M and Sweep Panorama™ mode.
    - Quick Navi interactive control panel
    - a “Function” key
    - ISO-standard hotshoe - at long last, finally Sony is ridding itself of the crazy Minolta legacy!!!!
  - kit comes with a new more compact 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 retractable power zoom lens
- Sony NEX-F3:
  - update of the C3
  - 16mp
  - ISO 200-16,000 with AutoISO limit up to 3200
  - multi-shot mode to increase DR or decrease noise
  - popup flash, built-in stereo mic
  - rear LCD tilts up 180deg for self-portraits
  - 117 x 67 x 42 mm (4.61 x 2.64 x 1.65”)
  - 314g
  - $US599
- Sony NEX-5R:
  - revised 16mp sensor with phase-detection elements to power the camera's hybrid AF system but the 99pts are only in the centre region, but switching to phase detect only mode in fast burst mode up to 10fps
  - ability to download proprietary apps
  - ISO 100-25,600
  - WiFi
  - flip out tilting 3“ TFT LCD touch screen
  - adds a control dial and Fn button on the top plate
  - electronic 1st curtain shutter; 10fps burst
  - 1080 60p/50p AVCHD videos

2011:
- Sony NEX 7:
  - at last the NEX that addresses the issues of the initial models and makes it a very good camera
  - built-in 2.4 million dot high quality EVF on the left side of the camera - perfect!
  - tilt-LCD screen although not as nice as on the Panasonic GH series
  - unfortunately it has a 24mp sensor - why couldn't they stick with 18mp?
  - built-in flash + hot shoe
  - optional electronic 1st curtain shutter to reduce shutter lag from 100msec to 20msec
  - decent HD video at last – AVCHD 1080p 60fps or 24fps but quality is problematic
    - 1080p HD video resolution and codec no where near as nice as the hacked Panasonic GH-2 camera¹⁾
  - manual focus is now available during HD video.
  - ability to shoot at 10fps but with fixed AF/AE
  - see my blog post
  - $1349 with 3x zoom
- Sony NEX 5n
  - 16.1mp sensor with ISO 100 - 25600 (autoISO up to 3200) and 10fps
  - support for the FDA-EV1S electronic viewfinder
  - option of using an electronic first-curtain shutter that promises to substantially reduce shutter lag
  - in-camera compensation for certain optical aberrations with E lenses
  - support for the LA-EA2 SLT Alpha mount lens adapter
  - touch screen display
  - 1080p 60p HD movies in AVCHD format
  - no built-in IS, no built-in EVF, no hotshoe
  - $699 with 3x zoom
- Sony NEX-VG20
  - updated version of the VG10 camcorder
  - AVCHD 2.0 1080 60p
  - now supports stereo and 5.1 channel surround
  - improved manual controls and grips that have been modified for better low-angle shooting
  - $1599 body only
  - dpreview
- Sony NEX FS100
  - 1080p pro level video camera
  - $6550
  - Sony website

2010:
- Sony NEX 3:
  - ultra budget cheap version of the NEX 5
  - no AVCHD video and only a poor quality 720p MP4 video at 29.97fps at a very compressed 6 or 9Mbps
- Sony NEX 5:
  - budget entry level model similar looks to, but smaller than the Panasonic GF-1
  - 14mp sensor with 7fps burst and sensor dust protection but no built-in image stabilisation as with Olympus Micro Four Thrds cameras
  - AVCHD video 1080i 50/60fps at 17Mbps
  - 1080p MP4 video 30/25fps at a poor quality 12Mbps
  - exposure compensation only +/- 2EV
  - shutter speed 30sec to 1/4000th
  - 920K LCD but no EVF
  - self timer only 10sec (no shorter option)
  - no built-in flash or even a hotshoe - must use a special proprietary external flash
  - 287g
  - this is not a photographer's camera (no EVF, hotshoe and limited external controls), nor a videographer's camera but just a entry level introductory camera
- NEX-VG10 E-mount HD camcorder:
  - 14.6MP Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor and similar features to the NEX-5 but camcorder format and adds the following features but cannot shoot images in RAW mode!
  - 1080i video at a higher, 24mbps bitrate at 50/60 fps in AVCHDTM format.
  - 1152k dot electronic viewfinder and 'Quad Capsule Spatial Array Stereo Microphone' that uses four microphone elements to provide better channel separation and cancel unwanted noise.
  - http://www.dpreview.com/news/1007/10071401sonynexvg10e.asp

FE full frame E-mount lenses

see Sony FE E-mount full frame lenses

cropped sensor E-mount lenses:

2020:
- Laowa 4mm f/2.8 fisheye Manual Focus
  - announced in E mount Jan 2020
  - close focus 8cm; 7 blades; 210° FOV;
  - $US199
2019:
- Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8G
  - $US1299
- Sony E 70-350mm f4.5-6.3 G OSS
  - announced Aug 2019
  - 19 elements in 13 groups
  - 7 aperture blades
  - close focus 1.1-1.5m
  - XD Linear motors for quicker and quieter focusing
  - sealed against dust and moisture
  - 142mm by 77mm but extends on zooming;
  - 67mm filter thread
  - 625g (200g lighter than the FE 70-300mm)
  - $US899
  - https://www.cameralabs.com/sony-e-70-350mm-f4-5-6-3-g-oss-review/
    - sharpest at f/8
2013:
- Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* 16-70mm F4 ZA OSS Zoom Lens
- E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS Power Zoom Lens
- SEL20F28 20mm f/2.8 pancake
  - will be available April 2013 for RRP $US350
- SELP18200 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS Powered Telephoto Zoom Lens
  - quiet power zoom for video via zoom lever with 3 different zoom speeds
  - RRP $1200
2012:
- SELP1650 compact 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 powered zoom
  - equates to 24-75mm on a full frame
  - 29.9mm thick when retracted
  - OIS
- SEL35F18 35mm f/1.8 OSS:
  - 35mm f/1.8 image stabilised lens = 53mm f/2.7 in fov and dof terms on a 35mm full frame = 25mm f/1.4 on a Micro Four Thirds system in fov and dof terms
- SEL1018 10-18mm f/4 OSS:
  - equates to 15-27mm in 35mm full frame (similar fov to the 7-14mm lens on a Micro Four Thirds system)
- E18-200mm F3.5-5.6 LE OSS:
  - 11x zoom lens
  - f/3.5-6.3
  - smaller and lighter than the SEL18200 lens
2011:
- 24mm f/1.8
  - 36mm field of view in 35mm terms
  - $1000 RRP and 65.5mm long
  - much bigger and more expensive than the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens.
- 50mm f/1.8 OSS
  - 75mm field of view in 35mm terms
  - $300 and 62mm long
  - optical image stabilised but 75mm field of view is in no man’s land
  - the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 giving image stabilised (on an Olympus body) 90mm portrait lens at much the same price seems a better idea.
- 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS
  - 83-315mm in 35mm terms
  - $350 and 108mm long
  - the Panasonic kit 45-200mm kit lens gives more telephoto (90-400mm) in a smaller package and at wider aperture.
2010:
- Sony E16mm F2.8 pancake
  - equates to a 24mm field of view on a 35mm film camera
  - optional VCL-ECF1 16mm equiv. fisheye adapter, which attaches to the bayonet mount of the 16mm F2.8 pancake lens.
  - optional VCL-ECU1 20mm equiv. ultrawide adapter which attaches to the same bayonet
- Sony E18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS stabilized kit zoom
- Sony E18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS stabilized superzoom

¹⁾

EOSHD

Table of Contents

Sony NEX E-mount camera system

Sony NEX mirror-less camera system:

FX full frame sensor E-mount cameras

DX cropped sensor size E-mount cameras:

FE full frame E-mount lenses

cropped sensor E-mount lenses: