Alphatracks

One of the most intriguing things about the Sony Alpha NEX-5 and NEX-3 cameras is that you can use your existing A-mount lenses on the new models. Well, sort of. You need the Sony LA-EA1 adapter to mount an A-mount lens on the NEX system, and that involves some minor sacrifices. Overall, however, your current lenses should deliver great images on the NEX system.

The LA-EA1 is a far cry from the simple adapters used to mount non A-mount lenses on the Sony Alpha. It differs from the typical simple machined ring found in  MC to A-mount adapters or M-42 lens conversion mounts. The A-mount to NEX adapter is a sophisticated piece of electronics.

Unlike Minolta Rokkor or M-42 lenses, A-mount lenses from Sony and Minolta do not have an aperture adjusting ring, Older style lenses have a mechanical ring that allows the user to change the aperture opening manually. When Minolta introduced the Maxxum cameras in 1985, however, they did away with the aperture ring and used electronics inside the camera to regulate the aperture. If desired, the photographer could still manipulate the aperture manually, but it had to be done through a menu on the camera body.

This makes a conversion adapter for A-mount lenses more challenging to design. Conventional adapters rely on the user manually setting the aperture. Since there is no external method for changing the aperture on an A-mount lens, any useful adapter needs to provide a way for the camera to actually control the lens electronically.

Admittedly, it isn’t difficult to pass electrical information through an adapter. but the adapter needs to be designed so the camera’s aperture control can control the lens.

The LA-EA1 can do just that, providing automatic — and presumably manual — control of the lens from the camera’s  controls. Since the auto-diaphragm on the A-mount lenses is also controlled electronically, the new adapter will provide auto-diaphragm capability as well.

What the adapter will not provide, however is auto-focusing. The overwhelming majority of A-mount lenses do not have internal focusing motors, so the adapter is not designed to offer auto-focus.

The other limitation is image stabilization. Sony Alpha dSLRs are famous for having image stabilization built into the body. In order to make the NEX bodies as small as possible, however, Sony engineered the small cameras to use in-lens stabilization. As a result, A-mount lenses mounted to the NEX series cameras will not have stabilization.

One other interesting feature of the adapter is the built-in tripod collar. The NEX series cameras are so small that there might be problems using a heavy lens on the camera while it is on a tripod. Sony eliminated the problem by incorporating a standard tripod mount within the adapter. You merely hang the camera body on the adapter, while all the weight of the lens is borne by the adapter.

The LA-EA1 is available for pre-order at Sony Style for $199.00.

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E-Mount Lenses for the Alpha NEX series

May 17, 2010 Sony has introduced a brand new lens mount for the NEX series, which will be known as the E-Mount. Older A-mount lenses from Sony and Minolta can be used through the LA-EA1 NEX Alpha Camera Mount Adapter, but if you want Auto-Focus and Image Stabilization, you will need E-mount lenses,

Sony is introducing the NEX cameras with catalog of three lenses. Undoubtedly the E-mount lens line will grow, but for the time being the available lenses include:

16mm f/2.8 Pancake lens

The smallest and lightest E-mount lens is the 16mm f/2.8 pancake prime lens. The term pancake referrers to the narrow appearance when attached to the camera. This is one of the two “kit” lenses offered for the NEX series.

Like all cameras with APS-C sensors, the 16mm focal length doesn’t provide as wide a view as a 16mm lens on a 35mm, full-frame camera. The crop factor is 1.5, which means that the 16mm lens will provide the view of a 24mm lens on a 35mm camera.

Besides being the widest lens in the E-Mount series, the 16mm lens is also the fastest at f/2.8. This is suitable for shooting in poor light, but you will need to increase the ISO to match the low-light capabilities of the f/1.8 or f/1/4 A-Mount dSLR lenses.

Unlike the Sony Alpha dSLRs, which have in-body image-stabilization, the NEX cameras require in-lens stabilization. Sony has built stabilization into all of the initial E-Mount lenses, including the 16mm f/2.8

You should consider this lens if you want to shoot with available light, shoot wide-angle views (real-estate interiors, scenic vistas) or want to carry your NEX camera in a (large) pocket.

The SEL16F28 will list for $250.

Sony has announced two auxiliary converters for the NEX 16mm f/2.8. One converts the lens to a fisheye, while the other creates a much wider view. I’ll discuss the converters in another post

18-55mm f/F3.5-F5.6 zoom lens

The other available kit lens is the 18-55mm f/3.5-5/6 zoom lens. Although not as wide or as fast as the 16mm pancake, the 18-55mm lens offers a convienent wide-angle to short-telephoto zoom range. At the wide end, the 18mm setting will yield roughly the same field of view as a 27mm lens on a 35mm camera. At the other side of the scale, the 55mm length will be equivalent to 82.5mm on a full frame SLR.

The lens isn’t a speed demon, as the maximum aperture at the wide end is f/3.5, while at the telephoto side the aperture drops to f/5.6. Still, with the built image stabilization, the lens should be fast enough for most photography situations.

The minimum focusing distance is a respectable 9.8″ (0.25m). The filter ring diameter is 49mm.

Chose this lens for portrait or all around shooting in good light. It is isn’t as pocketable as the 16mm pancake, but it offers more versatility.

List price for the SEL1855 lenses will be $300.

18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens

If you want or need longer telephoto capabilities, Sony will be adding a 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom to the E-mount line up in the fall of 2010. This will not be offered in a kit package, at least initially. Since Sony currently doesn’t market the NEX models in a body-only package, buyers will need to buy a camera with a lens, then purchase the 18-200mm zoom as an accessory.

Since the big zoom completely overlaps the 18-55mm lens, it makes little sense to buy the 18-55mm kit lens, then buy the 18-200 zoom. To my mind, it would make much more sense to buy the kit with the 16mm prime lens if you plan to buy the 18-200mm zoom.

The crop factor on this lens makes it equivalent to 27-300mm lens on a 35mm camera. This lens also features the Active Mode image stabilization that Sony claims makes it possible to shoot movies while walking.

Of course all lenses are compromise and the big zoom has a slow maximum aperture of f/6.3 at the 200mm focal length. That is fine for outdoor shooting in bright sunlight, but don’t expect to shoot indoor basketball action at f/6.3.

The SEL18200 zoom lens should be available this fall for about $800.

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May 12, 2010: As expected, Sony formally announced their new mirror-less digicams, the Nex-3 and Nex-5 on Tuesday. Both cameras carry the Alpha brand, but aside from the Alpha logo and sensor size, they don’t share anything with the Sony dSLR models.

Both EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens)  models use the same 14.2 mp, APS-C Exmor sensor. The primary difference between the two models is video. The Nex-3 captures 720p MP4 High Definition video, while the Nex-5 can record AVCHD files in Full HD (1920 x 1080i).

The body on the Nex-3 is polycarbonate, while the Nex-5 is crafted from magnesium alloy.

The new cameras share a new lens system, while Sony has dubbed the E-Mount. Sony hasn’t forgotten A-Mount Alpha users, however, as there will be an extra cost adapter that will mate A-Mount lenses to the Nex models.

The adapter is far more advanced than the adapters used to mount MD/MC and M42 lenses on Alpha dSLRs. Because the Alpha mount lenses have no manual aperture control, the adapter has to send signals from the camera to the lens to regulate the f/stop. Sony hasn’t provided full details on the adapter as yet, but the release suggests that legacy A-mount images will be manual focus only.

They have shown the adapter, however. It incorporates  a solid tripod mount, so you will be able to use your heaviest A-Mount lenses on the Nex twins without fear of straining the tiny camera body. No word on whether auto-diaphragm will operate with A-Mount lenses.

Sony has announced three E-Mount lenses: a 16mm f/2.8 pancake prime, a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom and a nice 18-200 f/3.5-6.3 zoom. Apparently rumors that the new cameras will use in-lens stabilization is true as the zooms offer Sony’s Optical Steady Shot, similar to what is used in Sony Handicam camcorders.

There are many situations where composing on the rear LCD won’t cut it, especially if you have to use manual focus with legacy glass. I recently had to chance to play with the extra-cost, eye-level viewfinder on an Olympus 4/3 camera, and it made a huge difference in usability. I was afraid that Sony might ignore this need, but Nex accessories include the FDA-SV1 Optical Viewfinder. Sony isn’t offering much info on the optical viewfinder, but I will be hugely disappointed if it doesn’t equal the one Olympus offers.

Flash options are a bit of a mystery. Some of the press images show a flash above the lens, but there are no flashes shown in the accessory options. Will there be a popup flash? How will an auxiliary flash attach to the camera? Can you use off-camera flash? Sony isn’t saying, so we will have determine this as the Nex models become available.

Other accessories include an auxiliary stereo microphone and an AC adapter. Both camera’s include built-in stereo recording abilities, but the accessory mic apparently provides superior sound quality.

Equipped with the SEL16F28 lens, the Nex-3 will list about $550, with the Nex-5 selling for about $100 more. NEX-5K and NEX-3K cameras, come with the SEL1855 lens will list around $700 and $600 respectively. Sony has not published prices for the lens mount adapter, auxiliary viewfinder and the other accessories.

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April 28, 2010: Website SonyAlphaRumors has posted photos they say they received from an anonymous reader. The source claims to have snapped the images in a bar in Asia. While the story sounds a bit like the recent Gizmoto-Apple iPhone dustup, apparently the Nex3 was not left at the bar and no one tried to sell the prototype to anyone.

Like any prototype/rumor story, there is no way to confirm that the camera in the photos will resemble the final product, but I would guess it is pretty close. The word is that Sony will introduce the new cameras on May 11, so it would seem that any real-world testing would involve prototypes that are very close to the real deal.

SonyAlphaRumors expects there will be two models at launch, the Nex3 and Nex5. The principle difference between the two will be the video capabilities, with the Nex5 shooting at 1080p, and the Nex3 limited to 720p. Both cameras will use a APS-C size, 14mp ExmorHD sensor.

SAR is also claiming that unlike the Sony Alpha dSLRs, the Nex models will not have image stabilization in the body. They claim the 16mm 2.8 lens shown in the photos has image stabilization built in to it. SAR theorizes that this will make it easier to add stabilization for video recording.

While most commentators are obsessed with the lens, I was much more intrigued by the flash unit. I had assumed that the new cameras would have some sort of pop-up flash, but the camera in the bar shots is using what appears to be a small, detachable external flash. The flash doesn’t resemble any current Sony Alpha flash, so it will apparently be a new design. Since the mockups at the PMA show did not have a hot shoe, I’m not sure how the flash attaches to the Nex3 and Nex5.

There may still be a small pop-up flash on the cameras, with the external flash providing better flash range. On the other hand, it is possible that there is no popup flash and you will need an external flash for any auxiliary illumination. If so, I hope Sony offers an off-camera cord so users can move the flash away from the camera.

Finally, I am really hoping Sony will offer an external viewfinder, similar to the one Olympus sells for their micro four-thirds models. I was able to play with one of these recently and the extra-cost viewfinder made a real difference when shooting in direct sunlight.

Time will tell, as May 11 is less than two weeks away. Bring it!

Visit the Nex3 and Nex5 pages at SonyAlphaRumors.

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