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.
Just to verify: the E-mount lenses will have sufficient coverage for a 36x24mm frame? If this is true, then we’re looking at the replacement for the 25 year-old Alpha mount. The NEX units are probably just a low-cost, introductory platform to get the EM established. (Check out the kit price: $650!)
My speculation, but I found the recent release of two mid-range Alpha SLRs inexplicable. However, it makes sense if Sony is putting /something/ on the market to make money while they prepare for the future. (It’s the curse of the trade rag; if a company isn’t always releasing something new, no one has any reason to put their name in print.)
I bet the next full-size Alphas will be E-mount bodies. But we won’t be calling them SLRs–they’ll be SLEVF “pro” bodies.
Warning: SLR is about to die.
“The crop factor on this lens makes it equivalent to 27-300mm lens on a 35mm camera.” Isn’t it truly an 18-200? I thought you only apply the crop factor when using a Full Frame lens on a crop camera? It would be the same field of view as using a Full Frame 18-200 lens on a Nikon D700?
HI Alex
Good question. The crop factor doesn’t have anything to do with whether a lens can cover a full frame size sensor. Focal length is relative to the size of the sensor. So a 200mm focal length lens on an APS-C size sensor will produce roughly the same magnification as a 300mm lens on a full frame camera.
This is true regardless of whether the lens is designed to cover a full-frame or a smaller sensor.
Of course the lens is really an 18-200mm. But when you use that lens on an APS-C sensor, it will be the equivalent of having a 27-300mm lens on a 35mm film camera.
On the long end, this is a good thing, since you gain telephoto length. On the wide-angle end, however, this is a drawback, as that extremely wide 18mm will only give the angle of view of a 27mm lens on a full-frame camera.
It all depends on the size of the sensor. The definition of wide, normal and telephoto are different for APS-C and Full-Frame sensors. A 50mm lens is considered a normal lens on a 35mm film camera or a full-frame dSLR. That same lens looks like a 75mm short telephoto on a APS-C sensor. If you managed to attach that same lens to point and shoot camera with a tiny sensor, that 50mm lens would turn into a giant telephoto.
Back in the early days of photography, professional photographers often used a variety of view cameras that accepted different sizes of sheet film. They would buy lenses that could cover the largest size film they intended to shoot with. They could use the lens with smaller film sizes, but the angle of view would change. So one lens could serve as a wide-angle on their largest camera, become a portrait lens on their medium size camera and then offer up super-telephoto capabilities on their smallest camera.
I hope that helps. The bottom line is if you put the 18-200mm lens on any APS-C sensor, you will get the apparent focal length of a 27-300mm lens on a full frame camera. An APS-C sensor will always yield an angle of view roughly 1.5 times that of the same lens used on a full frame sized sensor, regardless of whether the lens can actually cover the sensor or not.
Regards, Tom
Hi there,
Thanks for this great info. Do you know what the minimum focus distance is for the 18mm lens? I’m wondering if I’ll be able to get very close up, macro shots with the 18 mm lens.
Thanks for the great info! I travel a lot for work/pleasure, and am considering an upgrade from my Leica V-Lux 20 to the NEX-5. I like the small size of the NEX cameras and the great features including in-built HDR. The only thing that’s been holding me back is that I don’t want to lose the great 12x zoom that my Leica offers. It seems that if I get the NEX-5 with the 16mm lens, and then pick up the 18-200mm lens as well, I’ll have the same zoom range as my Leica but with with a lot more features…
…one question though. Does anyone care to speculate whether the E-mount 18-200mm lens will have an internal zoom mechanism like the alpha 18-200mm lens? The thing is, I’d hate to mount a zoom lens on a tiny NEX-5 camera if it’s going to physically extend itself as it zooms (it would make the camera unbalanced and difficult to hold). If that were the case then I’d buy the alpha 18-200mm instead.
I just purchased a Sony Nex-3 camera with a 18-55mm lens and would like to get a 18-200 lens someday but only if the price comes down below what I paid for the camera and everything that came with it.
Hopefully other camera manufacturers will make the E-lens’s for Sony and bring the price down.
There is no reason for the high price they want now when the same 18-200 mm lens for normal size SLR cameras is under $400.00
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