Hands on with Sony's NEX DSLR-quality compact camera
Ongoing optical options offensive
Video Sony UK held a launch party this week for its new NEX-5 and NEX-3 compact digital cameras. The company seems minded to make a dent in sales in the micro four-thirds format as both NEX models accommodate interchangeable lenses and utilise a 14.2Mp APS sensor.
Sony's NEX cameras have a detachable flash to keep them compact
While NEX cameras were handed out to all and sundry to capture a catwalk spectacle, Sony didn’t match the presence of mind of Panasonic at its DMC-G2 and G10 preview and actually let the users keep the memory cards with their images on.
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Absent sample pics aside, we did get to video Sony UK’s digital imaging specialist Paul Genge, running us through some of the features of the NEX series, among them, Anti Motion Blur, which captures six images in quick succession to make the best shot in low light conditions.
The E-mount 18-200mm lens makes its debut
Also on show were numerous lenses for this E-mount system, including the 18-200mm behemoth that won’t be available until September.
Fully extended, it's quite an appendage
Sony also boasts that its Alpha DSLR lenses can be used on NEX cameras with an adapter. Yet broadening the appeal of the NEX still further, are adapters from the likes of Rayqual for Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Leica lenses. However, Sony's response to these options was predictably muted. ®
COMMENTS
Lenses 2.0
Hah, that 18-200 lens makes the camera look ridiculous(ly unergonomic) and makes the small form factor of the camera completely pointless.
Urgh
The interface on this camera is a perfect example of what Sony does worse. It handles more like a PSP than a camera. The controls are horrid- it is just painful to use.
Such a let down- the more ficey one with a metal body would have been a nice backup body otherwise.
lenses
The point of being able to put big lenses on a small camera is that it can be a small camera when you want it to slip it in your pocket, but if you want to, you can use nice lenses on it as well.
Also, this thing seems to have a nice, fat sensor, which is a big plus. If they would cut it down to 8mp that would help out a lot at higher iso though.
This is just the start
The lens selection is pretty limited right now and I also question the 16mm focal length as the pancake lens. I'm hoping for a fast 30mm prime as that would be a more useful focal length.
I don't think there's any doubt that more E-mount lenses will appear... Sony wouldn't launch a new lens mount and camera range with only 3 lenses!
What was the performance?
I mean, that 50-200, was it 4 to 5.6, was it 2.18 throughout the range? What? It is easy to make a small lens at poor performance but if that was a 4 to 5.6 and they then manufacture a 2.8 that is eight times the size of the body ... it's no DSLR killer, that's for sure.
