Sony NEX

images by Uwe Kulick (Image rights)

NEX-5 with adapted Zeiss Biogon image by Uwe Kulick (Image rights)

The Sony α NEX cameras were introduced in 2010 by Sony as a completely new type of system camera. It's the first time that a really very slim digital compact camera body got the features of much bigger system cameras, mainly DSLRs. That means that the camera has got an autofocus lens bayonet, an APS-size image sensor, and a tiltable 3" high-resolution color display as viewfinder. An adapter is available for Alpha-System autofocus lenses, the Sony α NEX Camera Mount Adapter. Thus the NEX system cameras are marketed as part of the Sony α system, despite of the NEX's new E-mount. The NEX's slim camera architecture enables adaption of more manual-focus system lens types than to any other available system camera.

NEX-3 with original E-mount lens image by Uwe Kulick (Image rights)

In 2011 the number of available E-mount lenses was doubled to six, and the camera series was updated. The NEX-3 got the modified type name NEX-C3, a new design, and the newest 16 Megapixel image sensor. The NEX-5 got also that 16 MP sensor, the new type name NEX-5N, a touch-screen and a connector for an 2.3 Megapixel electronic viewfinder accessory. The new model of 2011 was the NEX-7, with built-in electronic viewfinder, built-in pop-up flash, α system flash shoe, and three dials for manual exposure setting as innovative digital camera concept. The amateur models of 2012 NEX-6 and NEX-5R got a new hybrid AF system with the contrast AF of the older NEXes combined with an on-sensor phase detection AF.

NEX-C3 image by Uwe Kulick (Image rights)

Cameras

• Sony Alpha NEX-3
• Sony Alpha NEX-C3
• Sony Alpha NEX-F3
• Sony Alpha NEX-5
• Sony Alpha NEX-5N
• Sony Alpha NEX-5R
• Sony Alpha NEX-6
• Sony Alpha NEX-7
• Hasselblad Lunar

Links

• NEX operating system Linux, sources on Sony-site