Sony NEX

NEXes presented at Photokina 2010 images by Uwe Kulick (Image rights)

NEX-7 with adapted Rokkor lens image by Howard Stanbury (Image rights)

NEX-3N with original E-mount lens image by the other Bailey (Image rights)

NEX-5N with adapted Zeiss lens image by fotograf@flickr (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. In 2013 the development management announced that the name NEX won't be used anymore in the future, despite of a new full format NEX model planned for 2014. This and all other futher E-mount system cameras shall be marketed just as Sony α system cameras.

NEX-C3 with original E-mount lens image by Uwe Kulick (Image rights)

Cameras

NEX-5 with NEX flashgun image by the other Bailey (Image rights)

NEX-5 w/ stereo mic image by the other Bailey (Image rights)

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

Sony E-mount

The Sony E-mount is a lens mount designed by Sony for their NEX ("New E-mount eXperience") series of camcorders and mirrorless cameras.

On 8 February 2011 Sony announced the release of the specifications for the E-mount lens system allowing for third-party lens makers to create lenses for the NEX cameras without having to pay royalties.

The Sony E-mount is a bayonet lens mount that, like the Fujifilm X lenses mount, has two main components: The bayonet, and a set of 10 electrical contacts along the bottom.

Lens mount adapters exist for the most common 35 mm lens bayonets, as well as for M39, M42, T-mount and C-mount lenses to an E-mount camera.

As of 2014, dozens of E-mount lenses are available.

Links

• NEX operating system Linux, sources on Sony-site