Sony NEX Launch – detailed transcription

Question and Answer time
The press was invited to ask questions. The first of these was – what are the prices!
A: Retailers are free to set their own pricing, and we have actually done something in the UK for the first time. We have actually sent all the dealers information on the NEX system before the embargo. So it’s gone live now. You can go and check on internet and see the prices now.
NEX-5 equipped with an 18-55mm lens will be something between £550 and £600. NEX-3 with the same lens will be about £100 less, something between £450 and £500. The 16mm lens on its own will be around about £200-220; the 18-200mm lens on its own will be something in the region of £550-600. The viewfinder, about £130; the microphone, about £90-100; the Alpha lens adaptor, about £150; the wide lens converter about £100 and the fisheye converter about £20 more; the Accessory kit that I said was good value about £80, and it is good value because the battery on its own is about £65.
We are anticipating about a month from now for shipping, early to mid June. The only kit which will be slightly behind will be the NEX-5 with 18-200mm, which will be a little bit later, about a month after that we will also be announcing the 3D firmware upgrade. All of the accessories will be available from day 1. In the UK, you will see those cameras hit the stores first in the photo independents, and that includes Jessops. We will be doing various launch activities around the UK with the retailers, a party atmosphere.
Q: is focus confirmation offered with Alpha lenses on the adaptor?
A: No. Since we reduced the flange back between the rear element and the sensor, we are experiencing some difficulties with the focus confirmation, which is why we have not made in autofocus. Autofocus varies massively according to the lens we are using, and therefore the autofocus indicator is not good enough to rely on.
Q: Is there any way that this adaptor can power the OS or VC available in Tamron or Sigma lenses?
A: No.
Q: Is it an SSM type motor or an SAM type motor?
A: It’s SSM. It is silent for both zoom and focusing and you should not hear any audible mechanics working on movie recordings. The microphones are positioned on the top of the camera body and they are separated by about a centimetre, it varies on the two bodies. Movie recording is not impeded by noises coming from the body.
Q: Is the aperture actuated by a linear motor or another mechanism?
A: Pass!
Q: Is there a 3.5mm jack socket for other mics?
A: No, it has to be the Sony mic. (In a later written reply to Photoclubalpha, Paul Genge stated that if Sony felt there was a viable market demand for a jack input adaptor which could be profitable, they would make it, but they were not here to serve niche markets).
Q: About the mechanical shutter, is there a silent mode of any kind?
A: No.
Paul confirmed electronic pass-through of A-mount to the E-mount, everything about the lens data is transmitted. It knows EXIF data, where to position the aperture. For launch on these cameras AF is disabled.
Q: Are there any plans for an electronic viewfinder?
A: We have requested it, certainly most countries have requested it. It is something we would like to see. There is a multi-connector accessory shoe in the top of the camera that can do all sorts of wonderful things. Whether an electronic viewfinder is one of these, we don’t know. We certainly have seen nothing in development. We have seen it in other people’s products and we would like it too.
Q: Are we likely to see video recording in a DSLR?
A: Yes you are. When we announced NEX at PMA we also showed the next generations of Alpha. Video is in the next generation of products which we have already shown as prototypes.
Q: Are there any more lenses planned for the system?
A: The three-lens line up at the moment is a little bit restricting, and there’s potential for many more. Consumer feedback will determine it; ‘what they would like as lenses, we really want to hear’.
Q: What are you calling this type of camera?
A: Compact Interchangeable Lens Camera (later on, a questionnaire was handed to delegates to find the most popular term – in fact ‘Compact System Camera’ was the preferred choice).
Q: Will the 3D panorama play back on other makes of TV?
A: 3D playback – we guarantee the performance on Bravia, it should work on Samsung and some other 3D televisions, but we can not guarantee it.