Category: NEX System

The EVF future

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At photokina 2010, Paul Genge from Sony pretty much told me that Sony’s future lay in the EVF (translucent mirror or otherwise, Electronic View Finder) models. He was not able to say anything firm. Since then, I’ve spoken to him on several occasions and he has repeated that Sony left all options open but the EVF design was likely to be the way ahead. What he has not said directly to me is that conventional SLR design – Optical View Finder – was off the roadmap.

EVF does away with the need for the finder to be positioned anywhere near the optical axis. Noses can safely hit thin air not a rear screen. Unless you are left eyed. NEX-7 with ocular surround fitted.

Although Sony did not attend Focus on Imaging 2012, the UK website TechRadar secured an interview statement during Focus week, in which Paul appears to have confirmed without ambiguity that the future was EVF-only, and that the forthcoming full frame successor to the Alpha 900 would be an SLT-EVF design. At the same time, we learn that the 70-200mm SSM G and 70–400mm SSM G lens are to be revised for 2013.

We know, from several sources, that Sony is not currently making all its lenses – even the high end ones – in one facility, or in its own workshops. I believe the 70-400mm SSM G is a contracted-out design and that the 70-300mm SSM G has always been made by a third party lensmaker. This is nothing new; the Minolta 100-400mm APO was patented by Tokina and sold to Minolta as an exclusive (no-one else got the lens) and the same company made some if not all the 100-300mm APO lenses. Using different sources means that various types of coating are appearing; traditional Minolta style – the multi achromatic coating, Carl Zeiss T*, Tamron’s BBAR-derived coatings, some Sony multicoatings of unknown pedigree on Chinese SAM lenses, and a new water and oil resistant coating due to be used for the revised 70-200mm and 70-400mm.

This coating is nearly always combined with weather or splash proof design, and companies which have the ability to apply it include Hoya (Tokina, Kenko, Marumi, Pentax), Olympus, Canon, Nikon, and Sigma. Sigma is very significant as they have installed new coating lines recently and they are going through a bit of a subcontracting boom. Their facilities are all in Japan, they are on high ground and were slightly affected by the earthquake but not by the tsunami. They have a long history of building lenses and cameras for Leica, Carl Zeiss, Panasonic, Olympus, Canon/Kodak and interchangeable lenses for nearly all the major names.

If the high end tele zooms are to be revised, weatherproofing and the new coating will certainly arrive along with a synchronisation of lens appearance and finish. But I’m willing to bet something else is involved. The SSM focus system is only partially suitable for contrast-detect operation. It works, on static subjects, but unless some major advance is made in CD-AF it’s lacking the refinement and speed of the AF found in SEL (native Sony NEX) lenses. I’ve tested the 70-400mm on the LA-EA1 with NEX-7, I can work with the lens comfortably on most subjects and the camera is very good at refusing to take the shot until focus is 100% locked.

All that just to get 2X the magnification – NEX-7 with LA-EA1 and 70-400mm SSM G (an operational kit, if not fast) compared to Tamron 18-200mm NEX lens with the correct type of contrast-detection friendly focus motor and protocols.

What Sony must surely want to do is dispose of the SLT (‘translucent’) pellicle mirror and the Phase Detection AF module. It makes most sense to focus, meter, view and expose from one single sensor. In order to do so, lens focus motors need a slightly different control protocol. SSM lenses are already CD-AF compatible, as are SAM onboard focus motor lenses, but they don’t match the NEX system SEL lenses. Sigma HSM and Tamron USD Alpha mount lenses are not CD-AF compatible and do not work correctly on the LA-EA1 adaptor. Upgrading matters most with tele lenses, and they are also most likely to be used in adverse weather for wildlife, news or sports. So my guess is that the upgrade to these lenses will be comprehensive and that it will look forward to possible Sony Alpha bodies with either no SLT mirror, or a movable SLT mirror and choice between PD-AF and CD-AF.

As for the EVF itself, it’s one stage away from being better than a very good optical finder on balance of qualities. Unlike optical finders, the EVF is not susceptible to user eyesight error (incorrect dioptre correction, combined with eye focusing accommodation) and presents the user with a low resolution but otherwise very accurate view of the image focused on the sensor. It can do this at light levels where optical finders become difficult to use, while also presenting a review of the captured image if desired – ‘shot success’ confirmation.

Differences between the ‘identical’ EVF of the NEX-5n accessory finder FDA-EV1S and the NEX-7 fixed built-in version are mostly down to the difference between the 16 megapixel generation 2 sensor, and the 24 megapixel. Response speed, low light noise, quality of colour and contrast are all influenced more by the two very different sensors. User observations that one is better or worse than the other will nearly always be down to this, and variations in settings between the two cameras compared.

There are things you can do on an EVF, such as magnifying a focus point well away from the centre, which simply can’t be done at all with an optical finder and may not always be convenient to do on a rear screen. The fact that EVFs permit eye-level video shooting, and that video is now a permanent feature of the Alpha class of camera from entry to semiprofessional, makes the EVF design change more inevitable.

Paul Genge had a short exchange of information with me when I was considering selling my Alpha 900 and all my frame Alpha lenses (after starting to use the A77). He said I’d regret selling my good full frame lenses when I replaced my Alpha 900 with a full frame model I would just not believe. His message was ‘you wait – you’ll not regret it’. So, I sold my old Minolta-era full frame lenses and bought myself a brand new 28-75mm f/2.8 SAM, Sony 50mm f/1.4 (replacing Minolta vintage), a 24mm f/2 Carl Zeiss SSM, and a 70-400mm SSM G. I kept the Alpha 900  and a few lenses I like which are unique in their function, such as the Samyang 85mm f/1.4 manual, the Sigma 70mm f/2.8 Macro, the Sigma 12-24mm and an old 16mm f/2.8 full frame fisheye. Instead of getting out of full frame, I re-invested in it.

I’m expecting the Alpha 900 replacement to be either an SLT design like a scaled-up A77 with 36 megapixels, or a second generation hybrid SLT design with a mirror you can raise to use CD-AF or manual live focusing. I’m hoping that it will appear with a new 28-75mm, 24-70mm or better midrange f/2.8 with improved SSM, weatherproofing and new coatings like the 16-50mm f/2.8 DT.

– David Kilpatrick

3
Cameras (DSLR), DK's ramblings, NEX System

Firmware update for NEX-5, 3, and 3C

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Sony has released updated firmware for NEX E-mount cameras, FW v5.0 which updates the bodies to accept the new LA-EA2 Alpha Phase Detect AF lens adaptor. The update works for NEX-3, NEX-5, NEX-C3, NEX-VG10 and the professional video Sony NEX-FS100U.

Prior to this firmware update, the LA-EA2 only worked with the NEX-5N , NEX-7 and NEX-VG20. With the LA-EA2, a micromotor driven Phase Detect AF system is built-in, which allows the camera to focus with all A-mount AF lenses.

Key points of the new firmware update include Micro AF adjustment, when using this adaptor, for M-AF/SAL/SAM lenses, and the ability to assign AF points on the 15-point module, from the screen display.

 Download the new function manual (from Ver.04 to Ver.05)

For UK/Europe etc cameras (this site does not appear to have the VG-10 update and is slightly muddled):

NEX-5 (Windows) Firmware update , 15/12/2011

NEX-5 (Macintosh) Firmware update , 15/12/2011

NEX-3 (Windows) Firmware update , 15/12/2011

NEX-3 (Macintosh) Firmware update , 15/12/2011

NEX-C3 (Windows) Firmware update , 15/12/2011

NEX-C3 (Macintosh) Firmware update , 15/12/2011

For USA/Canada cameras:

NEX-3  (Windows) (Mac)

NEX-5 (Windows) (Mac)

NEX-C3 (Windows) (Mac)

NEX-VG10 (Windows) (Mac)

1
Firmware Updates, NEX System

Tamron 18-200mm VC for NEX

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Tamron’s has announced a high-power zoom for Sony’s NEX-series – the 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC (Model B011).

The image-stabilised lens has exactly the same nominal specifications as Sony’s own zoom. The angle of view is 27-300mm when converted to 35mm format.

It weighs 460g, uses 62mm filters, and has VC (Vibration Compensation). The metallic lens barrel exterior is available in two colors: black and silver. A newly constructed stepping motor allows contrast-detection AF during video shooting. Direct Manual Focus (DMF) allows the user to make fine manual adjustments in the AF focus.

Di III (Digitally integrated design): A new designation Tamron gives to lenses engineered specifically for mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras with no internal mirror box or pentaprism, adopting an optical design that matches the characteristics of the digital camera.

The result of this development is a lens that is compact and lightweight, featuring a 62mm filter diameter and weighing only 460g. The lens is available in silver and in black.

Tamron’s VC mechanism employs a three-coil system, electromagnetically moving the VC group via three steel balls. The VC lens elements are held in place only by contact with the steel balls, achieving smooth movement with little friction. This provides a stable viewfinder image with excellent tracking performance that eliminates the blur from handheld shots for cleaner, crisper shots.

Tamron’s earlier VC unit has a moving magnet system with heavy magnets in the vibration-compensating lens. However, the new VC mechanism adopts a lightweight moving coil system that reduces the load on the drive system. This allows the drive to be operated with smaller coils and magnets, reducing the weight and size for the entire VC unit. In addition, improvements to software and other elements of the VC mechanism used in the 18-200mm Di III VC have made the mechanism even quieter.

Specifications 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di lll VC (Model B011)

  • Focal length: 18-200mm
  • Maximum aperture: F/3.5-6.3
  • Angle of view3: (diagonal) 76˚ 10´-8˚ 03´
  • (Horizontal) 66˚ 16´-6˚ 43´
  • (Vertical) 46˚ 51´-4˚ 27´
  • Lens construction: 17 elements in 13 groups
  • Minimum focus distance: 0.5m (throughout zoom range)
  • Maximum magnification ratio: 1:3.7 (at f=200mm: MFD 0.5m)
  • Filter size: φ62mm
  • Length4: 96.7mm
  • Entire Length5: 102.0mm
  • Diameter: φ68mm
  • Weight: 460 g
  • No. of diaphragm blades: 7
  • Minimum aperture: F/22 – 40
  • Standard accessories: Flower-shaped lens hood (included)
  • Compatible mounts: Sony E-mount

The angle of view of the lens when used for video on the Sony digital HD video camera recorder NEX-VG10 is 32.4 – 360mm when converted to the 35mm format.

Due to an inherent characteristic of this TAMRON lens, the resulting image in the LCD monitor may be displayed in a “pumping” manner in the continuous operation of the focus search function when using the Sports Action mode on Scene Selection. The actual images captured will NOT be affected by this circumstance. In other Shoot Modes (P, A, S, M), when the focus mode is set to Continuous AF (AF-C), the same condition may also arise. The actual images captured will also NOT be affected by this circumstance.

As an alternative to the above settings, you can change the focus mode to Single-shot AF (AF-S) or Direct Manual Focus (DMF).

This lens was developed, manufactured and will be sold based on the specifications for the E-mount that was disclosed by Sony Corporation under Tamron’s license agreement with Sony Corporation

Price: The suggested retail price is yet to be announced. Availability: Early 2012. Exact date to be announced.

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Accessories - 3rd party, HD Video, NEX System

Image Data Converter v4 – download now

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Sony’s Image Data Converter latest version – 4.0 – will handle all Alpha raw files from A100 to A77, and all NEX raw files. It offers improvements in performance and stability, but it also eliminates the need for the Lightbox application (found in v3) as a separate item. You simply browse for a folder of images, and IDC now shows a regular thumbnail browser with image information not unlike Adobe Bridge.

Double-clicking the thumb opens the image as expected in the raw editor. This has all the features of v3 are a bit more, but at least on a latest MacBook Pro with 2GB memory it seemed to crash and quit (normally after processing the file) rather too often.

One new feature, found when you save the file and not in the main processing controls, is a crop with Inclination Control and a grid:

Testing Alpha 77 raw files on the new software, the Bayer conversion seemed to be incredibly noisy and the noise reduction left fine detail heavily smeared much the same as for in-camera JPEGs, but the colour styles, DRO settings and some other aspects read from camera EXIF data are retained. It can not be recommended as a main choice for raw conversion, and certainly not for high ISO images, but it’s available and is a fairly small application to install on laptops or less powerful machines.

Download links:

Mac OSX .dmg installer

PC/Windows .exe installer

– DK

6
Cameras (DSLR), News, NEX System, Software Reviews, Uncategorized

Sony – please add gain control to A77 sound

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When I had the Canon 60D and 600D cameras for the usual brief period of magazine review loan, one of the things I could have tested more thoroughly was the excellent implementation of sound input gain control. Since it worked, and worked really well, I had no need to. Any system with auto gain, in contrast, needs to be hauled out to big rock music gigs, into busy urban environments, stuck close to the speaker at public events and so on.

This is the screen from the Canon 600D, which is not an expensive camera. Being realistic, it and the 60D with their usefully articulated rear screens and 18 megapixel filesize are more than decent competition from some months ago for the forthcoming Alpha 77. At the moment it seems as if Sony has leapfrogged Canon, but when you actually look at the capabilities of the 60/600 for practical everyday work they remain competitive.

This audio control screen is one of the main reasons why. I read people, Sony users, on forums saying that lack of audio control is quite simply a deal-breaker. And I know why. I am an occasional musician and occasionally my wife will press the MOVIE button on an Alpha or NEX aimed at me. It’s a complete lottery as to whether than button is pressed during a quiet microsecond between notes, in dead silence, with a full PA sound level or whatever. When making a recording using one of these cameras, I will often ask the subject to speak or play a loud chord so that I can press MOVIE and get a low auto mic gain preset. The worst scenario is to press MOVIE in total silence because the auto gain will then try to boost the sound to pick up the birds outside the window and the floorboards creaking. And it will stay on that gain level for the entire take.

What this means in practice is that different takes have different gain levels. It would be even worse if the gain was dynamic during the take, varying with the level so that quiet moments suddenly get rewarded by an increase in hiss and irrelevant noises. There are plenty of camcorder devices which do that and they are unusable.

Auto gain – which applies to both the internal and external mic feeds for the Alpha 77, and also to the NEX models and earlier Alphas – is simply not acceptable as the only option in an age where users like to film concerts and gigs, live music, bands, parades, festivals and noisy events. Small condensor mics are very prone to clipping (distorting loud sounds) in what are known as ‘high sound pressure’ environments. That is, stuff which hurts your ears if you are a dog or under 30.

You can avoid high sound pressure clipping by using a top quality external plug-in mic, as you are never going to eliminate it with the internal mics. But you can only do so reliably if the camera offers manual control of audio level. Nikon’s cameras – even the expensive D3S – only offer three levels of sound gain and no ability to monitor or test the effect. Canon’s latest models have an exemplary interface with 22 visible dB (deciBel) levels and an even finer graded adjustment with a continuous Rec. Level scale. This applies to either the internal (mono, less satisfactory) mic or external stereo.

Although Canon’s official line is that the external mic socket is for mic only, not for line mixers, it is in fact compatible with any good quality line source you can control for volume level. The setup above is just an imaginary studio shot, not real recording, but shows two Behringer condensor mics routed through a Mackie Onyx Satellite twin mic preamp. I used the headphone output, with its controllable volume, to feed the Canon 600D. There did not appear to be any impedance issues but of course I started with the sound output at zero and used the Canon’s manual sound monitor to adjust it.

This is not advanced audio. This is basic home recording stuff. It’s well within the target owner bracket of the Alpha 77. Sony, if Canon can do this, so can you. Even just implementing three manually set High, Normal, Low fixed volume (gain) settings like Nikon would be a partial cure. Nikon’s solution is not total, and I sold my Nikon D5000 because of the terrible clipping which happened on any setting when trying to record amplified solo gigs. Even little 40W solo amps and a simple vocal and guitar would send the Nikon into a crackle of distorted mess. The Sony mics seems to be much better and do not clip so readily. They are stereo and I’d rate the sound quality from the internal mics on NEX and Alpha so far to be much better than Canon’s internal mono (the AVCHD recording standard helps too). But without proper control of sound, the Alpha 77 is hamstrung. It is indeed a deal-breaker for some buyers.

It can be fixed if the firmware allows access to that function.

The video area issue

While you are at it, fix the HD video framing screen marks on some earlier and current models – we hope it has been sorted in the new ones.

It’s simple enough. The Sony CMOS 14 megapixel sensor crops to 16:9 for panoramic shots (you can select yo shoot in this format if you want) and also crop to 16:9 for HD1080 video. But these two crops are not the same. The still 16:9 just trims a bit off the top and bottom of the image. The HD video format trims even more and also takes some off both ends, zooming in (in effect) on an overall sensor crop.

When you shoot normal 3:2 ratio 35mm shape shots, and press the MOVIE button, the resulting crop is so dramatic that you can cut someone’s head off in the movie having thought it was well within the frame for stills.

As you can see in the shot above, the NEX does display some faint corner crop marks to indicate the video frame. But no-one I have shown the camera to actually notices these crops at all, especially if other grids or marking are displayed. Setting the camera to 16:9 stills improves the position, the faint crop marks are now equally distant from all four corners but still unlikely to be clearly visible. It’s clear from forum comments and messages elsewhere that many owners have never spotted these marks at all. The frame corner markings are not easily seen against some subjects (example above, lower marks), and you need to know where they are in order to recognise them.

This issue is not present in the Alpha 55, where the movie is only cropped top and bottom, and slightly bolder frame crop marks are shown in the finder. Even so, two very clear lines which can be turned on or off would be a better indicator and help users frame video correctly before pressing the record button. If you set 16:9 still shooting on the A55, you can go into movie capture without any change to the image framing.

Note that the ends of the composition are cropped, as well as the top and bottom, when pressing MOVIE Record from the startpoint of a 3:2 format still shot on the NEX-3 and NEX-5 with their 14 megapixel sensors. When shooting HD video, note that frame corners for the 4:3 TV format (non-HD crop) are displayed.

In an ideal world, the HD movie would be the full 16:9 still size as on the A55, giving you the best use of wide-angle lenses. But that is probably not possible because of the way HD1080 is extracted from the overall sensor area of the NEX-3/5.

So, what we need is simple enough – a firmware option to display the HD Movie crop area far more distinctly on the EVF or rear LCD screen, whatever still shooting mode is being used. Ideally it should be a complete rectangle to show the actual area which will be active when you press MOVIE and record.

Like the audio control issue, this is a firmware fix and could also be applied to earlier models like the NEX-5. It’s probably a simpler fix than audio.

Of more concern is whether or not the 24 megapixel sensor behaves like the 14 megapixel (HD movies cropped all round) or like the 16 megapixel sensor (HD movies cropped top and bottom only). So far this has not been made clear by early testers or Sony sources. If it is a cropped HD, let’s hope that a very clear and obvious movie-frame preview can be added, or the MOVIE  button function changed so that one press activates the movie frame view, the next press starts record, the next press ends record. I would actually like to see a menu option where ending a recording does not exit movie mode, but leaves you able to press the movie button again to resume filming, and to end movie capture you need instead to press the shutter button (with or without a still capture).

– David Kilpatrick

6
Cameras (DSLR), DK's ramblings, HD Video, NEX System

Sony UK’s live Q&A webcam sesssion

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A recording – advance for half an hour or so to miss the lengthy setting-up process – is available of the web Q&A which Paul Genge of Sony handled tonight for a UK and worldwide audience of over 450 web-browsers.

Here are some resumé details and comments made during watching the webcast:

Paul failed to understand the question about the angle of view for video. Some existing models (14 megapixel NEX for example) crop the horizontal angle of view for HD1080, they don’t just take slices off the top and bottom. The question whether the 24.3 megapixel sensor HD mode uses the full horizontal angle like the 16 megapixel Alpha 55 remains unanswered.

Flash sync socket combined with auto gain for manual live view in place of manual mode exposure simulation does allow studio work with the A77.

Question about the SLT and light loss is not answered clearly – the correct answer is that additional gain is applied, so in effect, the mirror does result in higher noise levels. But this has not proved to be noticeable in the A55.

Paul implies that Sony has not yet designed the next generation of full frame cameras – but later on, confirms that there definitely will be one. No-one asked about the megapixel possibilities…

No audio input level control (auto gain, 5v mic phantom power via 3.5mm stereo jack). Not much was made of this but it is the killer feature of the Canon 60D and 600D, enabling these cameras to film amplified music gigs with clean sound despite the clipping and overdrive potential of small condensors in high sound pressure. Manual volume setting is very important as music gigs are a big, big use of HD video.

Black 18-55mm kit lens will be exclusive to the NEX-7.

Firmware upgrade for NEX-3, NEX-5 and NEX-C3 will allow use of the LA-EA2.

A77 and A65 use electronic sensor based video stabilisation, not physical piezo actuation and movement of the sensor on the carriage, to reduce sensor overheating but provide IS. This may answer the question about the video HD crop, as this type of stabilisation can only be effective if the sensor is substantially larger than the image area. If this stabilisation is proposed for stills, it could result in variable crops of the image area. But no-one was asking questions at this level.

A77 MR Memory Recall – three custom setups saved, as with current Canon models. but not as convenient as the Alpha 900 with its three physical dial memory positions. Better than pure screen-menu chosen memory settings though.

Paul is now calling NEX ‘necks’ not ‘any eggs’. Good, that’s how we have always said it!

24.3 megapixel sensor creates 27.6MB raw file size, 38MB when also shooting a typical fine JPEG.

A77 movie exposure modes (P, A, S, M) can only be used if the camera is set to Manual focus; it is possible to re-autofocus during a take, but the brightness and settings appear to change.

ISO in finder, but OLED EVF can be customised to show what functions or settings you want to display, independently of what you see on the rear LCD.

September 24-25th, event at Sony HQ Weybridge, Surrey – www.sony-alpha-live.co.uk – Saturday or Sunday, team of advocate photographers, book space – £77 for first 30 users, £150 for rest. Includes free goodie, bag, lunch, transfer from rail station. Meet Paul Genge, his team, and the Alpha advocate photographers. Other companies involved will include Manfrotto, G-Tec hard drives.

(We asked later to attend this, but Press are excluded – it is strictly for paying delegates and aimed only at owners).

Question about Sigma lens compatibility – praised Sigma as an honourable Japanese company, which generally fixes the lenses as needed.

12-bit depth raw.

Over 450 users.

Did not mention GPS (we have subsequently had some complaints at PCA over the omission of GPS from the NEX-7 – ‘the ideal travel camera but no GPS is a deal-breaker’).

New community pages on sony.co.uk

1
Cameras (DSLR), HD Video, Lenses - Alpha Mount, News, NEX System

Sony launches new range Alpha, NEX

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All the predicted new models from Sony were unveiled today – the Alpha 77, Alpha 65, NEX-7, NEX-5n and NEX-VG20.

Full details are up on Sony’s websites. The A77/65 cameras will be on sale from October 2011 onwards. View Sony press information online.

Those who grab the cameras will find the virtual 1.09X 100% field of view given by the OLED finders looks to be visually 10% bigger than the largest APS-C viewfinders made, an experience close to using a full frame DSLR with an optical prism (1.09X at 23mm eyepoint).

The Alpha 77 is launched with the new 16-50mm f/2.8 SSM (not SAM as rumoured!) lens, and the Alpha 65 shares the same new 2.3 megapixel OLED viewfinder technology. The burst speed of the 77 is revealed to be 12 frames per second (predictions have ranged from 10 to 15) with the A65 achieving 10. The new 19-point, 11-cross point AF module is fitted to the A77 only, the A65 has a simpler 15-point, 3-cross module.

Both have the 24.3 megapixel CMOS sensor also found in the new NEX-7 model, but only the A77 allows ISO 50 capture (all allow 16,000). The A77 has a fully articulated 3-way swivelling rear screen and the A65 a simpler 2-directional hinge. HD video is upgraded to full 50/60 frames 1080 progressive (no longer 25/30p or 1080i) with full manual control.

The A77 has a semipro spec 1/8,000th shutter speeded to 1/250th for X sync, and rated for 150,000 cycles (tests will probably showe it uses a hybrid electronic/mechanical timing method to reduce shutter wear, but you’ll have to look elsewhere to confirm that, as we are not at the launch event). It has the expected GPS onboard.

The A65 is regular plastic-skin construction (see strap lugs, above) but the A77 is moisture/dust sealed and so, according to the information, are ther 16-50mm and the new HVL-F43AM flash and VG-C77AM vertical grip. The 77 uses full size NP-FM500H batteries.

Paul Genge, Technical Field Sales Manager for Sony UK, will be online for a one-hour live video Q&A session on the company’s Facebook page from 7.30pm GMT – visit www.facebook.com/SonyUK to partticipate.

Key points: auto ISO remains 100-1600 not expanded in range on the A65, but can be user set for 100-12,800 on the A77, which also has separately set 50 and 16,000 options plus a multishot 25,600 (the A65 also has this high speed mode). The A77 offers JPEG Extra Fine, the A65 does not.

The viewfinder magnification (eyepiece/screen combination) is not stated but is superior to the A55 with a half-inch OLED.

On the A77 only, exposure bracketing has been expanded to 3 frames at 2EV and 3EV intervals, in addition to 3 or 5 frames at 1/3, 1/2, or 2/3 EV; the A65 offers only 1/3 or 2/3 for 3 frames. Peculiarly, neither offers 1 EV bracketing.

The A77 or A65 normal motordrive with full AF/AE is 8fps (slow speed 3fps), the higher speeds are obtained with Continuous Advance Priority (fixed settings during burst). Both can achieve 13 raws, 17 fine JPEGs before slowing.

It doesn’t look as if either accepts the HVL-F58AM as a wireless controller, but both have built-in wireless. The rumour of CF card compatibility in the A77 was false, the cameras have dual MemoryStick PRO Duo/SD drives.

The NEX-7

The professional NEX has the 24.3 megapixel sensor, ultra-fast response with startup and focus time improvements, the same OLED viewfinder as the A77/65 built in to the body, the same full HD 1080/50/25p movie (Europe, 60/30 US) and the same sensitivity range as the A77. Manual refocusing is possible during video, 10fps bursts can be shot, and a leather case turns the camera into a Leica-like for eye level use.

The NEX-7 has the slower 1/4,000th with 1/160th sync shutter found in the A65 so it’s not all professionally-biased. And it’s got a small buffer, allowing a mere 6 raw frames or 4 raw+JPEG in a burst, 10 JPEGs at Fine res (no Extra Fine option is offered).

All the pre-existing bells and whistles remain included, such as Sweep Pan, 3D Pan, etc.

Please note: the OLED viewfinder on all these cameras is a power hog. With the NEX, for example, the rated battery life is 350 images using the finder, 430 images using the rear screen. The bigger battery of the A77 can still only power 470 shots (because of GPS?) where the A65 manages a respectable 510. Switching to the rear screen for composition increases these figures to 530 and 560.

There is NO new updated standard lens for the NEX and the existing 18-55mm will fight it out with the increased 24 megapixels!

No GPS. No info on potential GPS attachment.

View press info online.

The NEX-5n

The 16.1 megapixel sensor, also found in the new video VG20 model, gets into the updated NEX-5 which has the same improvements in response time and focusing as the 7 (claimed doubling of readout speed from the CD-AF system).

Its USP appears to be the ability to simulate a preview of adjustments on the screen and adjust them using touch control. It has 10fps burst.

There is a new EVF attachment. View press release online.

A new battery powered LE-EA2 adaptor which allows autofocus with ALL Alpha lenses including Minolta body-drive types back to 1985 is also to be available, above. It includes a downward-facing SLT pellicle mirror (don’t know why they did not use this design in regular cameras) and a Phase Detect AF module so the NEX can behave exactly like an Alpha 55. Note the screw drive focus coupling.

Looks like a decent lens-line-up, but me, I prefer more pancakes for my breakfast, not just a stack on one…

Along with the two new NEX models, the Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8, the Sony E 50mm f/1.8 OSS and the telephoto zoom E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS are to be launched. Availability of the new NEX gear should be quick – from September for the 5n, November for the 7.

The NEX-VG20

Aye well, it’s 16 megapixel video formfactor model as per VG10. See the info online. It claims the best ever video from such a camera – but they say the same about the ‘still’ models and they are probably right.

Sorry about a few of Sony’s uncropped image files with loads of white round them, they always do this and we will crop them later. But I’m due 100 miles away for a major Associateship and Fellowship annual judging to see some good photography and I have already made myself late with this! The article will be revised tonight. – David

 

 

 

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Cameras (DSLR), HD Video, Lenses - Alpha Mount, News, NEX System

Pentax Q up to battle it out with NEX and Ricoh

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Although it’s not Alpha, this product announcement – embargoed until 5am UK time, 23rd June, though no doubt by adhering to the embargo we will be a day later than hundreds of websites breaking it – speaks volumes for the impact of Sony’s Alpha system, its interformat lens compatibility, and the future of non-SLR systems.

Kenko, a Hoya group company like Pentax, showed a C-mount digital camera body in February, as a prototype planned for release this summer. Nothing more has been heard of this project. It looked rather like the Pentax in a way.

But Pentax Q is not a NEX competitor as it uses a tiny lens mount and a tiny sensor. It’s more like today’s equivalent of the Pentax 110 SLR system. Only Ricoh currently uses such small sensors in a nominally ‘interchangeable lens’ (not really) camera format. And our own testing of the Fujifilm F550 EXR, with a similar back-illuminated CMOS sensor, indicated that the gap between such microformats and the APS-C subformat is massive.

Just as your first dust spot will be… the anti-dust system is going to have to be 100% efficient, as a single dust bunny landing on a 1/2.3″ sensor will be disaster.

The lens throat is approximately 38mm diameter, very slightly smaller than Leica screw. The back focus is around 9mm, or half the thickness of the NEX body from sensor surface to flange. This will present the anti-shake, anti-dust vibration mounted sensor (on a magnetic carriage) in a fairly exposed ‘well’. The high speed limitation of 1/2,000th is unexpected, but the camera does not use a focal plane or electronic gating; instead it uses leaf-shutter lenses, which due to the small aperture size, can achieve this fast speed. But they can still only manage 1/250th flash sync, when it would be expected that a leaf shutter on this scale could achieve 1/1,000th.

Here is the Pentax Q system, due to go on sale in the Autumn (press release with comments).

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News, NEX System

Wait for the NEX SLT, folks…

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That is, the next slot in Sony’s programme of new product releases. Almost exactly five years after the Alpha 100 was launched to the world (also a Wednesday in the second week of June, back in 2006) Sony selected an auspicious date to announce the NEX-C3 and the Alpha A35. But these cameras, rather like the Alpha 100 in its day, are not what we are waiting for.

So – what’s new? 16.2 megapixels, 5.5fps native size, 7fps using a 1.4X crop (about 8 megapixels), no articulated rear screen, some candy functions in the menus for technophobes, and that accessible D-Range button can be made into a rapid custom control.

Everyone has suggested that a NEX-7 will be what they want. I rather think they will be get a NEX-C5, applying the same transforms to the 5 as the C3 (Compact 3) applies to the 3. That means it will have proper HD video, which the C3 lacks being restricted to MPEG4 HD720. Already, the rustle in the undergrowth is that the diminutive C3 misses the mark for this one single reason only. Sure, a 16.2 megapixel sensor (supposedly a new version, not just borrowed from the A55/580) is a welcome upgrade but NEX is a multipurpose system, and HD720 is back in 2006 not in 2011.

Nice mic slots, nice big CZ 16-80mm shown on the adaptor – but this, dear Sony, misses the point. We actually want the CZ 16-80mm to be updated to an SSM design so that it will focus on the NEX, and be better on the Alpha bodies, and so that its slightly manky mechanical design can be turned into something so smooth existing 16-80mm owners queue up to buy the replacement.

Good points – the shift in position of the stereo microphones to the front of the camera, the change to using a separate cover for the memory card instead of having to open the battery compartment. There’s a claim that along with a 20% better battery life, greater heat efficiency means the new cameras won’t cut out before 29 minutes is up when filming HD, even if you use SSS on the A35. Of course the NEX has no SSS but still managed to overheat, at least in the NEX-5, unless you were savvy enough to shift the rear screen away from contact with the camera back – in which case it generally keeps filming OK.

The operating times, startup, focusing speed are all reported to be much improved – by a factor of two or better. Only the image review time is worse due to the larger file size. Sony’s information makes it clear that very strong noise reduction is applied and this may affect raw files as well as JPEGs.

The new 30mm f/3.5 Macro SEL is theoretically interesting, but not so much for me personally as we have already got the 30mm f/2.8 SAM and the NEX adaptor. Eventually, you come to terms with the simple fact that a 2.5cm working distance for 1:1 shots prevents you shooting half the 1:1 shots which present themselves. You disturb the butterfly, hit bits of the plant, or cast the lens’s own shadow across the picture.

The firmware update (see end of story) to provide a ‘focus confirm’ overlay for manual focusing is actually of far more interest to the macro photographer – along with almost any other specification of macro lens except 30mm f/3.5. These lenses are fun, I love the SAM 30mm, but it’s not the answer.

The new HVL-F20S flashgun (based on the HVL-F20AM only in the design of its rotating reflector/diffuser) has changed a load since it was previewed with a mockup based on the Alpha model. Sony has decided to power it from the NEX battery, much as Minolta did with flashguns like the 316i in the early 1990s. That’s almost certainly because the NEX Smart Connector is simply not capable of holding the gun with a couple of AA cells in it, the weight would be too much.

In an ideal world, this new flashgun would do for the NEX system what its orginator does for the Alpha 900 and 850 – act as a remote wireless flash commander. But it does not, leaving NEX outside the main Alpha system still. If you want remote flash (or even just a more powerful flash mounted on a bracket beside your camera) the Nissin Di 866 MkII remains your best bet, programmable to fire correctly in synch with the NEX and to use its own auto-exposure cell for metering.

Alpha 35 – one step forward, two steps back

The Alpha 35 is similarly not earth-shattering news, especially if you own an Alpha 55 with GPS function and rather better overall performance in all respects except (perhaps) ultimate high ISO. The firmware updates for both NEX and SLT models, to be available from June 20th, add most of the benefits of the new models along with some of the child-friendly hipsta stuff. Again, wait until the next round. A higher end SLT camera is firmly promised, it’s been prototyped and mocked up and preproduced and somewhere as I write someone is actually using it.

Losing the articulated rear LCD (see above), not even replacing it with a tilting one, is a big sacrifice. The 7fps 1.4X digital tele conversion mode – with continuous AF tracking – is interesting and reminiscent of the sensor crop mode of Nikon’s first CMOS, the D2X, which was itself developed from a Sony sensor (the Cybershot DSC R-1). It shows that there are genetic traits in the Sony line that won’t be forgotten.

But is there really much point to this camera? Not much. Unlike the NEX-C3 which sees a significant body size reduction and style change, the A35 contrives to be a poor relation of either the A33 or the A55 because it lacks that excellent, reversible, twist and swivel rear screen.

Photoclubalpha has been a photographer’s thing not just a camera owner’s thing – a small difference, these days, but important. For photographers any reason to prefer the new models to what you’ve got may depend on small hidden differences which come to light as people use them. Certainly the provision of functions with changed names because no-one can be expected to understand what an aperture is, what a shutter speed is (and so on) is no reason to want the new models. Probably the reverse!

Video enthusiasts may like to note that the firmware update for the A55/33 allows all the overlaid text to be removed from the live view, which can be output from the HDMI port to surprisingly high quality. Recording devices to accept HDMI signals like this are just starting to appear at affordable prices. There’s some potential to experiment with the image provided for LV (Focus Check Live View more so than Quick AF LV) once fed into other systems free from overlays.

Version 04 firmware update for NEX-5, NEX-3
Available from June 20th, a firmware upgrade for existing NEX-5 and NEX-3 cameras adds the new ‘Picture Effect’ function as introduced on the new NEX‑C3. It also adds a Peaking function to assist with more precise manual focusing. Available free to registered users, latest Version 04 firmware update for NEX-5/NEX-3 can be downloaded from:
NEX-3
Windows:
http://support.sonyeurope.com/dime/downloads/downloads.aspx?f=FW_NEX3_V04_WIN&site=odw_en_GB
MAC OS:
http://support.sonyeurope.com/dime/downloads/downloads.aspx?f=FW_NEX3_V04_MAC&site=odw_en_GB
NEX-5
Windows:
http://support.sonyeurope.com/dime/downloads/downloads.aspx?f=FW_NEX5_V04_WIN&site=odw_en_GB
MAC OS:
http://support.sonyeurope.com/dime/downloads/downloads.aspx?f=FW_NEX5_V04_MAC&site=odw_en_GB

Editor’s note June 9th: please note that these URLs will not work – they are incorrectly transcribed by Sony. The URLs should be similar to those for the A33, A55 with a hyphen between sony-europe. Unfortunately, Sony has issued press releases and web pages with the incorrect URLs. We have changed the link so that it will work when the time comes.

Version 2.00 firmware update for α33, α55
Available from June 20th, a firmware upgrade for existing α33 and α55 cameras by Sony adds several creative and operational enhancements. Support for the ‘Picture Effect’ function featured on the new α35 is now offered. High-Speed Synch is supported during wireless operation with a compatible external flash (only α55). Ergonomics are further improved with revised menus and a new mode that lets users switch off shooting parameters overlaid on screen for clear, uncluttered composition. The camera’s Digital Level Gauge can also be displayed when shooting via the optional CLM-V55 external LCD monitor. Frequently used features can now be custom-assigned to the D-RANGE button for rapid, menu-free access.

Available free to registered users, from the 20th of June the latest GB English Version 2.00 firmware update for α33 and α55 can be downloaded from:
A33
Windows:
http://support.sony-europe.com/dime/downloads/downloads.aspx?f=FW_A33_V2_WIN&site=odw_en_GB
MAC OS:
http://support.sony-europe.com/dime/downloads/downloads.aspx?f=FW_A33_V2_MAC&site=odw_en_GB
A55
Windows:
http://support.sony-europe.com/dime/downloads/downloads.aspx?f=FW_A55_V2_WIN&site=odw_en_GB
MAC OS:
http://support.sony-europe.com/dime/downloads/downloads.aspx?f=FW_A55_V2_MAC&site=odw_en_GB

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Cameras (DSLR), HD Video, News, NEX System
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