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“forever-a while”- Shot with Sony A-65 from Johnnie Behiri on Vimeo.

That’s a short summary fo the leatest news I found about the new Sony cameras:

MIke Langner (Click here) posted a full A77 review: “I must admit I’m spoiled by the A900 OVF which is one of the best out there, but if I was still shooting with an APS-C camera the Sony Alpha A77 EVF will seem huge. A700 users have been waiting 4 years for a worthy replacement – and the Sony Alpha A77 is definitely worth it.”

Photoreview Australia (Click here) posted a new A77 first look. The Chinese website PCpop (Click here) tested the new 16-50mm lens (go on page 4 to see the image samples). And another Chinese website Sonysdf (Click here) tested the A77 camera with firmware 1.02. They also made an useful ISO comparison with the Nikon D7000.

CNET Australia (Click here) posted a full NEX-5n review: “The Sony NEX-5N offers great image quality, a large SLR-sized sensor and a stylish body with the added bonus of a touchscreen. If shooting video is a make-or-break deal for you, hold off buying the NEX-5N for now until Sony issues a fix for the clicking issue when filming.”

Also Philip Bloom (Click here) had the chance to test the NEX-5n: “So all in all. A lovely little camera with a rather annoying issue. I hope this can be fixed…not sure how though as this is a hardware issue not a firmware issue…will they all need to be sent back? One more thing, some people have reported the camera overheating and not being able to get to the 29 mins 59 seconds max per clip. I just did…at 25p with no issue. 50p…no issue. Also without the viewfinder the camera is only half as good for me…it does output a full HD hdmi signal but mounting a Zacuto EVF on this baby would be daft, especially as the OLED EVF is stunning!”

And those are the links to preorder the new cameras and lenses:
A77 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay.
A65 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay.
Sony NEX-7 Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay.
Sony NEX-5n Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay.
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay.
Sony 50mm f/1.8 Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay.
Sony 55-210mm Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay.
NEX-5n viewfinder Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay.

On top: The very first picture(?) taken with the (preproduction) Noktor HyperPrime 23mm f/1.7 for NEX (Click on picture to enlarge).

We have been just told by our sources that there will be a new E-mount Noktor 23mm f/1.7 lens coming soon. The design is based on cinema lens, that means it has  a 12 aperture blades that will make a perfectly round aperture opening. The lens will be available in December for around $499. It has a minimum focus distance of 10cm.

The lens is made by the Chinese company SLRmagic which already makes the 35mm f/1.7 for NEX (available on eBay).

There is a new detailed first impression review at Luminous Landscape (Click here).

I am just sharing some of the positive things they wrote about the NEX-7:
- “From an operational perspective what immediately brings a grin to an experienced photographer’s face is how comfortably the camera falls to hand. It’s one of those designs that makes few demands for accommodation on the part of the photographer. And, given how small the NEX-7 is, this is quite remarkable, even for people with large hands.”
-  “Certainly at low to moderate ISOs the NEX-7 is neck-and-neck with Sony current Pro-grade full-frame camera, and that means that it will be comparable to the image quality of Nikon and Canon’s current full-frame cameras – at moderate ISOs, of course. ”

What’s very nice is that they compared the new Zeiss 24mm lens versus the very expensive and top quality Leica 24mm Summilux: “The 24mm Summilux simply can’t perform properly on the NEX-7 until its stopped down to f/8 and f/11, at which point it’s comparable to the new Zeiss 24mm.”

Bottom line: “ I predict that the NEX-7 will be one of the hottest cameras of the coming year, and is going to really put other camera maker’s feet to the fire when it comes to offering an attractive mix of image quality, features, size, build quality and price. Sony clearly made a decision to make the NEX-7 as full featured as possible, not holding back any of their available features or technology. With many camera makers creating market segmentation by artificially restricting features to certain price points, Sony is to be commended for pulling out all the stops for the NEX-7 and keeping the price as reasonable as it did given the camera’s wide ranging features and capabilities.”

Preorder the NEX-7 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay (Some stores may are not accepting preorders now).
Preorder the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay (Some stores may are not accepting preorders now).

Introduction:
I am a happy NEX-5n user (and probably future NEX-7 user too). But what I am missing in the current NEX lens lineup are pancakes! I’m googling around to find some nice pancakes I can use on my NEX and I thought it would be nice to share with you my findings!

The Zeiss Planar 35mm f/2.0:
The razor sharp and tiny  Zeiss Planar 35mm f/2.0 can be used on your NEX via the Contax G to NEX mount adapter (Click here to find them on eBay). The lens itself costs around $500 and you can find them on eBay (Click here). On your NEX this will become a 53mm f/2.0 lens. As you see from the picture on top it is a very compact, and high quality lens.

What I found:
A set of image samples from “Ta” taken with the NEX-5 on Flickr (Click here).
Another set of image samples from “Sebboh” taken with the NEX-3 on Flickr (Click here).
Amazing night shots from “Lowlightlove” taken with the NEX-3 on Flickr (Click here).

What do you think:

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Ebay links:
Zeiss Planar 35mm f/2.0 (Click here)
Contax G to NEX mount adapter (Click here)

The latest Sony ENX lens roadmap shows the three upcoming new lenses, the G standard zoom, the die angle zoom and mid telephoto lens. Those are lenses that will appeal consumers more than enthusiast or professionists. But I am still hoping Sony will also announce some fast lens and panckes as soon as possible. Carl Garrard has a small talk with Sony and told them: “I let Sony know there is a big desire for smaller lenses for the NEX system, and in the end of that conversation I came to the conclusion that it’s not like they aren’t aware of this desire/need. I was told that their lens engineers are at full throttle trying to keep up with designing lenses for both the Alpha and NEX systems. “That’s fine” I said, “But the consumer wants smaller lenses now- maybe Sony ought to think about prioritizing that demand” I added.” (Source: Dpreview forum).

Now let’s hope Sony will respond my (and your) call for pancakes!