Sony NEX success was unexpected. 2012 will be a busy year for engineers!
While talking with my sources about the upcoming year it clearly came out how Sony’s NEX system success has been greater than expected. Sony didn’t think the NEX-7 and NEX-5n would sell that well. For the first time since their entrance in the digital camera market Sony feels like they finally got the attention from the mass market. The NEX system is also the most profitable of all interchangeable system (better than APS-C SLT and better than the future fullframe SLT cameras). To maximize the momentum Sony decided to redo the whole 2012 NEX roadmap. As I already told you there will be more NEX lenses than originally planed. There will be also many new NEX cameras and I have been told there will be also a “surprise”…a sort of “different” NEX (And I am not talking about the AE hybrid NEX-7 alike camera!).
In concrete, I have been told that we will see many new NEX stuff soon, starting from early Spring 2012. I am working to get the full details of the new roadmap. If you want or can help me send me your rumor at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com. Or use the anonymous contact form you see here on the right sidebar. Every little help…helps! Thanks!
One more thing: You SAR readers choose the NEX-7 as camera of the year 2011 with 2,494 votes (44% of all voters). And the most expected camera of 2012 is the A99 (38%) and the NEX-7 (35%) alike fullframe camera. Keep me updated if you find the NEX-7 to be in Stock somewhere. Would liek you SAR readers to get the camera before other guys 
UPDATE: In Stock in Denmark at kamerahuset.
In Stock status check:
A77 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay
A65 at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
Sony NEX-7 Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
Sony NEX-5n Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
Sony 50mm f/1.8 Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
Sony 55-210mm Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
NEX-5n viewfinder Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
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SirWired
5 months ago |I wish I could cheer, and if I worked for Sony, I would. But I fear that the success of NEX may do for Sony and the A-mount what m4/3 did for Olympus and the 4/3 mount. And why shouldn’t it? It’s profitable, Sony has a gigantic lead over Canon and Nikon and more marketing muscle than the beleaguered Olympus (or Panazonic.) If they can get a decent lens selection rolled out in 2012, they may be able to fend off Canon’s inevitable entry from stealing too much marketshare. (Nikon looks like they want to carve out their own niche here; smart move, but I don’t consider it to be competition to the much larger 4/3 / APC-C sensored lines.)
It’s certainly a rational business choice, and a logical technical progression; but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
I fear that the current Sony body and lens roadmap is the “end of the line”, just like Olympus has zero new 4/3 bodies (or lenses) on the way.
klw10
5 months ago |? Not sure why you feel it to be the end of the line.
z
5 months ago |m4/3 and 4/3 use exactly same sensor. You might not know it, but, A-mount is not APS-C exclusive. That alone is enough to keep A-mount afloat.
That said, it’s not like oly abandoned 4/3. Oly’s flagship, the e-5, just got refreshed not so long ago. By that cycle, the next flagship would be at least 2years for now, just like A700-A77.
Kevin
5 months ago |legitimate concern though. the R&D of E-mount is going to hinder the R&D of A-mount, & vice versa. Development will go towards the most profitable system.
Spoon
5 months ago |The difference is that Olympus hit a brick wall with their DSLR design and saw the popularity of those cameras dropping fast.
Sony is touching new grounds with the SLT cameras that shows much more potential (with LV and video gaining popularity fast) and has a lot more in common at the same time with the NEX line in terms of parts (think sensor,EVF, processors etc.) which greatly reduces the costs.
matgay
5 months ago |on sensor pdaf NEX? blow nikon j1/v1 away
Rover
5 months ago |Absolutely! I thought it was Sony who devised it first, but has thus far failed to put it into a finished product for some reason. But I may be wrong.
Bugger
5 months ago |Ah what the heck.
So should I put off my NEX 7 purchase?
admin
5 months ago |No.
Bugger
5 months ago |Ahaha ok!
Speaking of which, what kind of new NEX cameras are the rumour mill churning out?
Don Cox
5 months ago |No, because the Sony designers will be bringing out new and better models for years. If you keep waiting for the perfect NEX, you miss the chance of taking a great photo with the current models.
There will always be a better camera just around the corner.
Scip
5 months ago |Finally someone has seen the ligth at sony.
But in order for the nex system to pose a credible threat to canon/Nikon there are a few things that Sony needs to remedy and fast.
1) Auto focus. I know many people will say the most important thing the nex needs is more lenses but I think autofocus is any area which Sony is behind the competition. There is a reason why the Nikon one system is doing well, and that’s because of its fast autofocus, Panasonic and Olympus cameras also have fast contrast af, this puts the nex system at a disadvantage.
Sony needs to act fast.
2) More lenses. But we know these are on their way, because of the 2011 roadmap and also the latest rumours. But they need to be compact and affordable.
That’s all I can think of for now. The nex has the best image quality of any mirrorless camera period!!But the most important thing lacking in the nex cameras for me is the autofocus speed. If Sony can find a good solution to this problem them 2012 might be a really good year for them.
Brian
5 months ago |+1
I would carry my NEX5 around a LOT more often if the AF were up to par with it’s image quality. I’ve had my a77 for a few weeks now – it goes everywhere with me simply because the focus doesn’t miss and it’s fast. Would love to leave the “tank” at home for a few neighborhood outings in favor of the much smaller / lighter NEX5…but I sure do enjoy the razor sharp pictures it produces.
Hopefully a new NEX variant is in the pipes that addresses the AF, and the new glass is more than welcomed. I too would like to get some decent optics that don’t cost 3x more than the body, and I would like to have it before my current NEX5 is less than 5 generations old
Marek
5 months ago |3) Ergonomics. Yes, it has been much improved with NEX 7 but it is targeted on different segment then other NEX cams.
Vlad
5 months ago |I disagree. People are still stuck on specs. I am not saying fast AF is not important (although, frankly, for the majority of photographers it should be ok), but Sony needs visibility. As I see it Sony has always made great cameras, but they were marketed badly.
NEXfive
5 months ago |Well, I guess the NEX lens range development is a good indicator, how serious Sony took this system at first. While the SEL50F18 seems to become Sony’s very first really exciting E-Mount lens from the beginning their lenses weren’t really bad, but much poorer than the cameras’ capacities – another reason why I don’t understand Sony refused to give their early adopters Lens Compensation via Firmware Update. I don’t like this feeling of being pushed into buying a new camera simply because of firmware limitation…
Alain
5 months ago |+1 lens compensation could have been something great with last firmware !
Please Sony don’t forget the customer who have make the success of the nex system !!!
Rorey
5 months ago |All that is good news can’t wait to see new lenses just wish they had some kind of off camera speed light trigger accessories for the nex-5n
Atlasman
5 months ago |So what were the contributing factors that led to this unexpected success?
Lots of E-mount lenses? Fast auto-focus?
Image quality? Usability? Adaptability? Size?
Marek
5 months ago |I think the success was caused by much better image quality in compact like body and with similar handling.
Years ago I was also thinking about upgrade from my compact camera and I wanted better image quality. By that time there was nothing like NEX. I would probably buy it then because DSLR seemed to me too big and complex.
Now I’m happy I bought a DSLR and skipped NEX format but I understand that for many people NEX is sufficient and rest will eventually buy SLT from SONY one day.
NEX is in a position of entry level cam at SONY camera brand.
JonasM
5 months ago |This indeed how Sony initially saw it and many people unfamiliar with NEX cameras still echo that: NEX is an upgrade from point and shoot, but serious shooters use DSLRs. That’s just not the reality that came about: most NEX users I dare say, are experienced shooters who are upgrading not from point ad shoots but from DSLRs (you may say downgrade if you will). I sold my Alpha after testing the NEX-5 in store and most people I meet who shoot NEX are using third party legacy glass which sure does not indicate a point and shoot background.
rishio
5 months ago |I’m with you on that. I just sold off my Canon 60d and Canon 5dII in anticipation for the nex 7. A pro camera for me balances image quality, compactness, and handling. Nex 7 blows away my 5dII because there is no compactness in the 5dII. It’s also a hybrid camera and my work involves photography along with video.. So it’s not a step up from a point and shoot… it’s a completely new category for enthusiast and pros that can’t be matched by any existing camera.
NEXfive
5 months ago |Initially for me Sony’s NEX-5 has been the first really convincing concept to combine photography and video. Nevertheless Panasonic’s GH2 is doing this technically better from the video point of view, that’s still DSLR style, while NEX is already beyond also focussing on professional movie makers with the FS100.
Additionally the crop factor 1.5 is better for using my old manual lenses than μ4/3 would be and there’s at least a chance to get a full frame E-Mount camera sooner or later. That’s not entry level for me, that’s some sort of a great new horizon.
So there’s quite an advanced sexiness in the E-Mount concept already…
D.Ortego
5 months ago |Thus far I tend to agree or least I hope so. If Sony dives into the NEX format and leaves the pro-level body in the dust, they’ll lose any chance to compete with Nikon and Canon. The A900 placed them in the running to be a serious contender, provided they build upon that.
JChristopher
5 months ago |Useability. Target market is P&S crowd who want a better camera but do not want the size & complexity of (D)SLR. That is why Sony first came out with simple controls. Camera was not really meant for experiences SLR users.
Vlad
5 months ago |IMO, the NEX was created to take the consumer market on the level of advanced compacts and entry-level DSLRs. I think a very smart approach in itself for obvious reasons.
What they weren’t expecting is that it actually became a camera for everyone. Travel photos, landscape, street, etc., they all benefit from smaller cameras and they are a huge market. Add to that the possibility to adapt any lens, which makes the whole system extremely flexible and potentially very cheap.
And the only competitor are MFT, which were reiterating the same body over and over again and keeping the same old sensor.
Pablo
5 months ago |SONY, pleaaaaseee, put IBIS into at least one NEX camera!!!
Don Cox
5 months ago |My guess is that IBIS will come when they get rid of the mechanical shutter.
REVENGE
5 months ago |QFT!!!
Z-man
5 months ago |Another step closer to my F2.8 zoom lens with OSS ..
Yes, guys, I’ll keep banging on about it until some manufacturer will announce it.
Cliff
5 months ago |Yup,..a constant aperture F2.8 16-50mm with OSS would be PERFECT! The NEX VG10/20 and FS100 crowd would LOVE that too for video!
I don’t care about the size. Even if it’s the same size as the Sony 18-200, that’s fine with me. But please make it in BLACK color! (not silver)
Cliff
(yes, I know “black” is not a technically a “color”)
Rover
5 months ago |Anyone would love it for stills as well. Such a lens is really a no-brainer.
pancanikonpus
5 months ago |I hope sony does not repeat what happen to samsung start switch to body stabilizer. it will impact whole lenses line up change.
Hopefully Sony make a step faster than samsung
ghj2
5 months ago |Until Sony starts to offer a decent selection of pancake primes I won’t be getting a Nex. Great cameras letdown by a terrible selection of lenses.
Don Cox
5 months ago |I suppose the selection seems poor if you don’t already own a dozen or more lenses for various cameras. I find it amazing that all my old lenses are suddenly working again, better than ever.
Even the enlarger lenses, which I thought would never be used again.
ghj2
5 months ago |Yes, for people with a lot of good legacy glass I’d imagine this camera is awesome. Once there are a couple more compact primes I’ll probably get one, unless Samsung can come up with a sensor comparable to that found in the 5N.
Vlad
5 months ago |Why not invest in some legacy lenses?
ghj2
5 months ago |1. cause I value compactness on a camera this tiny and you can’t really get that without native pancakes designed for the camera
2. I want autofocus
Jiri
5 months ago |Do I see it correct? There is a black 16mm f/2.8 lens on the top of the picture. Could it mean that besides the colour also the optical qualities of that lens have been improved?
NEXfive
5 months ago |…looks like a standard silver SEL16F28 to me. BTW nice picture.
c.d.embrey
5 months ago |Sorry, but the lens is Silver. You are being fooled by the lighting. The highlights are silver and the black is the absence of light. This is done to show “roundness”.
The Silver lenses look cheap, as in lack of quality. I’d be happy to spend a few $$$s more for black lenses.
J-Man
5 months ago |I know I won’t be buying any silver lenses from Sony, how hard is it to release black versions?
Jiri
5 months ago |The ergonomics of the NEX-7 have introduced a new standard that is gong to be appreciated by many photographers, not only enthusiatsts like me. The chance to carry a smaller equipment for trips than the bulky SLR or SLT with the corresponding lenses is a major attraction. Together with the expected and promised flow of new and better E-mount lenses and bodies it will change preferences of many of us, I am convinced.
JB
5 months ago |What about alpha?
Walt
5 months ago |Thus Sony drops A mount, step by step. Wonder if there will be any more A mount cameras after next year. Sony switch to all NEX which is where their customers are, in consumer cameras. NEX will just become their highest line of Cybershots even if they don’t call them that.
So much for Minolta people thinking their mount would continue on. Get a few more years and then the end.
Adi
5 months ago |E-mount does not support Full Frame. I agree, you may see less and less APS-C A-mount but you will have FF cameras for quite some years.I think it makes sense.
NEXfive
5 months ago |Wrong, E-Mount is constructed also for FF sensors, so there might be a NEX-FF in the future…
Spoon
5 months ago |Yes and no. The size of the mount is in theory large enough, but the short registration distance and angle of incidence will cause even more troubles than witnessed now with the APS-C format. Plus there.are no native lenses that fully cover a FF format. Which is also why we probably won’t see a real NEX FF camera soon (I’m inclined to say years).
Arnold
5 months ago |The short registration distance is not a problem, the lens length just must be increased, after all M mount is smaller.
Spoon
5 months ago |It is a problem. The Leica M9 for example has a much larger registration distance of 27.95 mm vs 17.5 in the NEX cameras. And that much larger distance was already enough of a concern for Leica to implement offset microlenses towards the edges aswell. Longer and thus larger lenses isn’t the most logical answer for a camera that is supposed to be small and one of the most heard complaints about the current APS-C NEX lenses is about the size. Imagine the complaints about the extra size trade off you suggested.
Arnold
5 months ago |It’s better to add 1cm in the lens length, rather than 1cm in the body width !
It allows more flexibility.
On a FF NEX you could put longer FF lenses or legacy ones,
or shorter APS-C lenses.
Photography is all about compromises,
one day you need to put a pocketable lens,
one day you need the maximum IQ.
Spoon
5 months ago |That’s a tradeoff they could in theory use for the native lenses. But what about all the existing legacy glass? And pancakes?
No, it simply doesn’t sound like a logical addition yet.
Arnold
5 months ago |What are you talking about… you need a very short registration distance to be able to put adapters to mount legacy lenses !
Adi
5 months ago |I’ve seen a video (Sony) when it was a question about this.Sony guy said clear that they were looking into it but e-mount will not support FF. If they add a FF in NEX line will not be e-mount.
NEXfive
5 months ago |I only once read an interview several month ago, where a Sony guy replied, they’d constructed E-Mount also to serve a full frame sensor, but they’d no plans to realise that. To be honest I’m rather expecting Canon than Sony to fill the full frame mirrorless gap for their lens range – but I’d already expected Nikon to do so shortly before their presentation of 1.
@ Spoon, since I’m using my NEX-5 mostly with my old manual full frame lenses, I’d expect a full frame sensor to bring exactly to the sensor, what these lenses formerly brought to my analogue photos…
Spoon
5 months ago |You’re now using a much shorter registration distance and that poses much more problems with digital sensors than it did with film to begin with. Vignetting, large local colour shifts, corner softness, etc.
The effect is visible in the first NEX series( APS-C), it would be paramount with a FF NEX.
Booe
5 months ago |Spoon, stop talking about “registration distance” of which you have no idea about what it is. It is not an optical property! You are imagining that all converging power of lens is at that “registration distance” from a sensor. This is not true, rear lens may be only elements to correct aberrations.
>more problems with digital sensors
This is not a fundamental property and only means that sensors should be improved, nothing more.
People wishing FF nex want to use it with lenses they already do have, so no complains here, only from trolls. If you need small camera with 10x zoom, use a cybershot. Hypothetical FF NEX is a mirrorless DSLR, not an overgrowth P&S.
Spoon
5 months ago |Obviously you have little idea what you are talking about. There is only so much you can fix withh offset microlenses and as pixels become smaller, the maximum effectiveness of the above actually decreases too.
There is a reason why the current APS-C NEX lineup mostly consists of (already larger) heavily telecentric designs.
I doubt Sony would compromise their higher end FF glass for a suggested FF NEX by leaving out corrective elements. I very much doubt Zeiss would approve such designs carrying their name too.
And it’s going to take quite some time before the thickness of digital sensors even approaches the thickness of film. Even if they fully drop the AA filter.
Hence why I said years before we might see a real FF NEX.
NEXfive
5 months ago |Spoon, you’re talking about the problem to construct Pancakes for E-Mount’s very short flange focal distance (also called registration distance or register). Yes, there are problems with sharpness, vignetting and purple fringing in pancakes’ corners – (nearly) everybody owning Sony’s SEL-16F28 knows about that and that’s why I’m a little embarrassed about Sony not having given Lens Compensation to their latest firmware update for NEX-5, 3, C3 & VG10.
But when using old manual full frame lenses all these problems can’t be caused by the short flange focal distance, because exactly the shortened distance is added by an adapter. This only causes mechanical problems I see e.g. when using my catadioptric 500mm lens, that even on a tripod shows a slightly wobbling picture on the display.
Colour problems are sometimes (especially in sunlight or while other high contrasts) caused by coating and lens design made for analogue films before digital sensors’ era and also the shorter flange focal distance cannot bring any additional vignetting to this. Even tilt effects work with old manual lenses connected to E-Mount, while purposely avoiding the exact flange focal distance.
Therefore a NEX-FF would simply use the full frame image circle of my old manual lenses instead of the APS-C crop only, nevertheless I’d expect especially the coating problems not optimised for that to multiply in the corners. Anyway, I’d go for a NEX-FF, of course. Options like that have been a big part of the excitement when deciding to buy this camera.
But talking about the construction of future pancakes you’re right pointing out the optical problem of serving a comparatively big APS-C image circle with an extremely short flange focal distance. I’m not whining for pancakes and would have bought a smaller sensor camera if this was my priority.
Or simpler: I’m a member of that fraction simply excited about the additional options of a full frame sensor inside a NEX-FF…
BMan
5 months ago |Always with them negative waves, Walt, always with the negative waves
Oddball out!
Spoon
5 months ago |You should be grateful for every single year.
That said, the A mount will see atleast quite a few more years, including new lenses and bodies.
Wheelus
5 months ago |Walt, are you auditioning for the next grinch movie? Let’s hear something positive and constructive from you sometime.
Adi
5 months ago |P&S cameras are slowly on the way to extinction (except very cheap almost disposable ones, maybe) as the phone cameras get photos at least as good (video also). If you want something better you will buy a “bridge”camera for much better zoom than phones or a mirrorles or DSLR for a much beter photo quality. A nex is same size or smaller than a bridge so you chose between zoom and PQ. DSLRs are much bigger and they require more “comitment”.
You will se much less Cybershot cameras and more NEXes in the next years for sure.
Vivek
5 months ago |After having the NEX-7 in hand, I can already say this- need compact but versatile flashes that can do swivel/tilt/modeling/zoom (look at Samsung’s and the Nikon V1′s flashes).
Flashes do expose properly and accurately, even with manual focus lenses!
Adi
5 months ago |Take a look at NEX success !. ALL NEXes (even the 3C) are out of stcock at Sony Canada :
http://store.sony.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=20153&langId=200&catalogId=100803&identifier=S_NEX
Vlad
5 months ago |Well, that’s hardly indicative of success.
D.Ortego
5 months ago |No doubt there will be a NEX9 and that’s when I’ll jump on board. Until then I’ll keep lugging around my ‘fat-bastard’.
Dirk
5 months ago |“There will be also many new NEX cameras”
Someone should tell Sony-Engineers, that a firmware-update does not mean new hardware *lol*
Alain
5 months ago |+1
matgay
5 months ago |nex hot shoe sucks!!! they need either standard hot shoe or the sony hot shoe.
Vivek
5 months ago |The only useful NEX thus far is the NEX-7. It has a Sony hotshoe.
quobetah
5 months ago |Nex is the future cause it is the freedom from lenses! Now we can use any brand of lenses, even ones as exotic as the Noctilux 50mm F0.95, FASTEST LENS IN THE WORLD. Here being shot with a Sony Nex 5N. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlqG_rcfoFY
calxn
5 months ago |Guess what else was unexpected… people prefer black lenses! Shocker to those Sony marketing geniuses. Sony ought to ask the Leica and Fuji people about silver/chrome colored lenses and bodies. They learned. Hopefully, Sony will too.
calxn
5 months ago |I’m glad they’re going to put more focus on the NEX because let’s face it, there are only two makers of DSLRs in our collective consciousness. It’ll never change. Sony tried to be a 3rd peg, but it’ll never happen. They’ll always be a red headed stepchild in DSLRs no matter how good the cameras are. You can resent that idea and get mad at the sheeple, but deep down, you know it’s true. With NEX, they have a clean slate without the two big brothers grabbing all the first dibs at the dinner table.
JonasM
5 months ago |I think with Sony making more and more sensors for Nikon and others, it can eventually steal their show from underneath them.
typezeiss
5 months ago |@calxn I can not in any serious way call what Sony has done thus far in the DSLR market a true attempt. They have done little in the way of the pro market to capture that market. Canon has a service where if I am shooting in Spain and my camera breaks I can bring my camera in, get it fixed and get a loaner in the mean time. Sony has no such service. This is just a example but my point is, Sony has not even begun to try in the DSLR market. I believe if they made a serious and well thought out attempt using the DSLT technology (once the problems are worked out) they could easy capture the market. They climbed up from last place to #3 in short order. If they really tried I think they could. Also a Nex camera is like a gateway device. If someone decides to go pro and stick with Sony after being hooked on the Nex system, they will have to graduate to the ALpha line, they have no choice. So its a great way to get those people moving up the ladder.
Vlad
5 months ago |Agreed, the problem is Sony’s marketing vs the convenience of using a Canikon. But I am not so sure about going up the ladder. Going down the ladder is what has generally worked for other companies, i.e. having professionals use their cameras and advertise that. I think both should be implemented.
calxn
5 months ago |Well, I think we all know increasing marketing and establishing a pro presence is unlikely to happen. Sony is currently struggling with TV and other areas. I doubt they want to sink the kind of money it would take to catch up to Canikon since the benefits probably isn’t worth it financially. The shareholders would not be happy if Sony continues to keep losing money in more areas of their businesses. A full blown war with Canikon would simply mean amped up marketing by all three, less profits for Canikon, and huge losses for Sony as they lose money in hopes of marketshare. Once they’ve established themselves, what do they have to look forward too? Low profits between the three of them. The lessons of this strategy from the PS3 is still fresh in their minds. Taking on Canikon is simply too formidable. Canon probably could outlast Sony since they’ve always been very profitable. Sony is a big name in consumer electronics, but Canon is the more profitable company. Nikon would ditch Sony sensor causing huge financial burden and a loss of a volume customer to help depreciate their sensor investment. What would be the point? Ego vs profits.
The NEX is where Sony needs to focus on. I wouldn’t bet against Sony ditching the Alpha lines within 3 years.
NEXfive
5 months ago |Totally agree with calxn. Sony will never be change those professionals to their customers, who are used to Canon or Nikon or possibly Leica even if their decision for these brands would be nothing more than tradition. That’s not worth the fight, especially since the advanced customers and specialised professionals using NEX are so much more profitable.
Vlad
5 months ago |@calxn @NEXfive
If increasing marketing is unlikely to happen, then it’ll end up the same way as with the A100/A700/A900. Great cameras, but that wasn’t enough. In terms of having pros use their cameras, there are pretty much only two things to do – create a pro service, same as Canikon and develop some attractive camera system. They are already doing the latter with the NEX-7. That is absolutely worth the fight and if you think Sony aren’t in a full-blown competition with Canikon already, you are kidding yourselves. With the NEX and SLT they just changed the angle of attack. And look at the prices they are selling at – profits are already low. It is about market share now.
So, in general, when I talk about marketing and going both up and down the ladder, what I mean is:
- on a pro level – pro service and a clear visible strategy for the future (and stick to it) will be enough to attract pros; the lack of the aforementioned killed the A700/A900, imho;
- on a consumer level – visibility – the only cameras on the shelves in photo shops are some old A3xx models and I have yet to see one NEX advertisement outside Japan;
(You need all of this to battle the Canon convenience and fame. Same goes for Nikon. About Nikon, if they ditch Sony’s sensors which factory would they use?)
And I agree with your conclusions – in the end they should work on the NEX line.
D.Ortego
5 months ago |That’s just wrong! Mounting a $10k+ Noctilux on a NEX? What’s the world coming to?
quobetah
5 months ago |Thats the great thing about the Nex system..you can use the cheapest to the most expensive lenses you have.:)
matgay
5 months ago |get the whole set of zeiss compact primes (they have native nex e-mount for the zeiss) for movies!!
i’d rather buy a $40,000 set of lenses with a $600 body, then the other way around.
Ian
5 months ago |Agreed, focus and get it done!
Vlad
5 months ago |To normal pricing?
Maxfield
5 months ago |IMO, at the moment, the price gap between the NEX-7 and the NEX-5n is too big. I expect that Sony would want to cover all the price points and would create a NEX-6 in the middle. Quite possibly the NEX-7 body combined with an optimized version of its already excellent 16MP APS-C sensor.
Mike
5 months ago |Having bought a 5N and a A850 recently, I’m thinking seriously to jump boat to Sony (currently Canon).
I also believe the NEX line has a lot of potential with its small camera size and superb image quality. Just hope the NEX line will get more mature soon with new updates and lenses.
If Sony is listening, please give NEX users a new accessory in 2012: a flash hot shoe adapter. It’s a kind of frustration when there is no way to control external flashes in a professional manner (except using a nex7).
Just listen to the online forums, people are crying for that adapter.
Rover
5 months ago |Might not be easy since the accursed accessory port is so flimsy. It can barely hold the bundled flash on the NEX-3. Mounting a large flashgun looks like inviting disaster, unfortunately. I can only hope NEX-7 does better (have not tried it with a flash). However something like the HVL-F56 will probably be ridiculously unbalanced on it (I had the KM flash of the same tier and remember it was pretty chunky even on the old 7D body). What the heck were they thinking at Sony!!!
ronin
5 months ago |This talks about the great success of the NEX line, and how well the NEX-5n and NEX-7 sold.
Firstly, I don’t think the NEX-7 sold well at all, at least nowhere near to the point of recovering development, marketing, and production costs. It may or may not do well in the future, but internet chatter does not equal sales. Consequently, from a Sony corporate business standpoint, the product was not successful (I think we all hope it will be in the future).
From a broader standpoint, until Sony releases sales numbers and more importantly margin or leveraged sales numbers for the NEXes, I think the jury is still out on their success.
This is a similar case with micro 4/3- are there sufficient sales in the micro 4/3 category across two vendors to keep that line viable in the long run? And if Olympus doesn’t survive as a company in the long run, can Panasonic long sustain the format for what would then turn out to be a proprietary Panasonic format? Nikon with the One line, maybe.
In a market saturated with interchangeable lens cameras, when does the shakeout happen?
Again, for all the internet chatter, how viable are these wonderful toys of our?
Vlad
5 months ago |What you wrote doesn’t make any sense.
“I don’t think the NEX-7 sold well at all, at least nowhere near to the point of recovering development, marketing, and production costs”
Assumption based on what?
“internet chatter does not equal sales”
Agreed.
“Consequently, from a Sony corporate business standpoint, the product was not successful”
Consequently from what, lol? You said it yourself in your next sentence “until Sony releases sales numbers…the jury is still out”
Internet chatter and a multitude of reliable reviews equals interest. Based on that, the more logical assumption would be that the NEX-7 would be a success. And this isn’t similar to MFT at all, unless you want to explain how? The NEX-7 case is much more similar to the X100, where there was plenty of internet chatter and it sold very well.
Atlasman
5 months ago |The shake out began when the m4/3 format was born. Sony has added some fuel to this fire. The shakeout is the death of the DSLR.
ronin
5 months ago |Based on the fact that, what, maybe a few hundred units were sold during the course of the year, if that? If that doesn’t make sense to you, please refute.
Sorry to say, internet chatter does not equal sales. Please post how many dollars or yen of of internet chatter revenue Sony realized in 2011.
Vlad
5 months ago |I guess that this reply was meant for me? You still aren’t making any sense.
I will refute your fact immediately – where are your numbers? Obviously, you don’t have such numbers, so consequently you don’t have a fact. Also, I already addressed the internet chatter issue, but apparently you didn’t bother to read my comment. And how would I post Sony’s revenue? I don’t have the numbers, same as you.
Spoon
5 months ago |It was one of thse bestsellers at Amazon, before it was even available (preorder). If there wasn’t much interest, the first 7′s wouldn’t have sold for well over $3k on ebay.
DN Sand.
5 months ago |I hope in future NEXs Sony includes a remote sensor on the back of the camera as well (for tripod use). Having to get the remote in front of the camera is a pain. I would also like the remote to work with more functions, like HDR (why won’t Sony allow this?). And bracketing: why such a narrow range? I’d like to see seven to nine stops of range, not plus or minus three.
Otherwise, I love my NEX 5. Its lowlight ability blows the doors off of the GH1 I used to have. I look forward to new NEX editions.
Reynolds
5 months ago |Finally….NEX-7 arrived in UPS Friday! Happy New Year!!!
Moon
5 months ago |Hi, there is only one single thing I would like to know:
When will Sony deliver NEX 5N cameras without clicking issue?
And just in case Sony is reading this:
1. please update firmware for 720p for recording video
2. please implement 3.5 mm mic input and headphone output
3. please offer an adapter for external flash
4. please offer a few more creative programs
5. please introduce multitouch to improve usability
6. and most important: fix the clicking issue
Thank you
DSLRboxs
4 weeks ago |yes of course, and now we will waiting for the NEX-F3