(SR2) New info about the mysterious A-mount NEX styled camera
The “saga” about the mysterious A-mount camera is continuing! A third source sent me the following text last night: “Whoever leaked the a mount is somewhat correct with the look. Where you see that OVF on the V3 will be the focus light to help in low light. It has gps! Sony is making gps a common feature with most future midrange/pro as you know. Don’t be surprised to see it launch with a pancake style lens too! I think you should post a vote to see who would buy one!”
My answer for the source: I will make the poll once I have more info about the camera. because right now it’s difficult to understand what it is. We know it’s an A-mount NEX styled camera without viewfinder. We know it looks very similar to the V3 (Click here to see it on eBay). Can you give us some more info about the camera? Thanks 
Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!
A private message: Sorry if I didn’t participate to the last discussions but I have my full family at home and I am more busy than usual! Anyway, the good news is that I worked on rumors only instead. So stay tuned on SAR!
BMan
2 years ago |Pancake for A-mount?
Seems bloody unlikely.
Sky_walker
2 years ago |???? Why?
Pentax has tons of pancakes for their mount.
I wouldn’t mind Sony releasing pancake lenses, for me it’d be a very interesting proposition as long as focal length would be fine. Regardless if I’d be interested in this camera or not.
But yes – it might be too good to be real… but hey – everyone told the same while looking at rumored A55 specs & price!!!
LEdgars
2 years ago |Two tons of Pentax panckakes 40 and 70mm
Vlad
2 years ago |Huh?
Carl
2 years ago |Minolta made a 45/2.8 that protruded about a centimetre for their manual focus SLRs back in the day. There’s certainly no technical limitation to it, just a question of will.
Valise
2 years ago |Pancake on a big body is a joke. A-mount need a big body, you can’t reduce the distance between the mount and the sensor, this is why sony needed another mount the the NEX series, and why the A-mount adaptor is so thick.
Sky_walker
2 years ago |You noticed potential size of NEX5+Adaptor+A-mount pancake? Camera in this rumor can be not much bigger, meaning that it has a potential to be pocketable camera for quality shooting with PDAF (in SLT design) and small DOF.
IMO – it’s something worth at least a try. If they won’t succeed than we won’t see any future camera, that’s all. Meanwhile it doesn’t harm anything important and can bring first Sony pancake on our mount. Cool stuff only.
RB
2 years ago |I’m just wondering whether it is possible to put a lens between sensor and mount (where the mirror resides normally) in order to shorten this distance…. I mean, the problem is the focal length of the rear lens (which must be long enough to bridge the mirror box) — and focal lengths can be changed by additional lenses…
Carl
2 years ago |Sure, but it wouldn’t be usable on any normal alpha mount bodies.
Back in the late 60s before retrofocus wide angle lenses became popular, there was a period where they made wide angle lenses that extended into the mirror box and required locking the mirror up, with focusing done with an accessory viewfinder. They were considered a pain in the arse at the time (though there was nothing wrong with them from an image quality point of view) and quickly disappeared once lens designers got a hang of retrofocus.
With live view and EVFs, the approach would work significantly better, but it remains to be seen whether any manufacturer would consider such a niche lens profitable.
RB
2 years ago |@Carl: No, the other way round: You put the corrective lens in front of the sensor, i.e. in the “mirror box” (right there, where the mirror is today) in order to make the (otherwise empty) “mirror box” smaller. Would work with every a-mount lens and every a-mount lens would be usable on any ordinary a-mount camera.
Carl
2 years ago |I’m not sure I get you. Do you mean relay optics to reduce the flange distance?
Emopunk
2 years ago |BMan: more than unlikely, I would define it “too good to be true”. Wish Sony had a pancake lens group like Pentax.
PaulW
2 years ago |Agreed…at least 1 or 2 A-mount pancakes would be good to go with smaller bodied SLTs and mirrorless A-mount
frosti7
2 years ago |Admin, any info on NEX-7 Size? (hope that its not bigger then panasonic g3)
Pablo
2 years ago |Where is the NEX7 and A77?
hanugro
2 years ago |Wow a pancake A-mount lens? 14 f/2.8? I wonder if the lens is FF lens. If it is then I’ll take it.
Carl
2 years ago |A full frame 14/2.8 would be anything but a pancake. Its objective element alone would probably be larger than an entire pancake lens.
RDoe
2 years ago |Getting hotter and hotter! Well I have my wonderful GF-1 with 14mm and 20mm optics and ND and GND filter to match. So a very compact system aside my A900. I would love a rangefinder/X-100 style a-mout, but do not know if the investment is worth it. Or…. who wants to buy a my GF-1 set… hahah
Hawk
2 years ago |There is no doubt we will see mirrorless A-mount camera somewhere in future, but I’m sure it won’t be in NEX series. NEX = E-mount. It would be extremely crazy for manufacturer to mix their product lines, names etc. It would cause nothing by confusion among customers.
Sky_walker
2 years ago |Noone says about it being NEX-series.
It’s NEX-styled. Meaning: Gonna look similarly – square small body. It won’t be entirely flat, but it can be a bit smaller than tiny olympus DSLRs (which also used regular mount with standard fledge distance) making it somewhat more portable than A33 is.
Camaman
2 years ago |This mockup/picture or whatever is an abomination!
Even its appearance on this popular blog is causing Sony damage.
To think that today they would design something similar to this is an insult.
People will get the wrong image imprinted on them, an will buy less sony products cause of this trauma!
Valise
2 years ago |You can’t have small body. A-mount Lenses are designed to focus to a specific distance from the mount, to leave space for the mirror.
Carl
2 years ago |That would depend on exactly how small you’re talking about. The mount and mirror box require 60mm x 60mm x 46mm, which is pretty small, if a little thick. The rest is just a matter of how small the electronics, storage and battery can be made.
Raul S.
2 years ago |by mockup/picture you mean, the camera depicted on the beginning of the post? “Even it’s appearance on this popular blog is causing Sony damage”?
Well, that’s a Sony DSC-V3, a Cybershot from some years ago. And it got very good reception back on those days…
Erational
2 years ago |That’s one ugly cam. Hopfully, the beautiful parts are really on the inside here. Anyway, more important things than GPS need to be asked of the ‘sources’.
Does the mystery camera have SSS ? Does it have the same amount of focus points and cross-focus points as the A77 ?
Does it have focus tracking in Movie Mode like the the A55?
Does the LCD slide out from the bottom or the side of the camera?
Sky_walker
2 years ago |Some more:
Does it use phase detection or contrast detection?
How big is it comparing to A55 and NEX-5?
Is it directed towards more aspiring photographers or is it more like NEX-5 in matter of ergonomics – barely any buttons and switches?
LEdgars
2 years ago |Flange focal distance for A-mount is 44.5mm which means Sony couldn’t do thinner camera than 5cm. Somewhat it is pointless to make A-mount mirorless camera if Sony has E-mount with flange distance 18mm.
Different story is people who are crying about SLT mirror in the way of light. Sony could make A-mount camera without mirror and CD AF.
NEX FULL FRAME (24x36)
2 years ago |Please just give us a Fullframe NEX Sony!
With the E Mount, not the A (Alpha) Mount!
King Renas
2 years ago |That is what I’m looking for too, unless they produce two similar NEX versions which is more unlikely or even upset people around.
Or if they produce A-mount similar to NEX shouldn’t be called NEX version otherwise it start to become very confuse indeed.
slantyyz
2 years ago |@NEX FULL FRAME, I think you should just buy the M9.
Think about all the time you can spend shooting photos instead of being here, asking for the same thing. Over and over and over again.
apamau
2 years ago |Wow, interesting, so this is apart from Nex 7, I am a bit confuse now..
we gonna have a Nex 7, a Nex Style A-mount (don’t know what we call yet), and a A77 and A65.
It’s gonna be tough to choose among the 3 if all hv same sensor..
Dulaney Ward
2 years ago |I think we’re going to have a NEX-5 rplacement as well.
I had believe that we would see something like an A57, but maybe the NEX-styled camera is it?
apamau
2 years ago |the day towards Full frame Nex Style is not far already, i can see, if this is their intention for a A mount Nex Style camera.. a Nex Style full frame gonna be hot hot hot cake…i believe sony can realized, anyway, it’s a Sony, they invented walkman..
Cyrus
2 years ago |Ok…
Things seems to be more clear now
Following the different rumors on this 3rd alpha a-mount device.
It seems to be:
- An entry level alpha a-mount system (2xx series replacement?)
- No EVF/OVF which will reduce perhaps the height
- With or without flash? (same advantage as point 2)
- Most probably SLT… Or perhaps CDAF
Carl
2 years ago |If the size is true, I think a number of us would like it not to have entry level image quality.
Emopunk
2 years ago |@NEX FULL FRAME: could you please avoid spamming at every rumor? If you don’t have anything to contribute to the discussion we can quietly go on without your spam. Thanks.
Emopunk
2 years ago |@Cyrus: I am also afraid it will be 2xx series replacement. It would be better if it would be something more advanced, rugged and – why not?- weather proof with weather proof new lenses. It would be useful for street/journalism shooting.
Sky_walker
2 years ago |+1. Very valid point.
buel
2 years ago |An A-mount camera without any mirror? Well I always thought that the SLT technologie is a transition. The future is mirrorless. The question is 1. Will a contrast dedection AF be fast enough today, 2. Will SLR lenses work with this camera.
Regarding 1.: Panasonic showed that it’s possible. So I’m optimistic here.
Regarding 2.: If you can’t use the alpha mount lenses with full AF the whole camera would be nonsense. The question is how do they get there. PD on chip? A kind of small AF mirror?
King Renas
2 years ago |Well I’m waiting for NEX5 replacement, now this news of NEX version of A-mount doesn’t look beauty for those looking for E-mount instead.
Shall we wait another month or two to see where this goes?
Myst
2 years ago |this is very interesting would be a camera many users will enjoy to take out and use instead of their big dslr and it should sell well cause most of us already have the lenses ready
Osang
2 years ago |NEX styled camera? If this is A mount, it should be called ‘NAX’
jackau
2 years ago |they filed the patent, they will do it.. no surprise there..
just what price.. what sensor.. what focus system…
Pacman
2 years ago |will you still complain is everyone uses this?
http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/iphone-slr-mount/
LOL!
I hate people complain! Want my punch?!
frosti7
2 years ago |I wonder how hard is it to make a tad bigger e>a adapter with translucent mirror, it took me only minutes in PS
http://i54.tinypic.com/2liapaf.jpg
So instead of developing an extra body they can have this adapter, then people can use NEX-3c with PDAF
Don Cox
2 years ago |It would be possible to make something like the Leitz Visoflex.
Pictures:
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/leica/leitz_visoflex_iii/leitz_7.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VubtEILIn6M/SqJ1OeNlZ8I/AAAAAAAABBg/9xQU0z1IjPA/s400/IMG_2581+copy.jpg
And one actually in use on a NEX.
http://sonyalphanex.blogspot.com/2011/03/sony-nex-dslr-via-leica-visoflex.html
This is a reflex finder to go between a thin camera and a lens that is designed for a thick camera. It could work well on a NEX, for manual focussing. An independent maker could produce such a device.
klumzi
2 years ago |its not an SLT and not NEX (E-mount) then its a new product line – mirroless a-mount
John Peter
2 years ago |No viewfinder (OVF or EVF) no interest and no purchase. Will only purchase a NEX with EVF and A mount camera with EVF or OVF. No going back on this decision. If not forthcoming will stay with what I have.
savic
2 years ago |If sony make no-vf a-mount camera with pdaf on sensor and no mirror to raplace a2xx and reduce price to 350$ it will be good entry level alpha camera.
SVOR
2 years ago |Can somebody enlighten me? If the camera is mirrorless what is the point of making it A mount? I would simply make a better EtoA adaptor with screw drive for legacy cameras and make sure the NEX focus firmware is optimised for A mount lenses as well. To make an exclusively A-Mount camera seems daft. But I am sure I have missed something.
Also I don’t see that the V3 represents anything except a slightly styled ‘brick’ camera with a silver ring on the front. I for one expect something considerably more elegant and imaginative. Somewhere between Nikon P7000 and Samsung TL500 might be a step in the right direction.
But the deal is done, we are just waiting to see.
Pablo
2 years ago |Hey guys. I’ve read somewhere, that the announcement from 7/7 isn’t happening. And that SONY delayed the announcement of the A77 + NEX7 to late august.
If that is so, then we’ll have some quiet and relaxxed holiday season :>
Enjoy your time!
Dulaney Ward
2 years ago |Some time ago, various parties (including SAR) said that the A77 announcement would not be in early July, but in late August. But a date has been chosen for the announcement then. Apparently there will be at least three a-mount cameras announced at that time, and at least one, probably two emount cameras
Giovanni
2 years ago |After 7.7 the A77 still exist only on SAR.
Futile
2 years ago |Sony toyed with the conventional SLR look a while back and that went very wrong.. I really hope they don’t dabble.
The NEX is a transition into the Pro-Sumer Body area (adding interchangeable lenses), and I think the Bodies are perfect for that need. The Alphas are should remain their SLR shape, offseting the VF and stuff is really gonna change the feel too much (although I understand with EVFs it won’t necessarily need to be in the prism area anymore).
Simon
2 years ago |Whatever mount it will be – to me it sounds like a rangefinder-kind-of-body? Good news and hopefully not a me-too product!
After the lack of lenses made me sell my nex 5 I’ll probably come back….
Anonymous
2 years ago |I hope Sony releases a wide angle prime easy choice lens for a-mount. Something with good optics, compact size, mediocre plastic build quality, and cheap price. A 16/2.8 would be great (an 18/2.8 is fine too).
Imagine being able to carry around a small mirrorless a-mount rangefinder style brick body with a Sony 16/2.8 and the 35/1.8 and 85/2.8. That would be all I’d ever need for the next few years. That is until affordable full frame entry level dslrs become available from all the major manufacturers.