Yeah the 85mm F2.8 SAM is unsuspectingly small. It's the perfect focal length for concerts especially paired to a NEX, when you can't sneak telephoto lenses past guards!
Kul | Mo0: While they appear to be from the same shell, they have a bigger filter thread (55mm).
signither: Usually UK and US prices will match so if it's 1100 Pounds, then it's USD 1100. However I guess they're waiting as the currency is a bit weird right now. If it was USD 1100 though, based on the old calculations it would be RM3850 retail price, or around RM3300 street price. AMAZING if that does happen!
I didn't publicize the TT though (it was more like a pre-visualization and briefing) as when there are too many people shooting video around the stage we tend to get in each other's line of sight and disturb the performance for others.
porkchop: Er, the 35mm is meant to feel like the FF 50mm.
zstan: With a massive improvement on MFD!
Nikkor AF-S 35mm F1.8G DX = 30cm MFD, 1:6.25x maximum magnification Nikkor AF-D 35mm F2.0 = 25cm MFD, 1:4.2x maximum magnification Sony 35mm F1.8 DT SAM = 23cm MFD, 1:4x maximum magnification
cjlai: I'm sure you know that the number of blades has little to do with the bokeh. The odd-numbered blades help to prevent symmetry in out-of-focus areas though.
zhengling: Eh, I've seen this case in Sony Style The Curve I think.
amadeo, thanks! Though for consistency I would suggest this format:
Sony A230 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM = RM14xx Sony A290 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM = RM14xx Sony A330 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM = RM18xx Sony A380 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM = RM20xx Sony A380 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM + 55-200mm F4-5.6 DT SAM = RM24xx Sony A390 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM = RM17xx Sony A700 + 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT = RM33xx Sony A550 body only = RM21xx Sony A500 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM + 55-200mm F4-5.6 DT SAM = RM31xx Sony A550 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM = RM24xx Sony A550 + 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DT = RM40xx Sony A850 body only = RM61xx Sony A900 body only = RM73xx (Studio Zaloon) Sony NEX-3 + 16mm F2.8 = RM16xx Sony NEX-3 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS = RM18xx Sony NEX-3 + 16mm F2.8 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS = RM22xx Sony NEX-5 + 16mm F2.8 = RM21xx Sony NEX-5 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS = RM22xx Sony NEX-5 + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS + 4GB MSPD = RM23xx
The following suffixes identify what lens comes with the camera body:
G = Sony 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DT K = Sony 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT L = Sony 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM P = Sony 16-105mm F3.5-5.6 DT Q = Sony 28-75mm F2.8 SAM W = Sony 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT + Sony 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 X = Sony 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT + Sony 55-200mm F4-5.6 DT Y = Sony 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM + Sony 55-200mm F4-5.6 DT (2) SAM Z = Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 16-80mm F3.5-4.5 DT ZA
For Sony NEX bodies:
A = Sony E 16mm F2.8 pancake D = Sony E 16mm F2.8 pancake + Sony E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS H = Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Active OSS K = Sony E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
finch!: I am liking your movie-like green processing.
Mikeshashimi: Eh? Hmmm I might've read somebody else saying 23 inches, my bad.
Now it would be nice if Sony would acknowledge the efforts and bring out their 500mm F4G SSM already! The Minolta 400mm F4.5G HS APO was a hidden gem, a lightweight telephoto (lightweight compared to similiar lenses in the same range.)
Zicron: The Minolta 600mm F4G HS APO looks different, more skinny and Star Trek-like.
zstan: Sounds like the salesgirl had a gentle face.
You could sue them for dissatisfactory results.
Uzumaki NaruTo: I sniped my sister's graduation from HELP with the Zeiss 135mm from a few rows back. Had to crop a bit, but it worked.
eugenechiuu: The 18-55mm is a lot better at closeups than the 16mm is. However when you're in a tight space, the 16mm will let you shoot a wider angle than the 18-55mm (e.g. your friend sitting right next to you.)
lwliam: Awesome pans, I like how streaked out the background is, compared to the regular sunny-day exposures.
This post has been edited by albnok: Jul 29 2010, 03:45 PM
kevinwcw: I think you missed my earlier posting - previously the UK always, always gets overpriced retail prices. Something that goes for 599 Pounds will go for 599 USD. This has always been the case with Sony.
zstan: You really should ask your cousin - there are a lot of things that you would not suspect about how the law works. There are other ways besides suing as well.
I have to admit though, graduation/scroll shots are not easy, having shot them - there will always be some stray person in the background.
wingster: Yes indeed - it also helps that the Zeiss/Minolta 85mm F1.4 extend when focusing. While it does sound like a downside because the lens sticks out, the upside is that the focal length does not change much (internal focusing lenses tend to widen, reducing magnification significantly.)
I suspect that the Sony 35mm F1.8 DT SAM and Sony 85mm F2.8 SAM will be external focusing as well. That makes the Sony 28-75mm F2.8 SAM the only SAM lens that does not extend when focusing!
ahpingko: Maximum Magnification is the ratio of sensor to image.
For full-frame, the sensor is 36x24mm. So if the lens can focus onto a surface that is 144x96mm, then the maximum magnification is 36:144 = 1:4x. 1:4x = 1/4 = 0.25x also.
A true macro lens will do 1:1x or 1x. Most zoom lenses with "Macro" in their name, like the kit lens, only do 1:4x (or also spelled as) 0.25x.
Gouki: Newer designs pretty much guarantee it. The 50mm F1.8 DT SAM has a MFD to be proud of.
Also here's a revised version with the Sigma 24mm F1.8 and Sigma 30mm F1.4.
I got myself a black Sony Alpha NEX-5 with Sony E 16mm F2.8 pancake lens sometime 1st of July 2010!
Why the 16mm? Because it is pocketable as heck!
I also got myself the very sweet Sony LA-EA1 lens adapter for using A-mount lenses on my E-mount NEX-5. It has a separate firmware from the body, which is a good thing should Sony decide to release firmware that allows the LA-EA1 to focus SSM and SAM lenses (as it was meant to, before, in Firmware ver. 00...)
This is a pre-production NEX-3 with the 16mm F2.8 pancake - even without the LA-EA1 adapter mounted, it still wants to report the lens adapter firmware.
Firmware Update
Firmware 1.02 adds 3D Sweep Panorama, improves the performance of Sweep Panorama, improves the startup time and improves battery life when the camera is off.
For v1.02, starting up is faster, about half a second, with lens cap on. Surprisingly though, starting up is also faster about half a second without lens cap.
I tested this with TWO NEX-5 bodies with the 16mm on. One was mine; the other was my colleague's. I patched mine but not his, to do this test.
3D Sweep Panorama seems more sensitive to speed (coming up with "too slow"/"too fast" errors more often.) Then again it could be that mine was set to Vivid while his was normal. Creative Styles affect Sweep Panorama as well (set it to Black And White and you'll see.)
And now, for a 3D Sweep Panorama crop! StereoPhoto Maker 4.30 was used to open the MPO file.
Find a large envelope or cardboard. Use it to separate the left and right images when viewing, like so:
Click on this image to open it in a new window (it is big!)
The effect is subtle but you will notice how it looks like in 2D if you close one eye or the other. If you turn the envelope the other way you can get closer to the screen and the effect will be stronger.
Interestingly - Shooting Tips helps here by saying that the optimal distance for the subject is 3 meters. I'll go out and hunt for more suitable subjects.
And now, we rewind to the 4th of June 2010, where the Sony Alpha NEX-3 and Sony Alpha NEX-5 were launched at Teeq, Lot 10!
Screens and prints were displaying pictures taken with the NEX cameras.
One of the models who would hold the camera later when it was launched.
There were two events - the media-only launch and the blogger launch - here, bloggers were playing to win.
For the media-only launch, Toru Katsumoto and Masashi "Tiger" Imamura launched the NEX-3/NEX-5 (they did Singapore and Thailand the days before this before returning to Japan.)
As suspicions confirmed, the NEX is just one circuitboard (there were some other circuits in the grip and one around the sensor; this is from the back.) The multi-purpose flash connector is indeed on the main board.
During the short question-and-answer session, somebody asked if there would be more lenses - Toru said they were still doing market research and some wanted G and Zeiss, some wanted 55-200mm and 75-300mm lenses, some wanted primes and macro lenses.
He also said the reason why the NEX-5 came in silver and black was because they did a survey and found that these were the two most popular colors. So we may just see lenses based on popularity (unfortunately, that resulted in our 50mm F1.8 DT SAM!)
I then asked him if they'd have more NEX bodies with more dials and buttons and he said yes (but then again, the yet-to-be-launched-or-named Sony Handycam NEX-VG10 also counts as one.) And that was it, after those 2 questions (I guess the press didn't have much questions at that time.)
So yes, there is expansion intended for both lenses and bodies, but what that will be, isn't certain yet.
While you could say the target market for the NEX-3 and NEX-5 may not be interested in a Zeiss lens, I am sure there will be some videographers picking up the NEX-VG10, seen here in mock form (and what a mock it is, missing the very cool Quad Capsule Spatial Array microphone!) It would most certainly drive demand for brighter telephoto primes and zooms. Zeiss primes are popular with the video crowd.
Sony needed to push out cheaper bodies first or risk doing a Panasonic L1! The L1 had absolutely no impact on the market as to pushing out the then new Four Thirds system.
Yes, the NEX-3/NEX-5 do not support wireless flash to trigger off-camera Sony flashes, but you can easily trigger any off-camera flash that can skip the pre-flash signal. Like my Sunpak PF20XD.
This is a screenshot from the NEX-3/NEX-5 user manual. There is also a flash extender, which apparently comes with the Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Active OSS (it does not come with the NEX-3/NEX-5 packages, for sure!)
This is the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 135mm F1.8 ZA mounted on the Sony LA-EA1 lens adapter and Sony Alpha NEX-5.
About the same thing, but with my gear-stripped Tamron 200-400mm F5.6 and 1.5x and 2x teleconverters.
A modern version of this would be the Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6G SSM. Now this is where the silver NEX-5 would match perfectly...
While at Sony Style, I also had the chance to check out the Sony Alpha 290 and Sony Alpha 390. The A390 can flip to waist-level position much easier than my NEX-5 can flip to overhead position, and the A390 can flip to overhead position just as easily as my NEX-5 does waist-level position.
It becomes obvious that the NEX-5 is designed to be easy to get to waist-level position hence the different articulation.
Sadly, the A290 and A390 were launched without much fanfare or enthusiasm - even Sony didn't seem to put much into marketing it! They just needed to make a 2010 budget dSLR model which didn't have that lousy handgrip of the A230/A330/A380 series of 2009.
The A290/A390 still has no quick way of changing AF point in Local Area AF. Wireless flash and screw-drive AF support is still there though. There was "Shutter release without lens" option sadly, even though it was released after the NEX-3/NEX-5 which had that option.
However, there was one massive, massive improvement - the hand grip! The grip is very solid and very deep - I tried it with the Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6G SSM and did not find any handling issues with it. Even the A550 can feel a bit creaky with that chunky lens, but not the A290 or A390!
The other thing I like that they kept, was the separate SD and Memory Stick Pro Duo slots - this means you can have both SD and MSPD at the same time, though you can only access one at a time and needed to flick a switch to choose between them. My NEX-5 is a pain in that sense because it has only one slot which means I can't have a SD stored inside as backup. Also, the slot is bigger to allow SD, so inserting a MSPD can be fiddly.
The implications of the A290/A390 having the 14 megapixel CCD sensor are, that Sony has dumped the 10 megapixel CCD sensor. The Sony A350 has never been as popular as the A300 (and neither did the A350's successor, the A380) so I can see why Sony decided to use the 14 megapixel CCD sensor stock to build the A290/A390. That leaves the current Sony Alpha lineup as:
Sony Alpha 290 (14.2 megapixel CCD) Sony Alpha 390 (14.2 megapixel CCD with Quick AF Live View) Sony Alpha 450 (14.2 megapixel CMOS with MF Check Live View) Sony Alpha 500 (12.3 megapixel CMOS with Quick AF Live View and MF Check Live View) Sony Alpha 550 (14.2 megapixel CMOS with Quick AF Live View and MF Check Live View) Sony Alpha 850 (24.6 megapixel CMOS with Intelligent Preview) Sony Alpha NEX-3 (14.6 megapixel CMOS with Live View and 720p with 25fps or 30fps MP4 video) Sony Alpha NEX-5 (14.6 megapixel CMOS with Live View and 1080i with 50fps or 60fps AVCHD video)
Oh and how could we forget:
Sony Handycam NEX-VG10 (14.6 megapixel CMOS with Live View and 1080i/60fps AVCHD video)
Sometimes I think the Sony NEX series could've been called a Cybershot and it would not be a big deal. However, just as we thought the Cybershots were killed by the NEX series - Sony shows us that they planned it out and sequenced it so one product will not overshadow another. And so they introduced the Sony Cybershot DSC-WX5 and DSC-TX9 cameras. They have Superior Auto mode (shooting a burst of 2-6 images and deciding to reduce noise or increase dynamic range) and 3D Sweep Panorama (like on my NEX-5!) and the very cool Sweep Multi Angle which is not in any NEX or Cybershot! Check out the video on how it's done!
They also have Background Defocus. Now if you're wondering where they'd get the bokeh from given that it is using a small sensor (even my Cybershot WX-1 with F2.4 sensor doesn't get much bokeh when not in macro) the answer is probably focus stacking. Usually macro shooters will focus stack to increase depth of field but I can see them doing the reverse to get shallow depth of field!
And so, the WX-5 finally supercedes my WX-1 with the backlit Exmor-R sensor and 24-120mm F2.4-5.9 lens. It's the new low-light king of the Cybershots!
Oh and of course, the third guy being the Cybershot DSC-T99, a standard Super HAD CCD from Sony.
About the Sony FDA-SV1 optical viewfinder which I find in my view isn't worth it:
The viewfinder, I find, is of limited use as it goes with the pancake only - the 16mm is so wide you get perspective distortion if you're pointing at say a bicycle lying on a street.
This is perspective distortion - I was standing up and holding the camera at eye level. To reduce perspective distortion, you must adjust the location of the camera so the lines align with the frame.
Sony NEX-5, 16mm F2.8 at F4.5, 1/40th of a second.
So in order to straighten the lines, I need to lower the camera. With the optical viewfinder, I need to squat or assume some kung fu stance! People will know if I'm taking a picture of their stuff!
With the flip-out screen, I can just keep standing and look down. Less obvious that I'm taking a picture, especially if I'm walking on the go. Only if you're some traditional old-school fella you might prefer the optical viewfinder - otherwise, Live View is great!
(On a side note - notice the different shades of greens that the NEX-5 is capable of expressing. It has a pretty darn good color response!
About the infamous NEX menu system
The interface is indeed slow but if you really care for high ISO performance you wouldn't be relying on ISO3200 JPGs but shooting RAW instead - I'd just do -1 EV on ISO1600 and get the same thing (because it is, really, the same thing!)
I shot for a gig where flash was not used and it shines there - in a spot where you don't need to use flash, and can shoot RAW. Now if only DxO and Adobe could get their RAW support for the NEX out!
I quite enjoyed using it as a backup camera - when the A900's buffer was full I just kept going with the NEX-5. Plus it being lighter was easier on my neck compared to having 2 dSLRs.
Oddly, it now feels like it has too many features and too few buttons. Such that they had to categorize each option under one of the six main menu options.
I didn't understand initially why Shoot Mode needed a menu entry but it explains itself when you find the center button does not always invoke Shoot Mode.
It's rather odd that with 9 buttons it has less than my WX-1 with 11 buttons. They so could've added just one, to the right, but it would not present well on the user interface (as it is, going out of Image Enlarge mode recommends you to press the Play button - and you're left wondering which soft key was supposed to do that.)
Really - the top, center and bottom keys all change function depending where you are. It would be hard to have another soft key without cramming up the screen (not the body.)
Going from Video Playback to Image Playback is quicker once you figure you press Play - Down - Left - and then Down or Up and then Center.
One thing I didn't like - Precision Digital Zoom enlarges the image, meaning the zoomed in image is still full resolution instead of being cropped, as it should be!
Sure, the Micro Four-Thirds mount has loads of adapters, but the 2x crop sensor is a turn off and this explains why NEX is quickly overtaking it. Samsung's 1.5x sensor in the NX10 isn't up there yet. A full-frame EVIL will make it big - a 45mm F2.0 will feel better there than on an APS-C sensor.
Somebody used a Canon Extension Tube to make a EF-to-E-mount adapter!
The Sony VCL-ECF1 fisheye converter, for use on the Sony E 16mm F2.8 pancake lens. It mounts via a bayonet mount on the front of the lens (which is the same as the Sony E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS... whose front bayonet mount is used for the lens hood.) I love the lens cap, and how it clasps on!
It was meant to be paired with the Sony E 16mm F2.8 pancake lens - but what happens when you put it on the Sony E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS?
Sony E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS with Sony VCL-ECF1 fisheye converter on Sony NEX-5. Note the unique coma effects!
Using the NEX-3/NEX-5 for video:
I find that an ideal focal length for portraiture video is the 50mm - the 85mm is a bit too long unless you're talking about a full-body shot from far away. If you want to record conversations, confessions etc. the 50mm is perfect, and the un-intimidating size of the NEX-3/5 makes it better. The NEX-VG10 would be a bit too big for the 50mm!
Longer focal lengths are a bit too hard to pan or track with (not so much the focusing, but tracking...)
If you find that manual focusing on a lens with a small focus ring to be too smooth or too slippery - put your fingers on the lens itself, like on the right - it helps to add friction and dampen your focusing.
The LA-EA1 lens adapter and 50mm fit in my pocket; I can also pocket the NEX-3/5 with 16mm in another pocket!
Aperture in video on the NEX-3/5 cannot be changed unless we use a lens with an aperture ring e.g. the Samyang 85mm F1.4.
You can only change EV while recording video. However Creative Styles, EV and WB take effect on the recorded video. DRO does not seem to have any effect on video. It auto-gains when going from a bright to dark place.
While I would not agree on perfect distortion-free sound (the videos I shot at gigs do have some distortion, but it could be Laundry Bar's sound system) I would say Sony is very capable of recording audio with large dynamics. No Black Tie is such a place - the volume can go really loud with some singers without the sound breaking, but you know your mobile phones will have audio peaking and clipping. However even my Sony Cybershot WX-1 can handle it, with excellent audio quality and 720p! THe volume can get uncomfortably loud and still be distortion-free.
About Progressive And Interlaced
If you've read up on this you'd know progressive is preferred, and that the NEX-5 is weak in the aspect that it is 1080i at 50/60fps - however it is really a 1080p feed at 25/30fps, in an interlaced container. I could convert my 1080i/50fps video into a 1080p/25fps video with no problems. In theory, one could even make it a 540p video with 50/60fps!
The NEX-5 sold in Malaysia is 50fps. You get either 50fps or 60fps.
Right after I got my Sony Alpha NEX-5 with Sony E 16mm F2.8 pancake lens, Azrul brought me to this fantastic Yong Tau Fu restaurant in Pudu!
I was loving the wide angle, able to capture more at close range. It also helped that the camera was so small and, surprisingly, quiet (or at least nobody seemed to care that they were being shot), even though I could hear the shutter.
16mm on the NEX-5's APS-C-sized sensor meant 24mm on full-frame 35mm format, which was pretty darn wide! All I had to do to accentuate this was to tilt upwards to make use of perspective distortion (which is never a fault of the lens, but the camera operator...)
A thing to note though with wide-angle lenses - if you don't frame properly, you are going to get unwanted perspective distortion and converging lines. Here, I wasn't pointing straight on, so the lines on top were slanted.
I could just swing it and take a quick grab, knowing it will have the subject somewhere in the frame!
This is Auto HDR mode, set to the maximum - 6 EV. It takes one shot at -3 EV, one shot at 0 EV, and one shot at +3 EV, and merges them intelligently. Obviously though, it doesn't work so well for moving subjects!
The Sony Alpha 450/500/550 had this too, but with only two frames - and one saving grace of how it's done on the NEX-3/5 is that it also saves the 0 EV exposure so you can use it as a regular picture. Unfortunately though, you cannot activate this when the camera is set to shoot RAW or RAW+JPEG.
It is a very convenient focal length for architecture and interiors.
At F2.8 it wasn't the brightest but it would do.
Though, one should not fear the dark with Hand-held Twilight or Anti-Motion Blur mode.
signither: If the 3rd-party Alpha to E mount adapter has an aperture ring, then it might be better for video because you can actually control aperture while recording!
However the 3rd party adapter probably will not be able to transmit EXIF data, and if you stop down you won't know what the aperture is. We have yet to see how intelligent these adapters are.
Finally, if you stop down on the adapter, you will get a darker EVF which is thus grainy - just like stopping down the Samyang 8mm F3.5 while looking through the viewfinder!
lwliam: They could have dumped screw drive lenses only to avoid the gear stripping issues with the Sony 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT.
Also, all adapters to E mount that I know of, are glassless as the flange distance for E mount is less than all of them.
Jul 28 2010, 02:54 AM
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