Sony Announces NEX-7, NEX 5N, and three new E Mount Lenses

Amin

Hall of Famer
As expected, Sony today announced the NEX-7 flagship camera along with the mid-range NEX-5N and three new E-mount lenses.

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The NEX-7 is aimed directly at the enthusiast market. Selected specifications:
  • Integrated electronic viewfinder without the "DSLR hump"
  • 2.4M dot OLED EVF with eye sensor
  • Three control wheels for extensive tactile control over camera operations
  • New 24MP sensor for class leading resolution with ISO range 100-16,000
  • Flip-style (90 degrees up/45 degrees down) 922K-dot 3-inch rear LCD display
  • Integrated flash and hot shoe
  • Progressive 1080p60 HD movie recording with built-in stereo mic and full manual exposure control

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The NEX-7 will be priced ~$1200 body only or ~$1350 with 18-55mm kit lens (a black version of which will only be available with the NEX-7).

The NEX-5N is an update to the existing NEX-5 which increases the sensor resolution to 16MP, ISO range of up to 25,600.

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Both the NEX-7 and 5N offer a 0.02s shutter lag, 10 FPS burst mode, improved autofocus speed, and full 1920X1080 HD video at 24P or 60P using AVCHD with manual control over exposure. Interestingly, the NEX-5N offers a touch screen, while the NEX-7 does not.

The NEX-5N will cost ~$600 body only or $700 for 18-55mm lens kit. There will be an optional EVF for the NEX-5N which will feature the same 2.4MP OLED specification as the integrated EVF in the NEX-7 and priced at ~$350-399 based.

The three new Sony lenses include the long-awaited Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 (36mm equivalent angle of view, expected price ~$1000), Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS (optically stabilized, 75mm equivalent, expected price ~300), and Sony 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 (expected price ~$350) pictured below:

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As a reminder, if you're excited about the Sony NEX systems, check out our new companion site at TalkNEX.com!

Full coverage of all the new Sony announcements and more at 1001 Noisy Cameras.
 
Thanks for the info and pics. Specs sound amazing. But lenses are still big and bulky.

I am very curious to see how good that OLED EVF is.

NEX7 + Zeiss 24 = $2200. Not so nice. I think the new A77 + the new 16-50/2.8 is $2000. Might be a better buy than the NEX7.
 
Thanks for the info and pics. Specs sound amazing. But lenses are still big and bulky.

I am very curious to see how good that OLED EVF is.

NEX7 + Zeiss 24 = $2200. Not so nice. I think the new A77 + the new 16-50/2.8 is $2000. Might be a better buy than the NEX7.

The A77 and 16-50 certainly looks good, and capable. Thing is though, even with the over-bulky E lenses, the Nex is significantly more compact. if you are going to carry a camera all day, the A77 is a bit heavy and chubby. So better dollar value, but they are really very different propositions.

And anyway, isn't your camera cupboard just about full! :D
 
Oh the build and ergonomics of the new NEX7 look so sweet. I'm having flashbacks to, and what I loved most about, using the GRD. Could figure as more handy in the bag than a Pentax K-r. Though now that I've become accustomed to the X100, I'd be needing one of those EVFs. So now we're get closer to $2k for a basic set-up...and I've yet to figure the inevitable lust for Zeiss into the mix!....hmmmm.... :daz:
 
Oh the build and ergonomics of the new NEX7 look so sweet. I'm having flashbacks to, and what I loved most about, using the GRD. Could figure as more handy in the bag than a Pentax K-r. Though now that I've become accustomed to the X100, I'd be needing one of those EVFs. So now we're get closer to $2k for a basic set-up...and I've yet to figure the inevitable lust for Zeiss into the mix!....hmmmm.... :daz:
You're confusing me... The Nex 7 HAS an EVF included in the body (and, ostensibly, the price), no? So you wouldn't be needing anything extra... And the Zeiss 24 with the Nex 7 - to me that's an either/or proposition with the X100, not an AND. They do so much of the same thing, just with a very different form and different ergonomics. And probably very different AF too, but that'll be interesting to see. Were you thinking of selling the X100 or adding this to it? Or did you sell it already - I sort of remember you going back and forth but don't recall what you ended up doing...

-Ray
 
HI Ray,

We might be getting confused, I interpreted this part of Amin's review:
There will be an optional EVF for the NEX-7 which will feature the same 2.4MP OLED specification as the integrated EVF in the NEX-7 and priced at ~$350-399 based.
...to mean that I'd have to fork out another $400....as he didn't seem to mention the EVF in the $1350 kit price.

No I ended up cashing in a lot of stuff and buying the X100. It certainly does what it says on the box "Fall in love with photography all over again." The ergonomics and UI are fantastic - that being that it suits me to a tee! My only challenge now is to learn how to make the image pop like I could when the Sigma DP2s nailed an exposure.

But the X100 is definitely a keeper. Although the NEX-7 is a very strong contender I don't think it would replace the X100 for day-to-day shooting, but it's certainly a strong proposition for shedding the Pentax dSLR though....
 
All cool...then again, I could have looked at the photo a little closer too, coz the viewfinder looks pretty well integrated :blush: ...then again Sony's certainly one to keep you guesssing.

Sorry Ray!
 
The A77 and 16-50 certainly looks good, and capable. Thing is though, even with the over-bulky E lenses, the Nex is significantly more compact. if you are going to carry a camera all day, the A77 is a bit heavy and chubby. So better dollar value, but they are really very different propositions.

And anyway, isn't your camera cupboard just about full! :D

Hehehe. According to my girlfriend, it's been full for a long time!!

I need to put up the K5 for sale. I was going to put the X100 for sale too, but found it difficult to let it go. Really enjoyed using it on my vacation last week. Maybe I'll put the GH2 for sale. Not sure if there's going to be any interest for either the K5 or GH2.
 
Hehehe. According to my girlfriend, it's been full for a long time!!

I need to put up the K5 for sale. I was going to put the X100 for sale too, but find it difficult to let it go. Maybe I'll put the GH2 for sale. Not sure if there's going to be any interest for either the K5 or GH2.

I would be very surprised if there was no interest in either. The K5 is very highly regarded (in my view, it's the best APS-C DSLR) and the GH2 seems pretty popular too.

If I were in the market I would certainly go for the K5 over the A77.
 
Again, as much as I love the current NEX and love the new design of the NEX-7, I just can not see spending $1200. If you are willing to spend that much, there are some great full to mid sized DSLR's available. This puts this camera out of the range of most point and shoot owners looking for a bit more.

Part of the appeal of the original NEX was the pricing. For just a little bit more, you could step up from the point and shot world. That is what first interested me. I was originally looking at a point and shoot that was $300ish, when I saw the NEX display. For $550.00 it was a bit more than what I had planned, but still within a reasonable budget. The $1200.00 price puts this new camera clearly out of the range of all of those looking for a bit more.

I am happy to see more lenses come out, who would buy a camera sysytem for $1200.00 with only three lenses available. Even though I am not going to buy one at this point, (see what they cost on EBAY in a year or so), I am anxious to see the reviews and hear what this camera can do. Hopefully this camera will be stunning.
 
It will be interesting to see how the NEX 7 does. It is not a consumer camera (like the lesser NEX cameras), it is an enthusiasts camera. But enthusiasts will also want lens selection, and enthusiasts who want compact cameras also want compact lenses.

The Fuji X100 and Sony NEX 7 / Zeiss 24mm are roughly speaking equivalent cameras but they differ significantly in price and size. Excluding flexibility, how much better can the NEX 7 / Zeiss 24mm really be? We'll see...
 
It looks familiar ...

olympus_C-760_back.jpg

The C760 had a no hump internal EVF in a smaller size. Frankly I wonder that Olympus hasn't done an internal EVF in a PEN seeing as since they did it years ago.

The Sony leaves me cold:
Proprietry hot shoe
Disk-eating file sizes
Bloated lenses that negate the body size - better off with a DSLR form with any zoom
Already hints that new lens performance is not improved.
Not weather sealed body (or lenses) for the high price

The good bits:
high resolution internal EVF.
better controls
 
What a year, X100, EP3 with 12mm, Summilux 25mm and Oly 45mm and now the NEX 7.
All looking great (and I mean looks and specs), much better than their "predecessors". But where does the NX7 fit in into ones arsenal. A DSLR replacement with limited lens offerings, a would-like-to-be digital RF m-mount alternative, a giant sized pocket camera, a mft killer?
Just playing devils advocate and looking forward to your replies;)
 
But where does the NX7 fit in into ones arsenal. A DSLR replacement with limited lens offerings, a would-like-to-be digital RF m-mount alternative, a giant sized pocket camera, a mft killer?
I'll also be really curious to see. I think Andrew was right in noting that the first round of Nex cameras were consumer cameras and going for point and shoot upgraders primarily. To the extent enthusiasts bought them, it was primarily for use with legacy glass or really specialized reasons (like myself - bought a Nex5 largely to use the flip screen for street photography, but shot almost exclusively with the 16mm). The Nex 7 is very clearly an enthusiast level camera body with a price to match. But with the limited native lens lineup and the size of the coming native lenses, how much will it appeal to enthusiasts? The camera BODY is frankly almost exactly everything I could ever ask for in a camera body, but I won't buy one because the lenses just don't add up for me. The Zeiss 24, as great as I'm sure it will be, is bigger than I'd want to carry as an everyday setup (particularly since I have an X100 that does the same thing in a package I like even more, for the price of the Nex body-only). The 16 is still nicely small and the quality is good enough for me, but that's the ONLY lens I'd really want to shoot with a lot. The kit zoom, the 24mm, 50mm, ANY of the telephoto zoom options are just bigger than I'd want to deal with (I'd buy an A77 or a small DSLR if I wanted to deal with lenses of that size) and there's not much in the way of semi wide to wide primes coming along and no idea of the size of the UWA zoom on the distant horizon.

So to me, as an enthusiast who's not concerned about that last tenth of a percent of image quality, the Nex 7 doesn't make sense. M43 represents a better set of compromises for me. But for all of the innovation they've been throwing into the Nex line, I hope they do well with it. I'd like to see them continue to push Olympus and Panasonic and everybody else for quite a while. I hope that small built-in evf trickles over to the other brands. And the flip up touch screen. I LIKE the newfangled interface they've been working out without pledging much allegiance at all to conventions - I liked the interface on the Nex 5 (with FW 3) and would like the interface on the 7 even more, I'd bet.

So who's gonna pay that kind of money for it, or even when the prices come down some? I'm not, but I hope many will and I'm curious about who they're gonna be and what they're gonna see in that system and how it evolves...

-Ray
 
So who's gonna pay that kind of money for it, or even when the prices come down some? I'm not, but I hope many will and I'm curious about who they're gonna be and what they're gonna see in that system and how it evolves...

-Ray

Hi Ray
Interesting post - and pretty much a reflection of my thoughts.
But if you start thinking of the Nex7 as a 24mp digital back with an excellent sensor which will take pretty much every lens ever made . . . an with some of them will fit in your pocket - suddenly it sounds much more attractive.

My logical side agrees that m43 actually offers a much better size/price/quality return . . . . but if you start thinking of the NEX7 as modular .. Forget the X100 - I know how fond lots of people are (for good reason) but a fixed focal length compact is not the same thing at all.

I will almost certainly get a NEX7, but I suspect I won't like it as much as my EP3, which is becoming more and more of a favourite.
 
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