Amin
Hall of Famer
Sony's NEX bodies are impressively small. As many have pointed out, the standard zoom isn't large, but it looks big relative to the NEX-5:
As a result, many folks are interested in using the NEX bodies with smaller primes or adapted lenses. For launch, Sony decided to produce one prime, the 16mm f/2.8. The 16/2.8 looks well matched to the small NEX-5 body:
It makes one wonder, why 16mm? The likely answer is that 16mm complements the standard 18-55mm zoom well. While the standard zoom covers from wide angle to short tele, the 16mm lens (equivalent to ~24mm in 35mm frame terms) gets one into what would traditionally fall under ultrawide angle photography. Thus by carrying both lenses around, one extends the range without much additional size/weight.
However, if the idea was to complement the 18-55mm lens, why not make the prime even wider? A 14mm lens (~21mm equivalent) would have provided a very nice contrast to the 18mm (~27mm equivalent) end of the zoom. The answer here is likely that Sony realized some folks would want to walk around with only the single prime, and 14mm would just be too wide for most people's "walkaround" needs.
Now that the 16mm lens is here, and everyone is aware just how small the NEX system can be, Sony is bound to bring out some more prime lenses, and I've been thinking about what the best strategy might be. A short tele, ~50mm (~75mm equivalent), would make for a potent two lens kit. In a way, 16mm is the new 18mm. Many people enjoy general and scenic photography with a lens that borders on ultrawide. A small short tele would add the potential for portrait, short depth of field, and close up photography, which would provide great versatility in a 2-lens (16 and 50mm) kit.
Personally, I would have loved to see them take a 3-lens approach to the small prime lineup, with 12, 24, and 58mm (~18, 35, and 85mm equivalent) lenses
.
What are your predictions and hopes for Sony's NEX lens lineup?
As a result, many folks are interested in using the NEX bodies with smaller primes or adapted lenses. For launch, Sony decided to produce one prime, the 16mm f/2.8. The 16/2.8 looks well matched to the small NEX-5 body:
It makes one wonder, why 16mm? The likely answer is that 16mm complements the standard 18-55mm zoom well. While the standard zoom covers from wide angle to short tele, the 16mm lens (equivalent to ~24mm in 35mm frame terms) gets one into what would traditionally fall under ultrawide angle photography. Thus by carrying both lenses around, one extends the range without much additional size/weight.
However, if the idea was to complement the 18-55mm lens, why not make the prime even wider? A 14mm lens (~21mm equivalent) would have provided a very nice contrast to the 18mm (~27mm equivalent) end of the zoom. The answer here is likely that Sony realized some folks would want to walk around with only the single prime, and 14mm would just be too wide for most people's "walkaround" needs.
Now that the 16mm lens is here, and everyone is aware just how small the NEX system can be, Sony is bound to bring out some more prime lenses, and I've been thinking about what the best strategy might be. A short tele, ~50mm (~75mm equivalent), would make for a potent two lens kit. In a way, 16mm is the new 18mm. Many people enjoy general and scenic photography with a lens that borders on ultrawide. A small short tele would add the potential for portrait, short depth of field, and close up photography, which would provide great versatility in a 2-lens (16 and 50mm) kit.
Personally, I would have loved to see them take a 3-lens approach to the small prime lineup, with 12, 24, and 58mm (~18, 35, and 85mm equivalent) lenses
.What are your predictions and hopes for Sony's NEX lens lineup?
