FF NEX Coming Soon ..

[bwcolor]

Full Frame NEX (SR-5)

If true..

Here I'm guessing and probably wrong:

This must be related to the twin mount rumor going around months ago. Mount an A-Mount lens, or FF legacy lens and it is full frame. E-Mount lens and it selects the central part of the sensor. Perhaps, new E-mount FF lenses, which would be smaller. I believe that others suggest that the mount is large enough for a FF lens.. yes? The sensor will most likely be from the same fabrication as their now long rumored NEX with phase detection on the sensor.. or 24MPix... is that the way it works given that the new APS-C cameras will be 16Mpix? Most likely.. improved EVF..

 

[BobYIL]

Surely this is only rumor however SR5 means a little more than rumor.

Assuming Sony is going to introduce a FF Nex: The most probable sensor would be the one on the A99 or D600-24MP (the one on the A900 and D3X has already been outdated).. Two possibilities: If it would come with no offset-microlenses, then only retrofocals shorter than 35mm are to be used.. Assuming it would come with offset-microlenses, then the IQ of longer teles would be affected. Shortly; it is not an easy solution for FF-size sensors on short register distances.. BTW, nobody should expect a register distance of 18mm like the one on the Nex-5 or 7.. I expect rather it would come with one somewhere between 26 to 30mm. For instance if it comes with 26-27mm then Sony will have more trouble to cope up with the register distance for FF lenses, however rangefinder lens owners would feel pleased to use the M-mount lenses with adapters.

What I tried to touch above could not even be "handled" satisfactorily with the most advanced APS-C sizes today..

Surely these are all speculations, however even if it would come true then there will be a number of issues waiting for the engineers of Sony...

 

[Joosep]

Good fullframe with focus peaking would go pretty nice with my lenses....

 

[mackigator]

I vote yes. Sony officially has my endorsement to release a FF NEX. You heard it here first.

 

[pieter]

It just doesn't seem to make any sense from a business strategy imo. To be honest the APS-C NEX system isn't even finished considering the lenses available. Releasing this would surely mean the abandonement of the APS-C NEX system.
Besides it would surely eat into the sales of their FF DSLR system.

But then again, Sony doesn't seem to do camera systems the normal way.

 

[mackigator]

I think it would be a smart move; Sony doesn't have a significant share of any of the camera (DSLR, P&S, mirrorless) markets. Why not take a risk and take over?

At each point in history where a capable camera has been introduced that was smaller in size, the world has adopted that as the standard, even when resolution decreased. The history of cameras is the history of making an imaging tool that fits in the hand.

So Sony should go for it. I don't even mind that I recently bought into the NEX-7.

 

[fstops]

I just learned via (many) trusted sources that the third revolution from Sony is about to happen. After the SLT and NEX introductions (first two revolutions) Sony is about to change the photographic and video industry with the third revolution… a new Full Frame NEX system!

That reads like something written by marketing people at Sony, which means this rumor is true and this is a nicely timed leak to get the buzz going for Photokina.

 

[mafoofan]

It just doesn't seem to make any sense from a business strategy imo. To be honest the APS-C NEX system isn't even finished considering the lenses available. Releasing this would surely mean the abandonement of the APS-C NEX system.
Besides it would surely eat into the sales of their FF DSLR system.

But then again, Sony doesn't seem to do camera systems the normal way.

I don't think Sony is all that concerned with cannibalizing it's own sales. It appears willing to branch out deep in all directions, then see what works. This seems like a sensible approach when once considers that Sony is not a market leader in the digital camera segment and stands to gain ground by upending the status quo. Also, the company is much larger and more diversified than Nikon and Canon. They can stomach lower short-term revenue growth in one business segment.

 

[sevo]

It just doesn't seem to make any sense from a business strategy imo. To be honest the APS-C NEX system isn't even finished considering the lenses available. Releasing this would surely mean the abandonement of the APS-C NEX system.

So far no FF maker abandoned his APS-C line in favour of the FF system - size and price place them far enough apart. Why would that be different here?

Besides it would surely eat into the sales of their FF DSLR system.

The pellicle Sonys (and even more so their older DSLRs) obviously are marginal sellers compared to the Nex line, so expanding the latter even at the price of possibly displacing the former on the market is quite a reasonable move.

 

[pieter]

I don't think Sony is all that concerned with cannibalizing it's own sales. It appears willing to branch out deep in all directions, then see what works. This seems like a sensible approach when once considers that Sony is not a market leader in the digital camera segment and stands to gain ground by upending the status quo. Also, the company is much larger and more diversified than Nikon and Canon. They can stomach lower short-term revenue growth in one business segment.

Fair enough, though it will never upend anything as long as it forgets to bring out proper lenses.

 

[Ken Ford]

I very much like my NEX7, but if they released something similar in FF that would allow use of my Leica M glass I'd tear my pants getting my wallet out. I like my OM Zuikos on the NEX7, but...

I'm not a fan of using M lenses on a crop body - I bought my 35 for the 35mm FOV, and my 75mm for the 75mm FOV. I can't afford a 24 and a 50, too.

 

[bugmenot]

Even if Sony does nothing more than stick a FF sensor inside a body like the NEX-7, this is a huge step forward. You will still be able to use native E-mount lenses with APS-C crop on the new camera for when you need something more compact (and it would certainly not sacrifice megapixels if they were to use something like the D800 sensor), or attach something like an LA-EA3 adapter with a new FF-covering translucent mirror for when you want to use Alpha lenses.

As a result, Sony doesn’t need to create a new mount with special lenses. They only have to keep building the two lines (three if you count A-mount cropped lenses) they have, which can both be mounted to full effect on this one camera. It’s effectively the hybrid A/E mount that was rumoured in the past.

Of course, you can now get the full advantage of adapted manual lenses. Triple Win situation.

Let’s face it: even if they made FF NEX-specific lenses, they would be enormous (due to stabilization and autofocus).
So what’s the point? Use the Alpha lenses on it since you’re going to lose the size advantage anyway, and when you want compactness go back to APS-C E-mount lenses. I love the idea.

And hey, let's be real. It won't kill Leica sales, but Sony will certainly eat Leica's dinner (at least in the body department).
Leica lens sales are bound to increase as a result of this of course (if they can ever keep some in stock).

The sensor will most likely be from the same fabrication as their now long rumored NEX with phase detection on the sensor.. or 24MPix... is that the way it works given that the new APS-C cameras will be 16Mpix? Most likely.. improved EVF.

First of all, in order for the APS-C central part of a FF sensor to offer 16 Megapixels, you'd need a sensor the size of the D800's 36MP sensor.

Secondly, with regards to whether E-mount works for full frame, people have done some calculations. "The E-Mount opening diameter is 46.1mm, which leaves 1.41mm between the corner of a FF sensor and the flange edge. Since the flange is 18mm from the image plane (vs. 44.5mm for A-mount), there is definite vignetting potential of the very corner of a FF sensor at faster f/# (say <f/4). Vignetting also depends on the incident angle of the chief ray at the corner, which varies from lens to lens. Normal incidence (e.g., telecentric lenses) is better for light absorption in sensors, but "FF E-mount lenses" could certainly be designed away from that." (Quote from LifeStoryImages.com) 😀

 

[cosmonaut]

I very much like my NEX7, but if they released something similar in FF that would allow use of my Leica M glass I'd tear my pants getting my wallet out. I like my OM Zuikos on the NEX7, but...

I'm not a fan of using M lenses on a crop body - I bought my 35 for the 35mm FOV, and my 75mm for the 75mm FOV. I can't afford a 24 and a 50, too.

LOL. LOL. Thanks for making me laugh. I think though I would be more interested in an a99 a upgrade from my a850. But at that I am in no hurry to retire my a850, I am sill in love with it.

 

[firemist]

I very much like my NEX7, but if they released something similar in FF that would allow use of my Leica M glass I'd tear my pants getting my wallet out. I like my OM Zuikos on the NEX7, but...

I'm not a fan of using M lenses on a crop body - I bought my 35 for the 35mm FOV, and my 75mm for the 75mm FOV. I can't afford a 24 and a 50, too.

What is the flange registration distance on a FF NEX is about 27mm? How will you adapt your Leica M-mount lenses then? That's my concern.

 

[bugmenot]

What is the flange registration distance on a FF NEX is about 27mm? How will you adapt your Leica M-mount lenses then? That's my concern.

Highly unlikely for such a thing to happen. Introduce a fourth line of lenses? Only if Sony is insane.

 

[peterm1]

All I can say is that if true I hope they do something about their next crop of standard lenses. I have an NEX 5 and while I like it the standard zoom is only just adequate and no great shakes for a cropped lens. Its the thing I like least about the NEX system which is otherwise excellent to use (being also good with adapters for pretty well any other lens system you can think of.)

 

[BobYIL]

What is the flange registration distance on a FF NEX is about 27mm? How will you adapt your Leica M-mount lenses then? That's my concern.

No concern.. Even 26.80 would suffice.. M-mount is 27.80mm and all LTM to M mount adapters are only 1.0mm thick. (LTM register distance is 28.80mm)

27mm distance is of secondary issue. It's not like Leica-M; FF-Nex users may want to use even 500mm lens on it.. Then with the microlenses (if provided to take care of below 35mm FLs) then there will be problem..

 

[Spicy]

Well Canikon, prepare to be crushed. *Serves you both right for being the conservative morons that you both are.

I hope this comes out and does well.

The only problem is going to be lens size. No way to make FF lenses much smaller than DSLR FF lenses, which means the size of the body is only like 30% of the equation. If you're going to carry a 70-200 2.8 VRII L lens or whatever it is around all day, the difference between it strapped to a 5DmkIII and a pack of playing cards isn't really *THAT* much

 

[DougFord]

I think it was just a matter of time. This is gonna be quite some gizmo. Will it be all sensors to all lenses? hardyharhar. As others have stated, the engineering feat required for the micro-lens configuration/design might require favoring certain lens designs over others.
Never a dull moment, it seems these days, in the photography business.

 

[cosmonaut]

All I can say is that if true I hope they do something about their next crop of standard lenses. I have an NEX 5 and while I like it the standard zoom is only just adequate and no great shakes for a cropped lens. Its the thing I like least about the NEX system which is otherwise excellent to use (being also good with adapters for pretty well any other lens system you can think of.)

It's why I sold mine and got the OMD E-M5. Olympus has the lens selection. Far to many kit quality ones though.