(SR4) New Noktor HyperPrime 23mm f/1.7 lens coming soon?

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On top: The very first picture(?) taken with the (preproduction) Noktor HyperPrime 23mm f/1.7 for NEX (Click on picture to enlarge).

We have been just told by our sources that there will be a new E-mount Noktor 23mm f/1.7 lens coming soon. The design is based on cinema lens, that means it has  a 12 aperture blades that will make a perfectly round aperture opening. The lens will be available in December for around $499. It has a minimum focus distance of 10cm.

The lens is made by the Chinese company SLRmagic which already makes the [shoplink 7109 ebay]35mm f/1.7 for NEX (available on eBay)[/shoplink].

 

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New NEX-7 preview at Luminous Landscape (+ Zeiss versus Leica test).

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[shoplink 8454][/shoplink]

There is a new detailed first impression review at Luminous Landscape (Click here).

I am just sharing some of the positive things they wrote about the [shoplink 8454]NEX-[/shoplink]7:
– “From an operational perspective what immediately brings a grin to an experienced photographer’s face is how comfortably the camera falls to hand. It’s one of those designs that makes few demands for accommodation on the part of the photographer. And, given how small the NEX-7 is, this is quite remarkable, even for people with large hands.
–  “Certainly at low to moderate ISOs the NEX-7 is neck-and-neck with Sony current Pro-grade full-frame camera, and that means that it will be comparable to the image quality of Nikon and Canon’s current full-frame cameras – at moderate ISOs, of course.

What’s very nice is that they compared the new [shoplink 8450]Zeiss 24mm[/shoplink] lens versus the very expensive and top quality Leica 24mm Summilux: “The 24mm Summilux simply can’t perform properly on the NEX-7 until its stopped down to f/8 and f/11, at which point it’s comparable to the new Zeiss 24mm.

Bottom line: “ I predict that the NEX-7 will be one of the hottest cameras of the coming year, and is going to really put other camera maker’s feet to the fire when it comes to offering an attractive mix of image quality, features, size, build quality and price. Sony clearly made a decision to make the NEX-7 as full featured as possible, not holding back any of their available features or technology. With many camera makers creating market segmentation by artificially restricting features to certain price points, Sony is to be commended for pulling out all the stops for the NEX-7 and keeping the price as reasonable as it did given the camera’s wide ranging features and capabilities.

Preorder the NEX-7 at [shopcountry 8454] (Some stores may are not accepting preorders now).
Preorder the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 at [shopcountry 8450] (Some stores may are not accepting preorders now).

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Pancakes ideas for your NEX: Zeiss Planar 35mm f/2.0 (Contax G mount).

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[shoplink 8858 ebay][/shoplink]

Introduction:
I am a happy NEX-5n user (and probably future NEX-7 user too). But what I am missing in the current NEX lens lineup are pancakes! I’m googling around to find some nice pancakes I can use on my NEX and I thought it would be nice to share with you my findings!

The Zeiss Planar 35mm f/2.0:
The razor sharp and tiny  [shoplink 8858 ebay]Zeiss Planar 35mm f/2.0[/shoplink] can be used on your NEX via the Contax G to NEX mount adapter ([shoplink 8859 ebay]Click here to find them on eBay[/shoplink]). The lens itself costs around $500 and you can find them on [shoplink 8858 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. On your NEX this will become a 53mm f/2.0 lens. As you see from the picture on top it is a very compact, and high quality lens.

What I found:
A set of image samples from “Ta” taken with the NEX-5 on Flickr (Click here).
Another set of image samples from “Sebboh” taken with the NEX-3 on Flickr (Click here).
Amazing night shots from “Lowlightlove” taken with the NEX-3 on Flickr (Click here).

What do you think:

What was the best camera announced by Sony this year?

View Results

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Ebay links:
[shoplink 8858 ebay]Zeiss Planar 35mm f/2.0 (Click here)[/shoplink]
[shoplink 8859 ebay]Contax G to NEX mount adapter (Click here)[/shoplink]

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C.Garrard: Sony is aware that we need pancakes for the NEX system.

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The latest Sony ENX lens roadmap shows the three upcoming new lenses, the G standard zoom, the die angle zoom and mid telephoto lens. Those are lenses that will appeal consumers more than enthusiast or professionists. But I am still hoping Sony will also announce some fast lens and panckes as soon as possible. Carl Garrard has a small talk with Sony and told them: “I let Sony know there is a big desire for smaller lenses for the NEX system, and in the end of that conversation I came to the conclusion that it’s not like they aren’t aware of this desire/need. I was told that their lens engineers are at full throttle trying to keep up with designing lenses for both the Alpha and NEX systems. “That’s fine” I said, “But the consumer wants smaller lenses now- maybe Sony ought to think about prioritizing that demand” I added.” (Source: Dpreview forum).

Now let’s hope Sony will respond my (and your) call for pancakes!

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Rayqual NEX adapters with built-in tripod mount.

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[shoplink 9029 ebay][/shoplink]

The japanse company Rayqual announced a couple of new E-mount adapters with built-in tripod mount. There will be E-mount adapters for Nikon F, M42, Leica R, Olympus OM, Canon FD and Pentax K mount lenses. Rayqual sells their adpaters on their own website Rayqual.com. But sadly it’s only in japanese language. The adpaters will cost around $180-200. We will might find them soon on [shoplink 9029 ebay]eBay (Click here to see the current Rayqual adpaters on eBay)[/shoplink].

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NEX-5n review at CNET + got my NEX-5n!

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Pacifica 5N from Marlon Torres on Vimeo.

IMPORTANT: At the time you are reading this I am driving across Europe (at least 13 hours drive). I will answer your mails the next days. Also comments waiting for moderation have to …wait more than usual. One more thing, I got my NEX-5n right before my departure. I will do some backstage photos of the reportage we are shooting in Doel (Antwerpen). My first impression? The Black NEX-5n + [shoplink 8725 ebay]Nokton 35mm f/1.4[/shoplink] combo looks sexy. Image quality is amazing. What I don’t like is the usbaility of the NEX-5n (and I will write mroe about that when I am back form my trip). See you soon!

Here are the news:

Lori Grunin from CNET (Click here) posted a full [shoplink 8452]Sony NEX5n[/shoplink] review: “I don’t know that I can recommend the NEX-5N as the best option for point-and-shoot upgraders; for that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 offers the more familiar interface and performance worth stepping up to. And I think the body itself might be too small for some people looking for a dSLR alternative, and for some of those folks a hardware mode dial or traditional hot shoe can be a deal killer. But it’s a solid camera with extremely good video quality and capabilities for its class, and though its performance isn’t best in class, it’s certainly good enough.”

EosHD (CLick here) wrote a tutorial about how to optimize the Sony NEX 5N for cinematic video.

Kayakphoto (Click here) just got the new [shoplink 9110]external OLED viewfinder for the NEX-5n: “Once again the quality of the EVF is truly outstanding. When coupled with some of my older Nikkor glass and using the manual focus assist I can literally see the difference in quality as the lens is stopped down. This also shows up with focus peaking.

You can get the viewfinder at [shopcountry 9110].
And as I did with the NEX-7 once here is the full worldwide Sony store list (+ some more shops) to check the NEX-5n availability and price. Just click on the name to visit the product page!
[shoplist 8452]

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Plenty of new Sony NEX-C3 reviews.

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[shoplink 7207][/shoplink]

Don’t let us forget the smallest of all NEX cameras, the nice [shoplink 7207]NEX-C3[/shoplink]! There are plenty of new reviews to read for all of you playing with the idea to buy the camera.

Let’s start with Popphoto (Click here): “Though Sony has addressed some of the interface issues that led to our cold reception of the first NEX bodies, the C3 still feels like it’s a step behind the competition. The body remains among the smallest you can find in an ILC (at least until Pentax’s tiny Q model hits the market this fall), but the big lenses negate much of this benefit.

The next review has been written by Techradar (Click here): “Despite the odd handling niggle, the Sony NEX-C3 has proved itself to be a very capable camera with some innovative features to suit photographers of all experience levels. The image quality alone will make this camera worthy of consideration.

Trustedreviews (Click here) writes: “It’s a shame that Sony hasn’t seen fit to raise the bar with regards to the new model’s movie recording abilities, while the fiddly flash attachment remains something of a fudged solution too. For these reasons the NEX-C3 doesn’t quite make 9/10. Judged solely on its still-image capturing abilities though, we’ve no hesitation in recommending it.“.

Click those links to check the NEX-C3 price: [shopcountry 7207].

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