HOT! New Sony NEX lens roadmap! - from SAR & Sony

[alphaomega]

So Sony have released their new Road Map of NEX E mount lenses here
http://www.sony.jp/ichigan/evolution/e_roadmap/
and SAR have waisted no time in replicating it here with some English translation
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/hot-new- ... anslation/
Looks genuine enough. I would definitely be interested in the wide angle zoom (if it produces better images than my 28mm pancake and W/A converter) and the high performance standard zoom (again if it outperforms my 18-55mm zoom).
I am really thinking of the evolution of my NEX system and any upgrading required when I eventually add the NEX-7 to my camera portfolio.
Looks as if Sony are speeding up the release of dedicated NEX E mount lenses although the selection may not be to everybody's taste. I am happy with the 55-210 E mount tele zoom and I believe it can handle the NEX-7 so the W/A and the high performance standard zooms would actually round off my E mount lens requirements. Thanks in advance Sony and keep the prices reasonable.

[pakodominguez]

So Sony have released their new Road Map of NEX E mount lenses here
http://www.sony.jp/ichigan/evolution/e_roadmap/
and SAR have waisted no time in replicating it here with some English translation
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/hot-new- ... anslation/
Looks genuine enough. I would definitely be interested in the wide angle zoom (if it produces better images than my 28mm pancake and W/A converter) and the high performance standard zoom (again if it outperforms my 18-55mm zoom).
I am really thinking of the evolution of my NEX system and any upgrading required when I eventually add the NEX-7 to my camera portfolio.
Looks as if Sony are speeding up the release of dedicated NEX E mount lenses although the selection may not be to everybody's taste. I am happy with the 55-210 E mount tele zoom and I believe it can handle the NEX-7 so the W/A and the high performance standard zooms would actually round off my E mount lens requirements. Thanks in advance Sony and keep the prices reasonable.

Nothing new about this "announcement":
http://www.photographyblog.com/news/son ... _for_2012/
I would like to see a 70 to 90 mm Macro lens...

[alphaomega]

pakodominguez, Actually the Photographyblog road map you refer to does not include 2013. If you look at the Sony/SAR announcements I refer to you will note that it is an updated version including 2013 and now has four instead of three new lenses in 2012.

[alphaomega]

I am still pondering the purchase of a NEX-7 and waiting for some price drop to occur. In the meantime I am wondering about how my 16mm, 18-55 and 55-210 lenses will handle 24Mp. This entry on SAR has me slighty worried.
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/photozon ... the-nex-7/
Not much point in spending £1000 on a camera if the lenses I have cannot match the sensor for IQ. I need quality AF zooms. No point buying the 5N when I already have a NEX-5 original. In fact I think I need a hybrid NEX-7 body with the 5N sensor.
Looking forward to DK producing a write-up on the NEX-7 and the performance of various lenses including those listed above. Thanks in advance.

[pakodominguez]

When I decided to buy the NEX7, my GF asked me for the NEX5. So I finally bought the SEL 18-55 for that camera (I bought originally the kit with the 16mm, and I've been using mostly manual focus lenses with the NEX5) and the SEL 24 f1.8 for the NEX7. I got the 55-210 also and I thought about the 50 1.8, but I decided not to have it, 50mm is not a focal distance I will use that much, unless is a Macro lens.

So far, I'm really happy with the 24mm 1.8, and I have no complains about the 16mm (an wide AND FishEye adapters) or the 55-210, other than AF speed or focus accuracy in low light or busy subjects. I do use the 18-55 eventually and I think this lens is OK.

If you need "more", on the lenses' roadmap there are a couple of lenses that supposedly will have "pro" quality, like the "high performance standard zoom" or the "middle telephoto" (That I hope will be a Macro lens). In any case, the lack of "pro quality" lenses didn't stop me to buy the NEX7 -and I'm enjoying this camera a lot!

[alphaomega]

Thanks for the information pakodominguez.
I As the 18-55mm is the most used lens I have on my NEX-5 I would be very interested in having your comments on the quality of this lens on the NEX-7.
I could always fit my CZ 16-80 with the LA-EA2 converter, but that kind of defeats the object of having a light travelling kit.

[agorabasta]

I'm not Pako, but I tried two copies of SEL1855 on my 7 and the original 5. First, the new black one performs exactly the same as the old silver one, and that's on both bodies.

Both lenses perform very similarly on both bodies, and easily outresolve both sensors in the centre of frame. Corners are softer, but it's also in the very similar way.

The 7 is much better in that it is producing far less false colour around sharp edges, the 5 could totally ruin a shot with some twigs against bright sky in the frame centre. That also means much less moiree with the 7.

The only bad thing with the 7 is that you may get some purple colour shift into the corners at 18mm, but it is only barely discernible over perfectly clean snow image.

The 16mm SEL is just as bad/good on the 7 as it is on the C3, which means it's mostly much better than when used on the 5/5N. But it really shows strong corner colour shifts on the 7, though that really shows only under bright daylight conditions; indoor use is OK.

Quite interestingly, the 24Mp sensor allows to better see what happens if the 16mm SEL is being focused in the extreme corners. It appears that the image may be focused either in vertical direction or in horizontal, which happens at different focus positions. Mind that if the lens itself were the culprit here, there would be different focus positions for radial/tangential (sagittal/meridional) directions.
So I think most of the poor performance of the 16mm pancake comes from sensor toppings, and not from the lens.

[alphaomega]

Thanks agorabasta for your detailed reply. That more or less settles it and I shall reward the first UK retailer offering a UK imported NEX-7 body price around £900 with an order. I am not particularly worried about CA or a bit of fringing as mostly it can be removed in LR. Also, the 24Mp sensor allows you to crop a bit to remove any corner unsharpness.