Digital Home Thoughts: Sony Announces Four Lenses and an Adapter

Pictured is the lens I suspect everyone will be most interested in, because it has the Carl Zeiss moniker on it, and hey, German Glass(tm) is automatically good, is it not? Anyway, the first of the four lenses is the E-mount (ie for NEX) 24mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss-branded Sonnar lens. This gives a 36mm equivalent, so it is something of a 35/1.8. Good for those who like the field-of-view that particular focal length gives. Thanks to the branding, it will come with a not-too high price tag of US$1,000. Ships in December.

Next up are two more mundane lenses for the NEX system. The optically stabilised 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 gives a field-of-view similar to a 80-300mm, so that is the budget telephoto zoom covered. Then there is the optically stabilised 50mm f/1.8, which umm, is a bit of an odd length. A 70mm probably will be more popular. The 55-210mm goes for US$350 and will ship in October, while the 50mm goes for US$300 and will ship in December.

The sole Alpha-mount lens is the DT 16-50mm f/2.8 SSM lens, which gives a field-of-view equivalent to a 24-75mm. Not much to say, other than this type of lens is pretty much a popular one for both enthusiasts and pros alike. What took Sony so long to come up with this, I have no idea. Ships in October for US$700.

Finally, there is the adapter for NEX cameras, the LA-EA2. It features a translucent mirror, a screw-drive motor, and an AF module to allow AF with older lenses when adapting Alpha lenses to the NEX. Since the module at US$400 is not cheap, and with all of the above components, not small (and with SLR lenses, even less small), I wonder who is actually going to get that.

More photos at the source.