NEXpro (Click here) released the “world’s first Hot shoe designed for SONY NEX-5 and SONY NEX-5n”. A hands-on is available at Engadget China (Click here). Great stuff!
And here is something a bit more crazy: video feed controller at Engadget (Controlled with the NEX-5n!!!)
Photoheadonline (Click here) made an intruiguing 50mm lens comparison between the NEX prime lens, the 18-55mm NEX kit lens, the Leica Summicron and the Zeiss Sonnar ZM: “Hands down the winner of this showdown is the Sony 50mm F1.8 OSS lens. There’s not much to say except for your money the performance of the Sony 50mm F1.8 OSS is a winner.”
That 50mm lens is a real must have lens! Just check the price difference to see why I like the lens a lot:
Sony 50mm f/1.8 for NEX at [shopcountry 8448].
Zeiss ZM Sonnar f/1.5 links at [shoplink 10220 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
Leica Summicron links at [shoplink 12451 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].
M to NEX mount adapter on [shoplink 8850 ebay]eBay[/shoplink].
30 Responses
Wow about time! That hotshoe is a bit expensive but very interested in getting it. Hopefully they take some feedback from the Engadget article and put in a slot in the screw head to allow use of a coin to tighten it.
But will that hot shoe adapter work on an NEX-3/C3 as well?
Sony would have made a lot of friends if they had made a hot shoe adapter themselves. Now we know that third party developers pay more attention to Sony customers, than Sony does. Meh.
Sure would be nice for a third party to make a software hack that would allow tethering of Sony cameras, ‘cuse it will a cold-day-in-Hell before Sony does.
Sony is a corporation out to make a profit, no one has forced you to buy their product and they didn’t mislead you with advertisements of standard ISO hotshoes, or promise of a tailor made a camera specifically suited to your own personal needs, but apparently they did enough for you to buy their product.
oh geee, nice profit orientation. the things customers are highly asking for, you deny. take it or leave it customer service, just great.
btw, how much could it possibly cost sony to produce such an adapter? and sony is known for selling add on accessories at maximum prices, just look at their accessory product line prices. thats not enough profit?
Well, we don’t know how much it costs. Cost of development plus cost of production plus cost of marketing (a simplification) – would the number sold of such an adapter lead to profits? Goodwill? Both?
I dont think Sony is out there to make profit. Did you see the last company’s results???
pc sync cable nice!!! now u can attach some radio transmitters for off camera flash, like a speedlight on a standing monopod. very fast mobile setup. even in sunlight its great for fillflash. but it came out way tooo late, makes much more sense to get nex7 with built in viewfinder.
just try to use this hot shoe and also the nex5n viewfinder at the same time!
80 bucks for a hotshoe. Let’s wait for some better prized products from China.
INTERESTING – Nex-7 lens Imatest results at
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/04/nex-7-lens-imatest-resolution-comparison
+1
Basically, even the 16mm pancake is useable when stopped down. I find this to be true. Yes, Sony needs more lenses (and G type zooms would be welcome). Still, when you think about it, you can get good pictures with what’s available.
The 50mm NEX lens could have been a must-have. But the 75 mm “equivalent” focal length is just between the typical normal 50 mm and the useful protrait tele between 90 and 105 mm.
So, still waiting for good useful prime lenses for NEX.
This “test” does not answer the most important questions, unfortunately.
What is the maximum flash trigger circuit voltage supported by this Shadow hotshoe adapter? The trigger circuit voltages of flashes with ISO-518 hotfoot can be as low as 1.8V or up to 400V DC or AC, and all the NEX provides as part of the hotshoe signals is a completely unprotected control signal. There is not even some transistor or protection diode as found on iISO hotshoes of the Alpha cameras. Without the necessary protection circuit in the adapter even very low trigger circuit voltages can fry the camera.
Does the adapter support flashes with negative trigger circuit voltages? Flashes come with positive (more common) and negative trigger circuit voltages, and the triggering circuit can be designed to cope with one or any of them. In the worst case, connecting a flash with negative trigger circuit voltage to an adapter only supporting positive voltages may damage the circuitry, otherwise it just won’t work.
Does the adapter implement galvanic isolation via a transformer or an opto-coupler? Even if the adapter would support positive and negative trigger circuit voltages, this does not necessarily mean, it would implement galvanic isolation as well, that is, that there is no electricial connection between the two hotshoe contacts and the camera contacts. If the adapter does not provide galvanic isolation, there is a risk for short circuits or overvoltage conditions when the camera is wired to some other external device (for example a power supply or a PC) and that external device directly or indirectly has a connection to the flash as well, for example through some metal parts in the flash stand which are connected to ground (or earth).
The high price of the adapter suggests that it might implement all these necessary safety features, but the fact, that the web site does not mention them and states it is designed mostly for remote flash triggers suggests otherwise (as remote flash triggers don’t have high trigger circuit voltages). When asked, they could not answer these questions and did not even know basic things as what a “trigger circuit voltage” is, which might either indicate that the adapters are manufactured by someone else or that they do not implement these important safety features.
So, until these questions will have been answered (positive), better don’t use this adapter to connect flashes to your NEX, in particular not those with negative polarity or higher trigger circuit voltages than perhaps 3V.
I agree, this is coming to market a little late. If this adapter was available last October, I would have paid $200 for it. But with the Nex-7 now, I can’t justify spending the cash for my Nex5n that only gets used for Steadicam and boom video shots.
I just got the 50mm, but my nex-7 is still apart:( I really wanna try it now!!
Jay
This flash attachment may be a bit too late. Sony might not allow the acc.port for flash anymore, starting with the NEX-F3 (Admin: please check and confirm this).
Sony are making a mess of the NEX designs. But for the E mount, nothing appear compatible.
They are probably better off making and selling P&S cams and TV sets. Oh, wait, they got beat by Samsung there!
The hotshoe adapter will be nice if they can add a mic input 😉
+1
…additionally I’d like to know if the flash sync has got an own circuit or if it will cause problems with older flash lights running their whole electricity through the NEX camera.
+1
with a mic input, this thing would be perfect…..
BTW, I use the Phottix Strato for remote flash control on a Canon 5D. There is also a Strato with the Sony/Minolta hotshoe, but I don’t know if it works with the Sony Nex: http://www.phottix.com/en/studio-accessories/phottix-strato-receiver-only-for-sony.html
Awesome! “Buy a third party add-on, so you can use normal stuff”
lol.
That has been the case as far as a flash is concerned (NEX or no NEX). 😉
That a terrible test! Photohead’s comparison crops are from just below the center of the frame. I’m sure the Leica will smoke Sony’s 50mm at the corners. Edge-to-edge sharpness is what you pay a premium for with lenses… not center sharpness (which is cheap/easy to accomplish).
And even if limiting it to center crop comparisons, he picked the 18-55 and its blurry mush above both the Leica and Zeiss? Is this some kind of joke?
I hope this hotshoe its good on my nex3..
Awesome.
The only thing I don’t like about my NEX5N is the lack of a hotshoe. Now there really is no reason to keep my A700 around.
Does anyone know if this hotshoe works well with pocketwizard products?
http://www.ebay.de/itm/JJC-MSA-10-NEX-Flash-hotshoe-adapter-FOR-SONY-NEX-3-5-5N-/261054703187?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cc812a653
I don’t want you to buy this, but I think it’s a cheaper alternative to the shadow nex hot shoe adapter…
i just bough this in ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JJC-MSA-10-NEX-Flash-hotshoe-adapter-SONY-NEX-3-5-5N-/110906681010?pt=Camera_Flash_Accessories&hash=item19d28da6b2
got the item this morning and IT WORKED on “speedlight 460II”
thanks china ..^^ heh
Birns & Sawyer HOT SHOE ADAPTER for SONY NEX5 available on B&H
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/860483-REG/Birns_Sawyer_10119_Hot_Shoe_Adapter_F_sony.html