[shoplink 2998 ebay]
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The image on top shows you the currently only Sony pancake lens of the NEX line, the [shoplink 2998 ebay]16mm f/2.8 lens[/shoplink]. And if you are curious to know how big the upcoming new 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 lens is than good news…I have been told that it is “just a tiny bit thicker” than the prime pancake! It has the size of the currently only pancake zoom for mirrorless system on market, the Panasonic 14-42mm X. And like the Panasonic lens also the Sony 16-50mm will feature powerzoom and Image stabilization (OSS).
Reminder: The first powerzoom is the third version of the 18-200mm lens which has been announced along the NEX-EA50 (here on BH).
105 Responses
first
your mom must be proud. You should tell her when she brings you a sandwich when you take your next break from WoW.
Sony get this in stores now!!!
+1
Great !
Is it retractable ? Does it expand when it is switched on ?
Has to be the case.
I’d bet my last kidney it is too, but admin keeps saying pancake, not retractable. They are not the same as I’m sure you know.
The other question – is it G or can we expect tons of CA, soft corners, etc ?
dude, check panasonic’ 14-42x zoom lens and you will have a perfect answer of your question.
Excellent !
Any price estimates?
not yet…
@admin…. PLEASE, where are the a99 rumors…. it’s been almost four straight days of nothing but NEX stuff……
PLEASE
Mate, all of your Alpha-Mount-News in the future will be simply these Hybrid-News your blaming to be NEX only 😀 (scnr)
If rumors falls down from trees everyday, we don’t even need a rumor site. That’ll be a news site.
Patience John Thomas, I’m sure that they will come.
$1199
You just made up that number! Or is the assumption ‘rather G-grade than Kit-grade’ lens?
Obviously it’s made up =p I’m assuming it’ll be $500-$700, but just be patient. Rumors has to circulate 🙂 There’re NDAs and stuff^^
As sony user always like tell to canikon, OSS lenses expensive 😛
mechanical zoom and f/2.8 all over the zoom range would be MUCH nicer than OSS and power zoom!
Lets face it Sony isn’t making a f2.8 lens for now. So at least lets be grateful this lens has got OSS. It should be a great kit lens replacement as the current kit lens looks too big for the NEX bodies.
the current lens kit isn’t looking too big. it isn’t too big at all.
small body doesn’t mean it has to have a small lens. nex system wasn’t destined to be shoved into ones trouser pocket. it is a privilege of the rx100 🙂
I agree with Wolfgang. I would have preferred a mechanical zoom and wider apertures, even if the lens would have been larger.
Minolta tried the power-zoom route before with their DSLR line, and it failed. I think that even the days of video don’t justify power zooms. Most people take pictures, not videos.
This zoom and camera are for mass market. I guess this zoom is quite cheap and silent, it’s a good companion to the nex5f/nex 6. A small camera with small lense, that can take good photo and video. Soccer mom and pop want only one thing, take good photo and video of kids an pet, even during night party, with something as easy to use and carry as a p&s. And they also want to share photo. The next nex with wifi and this zoom is well design for this market.
With high iso perf of Sony sensor, you even don’t need f2.8.
Agree with Gabriel. I went on a trip to Europe and I saw tons of mirrorless users – both m43 and NEX users. I can’t recall a single user not having the kit lens attached. For every user of the NEX/m43 who is active on forums there are 10 more out there who are more than happy with a basic kit lens.
And lets face it, the current kit lens is a bit too big compared to the body. With this compact lens I can see a lot of additional kit sales.
A 16-50mm f2.8 lens on the other hand will have far fewer sales for sure. But I am sure such a lens is there in the pipeline though considering the rate of Sony lenses being designed it could be far away.
An f2.8 throughout the range would, inevitably, be a lot larger as the elements would have to be bigger in diameter and hence thicker (so even a collapsible would be a lot larger than this one). Indeed, it might well require a considerably more complex optical design requiring more elements.
You can’t simply swap OSS & power zoom and keep the dimensions. This is a lens for those that want a modest zoom range in a compact size in keeping with the body dimensions. A 16/50 f2.8 would simply not be such a lens.
Lets just hope it does delivery quality, like the Panny does
http://slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/1458/cat/69
The quality of the Panny doesn’t look so good when you click Andrea’s Amazon link and see the user reviews.
It’s worse then current Sony kit lens.
New pancake will be worse then kit as well, you hardly can cheat physics, but I guess Sony will at least match Panasonic’s pancake.
The Panasonic is mostly okay but it has a problem at some shutter speeds (1/60 – 1/200) which is a major flaw. Gotta hope the Sony is a G.
Remember that 16-50/2.8 DT is not a G lens, yet I think it’s worthy of the G badge.. However it’s not an FF, and G is just a Sony badge.
“The Panasonic […] has a problem at some shutter speeds (1/60 – 1/200)”
That’s news to me … and a strange flaw too 🙂
Whatever problems might the lens suffer with those specific shutter speeds?
The funny thing with the 16-50 DT is that even Sony thought at first it was worthy of the G badge, since pictures taken with prototypes showed the G desgination in the EXIF.
@Documensony
It is a strange problem for a lens, but the most common theory is that the problem is caused by shutter shake on certain camera models. There seems to be some copy variation in production that contributes to the problem, but it is exacerbated by the shutter shake on small camera bodies. OIS doesn’t seem to affect it one way or another.
It depends what you want to do with it… To me prime lenses are for serious photography while zooms are for more casual occasion. I really don’t mind the size of the current primes. I would buy an even bigger fast 85mm if there was one offered.
BUT… when I’m on vacation, wandering around a foreign city, a pancake zoom is a very attractive proposition. Under those circumstances I’m willing to trade speed and even quality (up to a point) for less bulk and weight. Walking around an entire day with the 18-200mm around your neck is not fun…
let’s be honest: it won’t be a professional grade lens.
compactness has it’s price.
Well you need to aim high so when the time comes, you can either accept what’s available with the current technology, or have something to troll about 🙂
Could it be this lens is meant to replace the recent SEL-1855 kit lens or will it become at least the standard kit lens for NEX-5R upwards?
I would imagine so.
This lens will hardly replace the 18-55, but rather complement it. Expect to pay a premium for the smaller form factor of the 16-50.
So, I have one question: does new coming Nex-5R or Nex-6 has a power zoom switch like example Lumix G5?
Is this G quality? Or that 2.8 is to be?
Is it a G lens?
16-50mm/2.8-4 would be great 😀
Sounds like a video lens and not the high quality standard zoom we thought
I’m quite sure, this pancake lens it’s not a G branded lens. The G lens will come next year as published on both roadmaps (the one released in 2010 and the other released early this year). Quality will be so compromised that I doubt, the will tag G on this tiny lens.
More waiting then … :/
Many people who buy a panasonic with 14-42X lens because it is so small, will choose nex instead because of the better image quality of the bigger sensor.
Now wait and see if the lens performs well.
But how will a motor zoom will be controlled with the current controls? Would there be a flip-switch on the lens itself? Maybe the motor is only meant to extend the lens on power-up?
However, who needs a power-zoom on the NEX? I can’t figure out why you would need one from my possibly narrow point of view …
I would imagine that power zoom is designed as a convenience for smoother video zooming.
perhaps power-zoom is needed in videocameras…
It’s on the lense. Power zoom are old tech from the good ol’ film era, and i wonder if Sony implement the image size traking, like Pentax do: http://www.mosphotos.com/PentaxLensPowerZoom.html
[sarcasm]So it’s basically for 80ies-retro-home-video-effects?[/sarcasm]
You should obviously familiarize yourself with Minolta A-bayonet Xi series. They were really impressive in some ways, by far more then anything currently offered on the market.
Problem is that – I still hardly see a point of power zoom lenses for photography.
I’m rooting for ya Sony…. Just like to point out that power zoom was one of the indicators of Minolta demise upon the introduction of their Xi pwer zoom lenses. It wasn’t the sole reason Minolta failed. But it did mark an era where designers became more concerned with go go gizmo gadget rather than elegant functionality.
Hopefully Sony PZ will be more refined and an asset to some video benefit. Hopefully it will be switchable to a manual zoom for the stills street tog journalists. Really, I can’t imagine doing editorial photo J with a power zoom.
Hi, Admin
Is this a G lens? thanks
I understand, because of E-mount diameter no SSS in FF-Nex. OSS is the way to go for NEX. Great News for A99 – still space to live (FF-SSS)
So please Andrea: A99 News!
Less than a month till photokina. Would like to see pics and SAR5-specs 🙂
Sony is still working to decide how many colors (red, silver) it should come in and if one of the customizable buttons has a “red eye” setting.
Seriously, I agree it to be odd how little has been officially released and that no photos of the camera have been leaked. Do we even know for sure that the name is a99?
Admin, this zoom are include the usual sony kit? Reemplace the 18-55mm kit?
I would also like to know if the new Sony NEX-5R has built-in flash what your sources say?
Does anyone know if NEX 6 will have a hotshoe? 🙁
Yes it will.
The same ISO/Alpha Hotshoe like on the A99?
you just made my day Andrea (L)
This is what I’m waiting for!
Another zoom for the noobs? We want primes, forget zooms!
If you want prime and better quality, you better buy a DSLR and big primes, there’s no way you can expect the NEX to have the same quality with DSLR, I use NEX for family shots, and the smaller the lens is, the better it is for travel.
You lost me at “Power zoom” 🙁
Power Zoom means you can control the zoom with the body.
I hope there will still be a manual zoom possible, I find power zoom only interesting in video use.
Thanks, though I meant that Sony lost my interest at “Power zoom” 🙂 lol
Still, I think it’s a good lens to have in the lineup to address the people complaining about the larger kit zoom, and also for the video folks. I’ll just be looking forward to the wide zoom and the 35/1.8. Stoked about all these new lenses, really, since it seems Sony is not forgetting us! Now for that NEX-7 firmware update… lol
Most likely the W & T functions will be on the lens, otherwise It’d be a pain to focus on other NEX bodies that doesn’t have native support for zooming on the camera controls… It’s much simpler to do it Panny’s way 🙂
>I hope there will still be a manual zoom possible,
No way, mantaining 2 zoom systems increases size.
If you need manual zoom, there is old kit zoom.
There are a lot of reasons to introduce powerzoom
1. it helps keep size down
2. situable for video shooters
3. zoom can be controlled by camera itself, which makes more sense since new cameras have app support
Is there any possibility left to manual focus with a power zoom? You think it is also lever controlled like on the pany?
I would prefer this also 🙂 I hope manual focus is available besides power zoom, just because of ergonomics.
Really wish it was 2.8 at the wide end @ 16mm, even if it wasn’t a constant aperture.
Power zoom? I don’t think i have ever seen anyone on this or any other forum ask for this feature… hope the 35mm prime has OSS too. Let’s hear more about that!
Look forward to seeing it. A small zoom sounds great. Fingers crossed that it comes in black. Call me shallow but the silver livery of the 50mm etc leaves me cold.
I merely wish to remind people about the 17-55 Nikkor. That would be the size of an f2.8 DX zoom without OSS. Nobody on earth has the technology to make a small f2.8 zoom. It is impractical now, and probably in the future, because NEX would look ridiculous with one attached.
The E-Mount is smaller than a standard DSLR mount so the lens would be inherently more compact that what you’re describing. Having said that, it would still be pretty big.
I personally would prefer a collection of smallish standard primes and a decent macro focal length. I can use my feet to zoom in/out.
For the casual user, the standard kit lens is more than enough. This was the trend with most folks that stepped up to DSLRs from P and S, so the trend with CSC wouldn’t be different. These people are stepping up from P and S’s NOT because of the ability to changes lenses. They just want DSLR image quality which is what makes a camera like the RX100 such a huge draw.
I totally agree the system is made for smallish primes. Looking forward to those… nevertheless, forums getting feverish for a 2.8 zoom need to temper their expectations.
Kind of regretted my decision to go with Sony NEX. Good quality lens are way far behind competitng M4/3
Sony DSC- RX100 has f1.8, motor zoom, OSS, and it is much smaller.
And- yeah, it can autofocus on moving subjects, while NEX cannot!!!!
The RX100 has a 1″ sensor, so the lenses can be much smaller. Also, my NEX-7 can indeed focus on moving subjects, with the same 25-point contrast autofocus system as the RX100
Does the RX100 also use APS-C size sensor or is it 2.6 times smaller, and is the RX100 IQ in the same class as the best crop sensored DSLR’s and NEX cameras? Also can you get a shallower depth of field with the RX100 on the same FF equivalent focal length?
Who knows, maybe the on-sensor phase detect AF rumored on the Nex-5R and 6 will be able to track moving objects, perhaps even better.
Here’s a pic showing the Pan lens compared with the 20/1.7 pancake:
http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc498/43rumors/Schermata2011-09-27a185908-1.png
Hi Admin, As for Pancake Zoom, does it come in Black? or Silver only?
This is BS. There is absolutely no way this can be a pancake zoom, be about as long as the 16mm pancake, have OSS, have power zoom and then also have an f/2.8 aperture. Completely impossible! What is your source smoking? Simply impossible for an APS-C covering lens.
Out of all these factors. The most important attributes I would like to see (as I’m contemplating purchasing a NEX 5N or 7 camera – or their replacements if they arrive soon) is an f/2.8 aperture and a size not more than the existing standard zoom.
What are you talking about? This rumor states the pancake zoom will have an aperture of f/3.5-5.6, not f/2.8.
The admin has previously stated that he had rumors that the new pancake zoom was an f/2.8 lens.
In any case, with such a slow lens I’m not really that interested in this.
Unfortunately, they sell what sells, not what people want 🙂 If people ‘want’ it but never buy it, then it’s useless for corporates because they can’t live with hopes. They live with money.
I believe that was just the first time this lens was rumored. Since then (including more recently the rumor from the Chinese site) the rumors have stated that the lens would not have a constant f/2.8 aperture.
I don’t mind the slow aperture that much really; I just want it to be sharp enough to be a competent replacement for the kit lens even if it is on the pricey side.
At one point, every upcoming NEX zoom lens was suspected to be pancakes. And to make it even more confusing there’s 2 16-50mm lenses.
Most likely this is not the G lens, since the G was supposed to be high performance, and people seem to be more into pancakes than big heavy 2.8 zooms. Take a look at panasonic’s 12-35, and that’s pretty big for a smaller sensor. It’d be even larger on APSC. However, Fuji came up with 2.8 / 4. That’d be nice 🙂
Eh, not too in to another slow zoom. But i suppose people looking for something small, it does kinda make sense for the NEX system.
I do hope there’s a 2.8 on the way as well. Really need quality lenses as well as casual.
I thought it was 18-50, not 16-50?
I thought about it again and I guess that if the pancake zoom had the same or higher quality than the standard zoom then I would prefer it to the standard zoom because of the compactness factor.
However SONY really needs to up its game with fast lens design and manufacturing for the NEX range. Also it SONY is selling NEX as primarily APS-C based system then its range of lenses need to be designed to match their 35mm full frame equivalents. So there need to be a fast 50mm equivalent lens (something like Sigma’s 30mm f/1.4), a fast and affordable moderate wide-angle 35mm lens (non-Zeiss 24mm f/1.8?), a wide angle zoom and a fast short telephoto like 70mm f/1.8 etc..
It can’t be *that* hard to reformulate fast primes for NEX based off of Sony’s Minolta based intellectual property/patents and its own cybershot and super-35 lens design groups.
Hey PhotoNut.
If you haven’t heard, Sony is also expected to announce a 35mm 1.8 and an 11-18 4.0 next week. So that does help quite a bit. 🙂
Agreed. I think the e-mount lens road map will help cover some of those focal ranges.
This might be a matter of economics– the NEX line is very popular despite the dearth of lens choices compared to m4/3. What economic incentive does Sony have to put costly resources into developing lenses when the sales numbers say otherwise?
For me and I’m sure others, were planning on using legacy glass and focus peaking on their NEX bodies.
But fast primes aren’t going to make my NEX pocketable.
Half the crowd wants pocketable. Half the crowd wants faster, better lenses. Can’t forget there’s the FS100/700 crowd out there looking for more E Mount lenses too. Plus the new NEX EA50. So, E Mount camera line is growing. Pocketable is nice, but they really need some higher quality lenses too.
You probably fail to grasp it’s not “reformulating”, but, unless you’re talking about long telezooms, this means creating entirely new lenses from scratch. NEX lenses should also be situable to be used with CDAF, which adds complexity.
>then its range of lenses need to be designed to match their 35mm full frame equivalents.
This is a very bad thing. The optimal designs for SLRs and mirrorless cameras are not same.
Hey Andrea! Is there any α99 rumors???
FF NEX & pancake zoom is nice rumor (I’m also 5N user),
but 99 is the most strongest new-comer this photokina
through all brands (all machines).
I’m tired of waiting for ling days and days and days.
Say again. Is there any α99 rumors??????
Pardon my ignorance, but what is this 16-50mm lens equivalent to in 35mm terms? Thanks
It is equivalent to a 24-75mm lens used on a full frame sensor (Nex has a “crop factor” of 1,5)