The E-mount of the Sony Alpha series

The E-mount of the Sony Alpha series is the name of a specification of a mirrorless lens interchangeable digital single-lens camera product developed and sold by Sony. Originally called the NEX System, Sony has integrated the Mirrorless product line into the Alpha series. Sony took over the camera division of camera maker Minolta and launched the Alpha brand DSLR. Sony's DSLR business has not been very successful, despite the attractive features of Carl Zeiss and G lens, built-in sensor-shift correction, and live-view phase-shift AF with separate sensors. In the meantime, the a500 and a550 series equipped with the new Exmor CMOS in 2009 showed live view mode using the main sensor for the first time in Sony, and at the same time Sony announced officially to enter the mirrorless market. When the first mock-up was announced, the NEX was dubious with iron lining from the mock-ups, a unique proportion of the zoom lens barrel overwhelming the body, a very thin look from the front, and a glare of thickness from the back. However, the actual product has come to fruition, and its size and silver-colored lenses are enough to catch the eye of consumers. In particular, unlike the mirrorless of the other three companies, all of the interfaces inherited from the DSLR, such as hot shoe and mode dial, were all excluded, resulting in a smaller size than the Olympus E-PL1 or Panasonic's GF1. In the case of the NEX-5, the mount was bigger than the body and the mount jumped up and down. The production of NEX can be said to be an extreme diet that is truly bone and leather. Thanks to this, the NEX will be left with a never-ending camera system that starts with the "diet limit" from the start.

 

 Unlike Sony's SLT or DSLR, which used A-mount, E-mount was released under a separate name, NEX. However, in 2013, Sony launched the E-Mount Mirrorless product with the naming A3000, and all subsequent E-Mount cameras were integrated with alpha naming. Starting in 2014, the Korean mirrorless market has solidified its solitary system and has become a global leader. In addition to the direct manufacturing of the sensors, the full-frame mirrors for more professional users as well as the entry-level line-ups were offered at reasonable prices. As of the first half of 2015, Canon, which ranks first in lens interchangeable camera market share for about 12 years, achieved the top market share. This is the first time in Canon's solo system, which has been in the top position in the lens interchangeable camera market for about 12 years, and it is a new impetus for the camera industry, which was constrained by Canon's long-term ruling. But overall, Sony and Canon seem to be lining up for the top spot. However, Sony's performance is the end of Canon's one-sided solo era, and the prospects that there will be no one-sided Canon solo are gaining momentum. Sony, who had been a minor player for the camera, is now looking up to the majors. By 2017, Sony has been pushing Nikon to the top of the list. In 2017, it achieved the second place in the US full-frame camera market. Considering that Nikon was the second place so far, it is a huge deal. In particular, Sony and Mirrorless 2 are great, but the fact that they are in the second place in the US, a conservative market, is evidence that their awareness has increased a lot and can be attributed to focusing on the FE lens group. This is because the market for smartphones has shrunk dramatically in the mid-term and medium-term markets, and it is becoming more and more expensive. That is, it is generally expensive. Currently, the company is pursuing a full-frame body-oriented strategy with a policy of bending both the people who took pictures and the new camera consumers. Thanks to this, the APS-C body and the dedicated lens have been completely defeated. It is also appealing to the users who are looking for the lineup of the cr7 by dividing the α7 lineup into the dissemination / professional / video, but this seems to be ignoring the spreading market. This is in contrast to the situation in which the overall market shrinks and the prices are increasing. In the meantime, Sony Mirrorless can see that its full-frame sales volume in the US surpasses Canon and Nikon, demonstrating its strength, and has become increasingly solid despite the conservative tendencies of existing camera users and markets . And he is leading innovation by announcing the first press-grade mirrorless α9. In Japan, which is more conservative than North America, sales of lens interchangeable cameras fell by 5% in 2017, but sales of mirrorless cameras grew by 20% in the meantime. In addition, sales of full-frame cameras surpassed Sony in Nikon, I can not deny that there is a possibility that the market share is really reversed.

 

 

E-Mount is a new 100% electronic mount developed by Sony for mirrorless. Unlike the A mount, the aperture control is controlled via the electronic contact. In other words, the native lenses of the E-mount do not have a physical iris control ring, but instead have an electronic iris ring, or controlled by the body's control dial. The flange bag is 18mm and is the second shortest fuser film X system among the commercially available lens interchangeable mounts for digital cameras. The sensor is shorter than the 19.25mm of the smaller microformid. Also, the mount's diameter is considerably larger. It uses sensors of the same size, but the flange bag is quite comparable to the case of Samsung, which takes quite a long time at 25.5mm. Like the Micro Four Thirds, thanks to the short flange back, most A-mounts as well as most third-party DSLR mount lenses can be used with the conversion adapter. Unlike Samsung's NX mount, which is actually a 2/3-stop upscale microprocessor, the E-mount can be called an extreme step towards lighter weight while maintaining the APS-C version. As you can see, the flange back-to-plate ratio of the E-mount to the Leica M mount is almost similar, as NX and the Flange back-to-plate ratio of the Mapo are similar. The Sony VG900 is an e-mount camera that supports FF, although it is a video product. Finally, in October 2013, Sony's E-mount full-frame mirrorless α7 and α7r appeared. It seemed that FF really was keeping in mind that it took two or three years for full-frame mirrorless development. As a result, Sony has taken its first step as the market leader and number one player in the mirrorless market. During the original development, it was possible to use AF with adapter LA-EA1 only for motor with built-in alpha mount lens, but at the time of NEX launch, it was impossible with various technical problems. It is very difficult to support contrast AF for the lens groups which are made only on the basis of phase difference AF. In September 2010, PHOTOKINA officially released firmware that supports AF of SAM / SSM motor built-in lens. Since then, SLT has appeared and released the LA-EA2 adapter based on the a55. Adapter, but it has a pellicle mirror that implements phase-difference AF in the same way as SLT structure, so that all lenses of A-mount can be used in E-mount like native. After launching a full-frame digital camcorder, the LA-EA3 was launched with a full-frame wide LA-EA1 image circle and a full-frame mirrorless body, the A7.

 

 

 Sony's large-scale firmware update in 2016 enabled phase-difference AF via the camera's on-sensor phase difference detection sensor without using the A7 ii line (A7m2, A7r2) LA-EA4 adapter. In other words, A-mount lenses and other DSLR lenses designed based on phase-difference AF can be used comfortably as a native with 100% performance. As a result, Sony's E-mount no longer suffers from a narrow lens problem. Users who already have DSLR equipment will be able to use the lens as it is with this update. Mirrorless shows nearly 100% of the focus accuracy, which is far more accurate than a DSLR, and is virtually unhealthy. This is possible because contrast AF and top-surface phase-difference AF, both of which are introduced in high-end models, are used in the form of a lamination of a sensor for image pickup and a sensor for image phase- That is, the technology itself is a natural advantage that comes out of the structure that was originally made. In the past, the accuracy was good, but the AF speed was slow, but this is the problem most of the current mirrorless brands have solved. In particular, the Sony A9 and other models maximize the face recognition function, so that people are actively utilizing the performance that automatically adjusts the focus to almost perfect by turning the head to the side when the head is leaned. In particular, with the Sony a9 and the Panasonic g9, the performance and functionality exceeded the DSLR flagship. The Sony a9 has about 700 focal points, almost enough to fill the screen, which is not possible due to DSLR characteristics.

 

 The big advantage of mirrorless is that it is often misunderstood, but its volume is not weight. It is true that there is a weight advantage in the so-called clobbodies using actual APS-C sensors or micro-part sensors, but there is no big difference because there are models such as 100D which are light in DSLR. In particular, Sony's flagship product, full-frame mirrorless, is only 100-200 grams different from Canon and Nikon's 6D and D610 light-weight full-frame models. Lens weight is rather heavy for Sony. Moreover, since the body is light, but the lens is heavy, the weight of the large lens may be heavier. Therefore, if there is a weight competition among full frame flagship models, there may be certain advantages, but there is no big advantage in terms of weight competition at the entry-high end which is mainly used. But the important thing is the volume. The volume of the body itself is certainly smaller than the DSLR, so it is possible to secure a space to accommodate more luggage when traveling. Basically, the DSLR has a lot of empty space for securing the movement of the mirror, but since the mirrorless completely compresses it, the volume difference is somewhat large. For the E-mount used in Sony Mirrorless, the flange back distance is considerably shorter, so if you increase the flange back distance through the adapter, you can use Canon's EF mount lenses or Nikon DSLR lenses as well as Sony's alpha mount lenses. In addition, manual lenses such as Canon FD mounts, Minolta MD, M42 screw mounts, Leica M mounts, etc., which were used in old film cameras, were also available. , The focus can be adjusted more easily. Another disadvantage is that there is a communication problem between the phase difference AF sensors, a shutter lag occurs, and a more delayed image is captured than actually viewed. As described above, there is a significance in terms of image quality in that it has a large plate shape compared with a micro light source which is considerably lightweight, compact and competing.

 

 

 On the other hand, ZHOGHI has introduced a adapter that enables 35mm film standard lenses such as M42 and Canon FD mounts or EF mounts to be used with a 1.1x angle of view from a cropped body, Can be used in a similar angle of view. While it is possible to use a full-frame angle of view and depth of field, it has the advantage of brightening the exposure with the advantage of reduced optics, but the quality of the image is lower because of the correct lens. The well-known facts of the E-mount are in fact many of the advantages of the mirrorless system itself. In fact, the only thing that led Sony to be at the forefront of the mirrorless market was the sensor board. Compared to existing cameras equipped with relatively small sensors of less than 1 inch or microphotos, it has an overwhelmingly large plate-type sensor, which has a clear comparative advantage in various aspects such as image quality, noise suppression and depth expression. will be. As of 2017, mirrorless sensors equipped with APS-C standard sensors are available in other companies, but in 2010, APS-C sensors were unusual in mirrorless systems. In 2013, it became a hot topic again with the launch of the full-frame mirrorless A7 with the same 35mm film size sensor. It has broken the full-frame barriers that have long been considered the area of ​​DSLR / film cameras for quite some time. With the introduction of full-frame sensors, the A7S, A7R and other professional-grade bodies have been released as a part of Sony's advanced policy, which has accelerated, showing that Mirrorless can also be an advanced camera. As of November 2017, the full-frame mirrorless system is the only Sony E-mount and Leica SL launched in late 2015. The Leica SL is definitely a high-end camera, but the price of the body and standard zoom lens is a whopping 12 million won. In addition, there are far fewer lenses than the Sony Mirrorless, but for commercial use, there are already a9 and a7r3 products, so Sony's E-mount is the only full-frame mirrorless system that can be used by virtually any number of users.

 

Sony's flagship model line, the Sony A7 series, has been in the three categories of full-frame A7, high-sensitivity A7S, and high-definition A7R since 2014. The A7R is equipped with a high-resolution 36-megapixel sensor for the first time in the market, and the A7RII is equipped with a higher-resolution 4200-pixel BSI sensor supported by the sensor's hand-shake correction. It has pioneered a very unique field that is different from any existing camera. Until 2017, full frame mirrorless is not only Sony's own, but also high-performance mirrorless itself, which brings the best performance of full-frame sensors to other companies. The A7RIII, released in October 2017, is a high-performance, high-performance camera that goes beyond the limits of existing mirrors, featuring a moderate buffer, joystick, and large capacity battery for 10 shots per second on the A9's AF mechanism, a press-grade body. The A7R series is definitely an advantage of the Sony Mirrorless because it has absorbed all of the advantages of the DSLR, and has included a high-resolution / high-resolution capability that can not be provided by third-party mirrorless. On the other hand, the A7S is a super-sensitive camera with a gapless on-chip diode sensor with a relatively low 12 megapixel resolution, which produces stunning pictures even on iso 409600. Since it has full-lead-out without pixel binning and downsampling method and has video shooting ability comparable to that of video-only camera, it has attracted attention from video release. In fact, using Panasonic's GH series is not an inherent advantage of Sony because it uses Mirrorless lens for image, but also the depth expression ability of full frame sensor, physical resolution and existing full frame image / The A7S is also a camera that has the advantage of Sony.

 

 

 One of the main drawbacks of Sony Mirrorless is heat. Due to the mirrorless nature of the sensor, the sensor is always running, which consumes a lot of power, is vulnerable to heat, and even forcibly turns off. It is a bonus that the body is small and does not cool well. It is difficult to compare it with the abrasion because the amount of calorific value is increased because the sensor is big. It is not just the early bodies. DSLR will not cause a fever unless you take pictures or use Live View. In fact, Mirrorless is not comparable to DSLR in terms of heat suppression performance with sensors or the substrate itself. However, since the sensor operates at all times for EVF operation, a heat problem occurs. Depending on the ambient temperature or the amount of sunlight, the EVF may overheat in a few tens of minutes and shut down. In fact, the a6300 was accused of having a serious problem that caused it to overheat in just 15 minutes when powered on. Since then, the a6500 has been solved, but the heat seems to be vulnerable to DSLR. Therefore, a battery grip should be installed to facilitate heat dissipation, or to use a power saving mode that turns on and off the power properly, unlike DSLR. In fact, Sony's DSLT cameras are mirror-less cousins ​​in that they use Live View as EVF, except for the focus, which is virtually unhealthy. In the end, it can be considered a design problem of the camera body. Obviously, if you insert a large heat dissipation structure into a large body, you will be able to suppress the heat sufficiently even if the sensor is large.

 

 

 Batteries are also similar to heat problems, but Mirrorless basically eats a lot of electricity. It is natural that there are much more parts of the DSLR that use electricity in mirrorless than in electricity. Therefore, from the viewfinder to the viewfinder, it is not optical, but electronic. As the battery consumption does not match the DSLR, the start-up time is short and the battery spare of 3-4 is enough to enjoy the similar shooting time as one DSLR battery. This problem is a permanent mirrorless problem, but it is the most serious problem in Sony. Currently, the NP-FW50 battery used in Sony Mirrorless cameras is 1020mAh, the NP-W126S battery in the Fuji Film Mirrorless is 1260mAh, and the BLN-1 battery in the Olympus Mirrorless main line is 1220mAh. Mirrorless itself consumes a lot of power, and Sony Mirrorless was using a battery that lacked capacity than a third-party mirrorless. It even uses this battery on its full-frame body, the A7 line, which makes it inconvenient for a battery. As mentioned above, the larger the sensor, the more heat is generated and the battery wears faster. This issue shows the possibility of resolving the issue with the launch of the full-frame mirrorless flagship A9, with a new battery, the FZ100 with 2280mAh. The new battery will also be available in the upcoming A7R3. However, Sony is currently concentrating on the FE mount full-frame model, and there is no consideration for the E-mount crop model, so it is still unclear how the model will cope. Moreover, as the dependence on the battery is high, the utilization at low temperatures is greatly reduced. It can happen when the battery is worn out in cold weather and even when it is not turning on. In particular, the battery of Sony battery is worse than the other companies in the measures against cold weather, and it is surpricking that the case of the eruption appears when it enters only the freezing point of the winter. This is the problem most of the mirrorless, but the Olympus, which is equipped with some degree of protection against damping and spinning, is not as bad as Sony.

 

The dust problem is also one of the problems of the mirrorless, but the dust is infrequent when the flange bag is short. For those users who frequently exchange lenses, the part that gives more stress than thought. Olympus has solved some of this with its powerful anti-dust technology as the first company to introduce dust-free technology, but Sony's dust problem is even worse, even with its dust-free technology. If the lens is changed, almost dust correction is a necessary level. It is a very difficult part for users who mainly use the lens with the overlapping of the inconvenience of the lens exchange below. Until now there are problems that are added, such as severe heat, poor battery, low temperature operation and vulnerability to dust, which is good for general photography, but there are still difficult parts for the photographer. Dust is a very uncomfortable area in Southeast Asia, India, Africa and other dry areas, especially in the desert, and even in Siberia, there are many disadvantages in colder Canada. From the early days of the Sony Mirrorless NEX line to the low-cost A5000 / 5100, A6000, and the first full-frame mirrorless A7, all the body material was plastic. The appearance of the product may be fine, but it is certainly a matter of doubt when it comes to the durability and reliability of the product. The A5000 showed the use of materials that do not suit the camera in its price range by using plastic for the teeth on the mount ring. As for the Canon EOS M, which used to be such a bother with the body performance, the body itself was solid because it used a magnesium body for the metal mount, and the PM line which was the lowest line of the Olympus was also very comparable to the body front and bounce ring using metal to be. The A6300 and A7II, however, feature a front aluminum / magnesium frame body. In addition, the E-Mount's crock body products have not been as good as ever since the launch. The operability of the NEX series, the earliest products, fell without any excuse. At that time, the products that were entry-level / mid-range models did not even have a mode dial, so the shooting mode had to be changed into the menu. Sony integrated the naming of the NEX series into the Alpha series and improved the interface used for the DSLR to create a new interface but still it was inconvenient to operate unless it was a midrange position such as the A6000 or NEX-6. This seems to be due to Sony's product strategy of designing the clop body as a lightweight / compact product, and since the shape / size of the five models from the NEX-7 to the current A6500 has been a major factor, It seems to be missing. Even the A6500, the latest model in 2017, and the Crop Body Flagship, this basic structure has not changed much, so there are two dials that can be manipulated to enter functions. However, there are many opinions that it is frustrating because the reaction speed is not optimized even though it is evaluated that the operability is improved a little by allowing the use of touch focus or tracking focus by adding a touch screen.

 

 

 The Sony Mirrorless is definitely a high performance lens, but it has a better fade ratio than other comparable lenses, but lacks introductory-intermediate lenses. When the early mirrorless models were released, the lenses did not vary, and the quality of the lenses released was not so good. However, as market share gradually increases, the Sony-Zeiss lens, Carl Zeiss lens and its high-definition / high-definition lens brand G lineup will be released. In 2016, The fewer disadvantages have been solved to some extent. Still, Sony mirrorless lenses are expensive. I can not help it because the E-mount itself has a shorter history than Canon and Nikon, so there is not a so-called spherical lens that can be obtained cheaply by Canon and Nikon, and there is not enough room for a premium lens . Of course, the new Canon and Nikon lenses are either incredibly expensive or even more expensive, and the fact that E-mount lenses are difficult to get started with, since they do not have cheap lenses, either used or newbie. Advanced lenses are not simply expensive and have a similar price to a Canon. Only low cost lenses are few and expensive. Recently, low-cost lenses that can be purchased in place of G, GM or Sony-Zeiss lenses such as 85mm F1.8 and 50mm F1.8 have appeared. It is optically very well evaluated and contributes to enlargement of lens group because price is much cheaper than conventional high quality lens anyway. But it's still a bit more expensive than other lenses. Fortunately, Sony has released an E-mount phase-contrast AF algorithm. Thanks to this, companies such as Samyang Optics and Sigma are also making AF lenses, and correspondingly, lens mount adapters with high AF performance have also been introduced, so the situation is much better than before. However, the lenses made by Sony Corporation are still expensive, and the Tamron side lenses, which show good performance on the Canon-Nikon side, are not yet available on the Sony E-mount. A mount lenses are also fully compatible with the firmware, so it is good to refer to them as well. Recently, it is widely criticized that the lens for APS-C is completely ignored and only the full-frame lens is cut. With the release of full-frame body by Sony in 2013, the lenses for the CROPBODY are rarely released. In fact, Sony's CROP flagship A6500 was released, but since 2014, it has been difficult to use the CROPBODE because it has not been renewing its existing lenses. Ultimately, to use a high-end single-lens or a fixed-aperture zoom lens, such as the F1.4, you have to purchase a full-frame FE lens, which is a waste of money and greatly reduces the advantages of a small compact body. However, as both the photographic industry and the camera industry are going downhill, the average person is taken with a smartphone, so there is no need to invest in the supply market and it is a reality in the industry. Moreover, it is hard to expect that the crossover from the point of success in the full-frame market is concerned. Of course, in 2018 a new zoom lens came out for APS-C. The thing that is relieved with certainty is that the quality of the crop, the full frame or the bundle lens (the kit lens) is superior. Both the SELP1650 and SEL2870 are of good fidelity. However, this is a story about optical performance, and it's less in build than the same mirrorless Olympus and Panasonic models. In fact, if you do not stick to the size of the sensor, Sony will not be able to reach the microphotode in the low-end lens group.

 

 

 The biggest problem of Sony Mirrorless since 2017. In some compositions and light conditions, constant lines appear, especially in the backlight. Sony has been told that there is no way to do it because of a hardware problem. The problem is that even a9riii, the next one, will have banding noise. There is a very lethal problem of bending pictures if banding patterns or noises occur. This is one of the reasons why people want to go from Canon and Nikon. Of course, it happens in other mirrorless companies, but the toxic Sony mirrorless cameras are very serious. It is said that the sensor is out of phase difference AF. It also occurs when using electronic shutters, as is the case with other mirrorless companies. The most common cause is LED, which is a problem that Sony has not solved yet.