E-mount lenses for professionals
E-Mount explained
E-mount is a lens mounting system specifically designed for mirrorless photo and video cameras. As electronic cameras no longer need a reflex focussing mirror it’s possible to bring the lens closer to the sensor and this means that the lenses can be smaller and lighter without compromising quality. Its compact nature also enables adapters for other lens mounting systems, from PL Mount cinema lenses to traditional broadcast ENG zoom lenses.
Professional Performance
Sony’s E-Mount lenses bring new levels of performance and convenience to the world of large sensor film and video production. Whether you shoot news or drama, E-mount lenses can help you capture amazing looking images quickly and easily.
As well as autofocus and image stabilisation, Sony’s E-mount lens range includes key professional features such as power zooms, calibrated manual focus and iris rings. They can also pass metadata to the camera about focal length, focus and aperture which can be used to stabilise footage in post-production as well as for other film and video applications.
Complete Compatibility
E-mount lenses are compatible across the entire Sony Cinema Line, from the FX30 to the FX9. Even the VENICE cameras have a locking E-mount beneath the removable PL lens mount.
For remote control applications, Sony’s E-mount lenses can be controlled by the camera body, eliminating the need for bulky additional motors to control exposure.
Locking E-Mount
The FX9, BURANO and VENICE cameras feature a heavy-duty locking E-mount. This locking E-mount accepts the full range of E-mount lenses or adapters but with the added benefit of a positive lock that eliminates lens wobble or movement. This is particularly advantageous when using follow focus motors, heavy cine style lenses or if hand holding the camera via a lens with a built-in hand grip such as a professional ENG zoom lens.
G and G-Master Lenses
In addition to Sony’s standard E-mount lenses there are two higher quality lens tiers. The Sony G series lenses offer affordable, very high quality images with improved optical and mechanical design compared to Sony’s standard E-mount lens range. The G-Master lens series brings superlative image quality. Beautiful cinematic bokeh combined with resolution that matches or exceeds that needed for 4K and 8K video. Additionally, their dust and moisture resistant construction make the G-Master series the perfect companion for the sometime unpredictable world of professional video and film applications.
Features for Professional film Makers:
Power Zoom
A key feature of some Sony E-Mount lenses is an electronically powered zoom giving smooth and controlled, TV style zoom operation. To control these lenses the FX6 and FX9 cameras have large zoom rockers on their handgrips while the FX30 and FX3 have a smaller dedicated zoom control. Traditional large sensor parfocal zooms are heavy and can be extremely expensive. Sony’s E-mount power zooms offer very similar optical performance but are lighter, compact and more affordable.
Iris Ring
A stepless iris ring on the lens body allows film makers to make smooth and precise exposure corrections during a shot without having to take their hand off the lens. Many Sony E-mount lenses now feature an Iris ring that can change from click stop aperture steps to smooth and silent aperture control at the flick of a switch.
Auto Focus
Real-time object tracking combined with automatic Face and Eye detection give unprecedented levels of auto focus control. Sony cameras and Sony E-mount lenses work in perfect harmony to achieve the very best AF performance, delivering the fastest, smoothest, AF response and Sony lenses with fast but silent linear focus motors ensure that noise from the Auto Focus won’t spoil your audio recordings. The FX30, FX3, FX6 and FX9 cameras provide intuitive, customisable controls that give film makers the ability to tailor to the performance of the Auto Focus system to suit the scenes they are shooting.
Linear Focus Response MF
When not using auto focus film makers will find that Sony’s Linear Focus Response provides familiar and intuitive focus ring operation similar to a traditional mechanically focussed lens. Linear Focus Response ensures that focus changes occur in a precise and direct relationship to the distance the focus ring is turned. This makes it easy to perform accurate focus shifts between two subjects with the focus ring moving to, and from, the same rotational position for each subject each time the focus is changed.
Focus Assist
Instantly take manual control of your focus even when using Auto Focus simply by turning the lenses focus ring. Sony’s E-mount lenses feature an AF Focus Assist function that allows you to instantly and seamlessly override the cameras Autofocus, giving you the ability to move the focus from one object or person to another simply by turning the focus ring. Once you stop turning the focus ring the Autofocus will resume but now focussed on your new subject.
Assignable Button
An assignable button on the lens body can be used to control the Autofocus through various assignable functions. This is extremely useful for fast moving video or filmmaking applications where the user may need to quickly change the autofocus mode or momentarily suspend the AF operation without taking a hand away from the lens.
Focus breathing compensation
Focus breathing compensation allows the removal of the sometimes distracting, minor change in the field of view known as “focus breathing” that can occur when changing the focus distance. With the right combination of Sony E-mount lens and camera it’s possible to perform in shot focus pulls with no focus breathing.
Image Stabilisation
As every optical aspect of Sony’s E-mount lenses are known to Sony, where a camera has internal stabilisation, Sony’s camera engineers are able to perfectly match this to the lens being used to give the greatest possible degree of stabilisation. As an alternative to the in lens optical stabilisation include in many E-mount lenses, lens metadata when combined with camera accelerometer and gyro metadata can be used in post production to efficiently stabilise moving video footage. This post production stabilisation includes geometric corrections to ensure any stabilised content looks natural and realistic.
Built to excel
Sony’s E-mount cameras and lenses make it easy to capture high quality professional video content. Linear Focus Response focus rings and traditional iris rings provide film makers with a manual lens feel when desired, but with the full benefits of precise auto focus when this is preferable. Sony’s advanced hybrid autofocus system can help pro film makers keep their subject in sharp focus, even when shooting with a very shallow depth of field while Focus Assist allows you to instantly regain manual focus control.
With E-mount there is no need to have different lens sets for different camera bodies from the FX30 to FX9 and even VENICE.
Sony’s E-mount power zooms allow you to perform professional looking, silky smooth zooms mid shot. Perhaps you need a lightweight lens for use on a drone or gimbal. The surprisingly lightweight and compact Sony FE PZ 16-35mm would allow you to change aperture or focal length remotely without the need for external motors, even with a Sony VENICE.
E-mount lenses are built to meet the needs of modern film and video producers, bringing the very latest lens technologies to the world of professional video production.
