Understanding Sony Lenses: A-Mount vs. E-Mount vs. NEX Mount???

This video tries to explain the difference between all the lenses that have been made to date for Sony still cameras: NEX 2010-2011, Sony E-mount from 2011- present, and A-Mount from 1985- present.

[mckayafernandez]

This was so helpful!! I am shopping for lenses and was getting frustrated because I couldn’t find any e mounts, all I could find was NEX! Super nice to learn it’s practically the same

[sonderevokingbuns]

You're absolutely fantastic at making informational videos. Succinct and yet thorough, breaking down a lot of information in a very understandable way. You would make a great photography teacher and anybody would be absolutely blessed to be an apprentice under your tutelage. It's rare I comment, like and subscribe after watching a single video, but you thoroughly impressed me with your presentation. I loved the calm enthusiasm as well. Keep up the fantastic work! And I'm sure whatever business you have in the realm of photography is thriving. Thank you so much for the video. I'm envious of your glass!! haha

[Wootsk]

Happens to chance upon this in my recommendation and it seems that most people here commented that A mount wasn't mentioned. I used A900 and move on to A7II when it broke down. So I think I will give some quick point for people who are not interested in history.

Minolta/ SonyA mount - used for Sony DSLR, DSLT and Minolta newer SLR. (Flange focal distance: 44.5mm)

Sony Nex, FE, E Mount - Sony Mirrorless cameras (Flange Focal distance: 18mm)

[edmundopazzetti]

Ive been looking for a video like these to get a glimpse of the difference, great work!

[stevechan]

This is an extremely informative presentation. I wish I had view this a lot earlier. By the way, you are a natural speaker/presenter.

[jackeason]

There was minimal discussion of A mount, but my only complaint is with the titling which suggests a reference to A mount. The content without the, to me, misleading titling was excellent. Thank you.

[lorrainelee]

Nothing about A mount, that's what I was interested in. Other then that good video.

[bgdavis]

Best explanatory camera/lens video ever. If you're interested in e-mount. But as others have pointed out, didn't get into A-mount.

[mylivingsky]

This video needs more love. 🎉 so helpful!

[pralston]

Hey Patrick, Excellent review and truly informative! Much of the advantages of inter changeability can get overlooked very easily.
Thanks for this one !!

[TopoPilot]

What about connecting the Sony A7IV to a Celestron 8se 2000mm telescope? I bought one mount but it only connected to the Sony A7IV and I was not able to connect it to the telescope. There must be a way to do this... Great explanation on the alpha system thanks.

[myjourneywiththetrumpet]

Brilliant presentation; just what I was looking for. Thanks much for effort/sharing. Take care!

[DavesGarage]

Thanks for taking the time to put this together - appreciated the info on cinema lenses. As suggestions could have included A mount info and an example of focus breathing (there's a stock example of a chess board where focus goes white-black).

[BizAndProductReviews]

Thank you for creating this video. I have always been quite confused when it came to the variety of lenses that are available for the different Sony cameras.

[MosaicArtizt]

This video is amazing and so informative. Thank you.

[gentlegnt]

Fantastic demystification of lens labeling and use. Thank you!!👍🏾👍🏾📸

[AgnostosGnostos]

Even today on the boxes of the third and fourth series of Sony a7 cameras and e-mount lenses there is the letter α and people misunderstand that these are α mount cameras and α mount lenses too.
After 2013 with the introduction of Sony full frame e-mount cameras very few new α-mount lenses have been introduced and third party lens manufacturers have stopped to produce α-mount versions of their lenses for a long time.
α-mount in practice is dead but α-mount cameras and lenses are still sold new.
There is an adapter with pellicle mirror and motors inside for using α-mount screw driven lenses on e-mount cameras. The Sony LA-EA4 adapter was introduced in 2012 alongside the introduction of the first full frame e-mount videocamera Sony NEX VG900. Initially there weren't full frame e-mount lenses for this camera and the LA-EA4 α-mount to e-mount adapter provided support for the plethora of existing Minolta and Sony α-mount autofocus lenses.
The LA-EA4 adapter was introduced in 2012 one year before the introduction of the Sony a7 series in 2013. Also the LA-EA4 hasn't been updated since then and its autofocus is very poor for the autofocus standards of 2020 cameras.
The full frame α-mount Sony a99 II was introduced in 2016 and is very good but the swan song of the Sony/Minolta α-mount system.
There are very good older α-mount autofocus lenses by Minolta in eBay and especially super telephoto ones with incredible quality for their second hand price.
The α-mount has a long history and Minolta a-mount SLR cameras were the first in 1985 that had autofocus system inside the camera body. Autofocus existed long before but actually it was Minolta in 1985 that started the autofocus revolution in Photography.
During the film era α-mount autofocus SLR cameras were successful but with the digital era couldn't compete and Minolta-Konica was bought by Sony in 2016 without success. The 2010 was the most important year for Sony in photography.
In 2010 Sony abandoned the α-mount digital SLR cameras and introduced two new technologies. The SLT technology with peillicle mirror that was compatible with existing α-mount autofocus lenses and the mirrorless technology with the affordable NEX-3 and the more advanced NEX-5.
The SLT camera's weren't successful but the e-mount technology was an instant success. So sony took the chance to introduce the full frame e-mount a7 series three years later which was a game changer in the photography market.
By the way the kit lens of the Sony α3000 is unique and was never sold sold alone. The rarest e-mount lens.

[Rusty]

NEX is the same as E mount! Perfect video, Thank you.

[xuanhungle]

Great informative video. Thank you so much.

[orionthedefender]

Cameras are basically an adjustable light bucket. Yes you can make adjustments to get the exposure you want within certain limits. I am getting into nightscape photography and the last thing I want to do is limit the amount of light hitting the sensor. The E-Mount does that with its 1.815” (46.1mm) throat diameter vs the A-Mount 1.957” (49.7mm) throat diameter. Any advantage you can get without pushing up the ISO is always a winner because we all know that higher ISO = more noise. It may very well be one of the main reasons that Nikon and Canon do better against Sony because the throat diameter is even larger with some camera lines reaching 2.165” (55mm) using the very same sensors.