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Sony adds NFC and compact kit lens to new NEX-5T mirrorless camera

sony adds nfc and compact kit lens to new nex 5t mirrorless camera 2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Check out our review of the Sony Alpha NEX 5T digital camera.

In addition to the new Alpha A3000, Sony also announced the fourth-generation of its Alpha NEX-5 series, the NEX-5T. Whereas Sony tries to fit a mirrorless compact system camera into a DSLR-like body, Compared to its predecessor, the NEX-5R – a very strong-performing camera, we found – the NEX-5T’s specs remains the same. It has a 16.1-megapixel Exmor APS-C HD CMOS sensor, tiltable touchscreen LCD that flips 180 degrees, and a hybrid autofocusing system (phase detect) that Sony touts as fast, although our time spent with the NEX-5R suggested otherwise. What is new is support for NFC, letting you easily tap and pair with a smartphone for Wi-Fi sharing and remote viewing/controlling. We saw NFC being demoed at Sony’s briefing of the NEX-5T and it works fairly well, provided you have devices that support the protocol. The kit lens has also changed: Instead of an E-mount 18-55mm that came with the NEX-5R, the NEX-5T will come with a 16-50mm power zoom lens (the same one that comes with the NEX 6 and NEX 3N0 that’s half the size of the 18-55mm. Compared with the newly announced A3000, the NEX-5T comes off as more feature-rich.

The NEX-5T will ship in early September for $700 with lens, $550 without. Read our review of the NEX-5R to give you a sense of what this camera’s like.

Les Shu
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I am formerly a senior editor at Digital Trends. I bring with me more than a decade of tech and lifestyle journalism…
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