NEX

Some people play with construction toys. Some people build massive and elaborate functioning structures out of construction toys. University of Colorado engineering student Andrew Locke fits into the latter category.

Locke built a fully functional pinball machine out of K'Nex. K'Nex may not have quite the same fame as Legos, but it's definitely a versatile construction system. It's also a very detailed construction system. It took Locke 4 months to put the beast together.… Read more

With the Photokina show in Germany producing so many new high-end cameras, it's evidently been a busy season for Adobe Systems' Lightroom team.

That team just released Lightroom 4.2, which supports 22 new cameras, 43 new lenses, and lets people shoot with 11 new cameras tethered to a computer. It takes work to figure out how to decode each camera's proprietary raw format.

Here's the full list of new cameras supported, but note that the Nikon D600 support is "preliminary and there is a minor risk that the appearance of your images may change when … Read more

COLOGNE, Germany -- Pining for camera with a hand-stitched Italian leather grip and jeweled control dials? You're in luck.

The digital photography revolution exiled Hasselblad's medium-format cameras to an expensive niche inhabited almost solely by professionals. But today, the company announced Lunar, the first camera in an effort that Chief Executive Larry Hansen hopes will bring the storied photography brand back to a wider -- if not mainstream -- market.

Through a partnership with Sony, Hasselblad unveiled its 24-megapixel mirrorless interchangeable-lens model built on the bones and brains of Sony's high-end NEX-7. It's due to ship … Read more

Mobile subscribers of three more regional carriers will soon have access to the latest iPhones.

Kentucky's Bluegrass Cellular, California's Golden State Cellular, and Kansas' Nex-Tech Wireless are next on the regional list to carry Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 4.

Among the three carriers, Bluegrass Cellular and Nex-Tech Wireless spilled the most beans. Both confirmed on their Web sites that on May 18, each would start offering its customers all three models of the iPhone 4S, and at prices $50 less than those charged by the three nationwide carriers.

The 16GB version will sell for $149.99, the 32GB for $249.99, and the 64GB for $349.99, all with the usual two-year contract. Both carriers will also offer the iPhone 4 for $49.99.… Read more

Some folks satisfied with conventional 1080p video think the push to higher 4K resolution is silly -- but Sony execs are not on the list.

The company announced a new 4K videocamera today with interchangeable lenses, super-slow-motion options, and a Super 35mm-sized image sensor. Initially it'll shoot only conventional 1080p video, Sony said, but it's "4K-ready," meaning that with a planned firmware update it'll also be able to produce video imagery about 4,000 pixels wide.

Other high-end features include built-in 2-, 4-, and 6-stop neutral density filters, which can block light so videographers can … Read more

Those looking to buy the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T E 24mm F1.8 ZA lens may have a hard time finding it for sale anytime soon.

In an announcement today, the Japanese company informed consumers that it cannot keep up with demand for the popular E-mount lens, which starts at around $999. The shortage situation is on the path to a resolution, as the Sony notice says that "we are working diligently in order to meet the needs of customers as much as possible."

Why is this lens so popular? "It's fast (wide aperture), sharp, and bright with nice bokeh, plus it has a good feel and comfortable manual focusing," says CNET Senior Editor Lori Grunin. Read her review of the most current cameras that use the lens, the Sony NEX-7 or NEX-5N, at CNET Reviews. … Read more

At this week's CP+ show in Japan, Sony unveiled its road map for the next couple years' worth of NEX E-mount lenses. Hint: it's light on the heavy glass.

According to the plans Sony unveiled at the show, photographers with Sony's Alpha NEX series of cameras have eight new lenses to look forward to over the course of the next year and a half or so. These include:… Read more

Incessant flooding in Thailand is affecting many people, as well as another area of consumer electronics in addition to hard drives: Sony's upcoming high-end NEX-7 and A65 cameras, as well as some lens kits.

Sony's manufacturing plant in Ayutthaya has stopped production after torrents of water damaged the facility, the company said in a statement. The situation is so bad that the company is shifting production to another Sony factory southwest of Ayutthaya in the Chonburi province. Crave Asia visited the Ayutthaya facility last year and shot several pictures. … Read more

Updated 9/19/11: Clarification of Sony's comments on clicking per Engadget.

For those of you with a long history in tech, chances are that every time you hear the word "click" used negatively it's mentally chased by "of death." Whether the mystery noise recorded by the Sony Alpha NEX-5N turns out to be a click of death for the product remains to be seen, but Engadget got confirmation from Sony that it's real, though the company has no clue what's causing it or how widespread the issue might be--it could just … Read more