Mounting Confusion: De-mystifying Sony lens mounts

A-MOUNT ALPHA CONFUSION E-MOUNT FE-MOUNT NEX SONY SONY LENS

by Dave Pardue

posted Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at 8:25 PM EDT

[Special editor's note: This article was written in early 2014, more than two years ago, and at that time there was rampant confusion over Sony lens mount schemes. They have long since taken steps to allay confusion on their site, so please understand when reading that this article may help guide you, but it was written in a much different time and therefore parts of it are no longer necessarily reflective of the present.]

Sony's decision to drop the "NEX" moniker from its associated line within the Alpha scheme created a sea of confusion for many an NEX shooter, and for potential NEX buyers as well. "Are they going to stop making NEX cameras?" "Will the E-mount disappear altogether?" "Should I even consider buying a current NEX model?"

These are valid questions, and I can assure you that we who are presumably "in the know" had been scratching our heads as well. As you may have read in our previous post surrounding this topic, though, it does now appear that the NEX line is alive and well, as is the E-mount (and presumably new lenses to come) while only the product-line name "NEX" is disappearing. This is welcome news to us at IR, and I'm sure to most all NEX fans out there.

The NEX marketing curveball did bring up another topic of confusion though: Sony lens mounts. It was such a simple and easy world for Sony shooters when NEX models used E-mount lenses and Alpha models used A-mount lenses. What a great little scheme… and now it's gone with the wind, folks. But as Gale Snopes said in Raising Arizona: "We'd rather light a candle than curse your darkness." So here's our best shot at de-mystifying the confusing mish-mash of mounts, lenses, bodies, and image circles in the current Sony line-up.

Going forward, all Sony interchangeable-lens cameras will be called Alphas. This includes new E-mount cameras that would have said "NEX" (like the Alpha ILCE-5000), a recent E-mount mirrorless camera built to look like a DSLR (the ILCE-3000), the APS-C Alpha cameras with A-mounts (like the A77), the Alpha full-frame cameras with A-mounts (like the A99), and the newer Alpha full-frame mirrorless cameras with the full-frame E-mount (the first two models are the Alpha ILCE-7 and ILCE-7R) are now all Alphas. They actually already were all Alphas, but the whole "NEX" thing apparently confused too many people into believing otherwise. But it's simple enough now, right? One big happy family? Well, sort of...

The real fun starts when you try and figure out the lens schemes. The Alpha ILCE-3000 from 2013 and the newly announced Alpha ILCE-5000 are mirrorless cameras with APS-C sized sensors that accept E-mount lenses. However, these two cameras do not look like they belong in the same family, as the A3000 looks like a DSLR and the A5000 looks like an NEX, and yet the two cameras are quite similar in many respects.  We're not supposed to use the letter "A" to stand in for Alpha, and NEX no longer exists, but the actual greek letter alpha isn't on my keyboard, and nobody bothers to spell out Alpha when they're talking about Sony model names, so forgive my political incorrectness. In any event, stay with me...

Two mounts, two sensor sizes, four combinations

The most recent APS-C Alpha before the extinction of the NEX name was the A58, which accepts A-mount lenses like the previously mentioned A77 (APS-C) and A99 (full frame). Some A-mount lenses say "DT", which means they're for APS-C cameras. If you place one onto a full-frame A-mount camera and try to shoot, the corners will darken unless you instruct the camera to pre-crop to fit the lens. No problem going the other way of course, the smaller APS-C sensor just doesn't take advantage of the full image circle a full-frame A-mount lens produces.

The fun continues with the newest Sony full-frame models, the Alpha ILCE-7 and ILCE-7R, which sport the same E-mount as used on the former NEX line, but now require the new "FE" lenses to provide full-frame image coverage. When E-mount lenses are attached to FE-capable cameras, a similar situation occurs as in the A-mount scenario mentioned above, in that you'll experience vignetting in the image unless you instruct the camera to crop its images to match the smaller image circle. The setting is called "APS-C size capture", and can be set to on, off and auto.

Example of an E-mount lens attached to a full-frame Alpha, with APS-C size capture disabled

While the text above spells out all the details, combinations and permutations of Sony lens mounts, we thought gathering the information into a table might help make matters a bit more clear.

Lens Mount/Type	Lens Type Modifier	Image Circle	Body Compatibility (No Adapter)	Body Compatibility (With Adapter)
A-Mount	none	Full-Frame	All A-mount bodies	Any E-mount body
A-Mount	DT	APS-C	Sub-frame A-mount Full-frame A-mount w/cropping	Any E-mount body, w/cropping on Full-Frame E-mount
E-Mount	None	APS-C	Sub-frame E-mount Full-frame E-mount w/cropping	n/a
E-Mount	FE	Full-Frame	All E-mount bodies	n/a

Of course, there are adapters available, to let you connect Sony's older A-mount lenses to the new E-mount bodies. Here's a rundown of the four types available. (Note that the first two have been replaced by the second two, the only difference is that the two newer ones support a full-frame image circle, as with the A7 and A7R.)

Adapter Model	Function
LA-EA1 (Discontinued)	Adapts A-Mount lenses to sub-frame E-mount cameras, using the camera's contrast-detect focusing (generally quite slow and/or may not work well with older A-mount lenses). Now discontinued.
LA-EA2 (Discontinued)	Adapts A-Mount lenses to sub-frame E-mount cameras, with a built-in Translucent Mirror phase-detect AF system. Now discontinued.
LA-EA3	Adapts A-Mount lenses to all E-mount cameras, using the camera's contrast-detect focusing (generally quite slow and/or may not work well with older A-mount lenses). An aperture drive mechanism enables Auto-Exposure with all A-mount lenses except teleconverters. Replaces LA-EA1.
LA-EA4	Adapts A-Mount lenses to all E-mount cameras, with a built-in Translucent Mirror 15-point phase-detect AF system. An aperture drive mechanism enables Auto-Exposure with all A-mount lenses except teleconverters. (In video mode, aperture is fixed at the maximum aperture of the lens or f/3.5, whichever is lower.) Replaces LA-EA2.

So there you have it, lens fans... welcome to the new world order for Sony lenses and mounts.

How to Restore a Fostex X-15 Multitracker

Matt Gerrard Updated July 19, 2017

The Fostex X-15 was introduced in 1983 as a portable sketch pad for musicians. It can be powered by a mains supply, a battery pack or by the cigarette lighter socket in a car. Its simple, sturdy construction means that many are still functional today, and with some simple maintenance, they can continue working at their best.
Disconnect the power supply from the unit.
Wipe down the unit's outer case using the cloth and a small dab of the cleaning solution. Pay particular attention to the areas surrounding the inputs and controls.
Use a cotton bud with some cleaning fluid to clean the recesses under the faders and input switches, and reposition the controls as you go to ensure you clean the areas they were covering.
Place the cushion or towel on your work surface, and lay the unit on it, upside down.
Remove the screws from the underside of the case, and lift the base portion off.
Use the vacuum cleaner to clear out any collected dust inside the case. Take care not to nudge or bump any of the electronics with the tip of the nozzle.
Slide a toothpick around the axle of the cassette spindles, and scrape out the collected dirt and grease. Give it a wipe using a cotton bud moistened with cleaning solution.
Apply a pea-sized quantity of lubricant around the spindle base using a clean toothpick.
Check all the input and output connections for stability by gently wiggling each of the wires soldered to each connection and examining the solder joint for any movement. If any are loose or frayed, melt the solder using the iron, and reset the joint with fresh solder.
Ensure that the metal prongs on the 1/4-inch jack sockets are bent at a sufficient angle to ensure a solid, snug contact when a plug is inserted. If any of them have been forced back, slowly apply pressure to the prong tip using a finger, gradually bending it back to the correct position.
Replace the lower portion of the case, and return the screws to their original places.
Reconnect the power supply.
Place a few drops of the head-cleaner solution on the tape head, insert the head cleaner cassette and play it.

Warning

When applying grease to the tape mechanism, be sure not to get any near the tape head.

Korg minilogue – stepping stone to a pro’s synth?

By Theo Bloderer | 2016-03-04 | 13 Replies

Korg handled it very well. While all those rumours about the new ARP 2600 were circulating, the innovative Japanese company slipped the minilogue onto the market. And we’re all enamoured. Well, most of us are …

The word “minilogue” itself is simple, but nonetheless genious. MINImoog and anaLOGUE, voilà: MINILOGUE. That’s what we think that they were thinking. In any case, to tell the truth, the new Korg has not all that much in common with Moog. It is an exceptional and – new – analog(ue) synth in the mid/lower price category.

“New”, of course, is utterly impossible in the world of analog synths. Nothing is really new. The Moog System 55 at the end of the 60s / beginning of the 70s said all there was to say. Analog sound architecture had already reached its limits.

These days, in the digital world, analog synths are combined with MIDI and USB, motion sequencer and lots of memories … there you go: minilogue! New, small, an analog / digital miracle.

New analog sound design

“The synth circuits for minilogue are all new designs from the ground up, delivering a synthesizer experience like no other. Unprecedented in this class, it’s a four-voice polyphonic true-analog synth with an interface […] designed for accessibility.”

(www.korg.com)

Korg praises its new analog baby and its newly designed analog circuit boards … ok, whatever, the user HEARS that this sound is definitely analog.

The 4-voice minilogue offers:

• 2 VCOs per voice, with sync and wave shape capability
• Cross-modulation, ring-modulation and noise
• A 12/24dB LowPass VCF per voice
  
• 2 ADSRs (VCA and VCF) per voice
• A global VC LFO (to PITCH, SHAPE and CUTOFF)
• Polyphonic step-sequencer (16 steps) with 4 motion-tracks, arpeggiator
• 8 voice modes, tape-style delay effect
• 100 factory-sounds plus 100 “INIT” memory locations (200 memories all in all)
• MIDI, USB, sync IN/OUT, audio IN/OUT, phones output

Most of this is stuff you already know. There are not gonna be too many BIG surprises here. The VCOs sound really good, the VCF is – as usual – powerful (although less colorful than the MS-20 filter), the envelopes are snappy …  So, what’s so special about all this?

All these advantages …

You wanna hear the good side first?

The sound is refreshing, individual and somehow inspiring. Whereby the sum of all the little parts plays a big role here: various playing modes (unison, chord, …), internal delay effect, the sequencer’s motion tracks and much more lets you submerge in a world of flexible musical performance and intuitive sounds.

A plattform for experimental sounds. There’s cross-modulation, ring-modulation, sync, noise, SHAPE modulation, the VC LFO, an internal delay-effekt, a flexible slider, etc. Heaps of features for the knob tweaker and sound designer …

“Tape-Style” delay effect with a feedback loop. The delay effect is combined with a High Pass filter – with various routing options. The delay’s feedback is a bit noisy, but very interesting! Fun to play with and a great source for exceptional sounds …

In the little display (about the size of a postage stamp), you can see the routings clearly … the display is small AND readable. Switching to oscilloscope mode, it provides visual feedback of parameter changes. Great fun!

A flexible slider. The Slider offers real-time control over a specific parameter of your choice. In addition, the slider can be used as a pitch bend controller.

Pitch bend range can be adjusted separately (1 ~ 12 notes) for UP and DOWN.

8 selectable voice modes let you freely configure the four voices for performance. The voices can be set to four note polyphony for chords or layered for thick basses and leads. There is:

• POLY – operates as a four-voice polyphonic synthesizer
• DUO – operates as a unison two-voice polyphonic synthesizer
• UNISON – operates as an all-unison mono synthesizer
• MONO – operates as a mono synth with sub-oscillator
• CHORD – produces chords
• DELAY – voices 2–4 sound consecutively at a delay following voice 1
• ARP – an arpeggiator operates with up to four voices
• SIDE CHAIN – when a note sounds, the volume of the preceding voice is lowered

From subtle mono-sounds to elephantine unison-sounds … the voice modes are a core feature of the minilogue. Useful – flexible – superb.

The step-sequencer is very simple to use. And that’s very nice! Just record the notes and that’s it. The additional motion sequencer can automate up to 4 synth parameters. And the result? Lively, sometimes unforseeable results.

[In-depth sequ programming might become complex, though. Gate time (programmable per step) … 0 – 100%, TIE; sequ lenght (16 notes maximum, sadly); global step resolution; etc. In studio, you might be quicker using a standard software-sequencer.]

Intuitive operation, clear menue structure. Tweaking the knobs is not a challenge at all. But what about all those hidden functions, the global parameters, the sub-menues?

As you see in the graphic, there are “quite a few” parameters the minilogue has to deal with. The instrument offers 3 EDIT modes:

• PROGAM EDIT
• SEQ EDIT
• GLOBAL EDIT

Access to the menues (and sub-menues) is simple. As soon as you choose one of the 3 modes, most of the sequencer switches light up. Each switch gives you access to a specific function of the minilogue. Little dots in the display tell whether the function contains several pages or not. By pressing the dedicated swith again (and again, …), you rotate within the pages. May sound difficult, but really – it’s not!

Then there are some extra extras, like quick access to your favourite sounds:

“The minilogue includes a Favorites function, which can be used to instantly recall any one of up to eight Programs that you have previously registered as Favorites on the minilogue.”

(Korg minilogue OM, page 9)

Audio IN/OUT, MIDI, USB and Sync In/Out. The in/outputs (original Korg graphic above) have been sufficiently solved. Although: ONE wish – see below – has not yet been fullfilled.

200 memories in total. There are 100 tasteful, quality factory presets. Plus 100 INIT sounds for your own creations. Enough to get started with!

Good craftsmanship and a well layed-out user manual. All knobs and switches are robust and solid. The minilogue is rugged and stylish with its aluminum top panel, chassis-mounted pots, rubber-coated knobs, and the cute wooden back side. Last, but not least, the user manual is well written and clearly and attractively designed.

Excellent value for money. Well, 499 USD … the minilogue is a good bargain!

… and a few disadvantages

Slim-Keys. Now, this is debatable. A lot of musicians have no problem with this. Some do. I am a pianist and I do have a problem. Dear Korg-Team! Pianists and realkeyboarder can not play on slim-keys. A melody here and there – ok, but what about full chords? These end up all floppy. No way to clean them up either, the keys are just too thin.

Sequencer doesn’t have a transpose function. Now, I don’t have a clou. HOW can you develop such a wonderful sequencer without thinking of the probability of the user wanting to play in more than one keys (or two, using the pitch bender for assistence). Without that transpose function, the minilogue sequencer is just half as useful as it should be. But hope never dies. Maybe the Korg team is already working on an OS update that will erase this design mistake.

Then again, in step mode legato can not be programmed. A pity. Notes and rests – yes, legato – unfortunately no.

That noisy slider. Its metal springs (inside the instrument) are just too loud. Click – click! Just like the keyboard of the good old original MS-20 back in 1978 (… very noisy keys). Here, it’s the slider. All the care taken to get a sound just right and then? Click – click! How odd …

Some subtle (unwanted) noise in the audio path. Subtle and not nearly as extreme as with the Korg MS-20 mini, but it’s still there …

P-o-s-s-i-b-l-y  this has something to do with the fact that the minilogue was not supposed to cost more than 600 Euros (ok, 713 – original list price). That means being thrifty here and there. Anyway, you can hear the subtle noise in some of the attached audio files (if you listen carefully).

No CV/Gate-IN, no VCF CV-IN. Considering the state-of-the-art analog concept (state-of-the-art in this price segment, exactly), it would have been easy and helpful to supply CV/Gate inputs. Not polyphonically, but just for mono, unison mode, e.g. Since almost everybody has modular equipment in his home studio these days, this (analog) connection to (and possibly from) the minilogue would have crowned the concept nicely. Even at a slightly higher price.

A stepping stone?

Maybe there’s a pro’s synth in the cristall ball somewhere. Korg products have demonstrated a constant line of developments in the last years. A sort of evolution: Monotron – Monotribe – Volca Series – Minilogue … ! So there is hope (and a little expectation) that Korg will develop a real pro analog synth in the near future. With internal PSU, real keys (4 octaves?), CV/Gate in/out, sequencer transpose function and so on … the big brother of the minilogue, so to speak. Great expectations.

Those of you who don’t want to wait (and those of you with slim fingers) will enjoy playing the new Korg minilogue. An inspiring, good sounding, creative analog synth for a mere 499 USD.

——————————————————————————————————————-
We have attached 35 minutes of minilogue audio demos. Enjoy listening …
——————————————————————————————————————-

Korg minilogue
Polyphonic Analogue Synthesizer
Price: 499 USD (599 Euros)

Website: www.korg.com

——————————————————————————————————————-

Compare this with:

• Arturia MiniBrute
• Arturia MicroBrute
• Doepfer Dark Energy II
• Novation Bass Station II
• Vermona Mono Lancet ’15
• MFB Dominion X (no longer in production)

0.37746386110494856

• previous
• next
• play
• stop
• min volume
• max volume

00:00

00:00

• Korg Minilogue – DEMO 1
• Korg Minilogue – Pitch Modulation
• Korg Minilogue – DEMO 2
• Korg Minilogue – Ring Modulator
• Korg Minilogue – DEMO 3
• Korg Minilogue – Harmonies
• Korg Minilogue – Filter Resonance
• Korg Minilogue – Slightly Noisy
• Korg Minilogue – Que Bass
• Korg Minilogue – Short Solo
• Korg Minilogue – Sequence
• Korg Minilogue – Organ Bass
• Korg Minilogue – Motion Sequence
• Korg Minilogue – Filter Modulation
• Korg Minilogue – Tape-Style Delay
• Korg Minilogue – Arpeggio