Good news: Sony is now shipping their top-of-the-line NEX 7. It integrates all the various bits around the 5N, including a built-in viewfinder and flash, plus has 24 megapixels and very fast speed. It also shows their future direction, to build all the bits in.
David Pogue of the New York Times gadget section loves this camera, and compares it and the 5N favorably to the latest entrant into the mirrorless camera space, Samsung. Like Sony, Samsung chose the APS-C sensor, which delivers better pictures than the 4/3 camera group and much better than the new Nikon mirrorless cameras; but Pogue thought either the 5N or the 7 were better choices. He also recommended the new Canon S100, an up-scale point & shoot rather than a smaller SLR equivalent like the 5N. Others have also raved about the 7.
The other news is a new 24mm fast lens - a Zeiss f1.8 for NEX. Point & shoot enthusiasts seldom realize what they are missing with small lenses and high f-stops: the photo benefot of a tight depth-of-field. Using an f2 lens (like the Canon S100) or an f1.8 (like the new Zeiss) allows the photographer to focus on the subject and blur the foreground and background.
The Zeiss suffers however from being like a conventional SLR lens - a little big. I would prefer a 30mm f2 lens that is much thinner, more like a pancake lens. Rumor has it that such a lens is coming for the NEX line. Then the NEX 5N or 7 with that lens is a great - and pocketable - walkaround camera, with the 55-210mm zoom for long shots.
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