While perhaps most famous as one of the world's largest electrical and audio brands, Sony has been a major force in the photographic world ever since its 2006 acquisition of Minolta and the alpha mount. Since then Sony has proven to be an innovative manufacturer, being on-board early for in-body image stabilization, live view, electronic viewfinders, and mirrorless. They were the first brand out with full-frame mirrorless and continue to be a leading force in that market. They were also among the first to switch to a focus on premium compacts catering to the serious photographer instead of the more consumer-oriented models that dominated last decade. If you don't already associate Sony with top-tier imaging devices, it's time for you to start.
Introducing
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Full frame cameras have a digital sensor the same size as a frame of 35mm film (24x36mm). These cameras often represent the highest models in various camera lines, and are a common choice for professionals and advanced hobbyists alike.
Sony offers lenses for three different mounts. Depending on what type of Sony camera you own, you will need to look for lenses based on this.
These lenses are for use with Sony's APS-C mirrorless cameras. They can be used on full-frame mirrorless as well, but only in crop mode so you will lose some the camera's resolution when doing that.
The "F" stands for "full frame," and these FE lenses are necessary to get the full use out of Sony's popular full-frame series of Alpha mirrorless cameras. They can also be used on crop-sensor E mount cameras as well.
These lenses are from Sony's older DSLR and SLT cameras, and cannot be used on current mirrorless cameras without an adapter. If you have a Sony DSLR though, these are the lenses you want.
Sony's RX line of premium compacts offer a mix of traditional point-and-shoot size and convenience with larger than traditional sensors and top-grade optics for the optimum combination of portability and image quality. While there are multiple models available for different needs, there are roughly three main lines within the RX series.
A professionally-oriented fixed focal length camera with a full frame sensor. The fixed 35mm f2 lens is an ideal 'do-anythng' general lens, and by pairing it with Sony's famous full-frame sensor it makes a great general use camera capable of performing in pretty much any situation.
Features a bigger 'bridge' style body, which is needed to help balance the line's focus on wide-range fast-aperture zooms. To support such impressive zooms the RX10 series utilizes a 1" sensor–smaller than typical DSLR and mirrorless sensors but still two times larger than typical point and shoot sensors for improved noise performance and dynamic range. The RX10 line is ideal for people who want a full range of focal lengths for any use case, but don't need the size or investment of a changeable lens system.
Also built around 1" sensors to allow a balance between camera size and lens flexibility. The RX100 series uses a smaller body design like the RX1 line, but offers zoom lenses instead of just a fixed focal length. The combination of the fast zoom lens plus the small size and improved low light performance make them the ideal choice for the general shooter looking to upgrade from their phone or aging compact. They are also ideal choices for people who like to shoot concerts or events, as unlike many changeable lens systems they are still allowed in most venues (though, always check with the venue first).
Crop format cameras are any camera designed to be able to use full frame lenses, but with a sensor size that is smaller than a frame of 35mm film. The end effect is that the image appears to be 'cropped in' from what the full frame would have recorded, which make lenses have a narrower field of view and greater depth of field than they would on a full frame sensor.