I wont beat around the bush when I say that I think the NEX series from Sony is the greatest thing to happen to camera’s since they have gone digital. I’ve extensively used the Alpha 300 from Sony and fell in love with the quality of that unit (albeit, the first ones were kind of loud, something that has been addressed since). But the CyberShot is where it all began for me. I’ve had the CyberShot series since they first came out. I remembering shopping with my dad at Best Buy at the time and there were choices of 1, 2 and 3MP Cybershots. We of course decided to go with the 2MP because I didnt want the lower end of the series, but 3 just seemed like overkill. This was around 2000 or 2001. Since then, I’ve mainly stuck with the T series, T1, T3, T99, T500 and sorts, and have crossed to the W series a few times with the W330 and W230 to name a few. But ever since I used the Alpha 300 a good 3 years ago, I knew what I was missing out on. The great battle of DSRL verse Point and Shoot. Sure I want the quality of the DSRL, but I’m the person who takes my camera with me everywhere. Taking a DSRL is just not convenient and I don’t wanna be that guy. Having said that, there are times that I would love to take a DSRL and do a photo shoot (something that I have planned for the site).

With this, Sony has really answered my prayers with the NEX series. Giving me the ability to be compact when I need to be and go full out by attaching additional lenses, this makes the NEX the only camera body I might ever need. Well for those of use who are on board with the 3D ride, Sony is now updating the NEX series to support 3D Sweep Panorama pictures. Sony has stated that the 3D mode is “activated simply by pressing the shutter button and sweeping the camera from one side to the other. The NEX-5 and NEX-3 shoot a high-speed burst of frames that are automatically combined inside the camera to create a seamless panoramic still image containing depth information.”

Other things this firmware update addresses is

• Improved 2D Sweep Panorama mode
• Better battery usage when the camera is turned off
• Faster startup when under low-light conditions.

If you’re ready for the update, go ahead and visit the Sony Cybershot site to download the needed update. If you’re not sure which firmware your camera currently has, hit up “menu,” then “setup,” then “version” on your camera now.