Sony has long been a dominant player in both professional and home-video recording, and many of their point & shoot digital cameras have offered HD video recording for some time now - But their SLR lineup has until now lacked this capability. Likewise, Sony has until now sat on the sidelines in the SLD (Single-Lens Direct view) camera market, being content to let Panasonic and Olympus break the new ground there.

With the announcement of the new NEX line of SLD cameras, Sony has made a bold step in two important directions, offering both their first SLD models, and their first interchangeable-lens hybrid still/video cameras at the same time.