IF WE had one beef with the light passing mirror technology that helped Sony's Alpha 55 win our 2010 Camera of the Year award, it was having to give up an optical for an electronic viewfinder. But now here comes an EVF that may change our minds-the world's first with an OLEO screen. And a high-resolution one at that. with a breathtaking 2.36 million dots.

Add a new APS-C sized CMOS sensor with a jaw-dropping 24.3 megapixeis, a new image processing engine, plus an electronic shutter that substitutes for the first curtain for faster shutter operation, and you've got the basis for some fascinating cameras.

The one that may make the most waves? The NEX· 7. This flagship E-mount interchangeable lens compact (ILC) sports both the new sensor and EVF, top ISO of 16,000 and Sony's new Th-Navi interface: 1Wo command wheels on top and one on the back let you adjust shutter speed, aperture, and ISO all at the same time, You can quickly tweak multiple parameters for other settings, too. This should help remedy the issues we've had with the NEX line's menu-heavy interface.

Replacing Sony's discontinued Alpha 700 DSLR is the Alpha  77. lt has the same sensor and EVF as the NEX-7, plus a 3-inch 921K-dot LCD that tilts, swivels and extends from the camera back. Burst speed' A mind-blowing 12 frames per second at maximum aperture. The A77 boasts a 19 point AF system with 11 cross-type Points, and an expanded ISO range of 50-16,000. In our brief hands-on with the camera, the EVF refreshed fast enough to pan along with a subject while bursting without the problems normally associated with Ms.

The Alpha 65 is a pared-down A77. Its burst rate is 10 fps, AF system has 15 points (3 crosstype), and the LCD flips down and swivels, but can't extend. Finally, there's the 16.1MP NEX-5N. With no built-in finder, it accepts an accessory OLEO EVF similar to the one in the other new cameras. All four can record video at up to 1080p at 60 fps.

To go with these cameras, Sony introduced a 16-5Omm f2.8 A-mount lens; 50mm f/1.8, 55-210 mm f/4.5-6.3 and Zeiss Sonnar T 24mm f/1.8 E-mount lenses; and an advanced adapter.