First Impressions of the Sony NEX-7

Cactus jACK · Jan 16, 2012

In Aug 2011, Sony announced its NEX-7 high-end enthusiast mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. It squeezed vast amounts of the A77's capabilities which added some bulk compared to the rest of the existing NEX models. But it packs a new 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor and 2.4M dot electronic viewfinder into its magnesium alloy body. The NEX-7 will also come with kit set matched with an exclusive black version of the standard E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS kit zoom. Together with the Nex-7, three new E-mount lenses were announced : the Carl Zeiss E 24mm F1.8 (SEL24F18Z) ; E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 OSS (SEL55210) ; and E 50mm F1.8 (SEL50F18).

The above 2 images of the Sony NEX7 (500x333 pixels) provide an approx 1:1 to the actual product.
Other images of the product do not nec follow this scale.
Actual measurements are given under "Specifications".

Highlights
New 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor
2.4M dot EVF (with eye sensor)
3.0" 16:9 921,600 dots Tilting rear LCD screen
Electronic first-curtain shutter
ISO 100-16000
"AVCHD Progressive" 1080p60 HD movie recording (with built-in stereo mic)
"Triple-dial-control" and soft key controls
Creative Styles and Picture Effects

Caveat : This is based on a Pre-Production model. Performance of the camera may be tweaked / enhanced for actual production units. But this will introduce some of the features offered, and its performance based on this pre-production model.

Cactus jACK · Jan 16, 2012

[Camera]
Sensor size : 23.5 x 15.6 mm Exmor APS HD CMOS Sensor
Number of effective pixels : 24.3 million
Sensitivity : Auto / ISO 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 / 6400 / 12800 / 16000
Dust reduction : Coating on low pass filter / Ultrasonic vibration system
Mount : Sony E-mount

[Modes]
Shooting mode : iAuto / Scene Selection / Anti Motion Blur / Sweep Panorama / 3D Sweep Panorama / M / S / A / P
Scene mode : Portrait / Landscape / Macro / Sports Action / Sunset / Night Portrait / Night Scene / Hand-held Twilight
Drive mode : Single / Continuous / Speed Priority / 10 sec timer / Bracket / Self Timer

[Storage media & I/O ports]
Memory card : Memory Stick Pro Duo / SD/SDHC/SDXC
HDMI / USB / "MIC plug in power"

[File format]
Still image : RAW (Sony .ARW 2.2) / RAW + JPEG Fine / JPEG Fine / JPEG Standard
Image ratio : 3:2 / 16:9

Number of recorded pixels :
3:2 : 6000 x 4000 / 4240 x 2832 / 3008 x 2000
16:9 : 6000 x 3376 / 4240 x 2400 / 3008 x 1688

Sweep Panorama :
Wide: horizontal 12416 x 1856 (23M), vertical 5536 x 2160 (12M)
Standard: horizontal 8192 x 1856 (15M), vertical 3872 x 2160 (8.4M)

3D Sweep Panorama :
Wide: 7152 x 1080 (7.7M)
Standard: 4912 x 1080 (5.3M)
16:9: 1920 x 1080 (2.1M)

Movie :
AVCHD 1080 60i/p up to 28mbps / 1080 24i/p up to 24mbps
MPEG-4 1440 x 1080 (30fps/12mbps) / 640 x 480 (30fps)

Cactus jACK · Jan 16, 2012

[Focusing & White Balance]
AF mode : Contrast AF / 25 multi-point / Centre-weighted / Flexible Spot
White balance : Auto / Daylight / Shade / Cloudy / Tungsten / Fluorescent (Warm, Cool, Day, Daylight) / Flash / Color temperature (2500 - 9900 K) / Manual

[Bracketing]
Exposure compensation : -5.0 to +5.0 EV by 1/3 EV steps
Dynamic range optimizer : Off / DR0 (Auto, LV1 - LV5) / HDR (Auto, 1EV - 6EV)

[Flash]
Flash : Internal manual pop-up flash
GN : 6 meters
Flash Sync: 1/160sec
Flash modes : Auto / On / Off / Fill-flash / Slow Sync / Rear Sync / Red-eye reduction
Hot shoe : Yes (Sony)

[Functions]
Creative Styles : Standard / Vivid / Neutral / Clear / Deep / Light / Portrait / Landscape / Sunset / Night / Autumn Leaves / B&W / Sepia
Picture Effect : Toy Camera / Pop Color / Posterization / Retro / Soft High-key / Partial Color / High Contrast Mono / Soft Focus / HDR Painting / Rich-tone Mono / Miniature

[View]
LCD monitor : 3" 921,600 dots tiltable XtraFine TruBlack LCD screen (85 degrees up / 45 degrees down)
Viewfinder : 2,359,296 dot XGA OLED, 1.3 cm (0.5" type) electronic viewfinder (EVF), 100% coverage, -4 to +1 diopter.

[Dimensions & Battery Life]
Dimensions : 119.9(W) x 66.9(H) x 42.6(D) mm
Weight : Approx. 291g / 353g (excluding / including battery and memory card)
Battery : NP-FHW50 Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery

Cactus jACK · Jan 17, 2012

[Size & Handling] - As with most of the mirrorless systems, the camera is compact with decent ergonomics. The Sony NEX-7 is larger than rest of current NEX family members, similar to size to the Olympus E-P3 and Panasonic GX1 (not shown in picture). But I feel that the additional size over the smaller NEX cousins (NEX-5 and NEX-3)works in its favour in providing better handling and balance, and also providing new dials and buttons to easier use via direct access and controls.

The rubberized handgrip is the best I have seen and handled among the small mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras (e.g. E-P3, E-PL3, G3, GF3, J1, V1, etc), with the closest one to it being the Ricoh GXR... you would probably have to "upsize" to Panasonic GH2 or Samsung NX10 to get a better grip. The handgrip of the Sony NEX-7 allows your fingers to wrap nicely, tucking the camera into your palm for a firm hold in the camera, the rubberized material adds to the sureness of the grip. To be fair, most of the other small mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras do also provide some form of grip, some come optional.

At 353g (incl battery and card), the Sony NEX-7 is comparable with the Panasonic GX1 (318g), Oylmpus E-P3 (369g), and the Nikon V1 (383g). Of course, not all sensors are equal...

Approx. 1:1 scale view of the Sony NEX7 when viewed at 500x333 pixels

Clockwise from Bottom-Left : Leica M7 / Ricoh GXR / Panasonic GF3 / Sony NEX-7

Clockwise from the Left: Ricoh GXR / Leica M7 / Panasonic GF3 / Sony NEX-7

p.s. Some might be wondering why the Leica M7 is thrown in to the mix. Well, I'm often reminded that the M-mount cameras are also mirrorless interchangeable-lens systems...

Cactus jACK · Jan 17, 2012

[Design & Controls] - The Sony NEX-7's build quality is excellent. The body feels solid fashioning a metalic front and top built on top of a magniesium shell, in sexy black no less. The camera body is also kitted with an exclusive black E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS. All the dials the buttons (with the possible exception of the flash) on the rear panel are conveniently place in range for a simple press or scroll with the right-thumb. On the top panel, the power switch, trigger and key botton control is easily accessed by your trigger finger.

"Triple-dial-control"... First, the two on the top. The two unmarked metal dials at the top is an excellent feature, acting like the front and rear dials on high-end DSLR. The two dials are positioned nicely for your right thumb rest nicely between the two. So even though they are identical visually, in actual use, there is no mistaking the dial to the left of your thumb and the dial to the right of your thumb. These dials scroll through different useful settings in different modes, e.g. in aperture priority mode, the left dial scrolls through the aperture setting, while the right scrolls through EV compensation (the rear dial scrolls through ISO). It could be easy to get a little confused on which dial does what in what mode, but the functions of the two dials in any given mode are noted on top-right of the LCD display.

The two unmarked metal dials at the top scroll through different useful settings in different modes...

Functions of the two dials in any given mode are noted on top-right of the LCD display

At the rear panel of the camera, the functions of the dial and flanking (above and below) soft button controls are also displayed on the right side of the LCD screen, next to them. These control most of your navigation around the camera settings and previous. Further, the dial is also a 5-way botton dial, with display (up), drive mode (left) compentation (down) presets and customiszable button (right), when in live view.

The soft button control at the top of the camera, to the right of the trigger, toggles through various settings such as WB, Focus, D-Range, Creative Style, and Picture Effects, with the "Triple-dial-control" to scroll through the various options. The one-touch movie record button is also conveniently placed for operation by the thumb to start recording at in an instant. But I'll have to say that I accidentally hit the record button a few times while carrying the camera in hand... which I suppose would be avoided if you were to sling the camera around your neck instead.

Cactus jACK · Jan 17, 2012

The 3.0" 921,600 dots tilting rear LCD screen provides excellent flexibility in shooting overhead which offers views from pretty much 90 degrees from the top to about 45 degrees from the bottom, to allow easy viewing while shoot from the hip, on the ground, or overhead. The 16:9 ratio screen accommodates the 3:2 and 16:9 image aspect ratios well. The LCD display can be as clean (empty) or information rich (cluttered) as you want by choosing the display settings and editing the customized display. Short of wishing for an articulate touch screen, which is a feature I like about the Panasonic G3, there is little more I can wish for from a LCD screen given todays technology.

2.4M dot Electronic ViewFinder (with eye sensor) - First and foremost, I must admit that I'm not the biggest fan of the EVF. That's not to say that I do not acknowledge the possible benefits of having the EVF option, e.g. glare while viewing, saving batt, steadier hold, etc. But the EVF is well implemented without compromising on the size or design of the NEX-7, i.e. no awkward bulge / bump, the camera still looks nice and slick. The NEX-7's EVF also comes with a detachable "eye cup". In the view, the 3:2 and the 16:9 are both fitted with 100% view. The top bar presents : Mode; Shots Remaining ; Recording Settings (Still and Movie). The bottom bar presents : Shutter Speed ; Aperture ; EV Compensation ; ISO Setting. The eye sensor works well, switching over to the EVF when any comes within 1", with a -4 to +1 diopter (to the right of the EVF).

Cactus jACK · Jan 17, 2012

ISO settings can be set from Auto / ISO 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 / 6400 / 12800 / 16000, full stops. ISO adjustments can be made via by direct control with the rear dial. This makes it easy to scroll through the ISO settings without having to muddle through the menu. Unlike many other manufacturers, Sony didn't provide 1/3 stops for the ISO settings, and while I admitted have the tendency to set my ISO at 320 or 640, the full stop ISO mark didn't limit my use of the camera.

Test shots were done in Aperture Priority, JPEG fine. Click to view 100% crops (1200 x 800) are available. Shots all the way to ISO400 appear nice and clean, without any artifacts... naturally, they are not all equal, performance drops slightly with each increase in ISO setting. The 100% cropped images show some small amount of smugging and a subtle lost in contrast at ISO800 - ISO1600. Thereafter, it is quite a steep drop to ISO3200 and onwards, as you loose more and more of the micro details, and with it, the drop in contrast.

Full Image

ISO100 - 100% crop 1200x800 pixels

ISO200 - 100% crop 1200x800 pixels

ISO400 - 100% crop 1200x800 pixels

ISO800 - 100% crop 1200x800 pixels

Caveat : This is based on a Pre-Production model.

Cactus jACK · Jan 17, 2012

under construction...

ISO1600 - 100% crop 1200x800 pixels

ISO3200 - 100% crop 1200x800 pixels

ISO6400 - 100% crop 1200x800 pixels

ISO12800 - 100% crop 1200x800 pixels

ISO16000 - 100% crop 1200x800 pixels

Caveat : This is based on a Pre-Production model.

Cactus jACK · Jan 17, 2012

All that been said about the 100% crops (1200 x 800), the need for micro details are not nec for everyone nor for every situation. Yes, more details is preferred for flexibility in editing - it is easier to edit details away than it would be to create them out of nothing. Granted... but sometimes, the additional speed is also just as important in capturing a particular scene, moment, pose, candid, etc... so sometimes, you want good ISO performance at ISO800-ISO1600 or higher. While you have seen the "pixel-peeping" results of the various ISO settings in the above post... consider the following 2 (640 x 360, 16:9) images, one taken at ISO100 and the other at max ISO, ISO16000.

While a trained eye would quickly make out that the top image was taken at ISO100 and the bottom at a higher ISO (ISO16000), this is esp obvious in the shandow areas. But it is not as obvious to notice the drop in micro details and contrast when viewing the while image in approx 4R size as compared to viewing 100% crops... esp if you didn't have the ISO100 image to reference. So while it is often said that ISO16000 is really for emergencies only, it can actually produce usable results, depending on your quality treshhold and the size of the image you intend to use.

Caveat : This is based on a Pre-Production model.

Cactus jACK · Jan 20, 2012

[Lens Compensation] The Sony NEX-7 has 3 different lens compensations : Shading compensation ; Chromatic Aberration compensation ; Distortion compensation. Shading compensation is to adjust for light-fall off (or vignette), Chromatic Aberration compensation is for purple fringing, and Distortion compensation is for lens distortion.

Test done with the the kit lens, E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS. The two images are just toggling the Distortion compensation setting. The distortion compensation and the appears to do a pretty good job in producing nice adjusted out of camera jpegs.

Sony NEX-7 - Distortion : Off

Sony NEX-7 - Distortion : Auto

Caveat : This is based on a Pre-Production model.

Cactus jACK · Jan 22, 2012

As a RF user myself, I was interested in to see the "usability" of the Sony NEX-7 with RF lenses... this of course applies to all non-E mount lenses with an appropriate adaptor. I managed to borrow the megabones adaptor from CSer lokewl for this test (many thanks).

The "Peaking" function is similar to that in the NEX-3 and NEX-5,offering different "Peaking Level" (Low / Mid / High) and providing different "Peaking Colour" options (White / Red / Yellow). This allows you to adjust according to lens constrast and subject colour to get an appropriate "peaking" setting.

Sony NEX-7 | Metabones Adaptor | ZM 2/50 Planar

"Peaking" Manual Focusing Assist in Red (Options of White / Red / Yellow)

Unlike it's NEX-5 cousin, the NEX-7 does not have a touch-screen LCD. Short of the ability to "touch" on the exact spot that you would like to magnify in the first instant, and pan around from there, the implementation of the magnification "non-touch screen" magnification on the NEX-7 has been done well. In "AF/MF" mode (just right to the play button), a single press of the AF/MF soft button brings up the focusing setting : this allows you to change your Magnification from x1 / x5.9 / x11.7 by using the bottom-most soft button, and the magnified portion can be panned (up / down / left /right) using the 4-way buttons. You can also hold down the AF/MF soft button to preview the magnification view.

Caveat : This is based on a Pre-Production model.

Cactus jACK · Jan 22, 2012

At a request of a couple of CSers, I have done a quick check on the performance of the Sony NEX-7 when using non-E mount lenses wide angle RF lenses via the appropriate adaptors. This is a simple comparison between the Sony NEX-7 and the Ricoh GXR A12 mount, using the Leica Summilux-M 21mm and Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.4. While the sensor sizes between the 2 are almost the same (APS-C sensors), the NEX-7 hosues 24.7MP (23.5x15.6mm, 6000x4000) while the A-12 module only 12.9MP (23.6x15.7mm, 4288x2848). This leads on to the discussion on the size of photosites and the ability to capture information in low light, etc.

I'll skip the technical parts, also not as to pretend to understand it all, as technical comparisons are never so simple when you consider array mappings, processors, etc. Straightforward vignette comparisons at wide-open at f/1.4 and f/2.8.

f/1.4 : I don't see much difference between the NEX-7 and the GXR, it looks marginally worst with the 21mm (can I say, "very marginally worst"?), but without significant difference using the 35mm.

f/2.8 : Almost no more light fall-off already on either APS-C sensors with either lens (21mm or 35mm).

Leica Summilux-M 21mm

Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.4

Caveat : This is based on a Pre-Production model.

Cactus jACK · Jan 22, 2012

There has been high anticipation since the announcement of the Sony NEX-7 with its 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor, and matching it with new primes in the E-mount lens lineup : Carl Zeiss E 24mm F1.8 (SEL24F18Z), E 50mm F1.8 (SEL50F18). The 18-55 kit lens appears a little out of placed for the targeted high-end enthusiast, but at least it comes in an exclusive matching black.

The Sony NEX-7 is larger and heavier than its NEX-C3 and NEX-5N siblings, but packs in more megapixels and features of the larger cousin Sony A77 into a camera fitting of the NEX tag. A few new features to the NEX cameras came in the new NEX-7 and 5N : Electronic first-curtain shutter option, which promises to reduce shutter lag ; Lens compensations options when paired with E-mount lenses (Shading compensation / Chromatic Aberration compensation / Distortion compensation). Unfortunately, the NEX-7 did not continue with the touchscreen LCDs of the 5N and C3, but that been said... (read next para)

For me, the "triple-dial-control" and soft key controls are the star of the Sony NEX-7. They make readily available direct access to multiple features such as ISO, aperture, shutter speed, WB, Focus type, EV compensation, etc. The key is the top 2 are akin to the front and rear scroll dials on many mid-high end DSLRs. The other dial and soft key controls provide lots of direct options without having to muddle through menus and sub-menus to change commonly used features by the photo enthusiast.

New to the NEX family is the built-in EVF : 2.4M dot, -4 to +1 diopter, eye sensor, and detachable eye cup. The EVF is well implemented without compromising on the size or design of the NEX-7. The ISO performance of the 24MP sensor appears still very usable at ISO800 - ISO16000, which does show small amount of smugging and a subtle lost in contrast, but still able to retain good details even at 100% crops.

The manual focus "Peaking" function and Magnification function help make expand the usability of the NEX line-up of mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. With the correct adaptors, you can mount a multitude of manual focus lenses : F, R, C/Y, K, FD, M, LTM, OM, G, etc.

The Sony NEX-7 might not quite substitute a DSLR, but it surely closes the gap from where the NEX-5N was. But like the rest of NEX lineup, they offer DSLR image quality without the bulk.

Cactus jACK · Jan 22, 2012

Sony NEX-7 | E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS