Sony has finally started shipping its NEX-7 compact system camera. Not being one of the big fish, I got mine the old fashioned way: I got on a waiting list and waited.
Patience paid off and I was graced with a UPS box a week ago containing a Sony NEX-7 body and a spare battery. No lens. I am still waiting for this to arrive. Fortunately, I had planned for this and acquired a couple of lens adapters allowing me to fit legacy glass on my shiny new NEX-7.
So while I wait for the Zeiss lens to appear on my doorstep, I shall write this first impression article based on legacy glass and my observations on how the camera and it’s files behave.
Delays, delays…
The floods in Thailand caused a lot of devastation for the locals as well as the corporations that housed their factories there. Originally scheduled for shipment on November 11, the cameras did not start showing up until the last week in December. Even then only in rarified numbers.
Unbelievably, this delay did have a positive side. The delay allowed software makers to prepare their raw converters for the day when the camera arrived. So when I opened the UPS box, I had versions of Adobe Lightroom and Phase One Capture One Pro raw conversion software ready to take on whatever this camera could produce.
Not reinventing the wheel…
Other websites have gone on ad-nauseum with the technical features of the camera and have all sorts of glowing reports about the breakthroughs Sony has in the NEX-7. They are all correct. The NEX-7 is all that and much more.
The NEX-7 was designed with features that appeal to both advanced amateurs and professionals alike. The shot above was taken with the in- camera Rich Tone Monochrome picture style. The camera fires three bracketed shots in rapid succession and combines them into one JPG image. Think of it as B&W HDR.
The Tri-Navi interface on the NEX-7 adapts to whatever shooting mode you are in. This allows controls like exposure compensation and others to be assigned based on need. Users can customize this to some degree and I expect more customizability with subsequent firmware updates. In practice I have discovered that this arrangement, coupled with the groundbreaking electronic viewfinder (EVF) introduced with the Sony α77, allows me to view the effects of setting changes like ISO, depth-of-field, and exposure compensation prior to taking the shot. This feature alone make this a must-have camera.
One of the great features of the NEX line of cameras is their ability to use practically any manufacturer’s lens via an adaptor. Micro Four Thirds cameras share this ability. With legacy lenses mounted via an adaptor, the NEX-7 does not have any idea that a lens is even mounted on the camera. A quick setting change in the menu will allow the camera to “fire without a lens.” This misleading entry actually tells the camera that a non-electronically controlled lens will be on the camera. Using adapters, you can mount pretty much any lens you can imagine on the NEX-7 (or any other NEX camera).
- C-mount
- Canon EOS
- Canon FD
- Contax G
- Contax/Yashica (C/Y)
- Leica M
- Leica M39 (screwmount)
- Leica R
- Konica AR (Hexanon)
- Nikon Rangefinder
- M42
- Nikon Nikkor (including G-type)
- Olympus OM Zuiko
- Pentax K/PK
You get the idea. Fotodiox also guarantees infinity focussing with all of their adapters. Hold it. Infinity what? All lenses regardless of brand have a certain registration distance that must be maintained in order for the lens’ focussing mechanism to work accurately. When you design an adapter to allow a lens from a different make/format to be mounted on your camera, the adapter must be designed to recreate exactly the registration distance that the lens expects. In this way the lens’ focussing mechanism can accurately continue to work on the new camera body. I encountered this with a cheapie Leica M-to-NEX adapter i bought off of eBay. The adapter is well made and fits snugly, but the registration distance is slightly off and allows me to focus past infinity (no, this does not mean that I can see into the future). All lenses mounted via adapters have to be manually focussed and stopped down and the camera must be set to Manual or Aperture priority. Except Sony Alpha lenses. Sony makes an adapter (two actually) for their line of Alpha mount SLR lenses that not only provides electronic aperture controls, but (in the case of the LA-EA2) also provides phase detection autofocus! That will set you back about $400, though.
One other bit of fun that this generation of NEX cameras include is focus peaking. Long a staple of the pro video circuit, focus peaking is a tool that allows you to see what is in focus by coloring the in-focus bits in the image. Properly set, this means that a astigmatic wombat (such as yours truly) can focus these really fast primes and their paper thin focus planes with a lot more ease than other mechanoptical focussing systems.
The Sony NEX-7 is a strange beast. As a Percy Jackson fan (and general mythology buff), I would call this a chimera rather than a camera. Its image size, image qualities, and file malleability encroach well into the low-end of medium format. Its sensor size, interchangeable lenses and bokeh characteristics plant it squarely in DSLR territory. Its body size and handling is definitely in the compact camera arena. So what is it? Well like the mythical chimera, its all of the above.
Great news Carlos. Can’t wait to get mine and to see one of your prints from the NEX-7.
Happy New Year!
Durr
Carlos, Which Sony lens would you start out with for the NES-7? I was planning on getting the black kit lens, but only the body is shipping now.
thanks
Durr
Durr,
I ordered the Zeiss Sonnar 24mm f/1.8 to accompany this camera. It should be here today. In the meantime, I have been using with great success Fotodiox adapters that allow me to attach legacy glass to my NEX-7. It is a very rare occurrence when a kit lens turns out to be an amazing piece of work.
Never thought I’d see another Durr that wasn’t in my family…interesting…
Actually, Durr is his middle name, not his family name.
Well darn.
Hello M. Durr………My great-grand mother’s maiden name was Durr. My grand father was named John Durr Wise, and I am the 3rd. Small world, for sure………
I am looking forward to getting my hands on the NEX-7. I trust Carlos’ opinion. He’s a great photographer and a greater guy!
I agree, it sure is.
Carlos’ opinion seem spot on with the rest of many early user reports. I’m surprised no mention of autofocus speed was brought up though…
Can’t wait for my kit pre-order either, I’m 45th on the Abt.com list, so we’ll wait and see!
Now Durr is making me blush.
I did not test the autofocus speed because I did not have any AF lenses at the time of publishing only manually focused legacy glass.
I have received the Zeiss 24mm and the Sony 16mm is on its way. The Zeiss is nice and contrasty which helps AF a great deal. It’s the perfect lens to complement the NEX-7. It does hunt in lowlight sometimes and I wouldn’t shoot the ballet with it (I am hoping the upcoming A99 will suit me more in that respect) but as a street cam, this may be the first really credible challenger to the Leica digital M’s.
Doh!!! I completely forgot this first review was with manual lenses only.
It’s funny though, because this review actually applies more to me personally. I will only be using legacy glass on my 7 as well (taking advantage of the “collectable” nature of the black lens and hopefully selling it for a bunch on amazon).
For my first setup I have all Nikon mounts: 18-70 f/3.5-4.5 for all around, 50mm f/2 AI (art-y and portrait), and for sports a Tokina 80-200 f/2.8.
Really hoping I can learn to manual focus fast enough with that Tokina. We’ll see how fast that manual peaking functions!
I’m going to hold out on getting an e-mount lens until Sigma and Tamron get more lenses out to help drive the market cost down. At that, if I’m going to get auto-focus, I might as well get the LAEA2 and a good G lens, as phase detection is all I need for sports photos.
Very nice review. I can’t wait to upgrade my current travel camera, the NEX 5 w/18/200.
Nice that you have the cam and are enjoying it, Carlos.:)
I have to ask why you say this,
“Lenses must be of the absolute best quality or the sensor will out resolve them.”
AFAIK, none of the lenses you used here are up to the task?
You are correct Vivek. I do not own any Leica glass and my one piece of Zeiss glass has not arrived yet. I have found some bugaboos with each of the lenses I have used, though I have to retest with the CV 35mm Nokton because of infinity focus issues with the Rainbow adapter I was using. My Fotodiox adapter has arrived and I will be shooting with that and posting the results. Maybe I should have said that “the sensor is not very tolerant of cheap glass”.
which is understandable given it’s 24MP.
sorry, but these pictures are DISAPPOINTING
I am sorry that the pictures are not up to your standards, but I am trying to show the camera’s performance in everyday use.
Thanks for a very informative read, Carlos!. I ordered my NEX 7 the day it was announced, but so far no luck. In France so far Sony have only sold a few dozen through their own Paris Sony store, including multiples to guys who promptly put them up on auction sites. Not clever!
My sense is, as you say, that this is a thoroughbred. Everything needs to be absolutely right for the result to be up to the camera’s full potential. Which is why I will probably keep my 5N alongside it for high ISO, wide angle, and generally “easier” shooting.
Hmmm, sounds like someone is getting a kickback somewhere in the supply chain of Sony France. Sorry to hear you got caught up in that Phillipe. At least you have the 5N to console you while you wait for the 7 to show up on your doorstep.
While I’m waiting for the 7 I decided to buy a 5N and am switching from my Nikon D300s, and all that extra weight. I’m a little concerned about what you say about glass. When I got the 5N yesterday I also got the Tamron 18-200m lens, because it was the lightest weight glass. Was this a poor choice?
Today my test shots came out better than with my Nikon 180-200mm on my D300s. I’m over the top jazzed since I’m doing lots of traveling and tired of schlepping.
Can’t wait for the 7, my husband will upgrade his point/shoot to the 5N or I’ll use it for my wide angle lenses.
Thanks for the review.
Both the 5N and the 7 are excellent cameras but they are two different beasts. The sensor in the 5N behaves like a DSLR sensor while the monster sensor in the 7 behaves more like a medium format sensor. I am not knocking medium format, all I am saying is that Sony is sitting on their front porch.
I have heard many good things about the Tamron 18-200. I am waiting for a review sample from their marketing department.
[...] Echenique (Click here) posted a NEX-7 first impression: “The Sony NEX-7 is a strange beast. As a Percy Jackson fan (and general mythology buff), I would call this a chimera rather than a camera. Its image size, image qualities, and file malleability encroach well into the low-end of medium format. Its sensor size, interchangeable lenses and bokeh characteristics plant it squarely in DSLR territory. Its body size and handling is definitely in the compact camera arena. So what is it? Well like the mythical chimera, its all of the above.” [...]
Please don’t compare megapixels to Medium format chips. I would bet any Phase one or leaf back in production would step all over a NEX. I know My aptus 65s at iso 50 KILLS anything in terms of what people LIKE TO LOOK AT. The smoothness of tonal because of the physical size of the chip is just better. even when you shoot with the noise the tonal smoothness of these chips is just better. On top of that Phase one has an 80MP back. How is 24.5 even close to that?
Randy,
You are quite correct. I stated as much saying that NEX-7 is not medium format. I only stated that the files from the NEX-7 exhibit some of the characteristics of medium format digital files (file size, malleability, noise characteristics) but it performs like a DSLR in other respects.
DR in MFD is way beyond what the NEX-7 can offer.
Your point of view is very comforting to someone like myself moving up from point and shoot. I received the A77 for Xmas and just received the 2.8 16-50ssm lens which I may upgrade to the CZ 16-80 on advice that that is a sharper lens, however the camera I am waiting for is the Nex 7 but made the mistake of ordering the kit which is experiencing the biggest delays, I would like to put the very best travel lens on it that I can, be it a Nikon or Sony product (can’t afford Leica) could you suggest a lens that would do the best job….Viv
Viv,
if you want to keep the kit small, you may want to look at the Tamron 18-200 E-mount lens. I have heard some pretty good things about it. I am hoping to get one in for testing soon.
I should have mentioned that the Pano’s on the A77 tend be blurred more times than not and I am not sure why, my little Sony 9V does an excellent job eveytime
You may want to try the Sweep Panorama with a fast lens.
I second that, even though its spec sheet shows it’s just a bit smaller than the Sony 18-200, according to many user reports on DPReview it actually looks and feels significantly smaller.