2012 Sony NEX-7 overview

Sony NEX-7 just 350 grams on the scale, the magnesium body is slim and handy. The camera system is thanks to the rubberized grip, well shaped and comfortable in the hand. The NEX-7 is available now (as of November 2012) only seven lenses. Admittedly, all lenses use SLT at the NEX, the large and heavy lenses, the camera is small but unwieldy. For use with lenses from Sony an adapter is necessary. Even lenses from Minolta and Konica (again, need an adapter) can be combined with the NEX-7.

Electronic Viewfinder :

To design selection, the NEX-7 is an electronic viewfinder. The viewfinder of the OLED screen is clear and bright, the individual pixels of the mini-screen is barely visible. Viewfinder and imaging are identical, an on-screen 3D-level permits shooting without tilting the horizon. Menu settings are made on the control screen that has a diagonal of 7.5 inches and 921,600 dots, is to fold it 80 degrees upward and 45 degrees below, but does not turn sideways. On a touch-screen operation, Sony has dispensed with. But all the visual effects and settings such as background blur are immediately visible on the LCD screen.

Built-in Flash :

The first camera has the 7-NEX version has a built-in flash and hot shoe for an additional shoe mount. The autofocus has 25 AF points, the light sensitivity between ISO 100 and 16,000, shutter speeds from 1/4000th to 30 seconds (plus long-term recordings) are possible. An image stabilization is built into the camera. The CMOS image sensor in APS-C format makes photos with a resolution of 24 megapixels, the focal length extension factor of 1.5.

Manual operation :

The Sony NEX-7 is characterized by an intelligent and sophisticated operating concept. Particularly well implemented: the two dials on the top can also be operated with one hand well. Both are individually assigned to a function as required. Aperture and shutter speed can be just as the ISO sensitivity manually - or the photographer familiar with the intelligent automatic.

Really fast is the shutter lag: During daylight, the test was 0.28 seconds measured, pre-focused, the delay is imperceptible 0.10 seconds. After triggering, it takes only 0.55 seconds to the NEX-7 is ready to shoot again. In continuous shooting mode is enabled, the camera makes at maximum quality JPG 3.24 frames per second - until memory card is full.

Photos with a resolution of 24 megapixels, many details are cracking and sharp. The dynamic range (difference between brightest and darkest point) is very high and brilliant color reproduction. The only disadvantage of the high-resolution chip: with increasing ISO sensitivity from 3200 to image noise (noise) is visible.

Full-HD video :

The video data is recorded in full HD with up to 50 frames per second (50p), sound takes on the NEX-7 in stereo. The HDMI output to send the video to the TV. Also in the video mode, the autofocus the subject focuses continuously, as will benefit by the automatic exposure controls. Like an SLR, it is possible to adjust exposure, shutter speed and aperture manually while recording video.
The lithium-ion battery for 1344 presented in the test shots. With the following storage media is working the NEX-7: Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, SD, SDHC, SDXC.