Interview with the Sony NEX-7 designers (New Tamron for NEX in Stock).
Sony Japan (Click here) posted the full English translation of the interview made with the Sony NEX-7 designers. I didn’t know that “All we had decided initially was that three dials would be used….It was essentially our only beacon in design“. Would love to know who had the idea…quite a genius that guy 
Meanwhile the first “european” NEX-7 is on auction on eBay (Click here). Fotomundus had five in Stock, but they are now sold out (one is mine…LOL). USA readers are far more lucky. There are now eleven(!) NEX-7 bodies for auction on eBay (Click here to see them all). This means the price will finally go down.
Photographybanzai (Click here) wrote a first NEX-7 impression review.
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The Tamron lenses are now in Stock at Adorama (Click on the links to see the product page):
Tamron 18mm-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR DI-III VC (B011) AF Zoom Lens with Macro, for the Sony NEX eMount – Silver
Tamron 18mm-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR DI-III VC (B011) AF Zoom Lens with Macro, for the Sony NEX eMount – Black
DingieM
2 years ago |I’m increasingly more interested in this NEX-7, but haven’t got the money for it for a long while. Hope the price will go down soon.
matgay
2 years ago |the nex7′s are selling for triple the retail price
z
2 years ago |Practically the NEX-7 in feb will be 3 times cheaper than today? That sir, is what I call price drop!
ghj2
2 years ago |That Tamron looks too expensive to me.
fs
2 years ago |Well, I guess that will depend on the quality, but I’m definitely confused by the strategy of marketing the same focal length at the same price as the Sony version. Unless some test results come out that demonstrate it to be much better than the Sony, it seems like they’re going to have a hard time moving it. Having never owned any Tamrons, is there any general reason to favor a Tamron over a Sony @ the same price.
Hello World
2 years ago |Exactly my thoughts!
lifeispixels
2 years ago |The only reason I could think of is you can choose black color with Tamron LOL! For some perfectionists, black lens will look better on NEX-7. Same reason Sony make black 18-55 OSS version.
Seriously, Tamron and Sony have been known for sharing many lens (as Sony owns a good chunk of Tamron’s shares) so this lens could be the same inside as Sony 18-200 OSS. Only test will tell.
Adi
2 years ago |What is confusing a little bit is that Adorama photos show a mate black finish, and some real in store photos (Japan) show a shiny black finish.I preffer the mate one.
If it’s reaching $500 I will buy one.The first user test are quite positive.
jan123
2 years ago |Ebay germany had one too. But then…. veni vidi vici
Mike
2 years ago |still in stock at fotomundus..or maybe again
but not to buy directly. i think just via mail or phone…think i’m goin to call them
harvey_tbee
2 years ago |The one on the German Ebay is a Buy Now for € 1199, which should mean they have them in stock and price shouldn’t go up?!
Scott
2 years ago |Thanks for the link to my article. For anyone visiting, it’s an opinion piece based on information I’ve seen on the NEX-7 so far, not a review. I don’t have access to one.
WilliamLeong
2 years ago |SWEET SWEET PACKAGING! *LIKES*
Vlad
2 years ago |My first thought exactly
extra|ordinary
2 years ago |For those watching B&H Photo for their limited supply of NEX-7′s to arrive:
B&H Photo just had the NEX-7 (body only) in stock for all of 10 minutes. I bought one right away…now to see if it ships out.
Weltregierung
2 years ago |The 3 dial solution is a big improvement over the smaller Nex, but the Nex-7 UI is still far from perfect.
I absolutely love the Canon G12 in that respect: Canon does these UI designs iteratively, improving them over the course of many years, and it shows. The G12 has five dials, but that may not be the point. Everything is where I need it as a photographer. And the most crucial settings are directly visible, without having to open a menu first, but by looking at the dial itself:
- The mode (for me typically Aperture, or one of the custom configs),
- ISO (I hate it when I discover after a day on the beach that I left the ISO at the setting I chose last night in the bar)
- Exposure compensation (I need that one a lot, especially since the G12 has a slight tendency to blow highlights)
Also, you don’t have to study the handbook, even though you get more frills and whistles than you can shake a stick at.
Conversely, the Nex puts form first (and a mighty sleek one it is! although my wife says it looks fugly like the first Kindle), and function second. The unmarked dials look great, but they have been added as an afterthought to a menu based UI that is rivaled by no-one in crappyness. This does not stop me from loving the Nex for its image quality. (And hating that I blow 2 batteries a day, instead of lasting for many days as on the G12.)
I really wish Canon had gotten the large-sensor compact meme earlier. Also, note that the G12 is their top-level compact, where their engineers show off what they are capable of. Their (pricier) entry level DSLRs have an intentionally stripped-down and crippled UI again.