New NEX-7 hands-on at Engadget (and loves it!)
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Engadget (Click here) posted a new Sony NEX-7 preview. And their conclusion based on the pre-production model is extremely positive: “As you might have gathered, we really love this camera — it’s the first of its size from any manufacturer that could replace a DSLR for almost any photographer, and, while expensive, offers a tremendous amount of bang for your buck. It’s at this point when evaluating a pre-production sample that we’d chalk issues up to the fact that this version is far from final — but honestly, if the NEX-7 were available for purchase right now, even in its current state, we wouldn’t hesitate to pick one up.”
There is also an interesting info about the image quality: “besides filling your SD card quickly (because of the 24 Megapixels), photos look fantastic as well. Sony confirmed that the camera’s “sweet spot” is at f/5.6, so even though you can now shoot photos at up to f/1.8, you’ll want to bump down the aperture a bit if you want the absolute sharpest images.“.
Anyway in summary Engadget is amazed by the NEX-7! I preordered mine ar Sonystore and will give my NEX-5n to my girlfriend as soon as the NEX-7 arrives!
NEX-7 and lens preorder links:
NEX-7: Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8: Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay
50mm f/1.8: Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay
55-210mm: Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay
Duarte Bruno
2 years ago |I would too if budget and absolute IQ weren’t on my top priorities…
Unfortunately getting the EVF for the NEX-5N will get me into NEX-7 $ territory.
acolyte
2 years ago |If budget is priority, then make do with 5N. It should be good
Stefan
2 years ago |it’s so sad that the video performance isn’t better… but I’m still hoping that there are going to be some tweaks @the final version … i know it’s not the most important thing but I love filming with my a55 so much that it has to get as good
i know there is no mirror … AAAARGH
reinz
2 years ago |can’t wait for nex 7
hope final production camera and more firmware make this nex7 more great performs
T.J.
2 years ago |I’m so excited for the NEX-7, I really can’t say how joyed I am over the fact that sony listened to at least some of its customer base this time!! Its been a while since a big company took its customers seriously. The brought out the big guns here, they have the cx3 for the consumer coming from point and shoot, the nex 5n for the prosumer who wants a backup camera that can fit in the pocket, and the nex-7 who wanted to take some adapters and take it to the streets, or use the lea2 adapter and mount some alpha lenses or take some quick focusing videos, amazing move on sony’s part!!! preordered mine on day one, hoping that I get it with the quickness, guess I will have to live with my A55 and NEx-5 for now
Eric
2 years ago |I agree with you. Perhaps they read the comments from people begging for an affordable alternative to the M9? Aside from possibly Fuji no one else did. People have been asking for something like the NEX-7 for at least 5 years and no one listened. If Sony really did create the NEX-7 in part due to our outcries on forums and blogs then that makes me feel even better about pre-ordering it. Now I just wish it would hurry up and arrive.
Pablo
2 years ago |I am getting also the 5N (ooooh, and the wonderfull white version) with the EVF. 635 USD for the body and 299 USD for the EVF with free shipping. Which was alltogether around 630 EURO. I think with this price, I am nowhere the future European price of the NEX7 Body only. And until I wait and see, how the per-pixel sharpness will look compared to the phenomenal 16MPIX sensor of the 5N, I will be well equipped, even in the competition of 5DMKIIs and other similar veterans :> So, for now, satisfied and happily awaiting the new toy. Together with my 15/4.5 28/1.9 35/1.2 50/1.1 58/1.2 and 75mm/1.4 dream team :> A beautiful autumn to everyone!
alphafan2011
2 years ago |Hey, where did you get the white version and the EVF for that price? You ordered it to Europe right?
matgay
2 years ago |white camera, no matching evf?
Aalpha100
2 years ago |What about import taxes?
ray oody
2 years ago |Well I can’t wait 2 see the final version..
Gunnar
2 years ago |i see they really know what they are talking about:”the camera’s “sweet spot” is at f/5.6″ never imagined that
from now on i don`t need to bother buying expensive lenses with lower F stops
Gunnar
2 years ago |this is also a delighting quote from that review:”theoretically capable of capturing images identical in quality to its much larger Alpha A77 counterpart” ..and i thought less mirror means more quality for sure
Chad
2 years ago |hilarious. Engadget never ceases to amaze with their photo skills. Seriously, c’mon people!
EvanZ
2 years ago |Yep, Gunnar took my thoughts exactly. haha Engadget good for a laugh as always
emopunk
2 years ago |Shouldn’t they mean a sweet spot for a lens? What shout that mean concerning a camera?
acolyte
2 years ago |Sensor wise?
Such as – more than this f stop would only cause degradation in quality? Any less then expect a significant loss of detail?
nagi
2 years ago |Remember, this is engadget, not a dSLR-themed magazine.
They do make quite a few errors every now and then.
Maximus
2 years ago |Sweetspot of the sensor at f5,6 means that you get worth image quality because of diffraction. This sweetspot moves to bigger apertures with smaller pixels, because diffraction is caused by little apertures. The sweet spot of lenses is in most cases at two steps below maximum aperture, because spherical aberration s stronger at large aprtures.
monkeyfacemcbride
2 years ago |at last someone pointed that out. Indeed, due to the sensor size and density diffraction progressively becomes a greater issue at F8 upward. Additionally few lenses are sharp wide open, most are best around F5.6-F8 therefore the “sweet-spot” is indeed generally around F5.6.
matgay
2 years ago |on the http://www.sony.com site, the sony order page for the nex-5n lists as in stock, ship date 09/16/2011. is this correct??? Because I have a birthday party in a month, and even though I have already preordered the nex7, it is not slated for release until 11-2011. I cannot wait that long for the birthday party, so I might just buy both nex5n and nex7 if the 5n is in stock now. And I will give away the 5n to my parents once the nex7 arrives.
HoHo
2 years ago |NEX-5N is available NOW. I received mine last week directly from sonystyle.com
matgay
2 years ago |Thanks HoHo! This is available now for customers in USA right?
HoHo
2 years ago |Yes, available now for USA customers.
acolyte
2 years ago |Oh you finally decided what to do with your 5N o_O
NT
2 years ago |Engadeget shouldn’t review camera, ROFL @ sweet spot @ F5.6 for Zeiss 1.8 lol Might as well use kit lens then
C
2 years ago |“Sony confirmed that the camera’s “sweet spot” is at f/5.6″
What?
sholky
2 years ago |They probably ment the new Zeiss or 50mm lenses.
C
2 years ago |That’s what I thought, too. I can see how somebody might talk about diffraction being a limiting factor for the camera body, so don’t shoot at f/16, but it implies it the camera’s fault for shooting wider the f/1.8… I dunno, just irked me.
matgay
2 years ago |isnt the camera’s sweet spot iso140?
Gianluca
2 years ago |“Sony confirmed that the camera’s “sweet spot” is at f/5.6″”
I think that it’s correct… magazine and previewer may try to test sharpness at f8 as usual, but due to diffraction, sony advise to not test at f8 but at f5,6 that it’s better for the lenes and better for diffraction… I agree…
matgay
2 years ago |With the Focus Peak feature, I will prefer the “Zeiss Wide Angle 25mm f/2.8 Biogon M-mount” for USD$1,117.00 rather than the new Zeiss24mm f1.8 for USD$999.00. The Zeiss Biogon lens looks much better constructed and looks like it will deliver the better image quality, is said to be tack sharp at all apertures, outstanding bokeh wide open with 10 blades versus 7. Biogon is better for wide angle, Biogon is an enhanced Sonnar. I will happily trade autofocus for better image quality.
GH
2 years ago |The ZM Biogon has color shift of the NEX-5, because of the angle of the light rays at the edge of the sensor. The NEX-C3 and NEX-5N seems to have improved this with some lenses, but have you seen the ZM25 on the new NEX cameras, yet??
matgay
2 years ago |rangefinder lenses may have slight color shift vignettes, but since it is crop, it should be less noticeable. but rangefinder lenses are much better for wide angles. and the higher compression megapixels of the nex7 should take advantage of this sharper zm lens. the nex5 is old sensor, and im sure the zeiss24mm has its problems too, almost certain higher distortions. Still i cant resist, i am almost certain i will still buy tthe zeiss zm’s instead of the zeiss24mm once the nex7 is released. I would really love to see a review of the 25zm on a new sensor nex.
the reviews on the digital leica m8′s were very good, and i am hearing that the nex5n/7 is putting up a very good fight against the leica m8. Steve says “On the M8 this Zeiss 25 had no issues. No vignetting, no color shifts, and it was sharp corner to corner.” So it comes down to Nex7 sensor versus LeicaM8 sensor.
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2009/11/18/the-zeiss-zm-25-2-8-biogon-lens-review/
GH
2 years ago |Sorry, about a little research will show that every rangefinder lens under 35mm shows color shift on the NEX-5. Hopefully that will be improved with NEX-7.
matgay
2 years ago |http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2009/11/18/the-zeiss-zm-25-2-8-biogon-lens-review/
yea i really hope so too. i mean nex5 (1st generation) = 14.2mp. while nex7 = 24.3mp HUGE difference!
Zeiss25mmZM >> better than >>Zeiss24mmNEX???
I cant wait to see the reviews come in.
michel v
2 years ago |“outstanding bokeh wide open with 10 blades versus 7″
Please.
Wide open means no blade in sight, so it doesn’t make any difference if the lens has 5, 7, 10, or 144 blades.
matgay
2 years ago |outstanding bokeh wide open, <<< comma << with 10 blades versus 7
geez grammar police troller. dont see u contributing any. troltributing?
matgay
2 years ago |oh it DOES matter. more blades equals higher quality build (which you said doesnt make a difference). more blades equals better glass, rather than not. 14 blade lens is like $5k and 6 blade lens is $200. even the 14 blade wide open is better than the 6 blade wide open. and also shape of the blades tells you lens has attention to detail. much more affects bokeh even wide open some lens have it and some dont. does it matter if a lens is made of titanium? yes because they are hand selected for tolerances. technical on paper might not look smooth like when it is actually used. besides nobody is writing an article here, spelling mistake here and there big deal you troll.
michel = troll
Joe
2 years ago |LOL, I don’t think Michel is a troll. I don’t even see how you think he’s trying to correct your grammar. However, he brought up a good point. More blade doesn’t mean better optics, and at WO, blade number would not affect the bokeh (unless they managed to get in the way somehow). You also went on with other unrelated points. Either way, I’m glad that you set your eyes on the ZM 25. Happy shooting.
Zachery
2 years ago |They updated, in a half assed way, the article to reflect that the claim about f/5.6 being a sweet spot for the camera was utter nonsense. They were noticing a characteristic of a lens, not the camera and it isn’t until the very bottom that they actually say this.
Top notch AOL reporting right there.
Simon
2 years ago |Sony confirmed that the camera’s “sweet spot” is at f/5.6, so even though you can now shoot photos at up to f/1.8, you’ll want to bump down the aperture a bit if you want the absolute sharpest images.“.
Engadget people really don’t have a clue of photography. So how can they review a camera in a proper way?
morgan
2 years ago |I’m really psyched about the nex7. I can retire my epson R-D1 rangefinder and pick up an m-mount converter and I’ll be in business. This is the first affordable alternative with a built-in VF (of any kind) to an M9/M8 out there, and it’s about time (even if not full-frame). I am going to wait though until the production models are out to make sure it holds up and what final IQ will be.
jasona
2 years ago |it means that because the pixels are so small the sensor is diffraction limited to f5.6. this means that the maximum resolution the sensor can achive will be at f5.6 or below. if your lens’s resolution peaks below 5.6 then us it there. it only means that if you shoot at f8 diffraction will already be degrading the image. you could compare tgis to say a full frame sensor where you can shoot at a higher aprature value and still get maxximum sharpness (lens dependant). extra info, full frame sensors will allow you to have much more depth of field while maintaing maximum sharpness.
Bobby
2 years ago |I played with it yesterday a bit in my local BB and I was VERY impressed. The feel is fantastic and the shutter sound is awesome. It sounds so much more substantial. It also felt faster and somehow more agile in hand compared to the 5.
Andrew
2 years ago |“…the shutter sound is awesome. It sounds so much more substantial.”
Please elaborate. I have been waiting to hear more in regards to the shutter sound of the NEX-7. I’ve been hoping that the shutter will be quiet…but you describing the shutter as sounding substantial does not lead me to believe that is the case.
Bobby
2 years ago |Certainly. Well, I think I was not accurate describing it. I meant to say that the sound is kind of more ‘serious’ compared to the original. It is by no means loud. For example it is considerably less ‘loud’ than my 60D. You know what, I can record the sound with mu Vibrant and post it here?
Jiri
2 years ago |That would be great, thanks
Futile
2 years ago |I think a lot of us would really appreciate that.
cheers.
Andrew
2 years ago |Thanks in advance!
simon
2 years ago |The 5n? Cuz….the 7 isn’t released yet….right? If the 5n is in stock at best buy let me know! I will pick one up tomorrow during lunch!
dusterhuffer
2 years ago |wow, i love the camera, you can see that it aimed at professionals (or enthusiasts) all the way, they didnt even mark the buttons
and regarding the Sweetspot @ f5,6:
that hat NOTHING to do with a quality of sensor or attached lens. the diffraction limit solely depends on the aperture (the geometric that is) and the pixelpitch (and the wavelenght of the light of course). even if you spend millions of dollars you couldnt build a camera that is free of diffraction at a higher aperture than the diffraction limit.
its just physics, there is no way around that.
but that doesnt mean that you wont get sharper images if you stop down any further. if the kitlens @55mm is stopped down, the optical errors of the lens (sperical abberation for example) are better controlled.
if the gain of sharpness and contrast is higher than the loss due to diffraction, the overall IQ will be better.
Jerry
2 years ago |What happened to the EVF eyecup?!?
All previous models I have seen in preview videos showed the EVF has a nice, big eyecup that looks comfortable against the eye and shields your eye from exterior light while looking into the EVF.
The NEX-7 on Engadget has no eyecup.
If my pre-ordered NEX-7 doesn’t have the eyecup seen in earlier hands-on videos I will be upset. I will be downright ANGRY if it looks like the one in the Engadget first look and Sony doesn’t offer an eyecup that attaches to it.
Andrew
2 years ago |I read in a different hands-on preview that the eyecup was user removable. I wouldn’t worry, the eyecup will be included.
liker
2 years ago |The eye-cup probably fell off when he dropped the camera resting it like that on the tree branch while fondling it with one hand. The front-side grip of the camera already had scuff marks. “Because who doesn’t like wine?” Maybe he was drunk recording. *Blows* “Get rid of that fly”. LMAO!!!
Jerry
2 years ago |Well, when you put it in context like that.
Anyway, I hope we get that nice eyecup we’ve seen on earlier demo models. I’ll mostly be using the EVF and I want that eyecup to cushion my eye and keep out sunlight.
c.d.embrey
2 years ago |I have yet to see a “hands-on” video that had decent production value. This video was real amateur-hour. Meh.
Doug
2 years ago |Engadget is hardly an authority on cameras. Smartphones and MP3 players? Yes. High-end cameras? No. Their reviews are subjective and anecdotal. They don’t do the tests and they can’t rate the camera in relation to other cameras in a way that pros and advanced amateurs would find useful.
Bobby
2 years ago |OK guys, like I promised, I captured the sound of the shutter
As a reference I also recorded the sound of the shutter on the 60D. One more thing please, both sound clips were recorded with Nokia E55 (the Vibrant did a very poor job) which is VERY sensitive tool (can easily capture 10 people meeting in mid sized room) so the sounds you guys are about to hear could appear kind of overemphasized. I do apologize because the files are kind of short (my wife is very pregnant and very edgy so I had to be fast) 
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=U6ALPW9H
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2SWSRKBD
Regards, Bobby
Andrew
2 years ago |@Bobby
I appreciate the effort on your part, however, as this post was all about the NEX-7, I think we were all under the impression that you were talking about the NEX-7 shutter sound, not the NEX-5n.
I have heard the what the 5n sounds like and it is certainly a step up from the original NEX-5 and NEX-3. I am hoping however that the NEX-7 brings further improvement. I realize the NEX-7 shutter won’t be whisper quiet, but I hope it is far less intrusive.
HoHoHo
2 years ago |A NEX-7 preview done on a tree branch. Makes me laugh:)
Andrew
2 years ago |Seriously! I couldn’t agree more.
It would seem that with all the high tech gadgetry that passes through the Engadget offices, they lost sight of the usefulness of simple devices…like a table.
I’ll admit though…a tree branch is clearly the next obvious choice of places to rest a camera
LOL
2 years ago |“and will give my NEX-5n to my girlfriend as soon as the NEX-7 arrives!”
He-he …real guy gives his girlfriend seven NEX and buy another!
Bruce Ramage
2 years ago |I was wondering how you were going to square the circle of having the 5 but wanting the 7. Giving the 5 to your girlfriend when the 7 comes is an inspired solution.
lifeispixels
2 years ago |I’m curious about that too
Was it because of the clicking noise issue on 5N?
monkeyfacemcbride
2 years ago |Hmmm, ok i’ve been reading posts about the new NEXs and the A77/65 and hardly anyone has mentioned the aspect of video which is most obvious, even all but a handful of reviewers have missed it. Where’s the rolling shutter effect? no more jello-cam! some guy made a video where he was demonstrating a minor clicking from his NEX-5N and hosed the thing all over the place, normally on any other cameras this would cause images that were completely unrecognisable. Not with these it doesn’t, pretty rock solid and probably the most significant improvement in DSLR video yet….and its hardly mentioned?
NEXfive
2 years ago |How disappointing to have a camera that starts to have diffraction problems above f/5.6 already
On a NEX-5 the diffraction problems starts with f/11. Therefore the SEL-16F28 pancake is quite usable from f/5.6 to f/11. Small range for good pictures already. Same with the SEL-1855, which for better quality should be also stopped down to f/5.6 at wide angle and f/8 in tele mode – but this is the kit lens sold with the NEX-7! So the NEX-7 is quite useless except for the SEL-50F18 & SEL-24F18Z lenses. Additionally for using super fast lenses at daylight ISO below 25 or internal ND filters would have been pretty useful
Sony really should offer the NEX-7 with the NEX-5N sensor…
lorenzino
2 years ago |I think we agree that the main achilles heel of the Nex 7 is not the camera, but the dedicated lenses…
NEXfive
2 years ago |No agreement so far, since there are two problems of digital photography that are much bigger than they’ve been with analogue before: Diffraction & Purple Fringing:
Might be that diffraction is much more visible when scaling a picture taken at near to f/22 on a big screen today, that usually wouldn’t have been scaled that much in a lab, so I guess, the NEX-5 performs pretty normal here, while the NEX-7 would have a major sensor problem if the final product really starts to show diffraction problems above f/5.6. But since I would have preferred a NEX-7 standard without and with optional viewfinder only plus the NEX-5N sensor and therefore tend to buy a 5N anyway (white version in Europe, please!), I’m waiting for the reviews of the final product here.
But experiencing with manual full frame lenses on my NEX-5 I know that the Purple Fringing problem with all super fast lenses is a much bigger problem digitally than it has been with analogue photography. Since the SEL-16F28 is the fastest E-Mount lens so far and shows quite some Purple Fringing wide open, I’m very curious about the SEL-50F18 and SEL-24F18Z in serious reviews, since those purple shadows can be extremely annoying.
I’m really counting on E-Mount to become a convincing solution for photography and film with the same equipment, so hopefully Sony will not fuck this up…
Camaman
2 years ago |So limited at f5.6… Nice!:-(
That means only the center of 99 % of phhotos will possibly reach 24MP potential…
And to even think that you will need a stabilised lens, super shooting technique for such a small camera or a pro prime that is not MF only and is max sharp at f4….
Pretty sad. No more MP! Files are tooo big to handle, send and process as it is…
This camera hardware is great, its output, though, not so user friendly…:-/
Camaman
2 years ago |So limited at f5.6… Nice!:-(
That means only the center of 99 % of phhotos will possibly reach 24MP potential…
And to even think that you will need a stabilised lens, super shooting technique for such a small camera or a pro prime that is not MF only and is max sharp at f4….
Pretty sad. No more MP! Files are tooo big to handle, send and process as it is…
This camera hardware is great, its output, though, not so user friendly…
NEXfive
2 years ago |There’s an interesting analysis of diffraction here:
http://www.talknex.com/f2/what-does-diffraction-limited-mean-387/
They’re showing the known diffraction that’s usually obvious at f/22, but unfortunately they’re denying the special effect of diffracted waves being read by a higher resolution sensor, which of course makes a difference, since diffracted waves because of being too unprecisely for very small pixels would disturb the neighbour pixels more often then.