Sony reviews roundup (A77, NEX-7 and NEX-5n)
Sony Alpha NEX-7 mirrorless camera review at Engadget (Click here): “As you may have gathered, we’re quite smitten with the Sony Alpha NEX-7. The camera offers many features previously only accessible to full-size DSLR owners, delivering excellent performance in a body size only nominally larger than the NEX-C3 and 5N.”
Full Sony A77 review at ePhotozine (Click here): “The Sony Alpha A77 is an enjoyable camera to use that is capable of producing some excellent photos, with great colour, detail and extremely solid exposure performance. Reds are extremely vibrant and colourful and the camera produces excellent JPEG output straight from the camera, even on default settings. Noise control is very good with low noise right up to high ISO settings.”
Sony NEX-5n tested at Digitalcamerainfo (Click here): “When you can pack this kind of performance in a body this small, it’s hard to not be impressed. While we’re not ready to label the NEX-5N as the best compact mirrorless camera we’ve seen, it’s pretty close and it has us very excited to see where the NEXseries goes next.”
Another NEX-5n review has been posted by Kent Photography (Click here): “After a few days of test and still testing now, the NEX-5N does really good with the different shooting situation that you throw at it. Apart from the distortion and one off WB issue, I can’t fault its performance much. It certainly was my go to camera during the trip instead of my DSLR. I didn’t even feel hesitated to shoot in low light, knowing that it will produce decent images even at ISO 1600-3200.”
More small news: Sony NEX-7 handheld video by Outbackphoto on vimeo. Hdr Photography and the Sony Nex-7 explained in detail at SonyAlphaLab (Click here). Overcoming NEX 5N overheating. a cheap and real fix at DVXuser (Click here).
And here are the links to check the price and availability status of the three mentioned cameras:
A77 search at Digitalrev, B&H, eBay.
NEX-7 search at Digitalrev, B&H, eBay.
NEX-5n search at Digitalrev, B&H, eBay.
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Recent comments
Comment from WTH: Yes, really, it's (a77) is a great piece...
Comment from Sonyalphalab: I totally agree about the a77! Excellent...
Comment from Zachery: There is no way Sony is releasing a $10,...
Comment from fongios: can u post a link of ur pics man :)...
David
4 months ago |Good reviews! Good job Sony
Now update the firmware to iron out the glitches
Then give us some full frame news!
Matthew
4 months ago |No….lenses should be the priority. Sony is headed in the right direction with the new roadmap, but a roadmap and physical lenses in photographers’ hands are two very different things.
David
4 months ago |What lenses? That roadmap was for NEX, not A-mount. A-mount has lots of great lenses, but no professional cameras to put them on!
I don’t see why Sony can’t update the a77 firmware. Things like laggy control wheels are such stupid problems which are easily fixed. They get criticised in reviews, and it makes the camera seem amateurish and bad quality. There’s really no excuse to have a £1000 camera which crashes or lags.
Same for tethering, better bracketing, audio level control etc – they’re all things which people whine about, and they can be easily added with a firmware update. There’s no reason at all not to update these things.
And right now Sony makes NO full frame cameras. That’s why we need news, and that’s why it’s a top priority.
I won’t say no to more A-mount lenses, but we have a good enough selection already. Good set of primes, great quality 2.8 zooms. We lack mid-range f4 zooms, but overall I’m happy enough with the lens selection. But there are no professional full frame bodies in production any more. That worries me.
Matthew
4 months ago |Sorry, I thought you were referencing a FF NEX. Silly me.
Zachery
4 months ago |There is no way Sony is releasing a $10,000+ 500mm ƒ/4 lens and not following that up with a relevant FF professional grade body. I would be surprised if the next significant announcement from Sony is not a flagship FF DSLT or DSLR. And I know, they say they won’t do DSLR but don’t be super surprised if they do one last one. SLT mirrors that are as amazingly high translucency and consistency as the ones Sony makes are hard enough at their current APS-C sizes. They may not have the tech ready yet for mass producing them for FF sizes.
I guess we’ll see.
andrew
4 months ago |We want A77 2.0fw!!
SRL
4 months ago |Not all hardware issues can be fixed through a firmware update
Sorry to say this
T
4 months ago |It would be nice if we could get some rumors on the future 5N firmware update. Such as time-table for release and rumored features.
A77
4 months ago |The A77 is an excellent camera.
The people who have said otherwise just haven’t used it or either compares it against the Full Frame high end cameras.
Coupled with beautiful glass, the A77 can take amazing shots in most situations.
For those who is contemplating on glass selection, here are my recommendations.
Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 – Best Wide Lens for $$$
SAL-2470Z F2.8 – General Purpose (expensive but brillant)
SAL-70400G – excellent zoom (very sharp)
SAL-50F14 – Excellent 50mm prime, very fast and sharp
If you have money to burn:
SAL-135F28 STF – Excellent lens with the best Bokeh Period.
If anyone would like to share their thoughts too, that will be great.
JonasM
4 months ago |I like the A77 too, it’s a great camera overall, and I’ve handled it many times in the Sony store contemplating if I should buy it or not. I do think some critique is warranted however and my very first impression working buttons and menus on the A77, was how painfully slow it was in responding to input. It really does need better code or faster hardware.
SRL
4 months ago |Really,
As a professional that has used cameras from Minolta 101, Nikon F2 and F3 to Minolta7 through Sony 850 and Nikon d700, and from what I see Sony’s needed firmware patches to correct problems somewhat more complicated and critical issues than most…….likely because that more process are now controlled and managed by internal software than others in the past. The a77 technology is a work in process and big changes will happen in the hardware layer before Sony gets it right.
Don’t expect a new firmware release to fix everything that is no yet right in the product.
Expect to see Sony within a year, release a new camera maybe called an a78 that addresses many but not all problems with the current a77.
WTH
4 months ago |Yes, really, it’s (a77) is a great piece of hardware.
Everything new has its problems and over time solutions will be made available. Remember the issue with Canons and their vertical lines on images? Remember the Nikons aperture lock issues? or worst the electronic componenets failure?
“It has come to our attention that electronic components related to exposure control in some D70 cameras may, on rare occasions, fail. ”
People are way too critical because they expect the $1400 A77 to perform like a D3x, 1D, M9, Hasselblad or a Phase One…
The EVF is very impressive, it allows me to preview my images in extreme lighting conditions without putting my hands or at worst my jacket over the screen. When I fuk around with exposure, I can actually see what the hell I am doing through the view finder.
It isn’t as fast as an OVF, but it is pretty damn fast, but I haven’t had any problems tracking things and taking shots. The resolution on the EVF is sublime and previewing images through the OLED EVF is nothing but bliss.
There are issues with highlights being lost, but it’s no biggie for me.
Essentially what I see on the EVF is what I will nearly get on the final result and that is what matters to me.
I can understand if we were shooting on film, then yes the OVF would make a lot of sense. Alas this is not a film camera (rip Kodak).
There are pros and cons for EVF and OVF. Sony has done a pretty damn good job at the EVF.
Controls are slightly laggy, but it hasn’t stop me from taking the shots I want. Of all things, you get so used to it and over time, you don’t even realize that there is a lag.
I am no professional, but when I am out shooting, I roughly know what I want to stop down to or how fast I want the shutter to be. I usually don’t need to hunt for the right settings to take the shot I am after, so the slight latency of 0.2-0.25 seconds doesn’t bother me. But yes I agree it would be nice for Sony to fix this sht up.
Though I am no pro, I truly believe that every camera has their purpose. I am also a firm believer that the best camera is the camera you are holding. Most of the time, it’s the photographer that makes the difference in framing the shot, controlling the lighting and post processing the images.
To date the A77 offers a great set of features for its price point.
It doesn’t shoot in low light like the D3s…
It doesn’t have a full frame sensor like the 1Ds….
It doesn’t have the massive range of lenses like its competitors…
It does however have everything else and it does a fking great job at it.
voyager42
4 months ago |I agree about the A77… I have the a55 and bought the SAL 1680Z and SAL 70400G to use with it… Travelled around the world in 2011 and got great shots with these lenses… also bought the Sal 1118 wide angle which was perfect.
Upgraded to the A77 in November and added the SAL 2470Z and Minolta 50F14. I think I’m good now and the A77 is an awesome camera.
If I buy another lens it will probably be the SAL 85F14Z…
fongios
4 months ago |can u post a link of ur pics man
JonasM
4 months ago |Is it just me, or did the Engadget reviewer forget about the EVF entirely?
Matthew
4 months ago |He mentioned you could take the eyecup off…but yeah, he really didn’t mention anything about it all. Of course, since every single other review site has nothing but praise for the EVF, I think it’s safe to say he at least liked it a little bit.
Linh
4 months ago |Also safe to assume that he didn’t find anything negative to say about it
Sonyalphalab
4 months ago |I totally agree about the a77! Excellent camera that takes phenomenal photos, especially with zeiss glass!! http://sonyalphalab.com/product-review/sony-alpha-77-in-depth-hands-on-review-hd-video-samples-photos-and-more/
The 85mm f/1.4 is also a very good lens. I have yet to try the 135mm or the 100-400mm, but as soon as the new ff is released I will get atleast 1. Maybe bhphoto will let me borrow the 500mn f/4?? Lol
I’m honestly more excited about the Full Frame mirrorless. I remember one of the Sony exec saying the ff translucent was a serious challenge. Seems like a regular dslr is totally possible to me. I would rather Sony get it right rather than release a half assed translucent.
Jay