Sony NEX-7 review by Steve Huff (and 100 Euro price drop at Sony France!?!?)


Sony Nex-7 HD Video Samples – AZ State Fair 2011 (Steve Huff).

Steve Huff (Click here) posted his full NEX-7 review. It is a very long, detailed and personal view on the NEX-7. There is a lot to read, analyze and see. And I couldn’t agree more with Steve when he says: “all in all, this is a killer camera system and the NEX line has now matured into a camera that most of us have been asking for over the past 2-3 years. This will be a big one for Sony. Mark my words!“. The NEX-7 is indeed the hottest camera announced this year. Let’s hope the Thai flood will not delay the release for a very long time. George Boyd, a spokesman for Sony, told the BBC: “However, we are taking measures to move production to our third factory in Thailand which is operational and also to other sites“.

A couple of more NEX-7 related news:
Focus Numerique (Click here) posted a NEX-7 image gallery. New NEX-7 Photocomment poadcast (Click here). One more thing: For unkown reasons we noticed a huge price drop on the NEX-7 at Sony France (Click here). -100 Euro!!! A bit weird if you think that it is not even in Stock!

The NEX-7 can be preordered at [shopcountry 8454]. ALong that two amazing new NEX lenses, the 50mm f/1.8 at [shopcountry 8448] and the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 at [shopcountry 8450].

New Sony NEX-7 ISO tests (some video color banding too?).

I bet many of you already preordered the [shoplink 8454]NEX-7[/shoplink] (like I did) and you are certainly not happy to hear that you will have to wait a couple of months more before to get your hands on the camera. But there are many lucky reviewers out there having the NEX-7 for testing. You might ask them if they sell you the testing model? :)

Justin Nystrom posted that vimeo video you see on top (Click here to visit his site). And he says: “Not great art, but more of an equipment test. At a very cool event sponsored by Mike’s camera in Denver on October 15, I had about a half an hour to test out a prototype model [shoplink 8454]Sony NEX-7[/shoplink]. My impression is that this is an interesting little camera. All of this was shot in 24p mode because the event only had class 6 cards for sale. As you can see, the autofocus is a little slow. I used the [shoplink 8450]Zeiss 24/1.8[/shoplink] lens on this, no color correction, and this is exported out of FCP7. Sorry now that I didn’t wait to test the A77, but I cannot stand zoos. The color banding that appears in this showed up in one other clip as I panned across the sandy-brown cement and rocks. Ideas?

First we have the guys from Focus Numerique (Click here) that just posted a new NEX-7 noise test (JPG not RAW!). As you can see the [shoplink 8452]Sony NEX-5n[/shoplink] is much better at High ISO. At low ISO the NEX-7 does a pretty good job. And anyway, the reviewer said that “the sensor of the NEX-7 does wonders at 6400 ISO sensitivity” suggesting that for a camera with that resolution the NEX-7 actually does a decent job at high ISO!

There is a second short ISO test posted by the Chinese website Zol (Click here).

New NEX-7 image samples have been posted by DCresource and Steve Huff (Full review from Steve is coming soon).

Fashion photographer Nathan Lee Bush (found via Noisycamera) tested the NEX-7: “the NEX-7 is a revolutionary leap forward in the race to put compact interchangeable lens cameras in the hands of serious photographers. It is the first uncompromised alternative to enthusiast and semi-pro DSLRs whose price point it shares, and could conceivably be a first camera for serious enthusiasts and pros, rather than a second, carry-everywhere addition to their existing system“.

Editor’s note: Sony may will take the chance and use the 1-2 months production delay to fix some early “issues” of the NEX-7. So….please improve the JPEG engine and no banding issue on my NEX-7…ok? Thanks! :)

And here are the preorder links. As I told you yesterday, there are plenty of NEX-5n in Stock and the amazing Zeiss 24mm and Sony 50mm lenses will be soon in Stock!
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].

Full Sony NEX-5n Field Review at Luminous Landscape (NEX-7 will be produced elsewhere?)

[shoplink 8452][/shoplink]
So here we are with the only new Sony camera that is in Stock in every part of the world :) Out friends over at Luminous Landscape (Click here) posted a new [shoplink 8452]NEX-5n[/shoplink] review: “My bottom line observation is that until the NEX-7 ships, the NEX-5n has taken the prime spot in my gear bag. Big camera quality and features in something that fits in a coat pocket and that can take literally a thousand or more different lenses. What’s not to like?

And you know it will take a lot of time before the [shoplink 8454]NEX-7[/shoplink] will be in Stock. Sony is currently transferring the production from the submerged area in Thailand to another factory that usually produces other audio stuff. Here is the official press release from Sony: “Operations of our factory in Thailand have been temporarily suspended due to flooding, supply chain and transportation difficulties.  The flooding at the STT-A [Sony Technology Thailand – Ayutthaya ] factory, which manufactures Alpha / NEX camera bodies and interchangeable lenses, began on October 14th, and some equipment has been partially damaged.  We’re currently investigating the impact to overall supply chain and future product launch timing“.

So here are the links to the NEX-5n: [shoplink 8452]. As usual click on the shop names to check the availability and price of the camera. The viewfinder is also in Stock: [shopcountry 9110].

Sony NEX-5n reviews roundup

[shoplink 8452][/shoplink]
There are a couple of new [shoplink 8452]NEX-5n[/shoplink] news and reviews:

Outbackphoto (Click here) reviewed the NEX-5n: “The NEX-5N was a major surprise for us. Combined with the 18-200mm the NEX-5N is our close to ideal travel camera. We hope to be able to check the NEX-7 and see whether it would be an even better choice.”

Mike Kobal (Click here) tested the camera with the Canon 50mm f/1.8: “I have the Nex 7 on order, the only reason I am not getting the EVF for the 5N. I am very impressed with the sensor on the 5N, Sony has done a great job here and I can’t wait to get my Nex 7! Exciting times!

Thisstonybrigde (Click here) writes: “So the question has to be asked: could you travel the world and make exhibition quality work with a little camera like this which takes up next to no room? I certainly think so. For me the clip-on viewfinder has made all the difference.

The german website Photoscala (Click here) tested a couple of M-mount lenses on the NEX-5n.

Meanwhile it looks like the current Stocks of NEX-5n are shipping without the “Clicking” issue. And the new user reviews on Amzon US (Click here) are all extremely positive (all 5 star!). More user reviews are available at Amazon UK, Amazon DE and Amazon FR.

Preorder links: [shopcountry 8452].

 

A77 review at Photoclubalpha and firmware 1.03 ISO test (A77 shipping in US!).

Sony Alpha DSLT A65 TVCF (30″ Korea) from Sony Alpha on Vimeo.

Ther eis a new very detailed A77 review writen by David Kilpatrick at Photoclubalpha (Click here). It’s a must read article because it gives you a lot of info with very personal touch. He is certainly impressed by the A77 but still didn’t fall in love with the idea to use an electornic viewfinder instead of an optical viewfinder.

A reader sent me this Iso noise tests with the A77 (firmware 1.03) + Sony 35/1.8 (at 2.0) in 3200 iso: Click on it to see the pics on Picasa: Extra fine jpeg 3200 iso, RAW 3200 iso (no postprocessing), RAW 3200 iso (50+50 lightroom noise reduction) and Extra fine jpeg 3200 iso (with “multi frame noise reduction” enabled). The reader says: “I would say that mfnr feature works extremely well, very low noise and a lot of preserved details (just compare phone keyboards on each of them), wish they implemented it to RAW also (now only available for jpeg).

The french magazine “Chasseurs d’Images” N°338, writes about the A77: “le piqué est supérieur aux autres capteurs APS-C. C’est logique vu le gain en définition, mais cela méritait d’être vérifié!
La barre de piqué titille celle du Nikon D3X! Gain sur tirage 1600 iso A3 : l’addition des 24 Mpx et du faible niveau de bruit à 1600 iso donne des images très qualitatives. L’Alpha 77 (c’est vrai aussi pour le 65) vient chatouiller le Nikon D3X qui était jusqu’à maintenant le champion incontesté. Et il pulvérise tous les autres reflex dotés du capteur APS-C !!!

One more thing: Meanwhile quite many US SAR readers sent me emails to say that Sonystore US is now shipping the first batch of A77 cameras!

All new Sony cameras and lenses links:
A77 at [shopcountry 8461]
A65 at [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].

NEX-7 hands-on video at dpreview (Will there be a shipping delay because of the flood in Thailand?)

The video on top shows the NEX-7 in the hands of the Dpreview reviewer. But I also have one more ting to tell you. Things in Thailand are much worse than expected and I heard that there will be even longer delays in Sony camera shipments (and that includes the NEX-7). As you know also Nikon produces the camera in the same region and Thom Hogan (Click here) posted quite a terrible report about the consequences in Nikon factories. I ask my sources if they can please tell me if the NEX-7 shipment will be delayed or not. Thanks!

Meanwhile, these are the links to preorder the new Sony NEX cameras and lenses:
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].

Is the NEX-7 image quality better than the quality of the A77?

Imaging Resource (Click here) posted a full set of Sony NEX-7 studio samples. The cool thing is that finally you can compare the NEX-7 and A77 image quality: http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM.

An example: At 16000 ISO the NEX-7 image (Click here) looks sharper than the A77 (Click here). UPDATE: Both cameras used the same [shoplink 9605 ebay]Sigma 70mm F2.8 macro lens[/shoplink]!

And even at low 100 ISO the NEX-7 image (Click here) is a tack sharper than the A77 image (Click here).

I don’t know yet if the differences we see are here because of the absence of the semi transparent mirror on the NEX-7. One thing is sure, the NEX-7 really looks like an amazing perfomer for me!

Preorder the NEX-7 at [shopcountry 8454].
And the NEX-7 is still the only non-Canon and non-Nikon camera that is constantly under the Amazon top-20 (Click here to see the full ranking).
Get the A77 at [shopcountry 8461].

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All other new Sony cameras and lenses links:
A65 at [shopcountry 8459].
Sony NEX-7 [shopcountry 8454].
Sony NEX-5n [shopcountry 8452].
Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8450].
Sony 50mm f/1.8 [shopcountry 8448].
Sony 55-210mm [shopcountry 8444].
NEX-5n viewfinder [shopcountry 9110].