Review Summary: The high-end Sony NEX-7 is a compact system camera that offers enthusiasts more control over camera settings, as well as a built-in high-resolution electronic viewfinder. But that's not all they'll be enthused about, because the NEX-7 also has a 24.3-megapixel APS-C sensor and can shoot up to 10 frames per second; it can also shoot Full HD video (AVCHD 2.0).
Pros: 24.3-megapixel sensor; Small body; More controls for enthusiast shooters; Electronic viewfinder built-in.
Cons: No cons for a preview.
Price and Availability: The Sony NEX-7 compact system camera should be available in the US market from November 2011. Body-only pricing is set at approximately US$1,200, while a kit version including a special black variant of the Sony E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens will be priced at around US$1,350. The LA-EA2 Alpha mount adapter with phase-detection autofocus capability will cost about US$400, and will be available from November 2011.
| Basic Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Resolution: | 24.30 Megapixels |
| Kit Lens: | 3.00x zoom 18-55mm (27-83mm eq.) |
| Viewfinder: | LCD |
| LCD Size: | 3.0 inch |
| ISO: | 100-16000 |
| Shutter: | 30-1/4000 |
| Max Aperture: | 3.5 |
| Dimensions: | 4.7 x 2.6 x 1.7 in. (120 x 67 x 43 mm) |
| Weight: | 14.6 oz (415 g) |
| MSRP: | $1,350 |
| Availability: | 11/2011 |
| Manufacturer's page: | Sony Alpha NEX-7 |
Sony Alpha NEX-7 Preview
Sony NEX fans have been waiting for more controls to quickly adjust various exposure settings in a hurry, rather than dig into the menu, and I'm sure many had a wish list for this or that extra feature to make the existing NEX design just a little better. I say "just a little" because the satisfaction level with the existing NEX series is pretty high. But Sony took the NEX series to another level, adding not just more control, but also an OLED electronic viewfinder, a 24.3-megapixel sensor, and an impressively fast frame rate. The new combination of features exceeds what the average enthusiast digital SLR can do, and does it in a significantly smaller package.
Adding all these features required a slight size increase over other NEX designs, but not significantly so. It's a little taller, a little wider and a little thicker, but noticeably heavier than most other NEX cameras. Quoting the company's specs of 14.6 ounces (415g), that's heavier than the 9.5 ounce (269g) NEX-5N, also announced at the same time. When we were able to hold a prototype, the feeling was very solid and high quality.
From the front, the appearance is very similar to the NEX-5, but with a more sculpted grip and a slightly taller profile. The camera also uses lugs for D-rings, rather than the wide metal lugs found on all the other NEX cameras. Pictured just left of the shutter button is the new Navigation button, which cycles through the options available to the user through the Tri-Navi camera control system.
We're told the NEX-7 will include the same 18-55mm kit lens, but dressed in black to better match the body. The NEX-7 is the first to be fitted with a conventional Sony-proprietary hot shoe rather than the Smart Accessory Terminal found on other NEX cameras. The power switch has moved yet again, this time ringing the shutter button as it did on the NEX-3, but facing the front. This matches what a great many SLRs do, so it's by far the best power switch location on the NEX so far.
The XGA-resolution OLED electronic viewfinder peeks out from the upper left corner, a great location to avoid nose smudges on the LCD, at least for right-eye-dominant folks. The 3-inch LCD has 921,600 dots of resolution, and tilts up and down like all NEX cameras. A clever switch/button combo changes between AF/MF function and AE Lock, and then there's the usual NEX control cluster below that. The Record button takes up a better position than past designs, just atop the leather-like thumb grip.
It's the two dials nestled into the camera's top deck where the NEX-7's true value emerges for the enthusiast shooter. Used in combination with the NEX-7's rear dial and the front Navigation button, the three form a unique camera control system driven by visuals on the LCD, whose changes you can see applied to the scene in real time.
Enthusiast's Prayers Answered: The Sony NEX-7 "Tri-Navi" Interface
As wildly successful as the NEX-5 was, it's no secret that many enthusiast users were frustrated by its "beginner-friendly" user interface. With the NEX-7 aimed squarely at the enthusiast crowd, Sony has gone all out to develop an entirely new user interface better matched to enthusiast's desires. Calling the result the "Tri-Navi" interface, we think they've done a pretty good job.
At the core of the NEX-5's interface problems was the simple paucity of buttons. Feeling that too many buttons would confuse the novices and digicam-upgraders the NEX-3 and NEX-5 were aimed at, Sony gave users only three to control the camera with. That was probably fine for the point & shoot set, but it made accessing the cameras' many capabilities a teeth-gnashing, thumb-reddening exercise. (Everyone at IR had sore thumbs the day after the NEX-5 arrived, from incessant fiddling with the single control wheel. <grin>) With the NEX-7, Sony has decisively addressed this problem, adding two more control dials on top of the camera and extra button and lever on the rear panel.
At the heart of the Tri-Navi interface are three control dials; the two new ones mounted edge-on at the camera's top, plus the rear dial familiar from earlier NEX models. Together they form a very convenient and flexible user interface that we can't wait to get our hands on for some live shooting. (The sample of the NEX-7 we had to work with was still very early in its firmware development, so we couldn't do any real shooting with it yet.)
 Tri-Navi Interface. The two dials on the top right of the camera (seen here edge-on) and the familiar control dial on the rear panel form the heart of the new "Tri-Navi" user interface. Shown here in Aperture Priority mode, the two top dials control aperture and exposure compensation (Av and Ev), while the rear dial manages ISO and the center button switches between exposure modes. (Click on the image for a larger version.) |
By default, the two top dials control exposure; aperture, shutter speed, or exposure compensation, depending on the exposure mode you're working in. You can cycle through a total of five different sets of control parameters, though, simply by pressing the Navigation/Function button located on the camera's top front panel, just to the right of the shutter button.
 Many Options. You can quickly choose between five different sets of controls for the Tri-Navi interface. In the shot above, the DRO/HDR set has been chosen, with the top left dial controlling HDR exposure range, the top right dial exposure compensation, while the rear dial selects the type of tonal adjustment desired (DRO, HDR, or off). |
As noted, you can cycle through five different sets of options for the Tri-Navi controls. Exposure settings are always at the top of the list, but the others are programmable. The diagram below shows the defaults for the other four option sets.
 Option Round Robin. This illustration (courtesy Sony US, from their NDA briefing deck) shows the default sequence of options, accessed by successive presses of the Navigation/Function button. This particular shot shows the D-Range settings seen in the photo above, in their place in the rotation. You can choose from a total of six options, to fit into the four non-exposure "slots" in the rotation. (Click the picture to see the larger version of this image; it just didn't crunch down to 500 pixels wide all that well.) |
Sony's done a great job of making the Tri-Navi interface configurable. You can select from a total of six different options for each "slot" in the round-robin of choices accessed via the Navigation button, and one available option is "none." If you select None for one or more of the option slots, it shortens the selection cycle accordingly. For instance, if you didn't often use the D-Range or Creative Style settings, you could eliminate them from the rotation, so you'd only have three options to cycle through to get to any one of them. This may seem like a small point, but it impressed us with the thought that went into the interface design. Sometimes less is more, and recognizing this speaks to a deeper understanding of how people actually shoot than we're often see expressed in many product designs.
The default assignments for the three Tri-Navi dials change depending on the shooting mode you're in. Here's a table listing assignments for each dial in each major camera mode:
| Sony NEX-7 Default Tri-Navi Dial Assignments | |||
Shooting Mode | Left Dial | Right Dial | Rear Dial |
| iAuto | No Function | No Function | No Function |
| Program Auto | Program Shift | Exposure Compensation | ISO |
| Aperture Priority | Aperture Value | Exposure Compensation | ISO |
| Shutter Priority | Shutter Speed | Exposure Compensation | ISO |
| Manual | Shutter Speed | Aperture Value | ISO |
| 3D Sweep Panorama | Right/Left direction | Exposure Compensation | ? (prototype bug) |
| 2D Sweep Panorama | Right/Left-Up/Down direction | Exposure Compensation | ? (prototype bug) |
| Anti Motion Blur | No Function | Exposure Compensation | No Function |
Here are the dial assignments for each of the optional settings groups:
| Sony NEX-7 Optional Tri-Navi Dial Assignments | |||
Settings Group | Left Dial | Right Dial | Rear Dial |
| Focus Settings | Focus Area Select | Left/Right focus position | Up/Down focus position |
| White Balance | White Balance Preset | A/B color adjust | G/M color adjust |
| D-Range (DRO) | Level (1-5) | Exposure Compensation | DRO Off/DRO/HDR |
| D-Range (HDR) | EV Spread | Exposure Compensation | DRO Off/DRO/HDR |
| Creative Style | Creative Style Selection | Amount (+/-3) of parameter selected by rear dial | Sharpness, Saturation, Contrast |
| Picture Effects | No Function | Select among options for current Picture Effect | Choose Picture Effect (Miniature, Partial Color, etc.) |
| Custom | (see below) | (see below) | (see below) |
In Custom mode, you can assign any of 9 functions plus "Not Set" to any of the three dials. The only restriction is that you can't assign the same function to more than one dial. The nine functions that can be assigned to the control dials via the Custom option are:
- Exposure Compensation
- Autofocus Mode
- ISO
- Metering Mode (pattern)
- White balance preset (Auto, Daylight, etc.)
- DRO/Auto HDR mode (Off/DRO/HDR, but also Off/ DRO Level 1-5, Auto HDR/ HDR EV spread 1-6)
- Creative Style preset
- Picture Effect
- Quality (JPEG Fine/JPEG Standard/RAW/JPEG+RAW)
- "Not Set (in case you don't want to assign any function to that dial)
Bottom line, the NEX-7's new Tri-Navi interface offers more flexibility and configurability than anything we've seen to date on a Compact System Camera.
Sony NEX-7 Technical Info
by Mike Tomkins and Dave Etchells
Sensor and processor. The Sony NEX-7 features an impressively high-resolution 24.3 megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS image sensor, the same as that featured in the company's flagship SLT-series camera, the simultaneously-announced Alpha SLT-A77. This new imager is coupled to the latest version of Sony's proprietary Bionz image processing engine. some 24.7 megapixels, and the sensor's dimensions are 23.5 x 15.6mm, yielding a 1.5x focal length crop when compared with 35mm lenses. The NEX-7's sensor has a standard RGB Bayer color filter.
With a 3:2 aspect ratio, the NEX-7 can provide maximum image dimensions of 6,000 x 4,000 pixels at full resolution. Two further 3:2 aspect ratio resolutions are available: 4,240 x 2,832 pixels, or 3,008 x 2,000 pixels. The NEX-7 also provides a choice of three 16:9 aspect ratio shooting modes, each of which has the same pixel width as its 3:2 aspect counterpart, but with heights of 3,376, 2,400 or 1,688 pixels respectively.
The Sony NEX-7 offers a wide sensitivity range of ISO 100 to 16,000 equivalents, and includes an Auto ISO function. High ISO noise reduction cannot be disabled altogether, but provides three adjustable operating strengths: High, Normal, or Low.
Optics. Like all of the company's NEX-series cameras, the NEX-7 natively accepts only Sony E-mount lenses, although it can also accept an unusually wide range of lenses via mount adapters provided by Sony and third parties. As with its siblings in the NEX-series, the NEX-7 doesn't provide in-body image stabilization, and instead relies on optical image stabilization in the lens, if available.
Three Sony E-mount lenses are already shipping in the US market: a 16mm f/2.8 prime, an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 stabilized zoom (available in a kit with the NEX-5N body), and an 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 stabilized zoom. Next to arrive should be the 30mm f/3.5 macro prime lens, which is currently slated to begin shipping from October 2011, just a few weeks after the NEX-5N goes on sale. Further lens models arriving later this year should see the lineup swell to seven models, including a Sony 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 stabilized zoom in October, a Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 prime in December, and a Sony 50mm f/1.8 stabilized prime in December. The company's roadmap further calls for a Sony G-branded standard zoom, a wide angle zoom, and a mid-telephoto prime during 2012.
As well as Sony's own Alpha-mount SLR lenses (and the Minolta / Konica-Minolta Alpha-mount lenses which predate Sony's purchase of Konica-Minolta's SLR business), the NEX-7 can also be adapted to shoot with Alpa, C-mount, Canon EF-, EF-S, and FD, Contax G, Contarex, Contax / Yashica, Exakta, Fujica X, Hasselblad Xpan, Leica M, M39, or R-mount, M42 mount, Micro Four Thirds, Minolta A or SR-mount, Nikon F-mount, Olympus OM or PEN F, Pentax K-mount, Rollei, or T2-mount lenses. An impressive list indeed, although, it should be noted that each adapter will have differing limitations, and the majority will be manual-focus only.
Another item announced alongside the NEX-7 makes the NEX-series unique among mirrorless cameras in providing support for phase detection autofocus. The LA-EA2 adapter will provide phase detection autofocusing with tracking, predictive control, and AF micro adjustment for all AF-capable Alpha-mount lenses, but cannot be used with a teleconverter. Slated to arrive in the US in November, the Sony LA-EA2 mount adapter will be priced at around US$400.
Lens correction. When shooting in JPEG mode, the Sony NEX-7 includes the ability to automatically correct lens shading (vignetting), lateral chromatic aberration, and distortion in-camera, as images are captured. We don't currently have any information as to which specific lens models are supported for this feature.
Focusing. Of course, when you're not using the LA-EA2 mount adapter, the Sony NEX-7 is limited to contrast detection autofocusing, just like any other compact system camera would be. Sony says that it has implemented a new autofocus algorithm that improves focusing performance and speed. The NEX-7's AF system offers 25-point autofocusing, and has a working range of EV 0-20 at ISO 100 equivalent, with an f/2.8 lens. As well as the 25-point mode, the NEX-7's autofocus system can be configured to operate either with a single point at the center of the image frame, or a flexible point that can be moved around the frame (within an 11 x 17 grid) to focus on a specific off-center subject. The NEX-7 provides both single-servo and continuous-servo autofocus operation. A built-in LED autofocus illuminator helps the NEX-7 to achieve a focus lock on nearby subjects in low ambient lighting conditions. Working range for this AF assist lamp varies depending on the specific lens in use, but with the 18-55mm kit lens, has a working range of 1.6 - 9.8 feet (0.5 - 3.0 m).
As you'd expect, it's also possible to focus manually with the Sony NEX-7, either after an autofocus operation has been performed (Direct Manual Focus, in Sony parlance), or without any prior autofocus operation. When focusing manually, Sony offers two Focus Magnifier zoom levels to aid in determining the precise point of focus, either 5.9x or 11.7x. Also included is the "focus peaking" display which was introduced in the NEX-C3. This makes it easier to identify the point of focus by highlighting the areas of strongest image contrast. When enabled, three highlight colors are available (white, red, or yellow), and the peaking function can operate at one of three sensitivity levels (high, mid, or low.)
Performance. The NEX-7 offers significantly improved performance over the NEX-5 in a couple of key areas. Sony claims prefocused shutter release lag of just 0.02 seconds, which it says is not only five times faster than that of the NEX-5, but the fastest of any interchangeable lens camera.
Burst shooting is equally swift, with a maximum rate of ten frames per second (manufacturer spec) possible in the Speed Priority Continuous burst mode, which locks focus and exposure from the first frame. Burst depth in this mode is rated by Sony as 18 fine or 17 standard JPEG frames, 13 raw frames, or 11 raw+JPEG frames.
Dust reduction. As with the NEX-5 before it, the Sony NEX-7 includes a two-pronged dust reduction strategy, with a charge protection coating on its low-pass filter that aims to prevent dust adhering in the first place, and the ability to vibrate the filter to shake free any stubborn particles that manage to adhere despite the coating. Sony describes the latter system as being new, although it hasn't detailed precisely what changes have been made. (We do note that it is now using the term "ultrasonic vibration" in its marketing materials for the NEX-7, however, suggesting that it may perhaps have increased the vibration frequency.)
The NEX-7's dust reduction system operates when the camera is switched off, which helps to reduce the startup time, while not relying entirely on the user remembering to manually trigger a dust reduction cycle. It is, however, possible to perform a cycle manually through the menu, if desired.
Sony NEX-7 OLED Viewfinder. A major feature of the NEX-7 is its OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) electronic viewfinder. In fact, this is the first rangefinder-style camera that we're aware of anywhere near its size that has a fully electronic viewfinder tucked up in the corner of the body with 'nary a bulge or dimple to mark its presence. Sony tells us that the significantly smaller size of the OLED viewfinder module is what let them shoehorn an EVF into the NEX-7 while still maintaining its very svelte lines.
For old-school types like ourselves, the charm of putting a compact, sleek rangefinder camera up to your eye is a pleasure in itself; the fact that the view through the eyepiece is so crisp, detailed and accurate is icing on the cake. You don't have to be an old-timer to appreciate this, though; we expect that the Sony NEX-7 will find a lot of very happy users among the new-school crowd as well.
Long time IR readers will know that we've never been big fans of electronic viewfinders (EVFs). Thus far the tonal range, clarity, brightness, resolution, and update lag/refresh rates of EVFs have generally made them poor substitutes for the tried and true optical versions.
As technology continues to advance, though, many limitations of earlier EVFs are being addressed, and the OLED technology used in the "TruFinder" found in these latest Alpha and NEX models makes another large step in the right direction.
The sole sample of the NEX-7 we saw was a very early unit; physically complete, but with barely-functional firmware not yet set up to take full advantage of the TruFinder's capabilities. We had ample opportunity to sample the wonders of the TruFinder on the eval samples we had of the Sony A77 and A65, though – and were very impressed with what we saw.
There's a lot more to the story of the new OLED TruFinders than would fit here, so check out our detailed report on the A77's viewfinder in that model's review. A few quick notes are clearly in order here, though, as the viewfinder will be such a large part of shooting with the NEX-7 experience, and our time with the A77 yielded valuable experience.
Rich Information. This is actually a shot through the eyepiece of the Sony A77's viewfinder, not that of the NEX-7. (Which wasn't functional enough yet on the early prototype we saw.) One thing we found impressive was how much information could be displayed and easily read, without the display feeling cluttered.
Big, Sharp, Accurate
The first thing that strikes you about the TruFinder is how big it is. If you're used to shooting with normal subframe SLRs, you're in for a pleasant surprise the first time you look through the one. It's really more a size you'd expect to see on a high-end full-frame SLR selling for thousands of dollars more. It's also incredibly sharp; the first EVF we've seen with XGA (1,024 x 768) resolution; a staggering 2.4 million RGB dots. It also shows 100% of the frame area that the camera will capture; another feature more commonly associated with very high-end professional cameras.
Other Improvements, a couple of gripes
One of our biggest EVF gripes has been poor handling of highlight detail: It's often impossible to see what's going on with sky detail if you're shooting a landscape. The TruFinder has some of the best highlight handling we've seen to date, but unfortunately gets into trouble at the other end of the tonal scale, with a tendency to plug dark areas of the image badly. Also, even at maximum brightness, the TruFinder isn't nearly as bright as a sunny day, so we found that our eyes sometimes took a few moments to adapt when we first looked through it when the surroundings were very bright.
We did feel that the TruFinder's update lag and refresh rate were considerably better than we saw on last year's Alpha A33 and A55 models, although it's still not quite up to the zero millisecond lag provided by an optical finder.
Finally, of course there are the things no optical viewfinder can do: For one, provide a true preview of the shot you're about to capture (including white balance and exposure), and for another offer an incredibly rich information display.
Bottom line, while still like the visual experience of looking through an optical viewfinder, Sony's new TruFinder addresses a number of traditional EVF issues, and brings such a host of other benefits that we'd be happy to make the optical/EVF switch with it.
As noted, the foregoing is only a brief discussion of all the pros and cons of Sony's new OLED TruFinder; check out ourA77 viewfinder page for all the details.
Display. On the rear panel of the Sony NEX-7 is an articulated TFT LCD panel. Like that of its predecessor, the NEX-7's panel can be tilted approximately 80 degrees upwards, for waist-level or low-to-the-ground shooting, or around 45 degrees downwards for shooting over a crowd. The panel's basic specifications are also unchanged, with a three-inch diagonal, 16:9 aspect ratio, total resolution of 307,200 pixels (921,600 dots), and Sony's TruBlack anti-glare design. There's also still an automatic brightness control with five-step manual override, plus a Sunny Weather mode which increases brightness still further for better visibility under bright ambient lighting.
As well as its built-in LCD panel, the Sony NEX-7 is compatible with the company's optional CLM-V55 LCD panel accessory, a five-inch, 800 x 480 pixel display that attaches via the HDMI port, and includes a detachable hood to improve daylight visibility.
Exposure. The Sony NEX-7 offers a choice of nine basic operating modes, unchanged from the NEX-5: Intelligent Auto (iAuto), Programmed AE, Aperture-priority AE, Shutter-priority AE, Manual, Sweep Panorama, 3D Sweep Panorama, Anti Motion Blur, and Scene Selection. This last will automatically set the camera up for one of eight common scene types, as selected by the photographer. Available scene modes are Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports Action, Sunset, Night Portrait, Night View, and Hand-held Twilight.
As in Sony's recent cameras, the Hand-held Twilight and Anti Motion Blur modes are similar in that they capture six sequential frames with higher sensitivity / shutter speeds to prevent blurring, and then combines them in-camera to yield a single frame with reduced noise levels. They differ from each other in that Hand-held Twilight mode will generally opt for lower (but still hand-holdable) shutter speeds than in Anti-Motion Blur mode. The Sweep Panorama modes each capture a burst of images for as long as the shutter button is held down, then automatically stitch them into a panorama. (The 3D mode generates a single image with separate left-eye and right-eye views of the scene, as the subject passes across the field of view).
As with all compact system cameras, the NEX-7's performs exposure metering using its image sensor. The metering system in the NEX-7 assesses the metered scene as 1,200 separate zones, and has a working range of EV 0 - 20 at ISO 100 equivalent, with an f/2.8 lens attached. Available metering modes include Multi-segment, Center-weighted, and Spot. As well as locking the metered exposure along with the focus when using multi-segment metering, there's also a dedicated Auto Exposure Lock button. Exposure compensation is available within a range of 5.0 EV on either side of the metered exposure, in 0.3 EV steps, and the NEX-7 can also perform three-frame bracketed exposures with a step size of either 0.3 or 0.7 EV.
The Sony NEX-7 offers a generous selection of ten white balance modes, including Auto, six presets (Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, and Flash), a direct color temperature setting (2,500 to 9,900 Kelvin), a color filter setting (15-steps of green to magenta bias, and 15-steps of blue to amber bias), plus a Custom white balance mode. There's also a white balance fine adjustment function available.
Available drive modes include Single-shot, Continuous, Speed Priority Continuous, Self-timer (with a delay of two or ten seconds), Continuous Self-timer (shoots three or five exposures, after a ten second delay), Bracketing, and Remote Commander (for use with the optional RMT-DSLR1 infrared remote control unit).
Shutter speeds from 1/4,000 to 30 seconds are possible, and the NEX-7 also offers a bulb shutter function that will hold the shutter open for as long as the shutter button is depressed. Flash sync is at 1/160 second. An optional long-exposure noise reduction function is available for exposures shot with shutter speeds longer than 1 second.
The NEX-7 focal-plane shutter has the same exposure specs as for the earlier NEX-5, but the NEX-7 has obviously been goosed up some to get its amazing 10 frames per second at full 24-megapixel resolution.
The most noticeable change in the NEX-7's exposure system is its use of an "electronic first curtain." This improves performance while reducing noise and vibration, and overall is a very welcome addition.
Sony NEX-7 Electronic First Curtain: Fast and quiet. A key technology in all Sony's August 2011 Alpha and NEX announcements is the "electronic first curtain" exposure capability. This greatly speeds the shutter release on live-view cameras, and significantly reduces shutter-generated vibration as well. A little explanation is perhaps in order.
In a conventional SLR, the focal-plane shutter is composed of two leaves or "curtains" that work together to control the exposure time. Think of your camera's sensor as a window with two window shades; one rolling up from the bottom, the other rolling down from the top. The first curtain starts the exposure by dropping down to uncover the sensor. The second curtain ends the exposure by dropping down to cover it again. After each exposure, the shutter curtains are returned to their original positions in preparation for the next shot. Very short exposures are made by having the two curtains move together, moving a small slit across the focal plane.
To help you visualize, here are a couple of animations showing the action described above, one for a longer exposure, the other for a short one; once the graphic loads, click the button to see the shutter animation. (These animations are from Photocourse.com; check out their excellent Textbook of Digital Photography.)
In a live-view camera, the shutter curtains are initially open, so light can reach the sensor to create the live viewfinder display. In live view mode with a conventional mechanical shutter, the bottom curtain has to be raised first, before the exposure can begin. This of course takes time, increasing the shutter lag before the exposure can begin. The closing of the first curtain can also introduce additional vibration, affecting image sharpness at some shutter speeds. (See our detailed discussion of the blur anomaly in the original Olympus E-P1 for an example. The same issue exists to a greater or lesser degree in most mirrorless cameras, though it's all but invisible in some.)
What's new in this latest crop of Sony cameras is that the "first curtain" function is performed electronically. Rather than having to raise the shutter curtain before the exposure, the NEX-7, NEX-5N, A65, and A77 all begin the exposure electronically, manipulating voltage levels on the sensor array to enable light-gathering in a progressive wave, sweeping down the sensor's surface.
The most noticeable result of this is that shutter lag in live view mode is very brief: Sony claims only 20 milliseconds(0.02 second), a number closely matching the 22 milliseconds we measured electro-optically in our lab on the NEX-5N, which uses the same shutter mechanism. (We'll obviously test the NEX-7 itself once production samples are available.) The reduced curtain movement also reduces shutter-induced camera vibration, and makes for a much quieter shutter release as well: All Sony's new cameras with this shutter setup are unusually quiet in operation.
This isn't the first time we've seen an electronic first-curtain on an APS-C sensor: The Canon 40D SLR introduced the concept back in August of 2007, and as far as we know, Canon live-view-capable SLRs still employ the technology. There's a significant difference in what we call prefocused release lag, though, with Canon's SLRs in Live View mode measuring in the range of 80-90ms, vs the astonishing 20ms for the NEX-5N and NEX-7. A 20ms release time is actually quite a bit faster than even very high-end professional SLRs can manage. (The Nikon D3s is one of the very fastest, with a release lag of 43ms, measured on the same test equipment we used for the NEX-5N.)
Tilt level. The Sony NEX-7 includes a dual-axis level gauge, which helps ensure level horizons and prevent converging verticals in photos. The gauge is displayed in a style reminiscent of an aircraft attitude indicator, but with a separation of the roll and pitch indicators. When the camera is perfectly level, the pitch indicators and markings at the end of the roll indicator are illuminated in green.
Face detection. Even among SLRs, face detection during live view is a fairly common feature these days, and for compact system cameras its pretty much standard. The Sony NEX-7 goes a step further, though, in offering the ability to register the faces of eight specific individuals, who will then be automatically recognized and prioritized over other faces when determining focus, exposure, and flash output, as well as during post-exposure image processing. The NEX-7 is capable of simultaneously detecting and accounting for up to eight faces in any given scene, and also includes a Smile Shutter function with three-step sensitivity, which will automatically capture an image when your subject is smiling. Of course, face detection can be disabled, should you wish.
Flash. The Sony NEX-7 includes an auto-popup flash strobe, a first for a NEX-series camera. The guide number is 6 meters at ISO 100, and coverage is 18mm, with a recycle time of around four seconds. In another first for a NEX-series camera, the NEX-7 also includes Sony's proprietary flash hot shoe, as seen on its Alpha SLRs (as well as on Minolta and Konica Minolta models manufactured before Sony acquired their DSLR business). The addition of the full-sized hot shoe and popup flash means that the NEX-7 doesn't include Sony's Smart Accessory Terminal, seen on other recent NEX-series models, and hence isn't compatible with accessories dependent upon this. Although the NEX-7 doesn't include a built-in sync terminal, Sony is offering an FA-ST1 sync terminal adapter which mounts on the camera's hot shoe, allowing connection to studio strobes.
The NEX-7 uses pre-flash TTL metering, and offers +/- 3.0 EV of flash exposure compensation, in 0.3 EV steps. Available flash modes include Flash Off, Auto Flash, Fill Flash, Slow Sync, and Rear Sync, and an optional red-eye reduction function is available. Some external strobes including the HVL-F36AM, HVL-F42AM, HVL-F56AM, and HVL-F58AM support high-speed sync and wireless shooting.
Creative. The Sony NEX-7 includes quite a range of creative controls to help photographers get the look they're after, with a minimum of time spent in the digital darkroom. A selection of eleven Picture Effect modes are available, five of them new since the NEX-5 (with one mode having been removed.) The new modes include Soft High-key (which replaces the NEX-5's High-key mode), plus Soft Focus, HDR Painting, Rich-tone Monochrome, and Miniature. The Posterization (color or black & white), Pop Color, Retro Photo, Partial Color (red, green, blue , or yellow), High Contrast Mono, and Toy Camera are all held over from the earlier camera.
In addition, the NEX-7 provides an enlarged selection of Creative Style choices as compared to the NEX-5, each of which offers +/- three-step control over contrast, saturation, and sharpness. New Creative Style modes include Neutral, Clear, Deep, Light, Night Scene, Autumn Leaves, and Sepia, in addition to the existing Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, and Black & White modes from the NEX-5.
A Dynamic Range Optimizer function aims to open up the shadows while maintaining highlight detail, and can be left under automatic control, or set to one of five preset levels. There are also several multi-shot modes, including Hand-held Twilight and Anti Motion Blur (both of which allows faster shutter speeds with reduced image noise), and an Auto HDR mode. This last creates a single high dynamic range image from three sequential shots, whose exposure level varies anywhere from 1 - 6 EV in 1 EV steps, controlled automatically or manually.
The NEX-7 also offers an in-camera Sweep Panorama function, which captures and stitches together multiple images as you sweep your lens across a panoramic scene. When set to Wide mode, Sweep Panorama can create a horizontal scene with a resolution of 12,416 x 1,856 pixels, or a vertical scene with a resolution of 2,160 x 5,536 pixels. In standard mode, the horizontal dimensions are 8,192 x 1,856 pixels, while vertical panoramas occupy 2,160 x 3,872 pixels.
3D Imaging. In addition to the standard Sweep Panorama function, the NEX-7 includes a 3D Sweep Panorama mode, which was added to the earlier NEX-5 model via a post-launch firmware update. Since the NEX-7 only has objective lens, the stereo effect is created using some clever mathematics to reconstruct a 3D image as the subject passes across the lens' field of view. The result is saved as a single multi-picture object file that contains two separate JPEG images, one for each eye, allowing it to be viewed on 3D-capable Sony Bravia displays In Wide mode, 3D Sweep Panoramas occupy 7,152 x 1,080 pixels, while in Standard mode the resolution is 4,912 x 1,080 pixels. There's also a 16:9 mode, which saves a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel panorama suitable for full-screen HDTV viewing.
Video. The Sony NEX-7 also offers Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixel) video capture capabilities, and according to Sony, is the world's first interchangeable-lens camera (along with other Sony models simultaneously announced) able to record Full HD off the sensor at 60 frames per second. (We've seen cameras previously which recorded 60 interlaced fields per second at Full HD resolution, but these either clocked the data off the sensor at 30 frames per second and then split each frame across two interlaced fields, or they clocked the data at 60 frames per second but discarded alternating fields, to be compliant with the original AVCHD 1080 60i specification.)
The NEX-7's Full HD video is recorded using AVCHD Version 2.0 compression, with Dolby Digital (AC-3) audio, and a wide range of progressive-scan and interlaced frame rates are available. When set to NTSC mode, the available progressive-scan rate are 60 fps (28Mbps) or 24 fps (24 Mbps or 17 Mbps), and you can also opt for an interlaced 60 fps (24 Mbps or 17 Mbps). If you switch to PAL mode, the options are the same, except that the 60 fps rates are replaced by 50 fps equivalents, and the 24 fps rates by 25 fps ones.
It's also possible to record at high-def resolution of 1,440 x 1,080 pixels (12 Mbps), or a standard-definition VGA (640 x 480 pixel, 3Mbps) resolution. These are all available at 30 fps in NTSC mode, or 25 fps in PAL mode, and are captured using MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) compression with MPEG-4 AAC-LC audio. Note that no 720p recording mode is available on the NEX-7.
Unlike many competing cameras, the Sony NEX-7 provides full control over movie exposure, with a choice of Program, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, or fully Manual recording. It also allows Tracking autofocus, as well as use of Creative Style and some Picture Effect modes during movie capture. Recording is started and stopped with a dedicated Movie button on the NEX-7's rear panel, and audio is captured by default with a built-in stereo microphone. There's also an external stereo microphone jack, compatible with microphones including Sony's own ECM-CG50 Shotgun Mic and ECM-ALST1 Stereo Mic. A built-in monaural speaker caters to movie playback, and has an eight-step adjustable volume setting.
Playback. To let you immediately judge composition, exposure, and the like, the Sony NEX-7 provides an optional Auto Review function that can display images on-screen for two, five, or ten seconds immediately post capture. After capture, Playback mode lets you review single images, with optional shooting information, RGB histogram, or blinking highlight/shadow warning. In addition, images can be enlarged up to 16.7x to confirm fine details. Two index views are available, showing either six or twelve frames at once.
Connectivity. The Sony NEX-7 includes a USB 2.0 High Speed data connection, allowing for transfer of images and movies to a personal computer. Two operating modes are available for the USB connection, either USB Mass Storage Class, or Microsoft's Media Transfer Protocol. Catering for high-definition video output, the NEX-7 also provides a Type-C Mini HDMI connection, with support for Bravia Sync, Sony's brand name for the Consumer Electronics Control standard. This allows certain playback functions such as switching between images to be performed using the attached display's remote control unit. There's no standard-definition video output on the NEX-7, though, so photographers who've yet to switch to a high-def display will need a third-party device with which to view images on a standard TV.
Although the NEX-7 doesn't have a dedicated power input, it can accept external power via the AC-PW20 AC adaptor kit. This includes a dummy battery which feeds power to the camera from the AC adaptor, with a small flap in the battery compartment door providing ingress for the dummy battery cable. With the exception of the aforementioned flash hot shoe, and jack for an external stereo microphone, there is no other external connectivity on the NEX-7.
Storage. As well as Sony's proprietary Memory Stick PRO Duo and Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo flash cards, the NEX-7 can also write images and movies to Secure Digital cards, including the higher-capacity SDHC and SDXC types. We don't currently have information regarding support for Eye-Fi's WiFi-capable SD cards, nor for high-speed UHS-I compliant cards. 2D images can be saved either in Sony ARW 2.3 raw format, or as standard JPEG files (DCF Ver. 2.0, Exif Ver. 2.3, MPF Baseline compliant). 3D images are saved as Multi Picture Object files (MPF Extended compliant).
Battery. The Sony NEX-7 draws power from a proprietary NP-FW50 lithium-ion battery pack, which is rated by Sony for 430 shots to CIPA testing standards when using the LCD display, an improvement of 30% over the battery life of the previous NEX-5 model. When using the built-in electronic viewfinder, rated battery life falls to 350 shots.
Sony NEX-7 Conclusion (for now)
We obviously can't conclude a whole lot from a camera that we've only seen in barely-functional prototype form, but what we've seen looks tremendously impressive. We do have a good idea of what the NEX-7's image quality will be like,d though, because it uses the same 24.3 megapixel sensor and advanced Bionz processor that we've already shot a fair number of test images with in the A77. Sony claims that the A77's image quality "approaches that of full-frame cameras", and we found that indeed to be the case when we compared image samples against those from Sony's earlier A900 full-frame SLR. That same level of imaging prowess in the NEX-7's super-compact body can't help but be a huge hit.
As if that weren't enough, there's also the NEX-7's very nice eyelevel viewfinder, flash hot shoe, greatly expanded movie recording capabilities, and a dramatically enhanced user interface. The NEX-5 was last year's runaway best-seller; it looks to us like the NEX-7 is destined for the same this year. If Sony can hit their retail-availability date of sometime in November (and can produce enough quantity to meet demand), we think there'll be a lot of NEX-7s under Christmas trees this year. It's clearly one of the most exciting camera announcements of 2011; stay tuned and we'll bring you our usual in-depth test analysis as soon as production samples are available.
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