Sony NEX-7 review

We were bowled over by Sony’s mid-price compact system camera, the Sony NEX-5N, so we couldn’t wait to get our hands on the flagship NEX-7.

It’s a seriously handsome camera, with bold, business-like contours constructed from magnesium alloy. The handgrip has a rubber texture both front and back, and it feels extremely satisfying and comfortable to hold. It’s a little taller than the 5N, which gives space for an electronic viewfinder, a hotshoe, an integrated pop-up flash and a pair of command dials. Inside, there’s the 24-megapixel sensor that we’ve seen before in the Sony Alpha A77. Whereas that camera’s translucent mirror limits the amount of light reaching the sensor, the mirrorless NEX-7 has no such issues.

The viewfinder is taken from the A77 too. At 2.4 megapixels it’s bigger and sharper than any other electronic viewfinder we’ve seen – and bigger than similarly priced SLRs’ optical viewfinders too. The hotshoe is not the standard design but it’s the same type that’s used on Sony Alpha SLRs. That means there are plenty of flashguns available, as well as adapters to convert it into a standard hotshoe or a PC terminal.

Having a total of three rotary controls – two on top and a third on the back – gives simultaneous, direct access to the three exposure settings. The ISO speed is set via the rear wheel, with the two top-mounted controls assigned to program shift, exposure compensation, shutter speed or aperture, depending on the selected mode. There’s a button for manual/auto focus or exposure lock, depending on the position of an accompanying switch. Another button, located beside the shutter release, cycles through autofocus, white balance, dynamic range, HDR and Creative Style options, with adjustments made via the three dials. These options can be customised to include JPEG and raw settings, metering mode and creative effects. The function of various buttons on the back of the camera can be customised, too.

These extensive customisation options mean barely any controls are labelled, so it took us longer than usual to get used to these controls. After a few days’ use it started to become very quick, though. Still, the NEX-7 really should have a proper mode dial. Pressing a button assigns the rear wheel to this task but it isn’t as quick or as intuitive as a dedicated, labelled dial. We’re also surprised to find that the 3in articulated screen isn’t touch-sensitive. Touchscreen operation on the NEX-5N could be better implemented but it’s extremely useful for moving the autofocus point.

The remaining controls and menu system are taken wholesale from the NEX-5N. The menu system is a little cumbersome, but once we’d configured the various customisable options to our liking we didn’t have much cause to visit it. Sony’s usual range of sophisticated shooting modes are included, with 3D panoramas, automatic HDR capture and some attractive creative effects.

Performance is generally excellent. We measured a shade over half a second between shots in normal use, and 1.8 seconds with the flash at full power. The 10fps burst mode lasted for around 15 frames before slowing to the speed of the card. The huge resolution meant this slowdown was sharp, though – testing with a Panasonic UHS-1 SDHC card, we achieved 1.7fps for JPEGs and 0.7fps for RAW after the initial 10fps burst. An alternative burst mode started at 3.1fps and lasted for around 25 JPEGs before slowing. Enabling continuous autofocus reduced the burst speed to around 1.4fps.

This hints at the NEX-7’s biggest weakness – autofocus speed. As with the NEX-5N, autofocus is more in keeping with compact cameras than SLRs or the fastest CSCs. This didn’t have a huge impact in brightly lit environments but it struggled in dim lighting, especially with moving subjects and at longer focal lengths. The camera often used low light as an excuse to ignore the focus point we’d specified, focusing instead on whatever it deemed was easiest.

The video capture mode is outstanding. Recordings are in AVCHD format at 25fps or 50fps (progressive scan or interlaced), with bit rates up to 28Mbit/s ensuring minimal compression artefacts. Autofocus was smooth and silent, and the lens’s zoom ring is nicely damped to enable smooth zooms. There’s full control over exposure settings using exactly the same controls as for photos. Sensitivity for video capture goes up to ISO 3200, and noise levels at that setting were incredibly low.

The NEX-5N’s video mode matches all of these traits, and its touchscreen makes it easy to move the focus point while recording. This is possible on the NEX-7 but it’s much trickier via the navigation pad. On the upside, a Peaking function highlights areas of the frame that are in focus, which makes manual focus possible while videoing – something that’s virtually impossible on other CSCs.

The video mode also benefits from a microphone socket. It would be even more useful if it was joined by a headphone socket, manual volume control and level metering, but it confirms the NEX-7’s standing as a serious videographer’s tool.

Its photos aren’t too shabby either. Automatic exposures were reliably attractive, and while we wish that the Auto ISO mode wasn’t capped at 1600, anyone spending this much money will probably be happy to adjust settings as required.

The NEX-5N may be even better at ISO 6400 but this is still a superb camera for low-light shooting

The 24-megapixel sensor is extremely impressive. It couldn’t quite match the 16-megapixel NEX-5N and NEX-C3 for low noise at ISO 6400 and 12800, but it was still significantly cleaner and more detailed than any other CSC. Photos at ISO 3200 were broadly on a par with the NEX-5N, and at slower ISO speeds the NEX-7 took the lead with its extra detail. Noise reduction was fairly heavy-handed, but those who want to squeeze every ounce of detail out of photos are likely to want to shoot in RAW mode anyway.

That won’t get around the limitations of the NEX-7’s 18-55mm kit lens, though. Sharpness at the focus point was excellent but it deteriorated towards the edges of frames at wide apertures. This is the same lens that comes with other NEX cameras, but the NEX-7’s higher resolution makes the lens’s shortcomings more apparent.

Focus is inconsistent across the frame at wide apertures, as this comparison between the centre and edge of the frame shows

It’s not necessarily a disaster. It’s arguably desirable for portraits, and it’s avoidable by closing the aperture. However, it proved frustrating in landscape and group portrait shots where there wasn’t enough light for a small aperture. This isn’t the only E-Mount lens, of course – there are six others available or coming soon, including four primes. However, the only other one we’ve had a chance to test is the 16mm f/2.8 pancake, and it’s not any better for corner-to-corner focus at wide apertures.

No camera is perfect, but when one costs over £1,000 it needs to come pretty close. In some respects the NEX-7 lives up to the price – and the hype. The design is gorgeous, the viewfinder is a real treat and, after some initial reservations, we came to really like the controls. Autofocus speed is disappointing, though, and the E-Mount lens range is yet to prove itself. The 24-megapixel sensor is mightily impressive, but because it exhibits both more detail and more noise than the NEX-5N’s sensor, it doesn’t constitute a massive upgrade in practical terms.

We’d probably like the NEX-7 even more if the Sony NEX-5N didn’t exist. It’s a fantastic camera – and the best CSC we’ve seen – but it’s not worth twice as much as the NEX-5N. Still, its gorgeous design means we can imagine many photographers choosing with their hearts rather than their heads.