My friend's first NEX-7 had died a mysterious and sudden death. So he went down to the local camera store and picked up a nice used example as a replacement. This second NEX-7 is the one he sent me.
I really like how Sony implemented the "rangefinder" EVF in the upper left-hand corner of these cameras. In bright sunlight I can see what I'm focusing on and my "hit rate" is much better than with the non-EVF NEX-5T or A5000 camera bodies that I also use.
The first thing I did after receiving the camera was to check that the sensor was clean, and it was. Then I took some photos and then applied black tape to "blacked out" the make and model information. I like my cameras appearance better when I do this. Lastly, I opened an instruction manual and read through how to set the functions and dials and wheels.
It is easy to see how similar it is to the more recent Sony A6000. The controls layout, the overall size and weight of the cameras are nearly the same. There is a strong family resemblance between these two. There are a couple minor differences (such as an AF mode control switch) between the NEX-7 and A6000.
Another difference is the Sony NEX-7 dual wheel control. I think they called this "tri-navi", or something like that. This is different from any Sony camera I've used. There are two programmable wheels along the top back edge. The default setting has the right wheel modifying the exposure value for setting under/over-exposure. The left wheel is dedicated to aperture, shutter speed controls. Then there is the role of the (unmarked) "function" key and how it is programmed.
After fiddling around with this for awhile it all seems rather complicated to me. I can barely keep straight the menuing systems change that took place between the NEX-series cameras and the newer A-series. When in a photo-shoot I find myself checking the setting, concentrating on not bumping something, rechecking and so-forth.
I seldom encounter a need to change a camera's setting once I enter a photo-shoot. Sometimes I will change the over/under exposure settings, but that's easily done on the wheel control on the back of the camera.
In any event, I try to anticipate the conditions I will find myself in, set a camera's controls and functions, and then try to avoid, as I said, bumping any of the dials and controls during a shoot.
Reading the manual I came across the method Sony provides for disabling the dual wheel system. It involves holding down the (unmarked) "function" key that sits just next to the shutter release button. Now that this has been sorted I feel the camera won't "fight" me when I accidentally bump something or other.
According to DxOMark the Sony NEX-7 has 13.4EVs of dynamic range. Which is to say, it has over 13 "f-stops" of dynamic range. By comparison, the Sony A6000 I have is reported to have 13.7EVs of dynamic range. The difference between these two cameras would be, I imagine, rather difficult to see in practice.
In summary, think the camera will be every bit as good an image making machine as the A6000 which I will continue to very much enjoy using.
For the illustration images seen here I mounted-up a nice, light, sharp little Sigma 30mm f/2.8 EX DN. Shortly after taking the images I blacked out the bright spots and replaced the Sigma lens with a Lens Turbo II, Nikon Nikkor-O 35mm f/2 pre-Ai setup. It's in this configuration that I will see how things work out for me and my friend's "old" camera.
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