Sony 7 - Digital Camera (Auto, Cloudy, Custom Modes, Daylight, Flash, Fluorescent, Incandescent, Shadow, Submary, Landscape, Night Landscape, Night Portrait, Portrait, Sports, Sunset, Electronic,

This camera has exceeded my expectations in every way. I was a lifelong canon user, and am probably a sony user for life now. It was a bit of a learning curve making the switch but this has made me a better photographer and has made me more able to take on new photography adventures since getting it. I would absolutely buy a Sony alpha camera again.

To start off, I'd just like to mention that I am not a professional photographer. I am a serious hobbyist traveler photographer, mainly photographing my travel adventures as well as photographing my children's precious moments when I'm at home. I must say, this Sony A7 really hits the bulls-eye for my needs. I used to carry a Nikon D600 with a 24-70mm f/2.8G "beast" lens. The complete system was quite cumbersome and heavy but the combination of the full framed Nikon D600 and the 24-70mm lens took absolute stunning shots when I was on the go. When Sony came out with the RX1r, I decided to give it a try and I was truly amazed with the quality of the pictures I was able to take with that camera. The RX1r's ability to take hand held night shots made that camera a real winner for me. Though my main issue with the RX1r was that I was stuck with the 35mm lens. That made the travel photography difficult but as a full frame "point and shoot" camera, the RX1r was as good as it gets. Then the A7 and A7r came out and general apples to apples, it looked as if the A7 was essentially a interchangeable lens version of the Sony RX1 series cameras. Being so happy with the RX1r, I decided to get the A7r paired with the Sony SEL2470Z Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS Lens. The A7r took FANTASTIC photos during good light conditions but my main issue was that it was TERRIBLE in low light. At just an ISO of 1200, you can already see a hint of noise in low light conditions and once you bump that up to 2000+, the photos are generally polluted with noise. At 6400, it's essentially game over. As my home is generally not very well lit, using the A7r to take photos of my children only created photos that were generally not photo album worthy. However, the A7r really shines once you slap on a tripod and take scenery shots or when lighting is good. The imagine quality on the A7r is EXCEPTIONAL and the level of detail is top notch quality. The larger MP capabilities of the A7r are utilized very well. But since I generally shoot in low light and only 20% of my shots are scenic, I returned the A7r and got the A7 instead. Image quality wise, the A7 performs MUCH better in low light conditions over the A7r. There is a significant reduction in noise at ISO 2000 and 3200 shots and at ISO 6400, many of the shots I got were still very good. I generally found that the A7 performed better with portrait shots while the A7r really thrived with landscape shots. The autofocus on the A7r had a tendency to hunt more while the A7 was quicker in focusing, especially in low light conditions. I believe this is mainly due to the fact that the A7 has Phase Detection Auto focus (PDAF), while the A7r does not. Many have complained that the A7 also has a slow autofocus compared to other DSLR cameras on the market but I honestly can't really tell the difference. Compared to the A7r's 36.4 MP, the A7 does have a lower MP at "just" 24.3. Though I honestly, I doubt you'll really tell the difference unless you do some serious cropping or you do photography that really just requires high MPs. Exterior wise, both the A7 and A7r essentially look and feel exactly the same. Though the A7r has more metallic parts, like the dials and apparently the body as well, you generally can not tell the difference between them. Both the A7 and A7r are very nice to hold and shoot with. Both feel very fluid and crisp. The A7r does make a bit more noise when taking shots and the A7 is noticeably more quiet. I know some have complained that the A7 is still noisy when taking shots but I don't find it bothersome and I actually quite like the sound it makes. Coming from the Nikon D600, I did find that I had to get used to the layout of the Sony cameras. The menu system as well as the location of certain commands are not where I was used to them being. Though after a few days with the camera, navigating through the camera became a breeze. My only main complaint would be that the "zoom" button is a bit of a stretch for my fingers and does require for me to preposition my grip on the camera in order to press is properly. Battery life for the A7 and A7r are borderline decent to poor as you generally would get about 350 to 400 shots before you need a battery swap. I purchase a Wasabi battery charger and extra batteries to solve that problem. I also found the Wasabi wall battery charger much better than using Sony's direct to camera charging system. Another drawback I've noticed is that the start up time of the camera is relatively slow compared to the RX1r and significantly slow when compared to the Nikon D600. I never shoot video with my cameras so I'm sorry to say I can't comment on the A7's video capabilities. Overall, the A7 is a fantastic camera. Granted the A7r had a higher MP, the A7 just suited my shooting needs better (low light shots, portraits, running after the kids shots and travelling shots). Furthermore, even when paired with the larger SEL2470Z Vario-Tessar 24-70mm lens over the standard 28-70mm kit lens, the over all size and weight is still a HUGE upgrade over the significantly larger Nikon D600 and heavier the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G "beast" lens. The A7 really gave me the flexibility to carry the camera almost everywhere, making it perfect for my travel photography, while at the same time giving me the perfect shots that I look for in a camera, making it the perfect go to camera for me. All that's left is to hope Sony comes out with better and a wider range of lenses soon, which according to the news reports out there, they will. PS: If you see a Nikon D600 and a Nikkor 24-70mm lens for sale on eBay anytime soon, there's a good chance it's mine! I hope this review helps!

What a delight, this Sony A7 is a photographers dream. Sony is way out front with this. Small, light, compact, tough as nails, brilliant design. The viewfinder is excellent, and I can't wait to see how they improve it in the coming years. The back LCD is the best and brightest I have ever used making back shooting in the sun a real possibility, perfect for astrophotography. The focus peaking is amazing, manual lenses come to life in real environments. Auto lenses get it done, with speed focus and aperture changes instant. I have nothing to complain about really, as usual the menus are good but not great, a few features I use a lot are hidden, and there could always be more programmable keys. Also the inability to cross use the special features like the in camera exposure stacking and HDR with timer is a little annoying. Would like to see less restrictions but I suppose that is what the will put in the next version with more memory. Write speeds on Long Exposure are about equal to the exposure time so the buffer is limited. Continuous shooting is machine gun speeds, I can rip off 10 shots and be back shooting in 2 seconds. Ok, now back to what is great, everything else. Full frame is amazing, with good glass it is mind boggling. And good glass that is manual focus is all over Amazon from Minlota's Rokkor series of the 70's, Quntaray, tamron, Sigma and Leica. Go look find the cheap adapters and see what you have been missing. Sony makes an adapter for it's alpha lenses and that even switches the focus to phase focusing for better results. I haven't bothered with that yet because the chinese adapters are so cheap and work so well even some of the automatic canon stuff will work on this. This is so much easier to carry than a DSLR, and yet the pictures are fantastic, huge, detailed, color rich. The only limitations are your lenses so start saving up. Rented an OTUS lens..my goodness I never knew such imaging was possible. Added Nikon lenses and now a canon EF from Tamron Vi VC with the Commlite addaptor, I will let you know about that auto lens adapter soon. The Kit lens (14-70mm) is actually a blast and I picked that up used as well, no regrets. There are faster sports cameras, but this thing with OSS can really grab anything short of a bullet so don't listen to the detractors. For the price it can do anything. Go buy a Nikon D4 if you are shooting the Olympics for NBC, otherwise use this and get there with twice the lenses because of the lighter weight. I bought an external Sony charger and Sony batteries, they get over 1000 shots RAW+JPG per charge. Buy Sony folks, don't go cheap on this. I do shut off the camera between shots so I get better life than some. Get a fast big memory card for this. I love the internal charging of the battery, it uses a standard Android car charger plug! I use a 64GB Sony class 14 card and am happy, though a faster card never hurts for long exposure work. CONS: Lack of built in stabilization on the sensor and Sony's slow roll out of lenses are both annoying, that being said this is one of the best cameras ever made, a game changer, and the results with good glass are ASTOUNDING. Pro quality, and I have sold stock photos already. 6000x4000 people, for under $2k. I shoot in Shutter Priority or Aperture priority with manual lenses, the AUTO feature is great with the kit lens but obviously defaults to goofy settings on manual lenses. You need to know how to use an SLR to get the results from this. A remote trigger works with my Android phone and hopefully Sony will build it into the Smartwatch 2 at some point. the buttons and dials all work very well, I think the exposure dial is almost perfect, though my Fuji x series does spoil me. You cannot find a better camera if you are looking for an all weather portable pro shooter. Well the A7R is better in some ways at least for tripod work but not for day to day shooting. Low light capabilities of this sensor are unreal. Video is great but huge files and not quite what the most serious pros are looking for in video frame rates perhaps. Still, it works great with a manual lens and puts out Bluray quality. Great headphones jacks and mic jacks! Ergonomics are spot on. Connectors rock solid. Manual programming hot buttons easy to setup. Getting out of zoom in play mode is annoying, but you will figure it out. Most menu items are well placed. So much love for Sony, such a stellar piece of equipment. Run and buy one, collect good glass. Profit.

Best camera I have ever owned.

After about 6 months of research and waiting, I got my a7, knowing that it is not a perfect camera, but that it is exactly what wanted. There are a ton of reviews of this camera out there telling you the pro's and con's and its features, you can read about them or watch a ton of video reviews, there is no lack of information about this camera on the internet, especially after it was named camera of the year by pop-photo magazine. So to variate from a typical review, I will give you a different perspective from a camera junkie who loves photography and has been doing it for a long time... This camera is targeted to the semi-pro or high end consumer who wants great quality pictures in a small package (you know that already) what I'll tell you is that, as that semi-pro, I'm surprised and very pleased with my new a7. I've been shooting it for about 15 days now, I have the Zeiss 55mm f1.8 and the 24-70mm f4. The zoom lens is great (though it's gotten some bad reviews), but I really like the 55mm F1.8, which couples great with the full-frame sensor on this beast. But since this review is for the a7, I'll focus on the camera it self: In my opinion, the camera really delivers in the Image Quality department, IQ is truly awesome and distinctive, specially if you compare it to other mirror-less cameras. No doubt the best IQ for any mirror-less camera option up-to-date (APR-2014), I had a Canon 5D mk3, (which I eventually got rid of due to its size and weight) and the pictures from this a7 are just as good as the 5Dmk3, in my opinion (without getting into technical details); however, its performance is not up-to-par with a pro-level-full-frame DSLR. This camera has some really cool features, but there are some annoying things that could be improved, like way the camera does auto ISO, the way apps work, and the (sometimes sluggish) focus system. Yet these are things that you can easily overcome by learning how to use the camera and tweaking it your way. Which brings me to another point: this camera is HIGHLY customizable, unlike previous versions of the NEX. Like any DSLR, you have to learn how to use this before you can start to get great shots consistently. The reason why I could not give it 5 stars is because I do not think its performance is optimized. By performance I mean the focus system, the battery life, the time it takes to turn it on, the slow FPS rate, the lack of stabilization-system (in-camera), and the AutoISO. But again, these are things that you can easily overcome. There is a large selection of compact mirror-less options out there, what makes this camera stand out is the large full-frame sensor, which produces some really special shots, better than any other mirror-less option out there. I also have an OMD EM5, which I love, and enjoy much. But it does not produce the quality images that I get from this a7. They are two different cameras, that in my opinion complement each other. Keeping in mind that the Sony FE system is still relatively new, the lens selection will hopefully grow for native mount full frame lenses, but having the option to adapt lenses from other systems and use the focus peaking system, makes this camera a ready-to-go option as well. The camera is easy to use, having had NEX cameras in the past, I feel that this menu system is an improvement, though there is still the need to dig around to find what you want. With the difference that you can customize the a7 to have all the features you use and need assigned to any button you want! Overall the camera feels rugged, solid/sturdy, not too heavy, not too light, VERY portable for a full frame with this type of IQ, and it is a total pleasure to use with just about any lens. There are complaints about the quality of the JPEGs, and clunkyness of the shutter vibration, which may cause camera-shake in long exposures. I recently updated the firmware, which is supposed to improve the IQ of JPEGs, and I really find the quality of my pictures (JPEGs and RAW) very nice, which is the main reason why I got this. Though I have to admit that for my special shots I only shoot RAW, then I work in post production using Lightroom 5, which has worked very well. As far as video, I don't use it often. Yesterday I went to a botanical garden and shot some video of flying butterflies, and I found the video quality of the MP4s in HD pretty decent, the camera does a great job focusing while panning and following moving objects. Again, I do not use the video much, and I'm not a video expert, but it does a decent job for what I've seen so far. Overall this is great buy, for $1600+ (at the time of this writing) it is the lowest priced high-end camera with a full-frame sensor, not to mention all of the features it has and the weather sealing... That's GREAT value! I think Sony will work out the kinks of the shutter noise and other performance issues in a later version of the camera, and me being the camera-junkie that I am, will probably upgrade when that comes out. That is not to say that I would upgrade right away. This is a very capable camera, that is a pleasure to use, and it produces pro-level images. In the end, as much as you love new technology and fancy features, good pictures are NOT taken by a good camera, they're taken by a good photographer! Which is why I really value how the camera feels when I am using it, the more comfortable you are with the camera, the better your pictures will likely be. I know you are reading this as part of your research to help you make a decision, so what I say to you is that: Understand that this is NOT a perfect camera, and that there are some things that a DSLR will do better, but if you want to have a very portable camera, capable of producing pro-level, high quality shots, with a few shortcomings, at a relatively affordable price for a full-frame, then this is your best bet right now. But if you don't mind carrying around a bigger camera, bigger lenses, and you have more money to spare, then there are better choices for you. I hope this helped you get closer to making a decision... Happy Shooting ;) UPDATE (for HDR lovers): I've had the camera for almost a month now, recently took it to a trip in which I had a long lay-over in Paris, so I decided to go sight-seeing and took bracketed shots of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and other monuments. Then I put the shots together using HDR software. The results are absolutely stunning! this camera is spectacular for those who love to do HDR photographs. Let me be clear though: Not the HDR pictures that come out straight from the camera, but rather taking bracketed shots at different exposure levels then using HDR Efx pro or other software. The reason why this camera is so good for HDR is because of the different bracketing options, and the amazing dynamic range in each shot, even in low light and hand held (using the 24-70 that has OSS) I got surprising results that I have not had with my beloved OMD- EM5. I am really pleased with this camera.