NEX 7 Lens Options Any Better?

[bob_cook]

<p>I'm considering getting a NEX 7. In reading threads from the past year here on photo.net a common statement was that the Sony E-series lens offering is lacking. Too big; not fast enough; not the right focal lengths, etc. In the opinion of you experienced owners, has the situation changed?<br>

I understand that one of the big advantages is that you can use almost any glass on the NEX 7. I have an extensive collection of Nikon lenses, but am hoping to find smaller, lighter alternates with a mirror-less system. For my landscape work, manual focus would be OK as long as it works well and is pretty seamless. In my medium format work I use hyperfocal focusing almost exclusively. Of course I'm not using any zoom lenses.<br>

My use is mostly landscape (water, water falls, streams) and general walk-around shooting.</p>

[andylynn]

<p>The whole NEX line is great for lenses on adapters, with the focus peaking. I rather like the NEX 5 series with the tap-to-zoom screen. Sometimes it seems silly putting a large adapter and lens combo on such a small camera, but some combinations work out very well. Minolta 58mm 1.2 and Konica 57mm 1.2 make amazing portrait lenses, etc. But it's true that the native lenses (aside from some Zeiss options) aren't particularly interesting. I was excited about the 35mm 1.8 when it was announced but when I tried it it was just okay.</p>

<p>If you have Alpha lenses and don't mind some extra size, Sony makes adapters to use them with AF, aperture control, etc. That opens up a lot of options.</p>

<p>If you want more alternatives to compare, M4/3 has a larger selection of lenses and the Olympus OM-D is very good, and Fuji doesn't have as many lenses but they're all excellent (and most are discounted this month when bought with a camera).</p>

[frank_skomial]

<p>In normal shooting conditions, the 24 MP NEX7 camera gives much more than 16 MP NEX3/5/6 camera. The difference is in reaching far distant subjects and resolution, as well as in cropping ability, providing that you mount good lenses, and develop proper shooting technique that the high pixels camera deserves.</p>

<p>Do not let them talk you into getting a NEX5, if you can afford NEX7.</p>

<p> </p>

[waltflanagan]

<p>The NEX 6 is 16MP vs the NEX 7 @24MP but other than that and a missing control knob they are very similar cameras. The 5 and below lack the integrated viewfinder. </p>

[andylynn]

<p>All I'm saying is, I like the touch-to-zoom when using manual focus. Aside from that, of course the 7 is the high end.</p>

[mike_earussi1]

<p>"Great camera, lousy AF lens selection" is pretty much a universal conclusion from both reviews and users. I don't own any modern lenses for my NEX 7 and have found that the older lenses are not only better optically and much cheaper, but better built as well. For compact/high quality lenses many use the old half frame Olympus Pen ones. </p>

[Vlado]

<p>I have NEX-6 and do most of my work with 24 mm zeiss and get some use of 50 mm e-mount and 85 (F2.8) mm a-mount through sony adaptor (LA-EA2). Street and landscapes, even sports are fine with this combo. Small plastic 85 mm sony easily exceeded my expectations on NEX - great colours, fast and surprisingly precise AF, very light. So, buy, go and shoot. Cheers, Vlad.</p>

[dave_redmann]

<p>It is true that Sony's 'standard zooms' for the NEX system--the E 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 and the E 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS--are not highly regarded, and there are some other reputedly-mediocre lenses. However, there are a bunch of native NEX E-mount lenses that <em>are</em> well regarded: from Sony itself, the E 10-18mm f/4 OSS, Zeiss E 24mm f/1.8, and E 35mm f/1.8 OSS; from Zeiss, the Touit E 12mm f/2.8 and Touit E 32mm f/1.8; and from Sigma the 19mm f/2.8 DN and 30mm f/2.8 DN. Also, the Sony E 50mm f/1.8 and Sigma 60mm f/2.8 DN have pretty good reputations. All of these lenses have full NEX functionality. So there are good native-NEX primes of 12, 19, 24, 30, 32, 35, 50 and 60mm; and a good 10-18mm zoom.</p>

<p>Only you can decide whether, in terms of focal length(s) and apertures, one or more of these lenses would serve your needs. If so, then maybe the smart thing to do is rent a camera and a couple of lenses and try them for yourself.<br /></p>

 

[bob_cook]

<p>Thanks to all for the responses. It looks like I can cover any need for a prime lens. Plus, some of my longer or wider Nikon lenses, used in manual focus, would certainly be OK for landscape work. Perhaps the only hole is a really nice walk-around zoom. If I go ahead with this purchase, I'll probably pick up the 10 - 18 and 18 - 55 as starters, and build from there. The 18 - 55 will probably be fine for me.</p>

[mike_earussi1]

<p><a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/wa_nex.shtml">http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/wa_nex.shtml</a></p>

[alan_krantz]

<p>If you want auto focus zeiss has issued two new lenses (32 and 12). They are not cheap but initial reviews suggest they are quite a bit better than sony offerings. Also, vaguely, I recall they were apo but you should double check if that aspect is important to yourself.</p>

[zhang_wei2]

<p>Like you I was looking at the Sony NEX-7 as a lightweight compact camera system to take with me everywhere. There are a lot of alternatives like the Fuji X series, other models in the Sony NEX series and the micro four thirds cameras by Panasonic and Olympus. Most of these cameras are newer. The NEX-7 is a relatively old design. However, as I write this, there is no other small crop sensor camera that has a 24mp sensor and the NEX-7 has all the controls you can wish for. I think it was ahead of its time.</p>

<p>Al lot of horror stories about the NEX-7 can be found on the internet. The controls are very complex, there's a lot of noise in higher ISO images, there's only a handful of good lenses, it's easy to accidentally turn the control dials or press the movie button, the AF point jumps around, the rubber grip comes off, the top layer of the screen peels off and people have bricked their camera while updating the firmware. I read many of the stories and of course I did so <em>after</em> buying my second hand NEX-7 online (dirt cheap for what you get!).</p>

<p>I bricked my NEX the day after I received it. It was my own fault. I did not read the instructions. At this moment you <em>cannot</em> update your NEX camera from a 64bit computer system. If you accidentally did, you can fix it by simply connecting your camera to an older type 32bit computer and run the update again. No problem. RTFM.</p>

<p>The controls of the NEX-7 are (partly) not very intuitive, but once you've configured the camera, you can actually control it with just the hand you are holding the camera with. I can turn the camera on and off, set the focus point, change the ISO, aperture and shutter speed, switch to manual focus and back, lock exposure, look at my pictures, zoom in, etc. etc. Almost every function can be set with one hand. That's what I call great ergonomics. You do have to remember which button does what, but the same goes for any modern electronic camera. If you need simple controls, get a Leica.</p>

<p>The grip itself is great (for my medium sized hands). I've removed the clips from the strap lugs because I just don't want to use any wrist or neck strap on this camera, the grip is <em>that</em> good. I might try a small home made sling strap as a replacement for a camera bag though.</p>

<p>The LCD and viewfinder are crisp and bright. In low light there is some lag and noise. That doesn't really bother me. The information you see in the EVF and on the LCD can be customized. Autofocus is not as fast as many newer cameras. I think the focus speed partially depends on the lens you choose. In low light it slows down, but for me it's fast enough for most situations. If you need to work faster, you can pre-focus using focus peaking and/or the magnified view.</p>

<p>There are not that many good native lenses for the NEX system, but with adapters you can put almost any lens on the camera. Personally, I love my dirt cheap Sigma 30mm f/2.8 (the first version, because it's cheaper and I think it looks better). This lens is sharp and contrasty wide open. There really is no need to stop it down other then for more depth of field. This lens cost me 85 dollars (like new and it still had warranty). It performs admirably and almost as good as the new Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8. I don't use ultra wide angle lenses, but I read that many of the manual focus wide angle lenses don't work well with the NEX-7. The corners are a bit problematic. You might want to do some research about this.</p>

<p>The sensor in the NEX-7 really shines in good light. It gives you a lot of detail to work with. Noticeably more then all the other 16mp sensor cameras. The RAW files are not 'cooked' like in the Fuji X-Trans sensor cameras. So, there's a lot of detail, but also some noise. It's not the best performing sensor when it comes to noise, but the RAW files are easy to clean up and I don't hesitate to use this camera up to ISO1600. The electronic first shutter curtain is briljant. It prevents shutter-shake and helps reduce the shutter sound. The sound of the shutter is a little loud, but reassuringly solid.</p>

<p>Despite all the negative stories, I gave this camera a chance and I'm glad I did. It has positively surprised me. Ergonomically and image quality wise it performs great. It's a small and lightweight highly customizable powerhouse loaded with features and I love the understated design. I think the NEX-7 is a joy to work with and because it's an older camera, you can pick it up really cheap secondhand. Also, I can't recommend the Sigma 30mm f/2.8 enough. It's a great general walk-around lens and it costs next to nothing.</p><div></div>