NEX-7 24.3 MP Mirrorless Digital Camera with 18-55mm Lens (Old Model)

I've been waiting for someone to make a camera like the NEX 7 for a long time. I purchased a Nikkormat about 45 years ago - and loved it. I was an early adopter of the Canon G series "pro-sumer" cameras and owned a couple of them. Now, with my new NEX 7, I have a camera that's a blend of both of these - and much better.The body of the NEX 7 is only a little larger than my Canon G-11 but feels solid like my Nikkormat. Designed into this little package is a lot of great engineering and extraordinary technology from Sony that work beautifully together.Here's what I like:A large APS-C sensor that produces astounding images with low noise.Well-thought-out controls that let me participate in taking pictures if I want - not just trip the shutter (although I can do that with the Intelligent Auto mode if I want)I really like the organization of the controls and menus on this camera. They are logical and accessible - more so than on my Canon G-11.The tilting LCD panel on the back is terrific. This is one of the features I liked on the Canon - but the implementation on the NEX 7 is so much better! I can shoot from my waist (like an old Rollei) or from the floor to get great pix of my grandkids, or by holding the camera as far above my head as I can reach to get a different perspective. The LCD accommodates all of these shooting modes with a large, bright LCD display.I like being able to use my old Nikkor lenses on this camera manually. With a Photodiox adapter, you can mate almost any legacy lens system to the NEX 7. Although you lose the ability for autofocus and automatically setting an aperture, you can do these tasks manually with ease. The NEX 7 will choose an appropriate shutter speed to provide a good exposure for the aperture you choose - since the NEX 7 previews the composition with the lens stopped down. And finally, here's a digital camera that provides a really usable manual focus capability!Whether you're using an old legacy lens, and focusing manually, or using a modern Sony E-Series lens with auto focusing, you can be the final judge on what's really in focus using a feature called Focus Peaking. Simply toggle on Manual Focus and turn the focus ring on the lens to see objects that are in focus highlighted with a contrast colored border. You can even "zoom in" X6 or X12 with the touch of a button to fine focus on the object of interest. This feature is beautifully implemented in the NEX 7 - and you can use it with the LCD or by looking thru the bright OLED viewfinder.Speaking of viewfinders, the NEX 7 viewfinder is really, really good. I use it a lot. Here's why: Last year I had cataract surgery on both eyes. I didn't realize before this surgery that the new lenses the doctor put in can correct for near-sightedness and astigmatism. So when I got new lenses in my eyes, I was no longer dependent on glasses for distance vision. (I had worn glasses for 50 years!) Whoa - what a great gift! I'm still unable to see really well at close distances because of my age - so I need reading glasses. But that's not a big problem with this camera. Here's why:The NEX 7 assists me in two ways. First - the viewfinder has a diopter adjustment so I can dial in my correction and see clearly through the viewfinder without glasses. Second - the menus for the LCD display have a Large Font option so that I can actually see the information about f-stop, shutter speed, ISO, etc on the LCD without wearing my glasses. This is so exciting! Thank you Sony for thinking of us seniors!There are many other exciting features I could talk about like Sweep Panorama, Dynamic Range Optimization, built-in HDR and shooting at 10 frames per second - but that would spoil the surprise. You need to get your hands on one of these cameras and find out for yourself!One of the very best resources for getting acquainted with the NEX 7 is a series of YouTube videos done by Jon Adams of reflectedpixel.com. Jon is a professional photographer whose excitement about Sony's innovation and the NEX 7 is contagious. Search for reflectedpixel on YouTube and watch Jon demo the NEX 7 in a way that will inspire even a serious doubter. But beware - if you watch, chances are you'll want to buy.I also like Gary Friedman's book "Sony's NEX 7 Mirrorless Camera" - available here on Amazon.com. I like the way Gary explains how to set the camera menus up for easy access to the most important features and the very best results.From the day I purchased my first digital camera - the 3 MP Canon G1 (at a cost of over 1 grand) - I wished for the day when a digital camera would arrive that felt like my Nikkormat in my hands, and took high-resolution pictures like I used to get with Ektachrome, and encouraged me to get involved again in the photo-making process using all of the wonderful benefits of the digital format.For me - that day has arrived with the Sony NEX 7.Update: 10/10/2012 I like carrying my NEX 7 on my belt - not hanging around my neck or in a backpack. I've discovered a couple of small, belt-compatible cases that I recommend. If you are using the NEX 7 with the kit 18-55mm lens, get the Tamrac 3320 case. It fits perfectly with the lens down. For a smaller profile, put on the SEL16F28 wide angle lens and use the Tamrac 5689 case. This is the same case I used to carry my Canon G-11 in - and it works well with the NEX 7 and SEL16F28. In this case, I take off the removable eye cup for the viewfinder. It will work with the eyecup installed, but it's a little too tight.

Let me start by saying that I have been an avid, but not an expert photographer for 50 years. I carry a camera with me everywhere I go. My recent cameras have included the Nikon D7000, and the Sony Alpha Nex C3 and 5n. But I have had Canon and Panasonic cameras and video cameras I also love.Anyway, this time, I got my wife the Nex 3c for Christmas because it shares the same 16 mp processor that is in the Nikon D7000. To put an APS-c processor in such an inexpensive camera, I thought, would open the world of natural light photography to my wife with a sensor that's a proven winner in a small, convenient camera with interface designed for point and shoot photographers.When I got home, my wife had our six month old daughter dressed in a Santa outfit... Break out the camera...Out of the box in five minutes the most incredible, clear, good color gorgeous detailed photos, all in natural light...we were so excited we rushed to print a Christmas card. That simple incident has caused my wife to finally get interested in a camera more rewarding than her Casio Ex Slim.Reading more, I decided to get myself the 5n. Same processor but with more capabilities and controls. I got many wonderful photos with the kit 18-55 but not as good as my D7000. But then I bought the Sony 18-200 lens for the 5n. The photos and detail with this lens knocked my socks off and was every bit the quality I was getting from the D7000 for which I have an equivalent lens.It was this experience that made me interested in the 24 mp Nex 7. I read a few reviews of the Nex 7. I read of many features, but mainly stunning image quality. Some commentators think that 24 mp is about the equivalent of the detail you can achieve with a film camera. I was interested.But the one think this excercise has brought home to me, if you're seeking detail, then there's alot of other things that go into image clarity than just the sensor. And the other things get more and more evident as the megapixels are pushed. First on this list is whether you have a lens that will deliver enough detail to take advantage of the megapixels. I did crave the detail, I had the lens. So I bought the camera.The Sony Nex 7 takes some getting used to. Its three dial system is ingenious and provides easy quick access to an functions including by example, creativity settings, saturation and sharpness, settings to expand dynamic range, aperture, speed and iso, so that with practice you can reset all of these for every shot almost instantly. There are many other great features also.But mainly, when I got the settings right, the quality of the pictures was just something I never saw before from any camera.There are things that could be done a little better, as there always are. The flash unit is incredibly cheesy. The movie button is placed so that I have taken many movies I did not intend. Good thing they can be erased. And there is no case that fits this incredible little camera. And it is almost shocking that with all the settings available, there is no way to save a custom profile once you have everything just the way you want it. There are other things as well. But overall, it delivers an incredible array of capabilities and unequaled image quality for an APS-C sensor that has to be seen to be believed. With good lenses, that can translate into superior photos in most conditions.How does it compare to the 5n? Honestly for people shots, and especially for shots indoors at night in natural light, the 5n is just as good or better.(My favorite professional reviewers are DPreview.com. Their tests showed that the 5n is better in low light, but if they resampled the 5n image up to 24 mp then the images were equal. This is stupid. They had to downgrade the 5n image to make it equal the 7.) The extra pixels are just not needed and they do reduce low light sensitivity. But in low light both are better than my Nikon D7000 which honestly, I still love and will also use. (The nikon has a quality usable flash.)At half the price for the camera plus the kit lens, the 5n is definitely a better value than the Nex 7 for all but the true enthusiast. Only with the purchase of expensive extra glass, and a lot of testing and practice, will the potential better photo qualities emerge. But when they do the results are stunning to a discerning eye.Now after two months, I would add the following: This camera is even better than I thought, I think in part due to the 18-200 lens being just superb. All my shots are better than all my shots were before. After figuring out the three wheel system and using it, it is fast and convenient. Need to be careful not to bump a wheel and change a setting by mistake. One nice feature. When you set the camera the way you want it in program and aperture modes, then turn it off, the settings are the same when you turn it back on.I am not using my Nikon D7000 at all. I keep trying to find comparable shots where the Nikon will equal this camera. No can do. In daylight, same picture, the Sony Nex 7 produces considerably better pictures. The detail is sharper, and when you learn to use the dynamic range settings they are incredibly better so you get better detail in the light and in the shadows. The depth of field is greater than with the Nikon. The distortion controls are wonderful and are making my pictures better. The articulating screen makes it easy to compose your shot from low and high angles. With zoom and so many pixels it's easy to let camera movement destroy a shot. So finding something to rest the camera against to take a shot always helps, and depending on the height of the object you use, the articulating screen makes it easier to compose your shot.I just love this camera and I believe it is making my photographs better than they ever were.