First hour with the NEX 7 ...

[InTheSky]

So far so good.

The NEX 7 with the kit lens is very light, it feel almost like not having a camera in your hand, impressive. I don't know why ... but it feel lighter than the NEX 5 where in really it is the reverse (I think this is due to the grip design).

The tri-nav system in video is killer impressive ... now I can do really filming adjustment with last time saw on too much expensive video professional camera.

The 24mp ... I have saw too much review telling that it is too much ... but my first outside test was to see if in reality it is too much for me ... and the answer is :

With old lenses mostly older than me ... I have saw very good performance with the new technology body.

With the oldest one : Canon LTM 50mm 1.2, I have saw that you don't need to bring a zoom lens with you for close up Here is a picture crop at 100% in the center :

@ ~F5.6


The original picture there :


Almost sexy :

Story about the lens: http://www.antiquecameras.net/canon50mmf12ltm.html

Another picture to follow ...

Frank

[Javelin]

You have Spiders like that .. already? ... in March in Montreal?

/me orders 400 Banana palms to plant

[Dr. Harout]

A second congratulation Frank. This must be your month my friend, embrace it.
Now the next question: are you quitting from Sony now?

[InTheSky]

You know what ... it is just now that you are asking me the question that I'm already questioning myself.

Last week at the same place I was playing with Evan on the ice about 100 feet from the border of the river. Yesterday when I have took this picture, there was not ice anymore. The temperature in Montreal has went crazy since three days. We expect to erase totally the snow everywhere by end of Friday I think. And for the weekend it will be near than cold summer time ...

Here is another one from the same day in other angle taken this time with the Leica 40mm 2.0 LTM (one of the smallest Leica lens).

I found the corner magenta and purple ... on this lens .


Full size: http://www.pbase.com/nadeauf/image/1420 ... iginal.jpg

CORNER BOTTOM LEFT at 100% crop:



CORNER TOP RIGHT at 100% Crop:


The detail is there, plenty to print size I never use . So If we manage to remove properly the corner effect, I think the Leica 40mm 2.0 is one of the winner lens on the NEX 7. It is not very much bigger than having the pancake 16mm 2.8. I know there is story on the web telling that the Minolta version of this lens is better ... so probably David K. can confirm this for me before I get one .

Regards,

Frank

[InTheSky]

Here is shot in the TOP Center at 100% crop:


And finally in the Side Left at 100% crop:


With the Leica 40mm 2.0 the Center is perfect almost from 2.8...

I think I have took the shot in F8.0 if I remember correctly.

Frank

[InTheSky]

A second congratulation Frank. This must be your month my friend, embrace it.
Now the next question: are you quitting from Sony now?

The NEX 7 will take the answer for me in a few week. Except for the corner problem with old lenses under 60mm ... , I think there is chance I can stay ... or search for better lens to put on the Sony NEX 7.

So far, using the NEX 7 remember my old good Minolta 7D for all the control really quick when taking picture. And for the movie with access to the ISO, aperture and speed it is killer. BUT ...

QUESTION for other NEX 7 User ... , Have you found that the White balance you adjust in picture is not reflected exactly when you press the movie button ? I found that very annoying yesterday light filming in candid light after taking my time to adjust all the color with the Powerful interface of the NEX 7.

Frank

[InTheSky]

Here is what looks the 40mm Leica 2.0 on the NEX 7 (on the picture there is already the rubber filter add to the lens, if you remove it, the lens become even smaller).





Frank

[David Kilpatrick]

Frank - the Minolta version is not 'better' than the Summicron, it's got slightly different coatings and was made later. Minolta actually made all the glass components of the Wetzlar 40mm Summicron and 90cm Elmar-C, but they did not assemble the lenses at first. Later on, they were allowed to assemble the 40mm but not the 90mm - they made a Minolta 40mm entirely in Japan, and a 'Minolta' 90mm was actually their glass but assembled in Germany. The 90mm Rokkor-C is identical to the Elmar-C. The odd one out was the 28mm Rokkor-C, never made for Leitz as they terminated the deal with Minolta the same year that the CLE design was finished. That would have been a Leica as well, with three Leica lenses. But they pulled out of joint projects, so Minolta was allowed to sell the CLE under its own branding, with an authorised Leica M mount.

That was 23 years after Minolta first tried to make a Leica M-mount camera. They showed up at the 1958 Brussels Exhibition with a prototype M-mount system, and proudly took it to Leitz to show them the idea for a new streamlined updated RF camera. Leitz were impressed but also sufficiently upset by this presumption to force Minolta to hide the prototypes and end the project. In return, Leitz executives visited Osaka. Two things came out of this, one was the SR SLR series which used a lot of the mechanics designed for the Minolta 'M' body (the shutter is modelled on Leitz lever-wind M shutters); the second was a 20-year period of joint research and manufacture, which provided Leitz with new types of glass and many other extras, and provided Minolta with Leica-level quality. I was told that the Quality Circle team method for assembling products came from this co-operation.

So even your Leitz CL series lenses are Minolta at heart!

David

[InTheSky]

How cannot love Minolta ...

[InTheSky]

The Flash system on the Sony NEX 7 is enough powerful to fill the light for simple picture. But the features found in the past on web review (I don't remember which one ... ) can be very useful to make the light bounce on the roof.

Here is a simple example situation ( yes ... daddy is using his Girl ) where the camera is set in automatic mode + the kit lens.

No flash:

DSC00155.jpg

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Direct flash:

DSC00156.jpg

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Using your finger of the left hand instead of controlling the lens zoom you can easily move the flash at different angle (also in the back direction):

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I'm expecting that probably someone will design a simple piece of plastic that you can attach on the camera cord and put it when you need on the spring mechanism of the flash (I should buy a 3D printer soon to make that kind of thing ... ).


Frank

[InTheSky]

Tomorrow if I got time ... or Friday (who knows ...) I will try what can be the real advantage over my A900. Using what I consider the sharpest tele lens ever built by Minolta that I own : 200mm HS, 400mm HS, and the 200mm Macro. The test will consist of using on a tripod the lens mount at the same position and focusing on a subject (probably at infinity) and switch from the NEX 7 alone against one the sharpest converter the 1.4x APO + the A900.

Both should give appreciatively near to the same field of view and that will be interesting to see the lost of detail from the tele converter compare to the NEX 7 using the center of the lens with 1.4x less lost of light ...

Second possible test:
I have a pre-idea of the result ... trying the tele-converter with the NEX 7 ... but I think he will not be able to handle the stress combine with the lens ( at least for pixel peeper people ).



Frank

[alphaomega]

Not sure where this issue cropped up first, that Inthesky was thinking of moving away from Sony

Dr. Harout wrote:
A second congratulation Frank. This must be your month my friend, embrace it.
Now the next question: are you quitting from Sony now?


The NEX 7 will take the answer for me in a few week. Except for the corner problem with old lenses under 60mm ... , I think there is chance I can stay ... or search for better lens to put on the Sony NEX 7.

So far, using the NEX 7 remember my old good Minolta 7D for all the control really quick when taking picture. And for the movie with access to the ISO, aperture and speed it is killer. BUT ...

QUESTION for other NEX 7 User ... , Have you found that the White balance you adjust in picture is not reflected exactly when you press the movie button ? I found that very annoying yesterday light filming in candid light after taking my time to adjust all the color with the Powerful interface of the NEX 7.

Frank

Maybe Frank should defer a decision until a NEX-7 firmware is released (if this SAR rumour has any validity)
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr4-nex- ... hybrid-vf/
The NEX-7 seems to be selling like "hot cakes" so there is probably going to be a delay before I can get my copy at £900 for body only. Anyway I can wait.
Note Andrew Reid's comments on EVF versus Hybrid

“In my opinion, the optical viewfinder is superseded by the OLED EVF and no amount of hybrid niceness can save it. 5 years ago, it was preferable to have an optical viewfinder because EVFs were rubbish. Now, it is the opposite. The hybrid viewfinder in the X-Pro 1 is barely any different from the X100 and doesn’t particularly suit the interchangeable lens format it is now paired with. The larger lenses get in the way for a start, as does your hand.”

Don't know the chap, but it seems as if Sony are beginning to make a real impact.
No doubt Barry Fitzpatrick can provide som counter arguments in favour of the hybrid idea and execution.

[InTheSky]

Here is the test for the A900 + 1.4 and the NEX 7 as promise ... http://www.photoclubalpha.com/forum/vie ... =49&t=6465

[aster]

Hi Frank, : )

I hate to interfere with your flash experimentations with your wonderful daughter but if my memory serves me right direct flash light can damage newborn's eyes. Maybe you can wait for a little longer before directing the flash to her? (the second shot)

She's neatly perfect to be harmed by Daddy's flash.


Now that I got this of my mind and feel better, I'll keep up to your experimentations with the new camera and lenses.

Thanks for sharing,

Yildiz

[InTheSky]

Hi Frank, : )

I hate to interfere with your flash experimentations with your wonderful daughter but if my memory serves me right direct flash light can damage newborn's eyes. Maybe you can wait for a little longer before directing the flash to her? (the second shot)

She's neatly perfect to be harmed by Daddy's flash.


Now that I got this of my mind and feel better, I'll keep up to your experimentations with the new camera and lenses.

Thanks for sharing,

Yildiz

This is very interesting posting Aster. In fact, so fare I can count on my hand the number of picture with flash Estalla got.

I am always afraid of the the impact of flash on baby eyes. And now with digital point and shot, this is near scary to see parent taking hundred of picture in a day using most of the time flashes. And not a lot of beginner on camera photo knows that it is always better to move back and zoom than using the wide angle near to the face (classic large disproportional baby face...).

Here is my classical new series of picture for Estella : http://www.pbase.com/nadeauf/birthdayestella



Frank