First weekend, Love/Hate the Nex-7

[Athos6]

So I took my new Nex-7 out for a weekend trip to a Fair and the Zoo. After some use, there are a few things the I hate about the camera. First, the modal nature of the camera. I hate how features and settings are locked out unless your in a certain mode. I really needed the HDR function but could not figure out how to activate it until I got home. Apparently you can only use it while shooting jpegs. On that subject, I shoot Raw+Jpeg so that I can use the Jpegs as thumbnails. It would be nice to be able to shoot small jpegs while shooting raws. Mainly, my frustration came from trying to find out what mode I had to be in to unlock features. Sony, please revamp the UI.

I love the camera itself. It is fast and when things come together the results are nice. I can tell I'll get good pictures out of it once I learn its quirks. As it stands right now my X100 still reigns supreme...

 

[mackigator]

Stay with it. I set my focus peaking to bright and yellow, also set the focus zoom to the AEL button, and set it to stay zoomed until the shutter fires. Took me awhile to find spot metering and I'm still bumping that dang video button.

Bugs me the exposure comp gets accidentally bumped so easily.

But I do love the camera.

 

[Pablito]

Well there is a difference between frustration over not having learned the interface and actual problems. There is no way some of the features can work with RAW.

The video button is a real problem - I wish they would do a firmware upgrade that would let you lock the video button making it impossible to activate it accidentally.

 

[Athos6]

I will. When all is said and done, considering that the Zoo/Fair trip involved 4 children under 4 years and +95 degree temperatures, the fact that I didn't smash the camera into a million pieces means that it must have done ok. 😉

I set the peaking to bright and red, I'll try yellow and see if its different. I set the magnify to the left control wheel button that came unassigned. I kept the AF/MF and AEL the same but switched it to toggle. I have the DMF on so that I can grab the focus ring and adjust focus if I need to. However, that might be asking for trouble, I think I should see if the AF can do its job first... With peaking, have you had a large portion of the frame shimmer as if it was all in focus and then found your subject was not really in focus? As if much more than the plane of focus was being highlighted??

Yeah, most of the "problems" were 100% user error.

 

[Paul_M]

I made a pretty simple fix that cured the Video Button problem.
I glued a small rubber o-ring on the grip, surrounding the Video button.
Now it will not accidently trigger no matter how hard I grip the camera.
To activate, I just use my fingertip with slight pressure.
I think Sony could easily incorporate this design into the molding of the grip and make the modified grip available to NEX-7 owners. Especially since the original grip is falling off.
Here is how it looks:

 

[Limbery]

Done the same o-ring fix...

 

[peter_n]

A number of people have. Welcome to the forum Limbery!

With peaking, have you had a large portion of the frame shimmer as if it was all in focus and then found your subject was not really in focus? As if much more than the plane of focus was being highlighted??

Set the peaking level to mid or low.

 

[Athos6]

I'll try that. I rolled with just the AF the other day and tried not to over think things, just let the camera do some of the work. Worked out pretty well. I was worried about the 24mp being to much and not getting good results. I felt this way because of my experience with the D7000's 16mp. The more I think about it the more I feel like there was something up with that camera.

What type of glue did everybody use for the O ring?

 

[peter_n]

I've only used manual focus lenses and don't intend to buy any lenses for it. No problems so far except for that idiotic video button. Once Sony upgrades the firmware there will be a fix for that in it though.

 

[Paul_M]

NEX-7 Video Button Fix: O-ring Specs

NEX-7 Video Button Fix: O-ring Specs

O-Ring Specs:

#009 SAE Nitrile Rubber'
ID 7/32"
OD 11/32"
CrossSection 1/16"
​

Glue:

Gel-Type ‘Super’ Glue. Nothing special.
Use VERY sparingly.
Apply to ring side and position with needle-nose pliers or forceps.
​

NOTE: If glue contacts chromed-plastic button, it will mar the finish.
[FONT=&quot]
Good luck… [/FONT]

 

[mackigator]

Thanks for the O-ring idea and specs. This is something I need to do.

 

[peterm1]

I have an NEX 5. I found some of the same frustrations when I first got it. I kind of understand why some functions are locked depending upon the shooting mode you are in but do not much like it.

I found early on that when shooting with the standard kit zoom, the lens camera combo could only really produce what I thought were acceptably sharp images if (a) the focus mode is set to single focus point (so you can determine exactly what you are focussed on as I think there are focussing errors that otherwise contribute to reduced image quality) and (b) the lens is stopped down a couple of stops.

So when shooting the kit zoom I began shooting exclusively in aperture priority mode. No other mode gives results I am happy with. My Panasonic LX3 if far more forgiving and shoots far sharper images in most circumstances.

As a result I dont much use the kit zoom and instead use adapters to mount various legacy lenses - and almost without exception as these are designed for 35mm they give excellent results. When in manual focus mode I have tried focus peaking and while I like the concept I find its just not accurate enough for critical focus. Great for zone focussing however, expecially with a WA lens. I usually use the focus zoom function which does allow you to focus manually with considerable accuracy.

Having said all of the above, I like the cameras design. It is small but not too small and sits nicely in the hand. The NEX 7 would be even nice. In fact much nicer. While I am troubled by some of the NEX series shortcomings I still find myself enjoying using it.

 

[Athos6]

So I've come to terms with most of the issues with the Nex-7. After further use I came across some things I need to remember. Dust, you really have to watch out when changing lenses in the field, buy a blower. Second, when shooting video in Tv mode with the shutter set to 50 or 60, the camera freaked out a couple of times, I think it had to do with the aperture not being able to compensate for a transition from the light in the shade to the light in the sun. This was with the Sigma 30mm. By freaked out I mean alarmingly loud buzzing an clicking. Wierd. The video button has been a non-issue for me, I've only tripped it once.

 

[rogue_designer]

I made a pretty simple fix that cured the Video Button problem.
I glued a small rubber o-ring on the grip, surrounding the Video button.
Now it will not accidently trigger no matter how hard I grip the camera.
To activate, I just use my fingertip with slight pressure.
I think Sony could easily incorporate this design into the molding of the grip and make the modified grip available to NEX-7 owners. Especially since the original grip is falling off.
Here is how it looks:

Oh that's brilliant. Thank you for that.

 

[Ken Ford]

New clean solution for the video button: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1956341#post1956341