Sony NEX-7 Comparison Review

The Sony Alpha NEX-7 is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was announced in August 2011 and is equipped with an APS-C sensor. It offers a resolution of 24 megapixel.

Is the Sony NEX-7 a good camera? The NEX-7 has a Camera Elo of 1721. This rating puts the NEX-7 below average of all mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (APS cameras), the NEX-7 also ranks below average. Based on its within category standings, the camera earns a 2.5-star performance rating. – Well, the Sony NEX-7 is more than 13 years old, and there have been many other good digital cameras released since 2011.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The physical dimensions of the Sony NEX-7 relative to a credit card are illustrated in the side-by-side display below. Three consecutive views from the front, the top, and the rear side are shown. All size dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Sony NEX-7 alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price	Street Price
1.		Sony NEX-7	120 mm	67 mm	43 mm	400 g	430	n	Aug 2011	US$ 1 349	ebay.com
2.		Sony A3000	128 mm	91 mm	85 mm	411 g	470	n	Aug 2013	US$ 329	ebay.com
3.		Sony A5000	110 mm	63 mm	36 mm	269 g	420	n	Jan 2014	US$ 449	ebay.com
4.		Sony A5100	110 mm	63 mm	36 mm	283 g	400	n	Aug 2014	US$ 549	ebay.com
5.		Sony A6000	120 mm	67 mm	45 mm	344 g	360	n	Feb 2014	US$ 599	ebay.com
6.		Sony A6300	120 mm	67 mm	49 mm	404 g	400	Y	Feb 2016	US$ 999	ebay.com
7.		Sony A6400	120 mm	67 mm	50 mm	403 g	410	Y	Jan 2019	US$ 899	amazon.com
8.		Sony A6500	120 mm	67 mm	53 mm	453 g	350	Y	Oct 2016	US$ 1 399	ebay.com
9.		Sony NEX-6	120 mm	67 mm	43 mm	345 g	360	n	Sep 2012	US$ 999	ebay.com
10.		Sony RX1	113 mm	65 mm	70 mm	482 g	270	n	Sep 2012	US$ 2 799	ebay.com
11.		Sony RX1R	113 mm	65 mm	70 mm	482 g	270	n	Jun 2013	US$ 2 799	ebay.com
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Sony NEX-7 was launched in the US market at a price of $1,349. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Check NEX-7 offers at
ebay.com

Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The size of the sensor inside a digital camera is one of the key determinants of image quality. All other things equal, a large sensor will have larger individual pixel-units that offer better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixels in a sensor of the same technological generation. Furthermore, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more possibilities to use shallow depth-of-field in order to isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors are more costly to manufacture and tent to lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

The Sony NEX-7 features an APS-C sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.5. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Sony NEX-7 among the medium-sized sensor cameras that aim to strike a balance between image quality and portability.

Since 2007, DXO Mark has published sensor performance measurements that have been derived using a consistent methodology. This service is based on lab testing and assigns an overall score to each camera sensor, as well as ratings for dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), color depth ("DXO Portrait"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports"). The adjacent table reports on the physical sensor characteristics and the outcomes of the DXO sensor quality tests for a sample of alternative cameras.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Sony NEX-7	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60i	24.1	13.4	1016	81
2.		Sony A3000	APS-C	19.8	5456	3632	1080/60i	23.7	12.8	1068	78
3.		Sony A5000	APS-C	19.8	5456	3632	1080/60i	23.8	13.0	1089	79
4.		Sony A5100	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	23.8	12.7	1347	80
5.		Sony A6000	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.1	13.1	1347	82
6.		Sony A6300	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.4	13.7	1437	85
7.		Sony A6400	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.0	13.6	1431	83
8.		Sony A6500	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.5	13.7	1405	85
9.		Sony NEX-6	APS-C	16.0	4912	3264	1080/60i	23.7	13.1	1018	78
10.		Sony RX1	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	25.1	14.3	2534	93
11.		Sony RX1R	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	25.0	13.6	2537	91

Many modern cameras are not only capable of taking still images, but can also record movies. The NEX-7 indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the NEX-7 can use is 1080/60i.

Feature comparison

Apart from body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the NEX-7 has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 2359k dots. The viewfinder offers a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.73x. The following tables report on some other key feature differences and similarities of the Sony NEX-7 and comparable cameras.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Sony NEX-7	2359	n	3.0 / 921	tilting	n	1/4000s	10.0/s	Y	n
2.		Sony A3000	202	n	3.0 / 230	fixed	n	1/4000s	2.5/s	Y	n
3.		Sony A5000	none	n	3.0 / 461	tilting	n	1/4000s	3.5/s	Y	n
4.		Sony A5100	none	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	Y	1/4000s	6.0/s	Y	n
5.		Sony A6000	1440	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	n	1/4000s	11.0/s	Y	n
6.		Sony A6300	2359	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	n	1/4000s	11.0/s	Y	n
7.		Sony A6400	2359	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	Y	1/4000s	11.0/s	Y	n
8.		Sony A6500	2359	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	Y	1/4000s	11.0/s	Y	Y
9.		Sony NEX-6	2359	n	3.0 / 921	tilting	n	1/4000s	10.0/s	Y	n
10.		Sony RX1	optional	n	3.0 / 1229	fixed	n	1/4000s	5.0/s	Y	n
11.		Sony RX1R	optional	n	3.0 / 1229	fixed	n	1/4000s	5.0/s	Y	n
Note: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

The LCD screen on the Sony Alpha NEX-7 is flexibly attached to the body. In particular, the LCD can be tilted vertically to facilitate odd-angle shots in landscape orientation. This tilting design is often preferred, for example, by street photographers to a fully articulated, swivel type of LCD attachment, as it is more unobtrusive during shooting than a screen that flips out to the side.

One convenient feature of the NEX-7 is the presence of an on-board flash. While this built-in flash is not very powerful, it can at times be useful as a fill-in light to brighten deep shadow areas.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Sony Alpha NEX-7 and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Sony NEX-7	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
2.		Sony A3000	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
3.		Sony A5000	-	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
4.		Sony A5100	-	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
5.		Sony A6000	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
6.		Sony A6300	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
7.		Sony A6400	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	Y
8.		Sony A6500	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
9.		Sony NEX-6	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	mini	2.0	Y	-	-
10.		Sony RX1	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
11.		Sony RX1R	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-

It is notable that the NEX-7 has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Further information on the features and operation of the NEX-7 can be found in the free online Sony NEX-7 Manual or on the Sony support site.

Expert reviews

While the comparison of technical specifications can provide a useful overview of the capabilities of different cameras, it remains partial and cannot reveal, for example, the handling experience and imaging performance when actually working with the NEX-7. User reviews, such as those found at amazon, can sometimes inform about these issues, but such feedback is often incomplete, inconsistent, and biased. This is why expert reviews are important. The following table reports the overall rankings of the cameras as published by some of the major camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price	Street Price
1.		Sony NEX-7	5/5	+ +	..	81/100	4.5/5	5/5	Aug 2011	US$ 1 349	ebay.com
2.		Sony A3000	3/5	+	..	..	4/5	4/5	Aug 2013	US$ 329	ebay.com
3.		Sony A5000	3/5	+	..	..	4.5/5	4.5/5	Jan 2014	US$ 449	ebay.com
4.		Sony A5100	4.5/5	+	..	..	4.5/5	5/5	Aug 2014	US$ 549	ebay.com
5.		Sony A6000	5/5	+	4.5/5	80/100	4.5/5	5/5	Feb 2014	US$ 599	ebay.com
6.		Sony A6300	4.5/5	+	..	85/100	5/5	5/5	Feb 2016	US$ 999	ebay.com
7.		Sony A6400	4/5	+	4/5	85/100	4.5/5	4/5	Jan 2019	US$ 899	amazon.com
8.		Sony A6500	5/5	+ +	3.5/5	85/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Oct 2016	US$ 1 399	ebay.com
9.		Sony NEX-6	5/5	+ +	..	78/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2012	US$ 999	ebay.com
10.		Sony RX1	5/5	..	..	79/100	4/5	4.5/5	Sep 2012	US$ 2 799	ebay.com
11.		Sony RX1R	5/5	..	..	..	4/5	4.5/5	Jun 2013	US$ 2 799	ebay.com
Note: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The review scores listed above should be treated with care, though. The ratings are only valid when referring to cameras in the same category and of the same age. Thus, a score needs to be put into the context of the launch date and the launch price of the camera, and comparing ratings of very distinct cameras or ones that are far apart in terms of their release date have little meaning. It should also be noted that some of the review sites have over time altered the way they render their verdicts.

Check NEX-7 offers at
ebay.com

Camera to camera comparisons

In case you are interested in seeing how this camera compares to another one, just use the search menu below. An an alternative, you can also directly jump to any one of the listed comparisons that were previously generated by the CAM-parator tool.

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