Sony A7 with 28-70mm Kit Lens Sample Images
There are number of good reviews already shared by customers on Amazon as well as many other professional reviewers of this product elsewhere on the web, I will try to keep this review as non-redundant as possible while still trying to share my experiences. To give you a background, I am not a professional photographer by any means but I do have passion for photography & love reviewing new gadgets.
Over the years, I have come across several sub-compact point & shoot also some high-end digital SLRs from Canon, Fujifilm & Sony as I have access to them via Amazon for `production build' reviewing purposes and have shared my thoughts with Amazon community with several unbiased reviews in the past after thoroughly testing them from an engineer's point of view.
Having said, here is the review for Sony α7K, It is going to be a long review. Feel free to comment & explore any sub-topics you desire or read my overall impression in the end of this Sony α7K review.
Look & feel - Comfortably solid! - 4 stars!
Sony has this camera body with `retro' looking edges. At first you feel the look is from the past by-gone era but honestly, the design grows onto you pretty fast with easy to learn intuitive menu system & placement of buttons. I had no problems in getting used to the camera. The customizable buttons feature makes it even better if you do not like a function assigned to a specific dial. Sony has done a tremendous work with the shape & size of this camera. This camera is way less bulky than most DSLR's that I have owned in the past. Sony α7K feels very comfortable in hand. The grip is sure; comfortably solid, the body is magnesium alloy with dust and moisture sealing giving you peace of mind - one could not ask for more!
Electronic View Finder & Articulated 3-inch display - Very useful! - 4 ½ stars!
I love both these features, while I prefer optical View finder (Too much to ask for this price range) this EVF is pretty darn good on this camera. It is 'XGA' quality presented using OLED with 2.4m-dot precision and 0.71 x magnifications. The clarity on this 'EVF' is superb and is found more or less centrally located on the camera body. Also, by using the 'EVF' the camera is close to your body and at eye level facilitates very stable shake free shots. The 'EVF' does allow you to get excellent quality preview of the exposure but tends to become little bit grainy in extreme low lit conditions but still usable. Having said, if you do not like 'EVFs' then there is an articulated 3-inch display with 921k-dot pixel resolution which can be tilted so that you can compose shots with camera raised up or below waist level effortlessly. BTW, this is not a touch screen display but the menu buttons icons make you want to touch them as the display is that brilliant. Shooting video is a pleasure using this excellent LCD display.
Full HD 1080p Video Recording - Excellent quality! - Full 5 stars!
The Sony α 7K features full 1080p video recording either at 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p), 1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p) both in MP4 & AVCHD formats; the included microphone is stereo but also allows for headphone & microphone jacks for even better input or monitoring. Video quality is pristine and allows full manual controls while shooting video. The video quality is top-notch making it very compelling to use instead of an additional bulky camcorder. You definitely can create professional quality video using this camera with minimal effort.
Sensor & Auto-focus - Slightly faster AF than a Sony α7R - 3 stars!
Sony α7K Full-Frame 24.3 MP Interchangeable Digital Lens Camera with 28-70mm kit lens supplied uses a `Hybrid auto-focus' system using on-chip Phase detection & low-pass filter making this camera little bit faster in real-life auto-focus tests when compared with the 36.3 megapixel big brother Sony α7R. While the more expensive Sony α7R is geared towards professionals who would benefit from the large 36.3 megapixel sensor for incredible details. This 24.3MP sensor is perfect for an individual who likes to take casual footage under well lit conditions or one who can accept reasonable response time needed from the auto-focus system to capture those precious moments in full-frame digital glory. In this case 24.3 MP is still pretty incredible detail for such footage's and is whole lot cheaper to own than a Sony α7R. This camera Sony α7K was not designed for capturing sports footage or fast moving objects as Auto-focus still is slow at best especially in 'low-light' conditions.
Shutter noise - Subjectively quieter! - 3 stars!
The Sony α7 with the included kit lens actually sounds more like Sony NEX series which in my opinion is much quieter than Sony α7R; this is primarily because this camera uses different exposure technique wherein the physical shutter is already open for live view and merely gates the sensor down electronically to start the exposure. In this method all you hear is single brief `click' of a single curtain sound. Sony α7R also being a tad slower than Sony α7K making the sound last longer which we perceive as louder in my opinion. Having said, it does not mean you can conspicuously take photos and hope that no one notices you - You will get noticed when you hear that satisfying clack that a Sony α7K makes.
Picture quality - Very good! - 4 ½ stars!
While most general users of this product will find picture quality incredibly outstanding in all respects especially in lower sensitivities with the included kit lens. Having said, the beauty of the image sensor can be put to better use by opting better lenses. For example: A Sony SEL35F28Z Camera Lens which definitely will cost you more but will give you sharper images. Using the included kit lens, RAW files compares well with most other high end DSLRs like Nikon at same levels of sensitivities. The JPEG mode however has some undesired post processing especially with images with high ISOs. Most users probably will never notice it till you start zooming into pixel levels but worth mentioning it.
Battery, USB cable & charger - Average - 3 ½ stars!
Battery life is average at best. It does seem to eat batteries somewhat faster than most DSLRs I have owned. Also, the idea of charging battery internally in a high-end camera like this will make some camera enthusiasts unhappy including me. I wished Sony included a regular wall charger and an `extra battery' in the kit which accepts batteries directly for charging rather than having to plug your camera to charge the battery. Having said there is an upside to this, you can charge your camera anywhere there is `USB port `availability - granted it will take forever to charge with 500mA output available from your PC. The included 2.1A charger works well but cumbersome to use with the short cheap looking USB cable they provide in the kit.
Flash - `No Flash' included in the kit - Zero stars!
This is by far the greatest oversight on Sony's part for not including a simple `basic camera flash' on the body of the camera. Granted the camera is very good to capture images in low light conditions it just does not make sense to provide a `hot-shoe' and not give you a basic flash in the kit for the price you pay. Having a built-in flash comes handy every so often. This is by far the greatest disappointment for me.
Overall impression - Very good! - 3 ½ stars!
The base specification is impressive so are the features. Picture quality is really very good with rich details even when zoomed to max in post processing; I am not saying Sony α 7 with the included kit lens is perfect but very close to perfect. The excellent grip and intuitive revised menu system facilitates taking good pictures with less learning curve. The availability of sophisticated third party lens adapters opens up whole lot of new possibilities to experiment with. If you opt for better lenses you can definitely make it a whole lot better camera. The ease of use especially noting the smaller and lighter compared to most other cameras of similar specifications makes up for the difference. This overall is a good product no doubt in that.
You can get one of these from Amazon by using the link below:
Over the years, I have come across several sub-compact point & shoot also some high-end digital SLRs from Canon, Fujifilm & Sony as I have access to them via Amazon for `production build' reviewing purposes and have shared my thoughts with Amazon community with several unbiased reviews in the past after thoroughly testing them from an engineer's point of view.
Having said, here is the review for Sony α7K, It is going to be a long review. Feel free to comment & explore any sub-topics you desire or read my overall impression in the end of this Sony α7K review.
Look & feel - Comfortably solid! - 4 stars!
Sony has this camera body with `retro' looking edges. At first you feel the look is from the past by-gone era but honestly, the design grows onto you pretty fast with easy to learn intuitive menu system & placement of buttons. I had no problems in getting used to the camera. The customizable buttons feature makes it even better if you do not like a function assigned to a specific dial. Sony has done a tremendous work with the shape & size of this camera. This camera is way less bulky than most DSLR's that I have owned in the past. Sony α7K feels very comfortable in hand. The grip is sure; comfortably solid, the body is magnesium alloy with dust and moisture sealing giving you peace of mind - one could not ask for more!
Electronic View Finder & Articulated 3-inch display - Very useful! - 4 ½ stars!
I love both these features, while I prefer optical View finder (Too much to ask for this price range) this EVF is pretty darn good on this camera. It is 'XGA' quality presented using OLED with 2.4m-dot precision and 0.71 x magnifications. The clarity on this 'EVF' is superb and is found more or less centrally located on the camera body. Also, by using the 'EVF' the camera is close to your body and at eye level facilitates very stable shake free shots. The 'EVF' does allow you to get excellent quality preview of the exposure but tends to become little bit grainy in extreme low lit conditions but still usable. Having said, if you do not like 'EVFs' then there is an articulated 3-inch display with 921k-dot pixel resolution which can be tilted so that you can compose shots with camera raised up or below waist level effortlessly. BTW, this is not a touch screen display but the menu buttons icons make you want to touch them as the display is that brilliant. Shooting video is a pleasure using this excellent LCD display.
Full HD 1080p Video Recording - Excellent quality! - Full 5 stars!
The Sony α 7K features full 1080p video recording either at 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p), 1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p) both in MP4 & AVCHD formats; the included microphone is stereo but also allows for headphone & microphone jacks for even better input or monitoring. Video quality is pristine and allows full manual controls while shooting video. The video quality is top-notch making it very compelling to use instead of an additional bulky camcorder. You definitely can create professional quality video using this camera with minimal effort.
Sensor & Auto-focus - Slightly faster AF than a Sony α7R - 3 stars!
Sony α7K Full-Frame 24.3 MP Interchangeable Digital Lens Camera with 28-70mm kit lens supplied uses a `Hybrid auto-focus' system using on-chip Phase detection & low-pass filter making this camera little bit faster in real-life auto-focus tests when compared with the 36.3 megapixel big brother Sony α7R. While the more expensive Sony α7R is geared towards professionals who would benefit from the large 36.3 megapixel sensor for incredible details. This 24.3MP sensor is perfect for an individual who likes to take casual footage under well lit conditions or one who can accept reasonable response time needed from the auto-focus system to capture those precious moments in full-frame digital glory. In this case 24.3 MP is still pretty incredible detail for such footage's and is whole lot cheaper to own than a Sony α7R. This camera Sony α7K was not designed for capturing sports footage or fast moving objects as Auto-focus still is slow at best especially in 'low-light' conditions.
Shutter noise - Subjectively quieter! - 3 stars!
The Sony α7 with the included kit lens actually sounds more like Sony NEX series which in my opinion is much quieter than Sony α7R; this is primarily because this camera uses different exposure technique wherein the physical shutter is already open for live view and merely gates the sensor down electronically to start the exposure. In this method all you hear is single brief `click' of a single curtain sound. Sony α7R also being a tad slower than Sony α7K making the sound last longer which we perceive as louder in my opinion. Having said, it does not mean you can conspicuously take photos and hope that no one notices you - You will get noticed when you hear that satisfying clack that a Sony α7K makes.
Picture quality - Very good! - 4 ½ stars!
While most general users of this product will find picture quality incredibly outstanding in all respects especially in lower sensitivities with the included kit lens. Having said, the beauty of the image sensor can be put to better use by opting better lenses. For example: A Sony SEL35F28Z Camera Lens which definitely will cost you more but will give you sharper images. Using the included kit lens, RAW files compares well with most other high end DSLRs like Nikon at same levels of sensitivities. The JPEG mode however has some undesired post processing especially with images with high ISOs. Most users probably will never notice it till you start zooming into pixel levels but worth mentioning it.
Battery, USB cable & charger - Average - 3 ½ stars!
Battery life is average at best. It does seem to eat batteries somewhat faster than most DSLRs I have owned. Also, the idea of charging battery internally in a high-end camera like this will make some camera enthusiasts unhappy including me. I wished Sony included a regular wall charger and an `extra battery' in the kit which accepts batteries directly for charging rather than having to plug your camera to charge the battery. Having said there is an upside to this, you can charge your camera anywhere there is `USB port `availability - granted it will take forever to charge with 500mA output available from your PC. The included 2.1A charger works well but cumbersome to use with the short cheap looking USB cable they provide in the kit.
Flash - `No Flash' included in the kit - Zero stars!
This is by far the greatest oversight on Sony's part for not including a simple `basic camera flash' on the body of the camera. Granted the camera is very good to capture images in low light conditions it just does not make sense to provide a `hot-shoe' and not give you a basic flash in the kit for the price you pay. Having a built-in flash comes handy every so often. This is by far the greatest disappointment for me.
Overall impression - Very good! - 3 ½ stars!
The base specification is impressive so are the features. Picture quality is really very good with rich details even when zoomed to max in post processing; I am not saying Sony α 7 with the included kit lens is perfect but very close to perfect. The excellent grip and intuitive revised menu system facilitates taking good pictures with less learning curve. The availability of sophisticated third party lens adapters opens up whole lot of new possibilities to experiment with. If you opt for better lenses you can definitely make it a whole lot better camera. The ease of use especially noting the smaller and lighter compared to most other cameras of similar specifications makes up for the difference. This overall is a good product no doubt in that.
You can get one of these from Amazon by using the link below: