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NEX-7 Gets Firmware Update!

Posted by Matthew Durr on October 17, 2012
Posted in: Ramblings. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

The Sony NEX-7 has been out for almost a year now (though realistically was delayed for a few months due to the Thailand floods), and many customers–including me–were hoping for an early firmware update to improve basic functionality, and give the camera features that should coincide with its “flagship” designation. Well, after such a long wait, the Sony Germany website has just released an update which gives five new features (this is copied from their website, note that unless you are one of my Germany readers, wait until the update becomes available for your country’s Sony website to avoid compatibility issues) to the NEX-7:

  • Addition of capability to enable or disable the MOVIE button
  • Addition of exposure settings of bracket shooting (three frames /1.0EV,2.0EV, 3.0EV)
  • Improvement of response for showing auto review image
  • Improvement of image quality when using a wide angle lens
  • Improvement of indication when setting “Flexible Spot”

So what this means is:

  • No more accidental time-wasting movies due to the awkward placement of the movie button
  • True flexible exposure bracketing is now available for proper HDR photography (more than three frames would have been welcome, though)
  • Responsiveness is improved
  • Lenses such as the upcoming 10-18mm f/4 OSS, 16mm f/2.8, and 24mm f/1.8 should perform better, at least in JPEG

I don’t really know about the last point, but I’m sure it helps out with overall operation. I’m very glad Sony has finally listened to some of the biggest complaints with this otherwise amazing camera (movie button, crippled +/- .07 bracketing). Though there are still features which I feel should be “standard” on a camera of this class, such as the option to set an Auto ISO range, the ability to manually enter EXIF data for non-electronic lenses, or even a basic intervalometer function (the Nikon d300 has all of these, and more), Sony is at the very least headed in the right direction. Until now I had honestly lost all hope for an update. As a result, I was losing hope in Sony as a camera company, because I was feeling they weren’t supporting their high-end products like a good camera company should. Well, the support is finally here (though a little late), and I can’t wait until it becomes available on the Sony US website! Sony has–for now–gotten my loyalty back. 🙂

A Slew of Big Announcements (and a Poll)

Posted by Matthew Durr on September 11, 2012
Posted in: General News. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

To make a long story short, Sony is getting ready to make many, many announcements for updates to their alpha, NEX, and camcorder line-ups. It was supposed to happen at 5 a.m. London time (15 minutes after this post was written),  but the good ‘ole guys at Photographic-Central seemed to have spilled the beans an hour early.

Though the full-frame a99 DSLT, full-frame RX1 (world’s first compact FF camera), NEX-6, and (most likely) the full-frame VG-900 camcorder all look very nice, I was looking forward in particular to the three rumored e-mount lens announcements to accompany the cameras. Thankfully, the rumors were right. In Sony’s press release, there will be a 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 pancake powerzoom, a 10-18mm f/4 ultrawide zoom, and a compact 35mm f/1.8. What’s so special about these lenses (despite their obvious specs), is all three will have OSS (Optical Steady Shot).

From some reviews I have seen of current e-mount lenses with OSS, the shutter speed advantage it can give a photographer while handholding seems to fall in-between 2-3 stops. Here’s the kicker, a 35mm f/1.8 will have OSS. This lens will most likely become the ultimate low-light tool for NEX photographers. By following the 1/focal length (in 35mm FoV) rule, a 35mm lens (on APS-C gives about a 50mm FoV) shouldn’t be handheld at shutter speeds less than 1/50. Well, with OSS on, if three stops of shutter speed advantage are given, it should now be safe to shoot at a ridiculously slow 1/13 of a second. With good technique and shooting in burst mode, one could probably push that shutter speed a bit lower. Keep in mind though, any moving subjects will be blurred at these kinds of shutter speeds (OSS doesn’t stop motion, unfortunately).

What should this lens mean for people like me? I’ll now have a fast “normal” lens that is supposed to be very compact (even more-so than the 1-stop slower 35mm f/2.5 E), providing good depth-of-field control as well as fantastic low-light capabilities by keeping ISOs low. Here’s to hoping the lens actually performs well at the larger apertures, eh?

Here’s a picture of the 35mm f/1.8 (mounted on the new NEX-6), taken from Photographic-Central:

35mm f/1.8 OSS

Here’s a side view of the 35mm (from DPReview). I’m now positive this will be more compact than the 35mm f/2.5 E + Nikon F adapter:Sony 35mm f/1.8 OSS

All this said, I present a question to everyone, which lens in the e-mount announcements would you like to see reviewed first? I for one will be putting in a pre-order for the 35mm for my NEX-7 as soon as I can, but depending on what my readers want, I may reconsider. Sound off in the comments and/or answer in the poll below!

UPDATE: Amazon has just allowed pre-orders to start for all three of the new lenses (Adorama and B&H should follow soon). The voting is close between the 35mm f/1.8 and the 16-50 PZ, so I went ahead and pre-ordered both for now. 🙂

A Case for TMT Lenses

Posted by Matthew Durr on May 12, 2012
Posted in: Ramblings. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

As much of a joy as it is using manual lenses with my NEX-7, I would love to have the ease of autofocus in my near future. The only problem with getting a current native e-mount autofocus lens is they all employ the lesser Contrast Detect Auto Focus (CDAF, focus is found via contrast) rather than the more efficient and generally faster Phase Detect Auto Focus (PDAF, focus is found via distance tracking), the latter of which I am used to from previous cameras. Though in good light, CDAF is known to be accurate and fast, the scenarios where I would love to use it–focusing in low light and motion tracking–the system as a whole falters. It isn’t designed for focus tracking, and in low-light, there is no contrast to detect! This is put up beside PDAF, which all DSLRs use to some degree, and focusing on subjects in low light and in motion are a cinch.

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