Sony NEX-7 Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 1/40th. sec. f/11 ISO 100
On lots of occasions I like to work with just two prime lenses, and yesterday I used the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 and the Sony a-mount 85mm f/2.8 SAM lens, with the L-EA2 translucent mirror adapter.
Sony NEX-7 Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 1/4000 sec. f/4 ISO 100
Sony NEX-7 85mm f/2.8 SAM a-mount lens L-EA2 translucent mirror adapter
1/3200 sec. f/4 ISO 100
Sony NEX-7 85mm f/2.8 SAM a-mount lens L-EA2 translucent mirror adapter
1/320 sec. f/9 ISO 100
Sony NEX-7 85mm f/2.8 SAM a-mount lens L-EA2 translucent mirror adapter
1/640 sec. f/7.1 ISO 100
Sony NEX-7 Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 1/80th. sec. f/5.6 ISO 100
Sony NEX-7 Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 1/500th. sec. f/5 ISO 100
Sony NEX-7 Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 1/200th. sec. f/5.6 ISO 100
Sony NEX-7 Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 1/400th. sec. f/7.1 ISO 100
Sony NEX-7 85mm f/2.8 SAM a-mount lens L-EA2 translucent mirror adapter
1/320th. sec. f/5.6 ISO 100
I inadvertently got to check out how well I could recover an underexposed shot, since I was accidentally changing the +/- exposure values on one of the function wheels! It was so cold yesterday, round about 1 degree selsius with an added severe windchill factor, that several of my fingers went numb, and combined with the fact that I was wearing (pretty thin) gloves, I was unknowingly changing the settings on the camera! However I'm pleased to report that I was able to adjust the files in Photoshop with no ill effects, showing that this is a pretty "flexible" sensor.
It was also my first opportunity to use the NEX-7 in a situation that could be considered typical of how I work, i.e. sunshine and good light. As I think you can see, the NEX-7 has good strong, warm colour, very suitable for the kind of stock images I was taking.
I mentioned in a previous post that the NEX-7 files strike me as being slightly different to the output from the a77 DSLT. I mentioned that they seem (very) slightly softer than that camera, but less noisy, particularly with regard to luminance noise. The a77, while producing excellent images, does have a certain "graininess" even at low ISO's, and I've had to remove it.
Don't get me wrong, there is no big difference here, and the NEX-7 files are very similar to the a77, but for me they are slightly easier to work with and I seem to prefer them. I can think of no reason for this, apart from the thought that maybe that translucent mirror makes a difference, though since I was using my 85mm a-mount lens with the mirror adapter, this really shouldn't have been a factor.
I made the suggestion previously that perhaps the NEX-7 has a slightly stronger Anti-aliasing / low pass filter. Please be aware that this is marginal, and I'm certainly not suggesting that there is any fundemantal difference between the two sensors. However my NEX-7 does produce files that have slightly less luminance noise at low ISO settings. As I mentioned there is a very small difference in sharpness, when the same lens is used, but even taking this into consideration, I do prefer the NEX-7 files. Plus when I use the Zeiss lens, which I haven't got an equivalent for with my a77, that sharpness difference disappears, and I end up with a slightly "cleaner" image overall.