NEX-7 Part 4: 10 Firmware Update Suggestions
Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 15:38 ;)
Dematerialized │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F5.6 1/250s ISO100Despite a rather cheesy name, the NEX-7's Tri-Navi control scheme is the best of any compact system camera I've used. It puts all the exposure parameters under your thumb; aperture, shutter speed, or exposure compensation (depending in what mode you're in) and ISO. You don't have to lift your eye from the viewfinder or call up a menu, it's all right there and immediately accessible. Most of the other major settings are a navigation button press away from also being accessible by the same 3 control wheels. What those are, you decide yourself. The remaining buttons are just as configurable. It's pretty much perfect.
By not physically and permanently assigning functions to the NEX-7's buttons and wheels, Sony was able to create a user interface which benefits from being context driven (different functions assigned according to the task at hand) as well as being more customizable than most. That not only gives the photographer the ability to tailor the camera to his/her needs but also allows Sony to improve the user interface - via firmware updates - without violating the original control concept. There is definitely still room for improvement. Sometimes the camera's controls and features feel like they fall just short of what they should be able to do.;)
Two out of ThreeThe NEX-7 targets the enthusiast who, in my opinion, won't tolerate a camera that stands in the way of getting the the next photo. Digging around for a setting interrupts the shooting process and could even cause you to miss a decisive moment. Given the flexible design of the user interface, there's no reason why the settings you need frequently shouldn't be readily accessible. That's the beauty of the system.
Using the NEX-7 fairly regularly for almost 3 weeks, I've come up with a wish list of improvements that could all be implemented via a firmware update. These would give me more efficient access to a few frequently used settings that I still have to delve into the menus for, add some features that I think every enthusiast camera should have and resolve a few quirks in the NEX-7's behavior. I'll start my list with the suggestions for optimizing the user interface.;)
Distracting Peaking1) Add peaking level and peaking color to the list of options for the Tri-Navi controls
This would be a quick way to turn peaking on/off as well as adjusting the intensity and color without a long trip through the setup menu.
2) Turn focus peaking off with shutter half press
When what you've framed contains a lot of fine detail, the false color outlines overwhelm the image, making it difficult to fine tune the framing. Depressing the shutter half way should clear the preview to give you an unobstructed view for composing the photo. It's really very simple: manually focus with the aid of the peaking function, then clear the screen by half pressing the shutter in order to concentrate on final framing adjustments.;)
The Offending Button3) Allow the movie button to be turned off or reassigned to a custom function
Others have complained about how easy it is to inadvertently start recording movies on the NEX-7. While so far that hasn't happened too often, I don't shoot video regularly and would rather have the button serve as an additional, user definable, custom function. Even just having the ability to turn it off would be better than nothing.
4) Expand the list of functions that can be assigned to the function keys
While this list could be quite long depending on your needs, I'd really like to see at least two added:
- One shot spot metering; the camera reverts to set metering mode after the shutter is released once. This is a quick way to toggle back and forth between spot and either center weighted or multi metering.
- Toggle focus peaking on/off; a quick way to dismiss the colored outlines in photos where they're not needed to achieve focus.;)
Small Aperture & High ISO5) Shutter speed priority with fast lens bug
In shutter speed priority the camera inexplicably cranks the sensitivity right up the limit before beginning to open the aperture. This kind of behavior is usually counterproductive when shooting with a fast lens. In the example above, the NEX-7 has chosen to shoot at ISO1600 and F4 rather than an equivalent F2 and ISO400 or a happy medium of F2.8 and ISO800. That doesn't exploit the light gathering potential of the Zeiss 24mm F1.8 which is very sharp wide open.
6) Configurable ISO
Enthusiasts are able to make their own trade-off between appropriate shutter speeds and image quality. A camera in this category should therefore offer configurable automatic ISO. You should be able to select the minimum shutter speed as well as the maximum sensitivity. The current minimum shutter speed of 1/60s second and maximum ISO of 1600 are much too limiting. Sony doesn't have to offer every shutter speed, but a few choices from 1/30s to the maximum flash sync speed of 1/160s would be helpful.
7) Option to set spot meter to follow single focus point
I don't know about others, but usually when I take time to laboriously move the focus point, the area that I end up focusing on is also the area that I want to meter on. The way it is now, the spot meter stubbornly clings to the middle of the screen while the focus point departs for the periphery.
8) Custom Modes
This is something else that's pretty much mandatory on an enthusiast level camera: a way of saving and recalling groups of settings that are normally used together. User definable custom modes are the fastest way of preparing a camera for different shooting conditions and I miss them a lot on the NEX-7. Luckily, it should be easier to add custom C1, C2 and C3 positions on Sony's virtual mode dial than it would be on a physical one.
;)
Annoying!9) HDR not available when camera set to shoot RAW
The NEX-7 has an excellent in-camera HDR function. I shoot RAW though and the camera refuses to give me access to HDR shooting until I manually change the image quality to JPEG. After I've finished taking HDR photos, I have to remember to return the camera to RAW shooting. This is absurd; the NEX-7 should immediately and automatically switch over to shooting JPEGs when I select HDR. When I'm finished, it should automatically reset the image quality to what is was before I took my first HDR photo. That would be logical.
10) Menus
Finally, the main menu screen seems amateurish and not nearly enthusiast enough. Two of the groups are labeled “Brightness and Color” and with the ambiguous term “Camera.” While I can understand Sony's desire to keep the menu structure consistent with other NEX bodies, I still think the more professional menu structure used on cameras like Sony's A77 would be more appropriate for the NEX-7.
Wow, that list turned out to be longer and more in depth than I had planned. Still, it's in no way complete, concentrating instead on the refinements and feature improvements that would be most useful for my particular style of shooting. You may be looking for other improvements or features in a firmware update. I'd love to hear about those.
This long list of things that could be improved doesn't mean the camera has a poor user interface. On the contrary, I still think it's the best that I've used. But I get more critical when I pay a lot of money for an enthusiast level camera. The good thing is that there isn't anything on my list that looks like it couldn't be implemented with a firmware update. Addressing some of these issues would push the NEX-7 still closer to being my ideal camera. Let's see if Sony is listening and are motivated enough to respond, not just to my needs but to NEX-7 users as a whole.
Sony NEX-7, firmware update, gear, review
Reader Comments (22)
Always enjoy your insightful reviews. The next camera innovation is full frame with small body.
Sony's workin' well for you? You still a fan of the GH2?
Hi Skip,
The GH2 is (was in my case; it's up for sale on eBay) a very capable camera, but not one that I became a fan of. The GH2 is not a camera that entices you to pick it up, like an LX camera or NEX-7 do. As you know, I used to shoot parallel with compact cameras like the LX range as well as DSLRs. But I always wanted to combine the attributes of both in one camera system. In other words relatively compact & light combined with the image quality & performance of a DSLR. We're not quite there yet in terms of performance (AF speed, etc) but it's good enough for me. Compared to Micro Four Thirds, Sony NEX now gives me better image quality than I used to get with my last DSLR (Nikon D300). So I can do everything, even paid work with NEX. In terms of lens selection there are still some gaps, but I'm mainly a prime shooter and can manage with a 2 or 3 decent ones. The NEX-7 itself I like a lot; it's a thoroughly modern and very nicely crafted camera. I'm not a so much into the whole retro fad, although that wouldn't stop me if the camera were excellent in other ways.
Thanks Joan,
That would really be something. I wonder though how they would be able to design lenses that are compact enough for a full frame mirrorless camera - probably need to work with a very capable micro lens array.
I saw a NEX-7 briefly yesterday. Something about it didn't even entice me to pick it up. The ergonomics just didn't look right to me, or perhaps it looks so different than what I'm used to. I should have at least picked it up to see how it feels.
For what I'm doing now, the Olympus XZ-1 is still plenty sufficient and I like that there's no lens changing. But, I know you always take a very thoughtful approach to your gear selections and test them completely in the field before you make up your mind. So, I think I'll go at least hold a NEX-7 soon and see if it might be a good replacement for my D300 ;)
The GH2 interests me mostly for the video, but for video... I have to wonder if having a dedicated video camera is still a better option. It's impressive how much HD quality Canon and Panasonic are putting into palmcorders for between $300-$500US.
Couldn't agree more with you on 9) AutoHDR raw<>JPG.
It is one of the few things that really bugs me with my 5N.
Hope Sony will fix this.
Skip,
If you weren't enticed to pick the NEX-7 up, that's already an indication that the camera might not be right for you. For me, I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. I think the ergonomics of the NEX-7 are somewhat better than the Lumix models, mostly due to the sculpted, rubberized grip and how there's more space to the right of the screen for the controls. For a small camera, it feels less cramped.
If you do ever pick one of these up, you've got to give it time. It takes a while to get used to the context driven user interface and to customize the camera so that it works well for you. I've gone through that and have come to appreciate how quickly you can change all the main camera settings. I don't think the camera will be the problem. You'll get excellent image quality and the autofocus, while not as fast as that of the D300, might be fast enough for your needs. The main issue will be the lenses. You'll need to look if Sony has the lenses you need. I'm presuming you don't want to switch back and forth among a collection of primes.
As to video, I'm not the person to ask since I don't do much of it myself. I would imagine though that the GH2 and NEX-7 are roughly comparable in this area and both a quantum leap ahead of the D300 which, if I remember correctly, doesn't have video capability. If either fits your needs better than a dedicated palmcorder I can't say. I guess it's worth finding out though, because cameras like the NEX-7 or GH2 could potentially replace everything at once: DSLR, compact and video camera.
Cxspark,
It's odd that when so many other functions change according to what mode you're in that the camera doesn't automatically switch back and forth between RAW and JPEG. Keep your fingers crossed that Sony will address this. They have listened in the past.
I don't know if you used pure manual focus lenses via adapter, but I also have a suggestion after using NEX-5N + EVF for a while.
There's no easy and smooth way to choose magnification center (in order to precisely adjust focus) when using EVF.
It would be nice to have the following: center object, double tap on shutter catches object. Then recompose shot and camera should follow the object so when you magnify image, the center of magnification area shoul be over the previously catched object.
That's an excellent suggestion, Denis. Right now I just place the central enlargement over the subject, then recompose. That's much faster than shifting the magnified rectangle around the scene. It's not always as accurate though, so your suggestion of basically tracking the selected subject in focus assist mode would be very useful.
One more obvious improvement to the NEX-7 firmware would be to use the lower button on the wheel as a further custom button. Currently it is firmly bound to exposure compensation, which we have already (and much easier to use) on the right Tri-Navi wheel. I don't get the point of wasting a physical button for a function that is already controlled by a physical wheel.
Karsten
Thanks, I hadn't noticed that exposure compensation was duplicated. Exposure compensation feels so natural on the top right wheel I couldn't imagine it anywhere else. Unfortunately Sony physically labelled the lower button of the multi-controller with exposure compensation although that shouldn't stop us from being able to reassign a function to it.
Thanks for this list Bjorn,
Thanks for writing this up.
A couple of thoughts...I've set up the tri-navi function to have RAW/Jpeg on the left and DRO/HDR on the right. HDR in jpeg only is a carry over from previous NEX cameras. While I agree that having the camera automatically know to use jpeg is the best answer, having both settings next to each other works quite well.
For users of both the NEX7 and NEX5n as a two body kit, I already think the difference in controls is a bit difficult. I've sold off my 5n because of it. Further changing the master menu scheme between the two makes that even more difficult to use more than one body. So, I can see Sony's point.
Yes, a both a more configurable ISO as well as more functions available for the programmable keys would be useful. When setting up my camera, I was surprised a couple of times that what I wanted for a button wasn't a choice.
Excellent suggestion, Terry. I've already set my NEX-7 up with quality on the left and DRO/HDR on the right. Now why didn't I think of that...
I also see your point about the UI divergence between the NEX-5N and 7. It does make it challenging to use the cameras interchangeably as a 2 body kit. I'm still hanging onto the NEX-5N for the time being though as I need a backup body that can take the same lenses. It's also useful to have a second body with slightly different capabilities due to the different sensors. So I'll just have to live with two interfaces that are so similar that you expect everything to be the same.
I think the EVF should also have an option to always on while having a power save after certain minutes, that is the same behavior as the LCD. Now, no matter I turn the EVF/Viewer to auto or EVF only, the EVF still need some time lag to display the image after I hold it close to the eyes. Such delay is undesirable for a professional camera.
IT Pros,
I agree the time lag before the EVF comes on can be disconcerting. One would expect a professional camera to minimize any sort of lag. So far I haven't found the delay significant enough to cause me to miss a photo opportunity though.
I love my NEX-7 & would like to see more aspect ratio options, especially square
Thanks for putting this list together, brings up good points along with Peter Sills' list (I recommend it for a good read).
I had a question though, have you sent this list into Sony?
A very well thought out list of firmware changes. I agree with just about all of them. I am a wannabe Nex 7 owner, and plan on it in the near future. Why doesn't Sony provide HDR for RAW format? That would sidestep (elegantly I think) the issue of switching shooting modes automatically. If their problem is processing time to combine images, I would gladly do that in an external app, and gain all the advantages of shooting RAW. Forcing me to use JPG for that function essentially eliminates it from my use.
Currently shooting with a GF-1, and enjoyed it for about a year, putting up with a fairly clunky UI, but the primary problem I have with it is that the m4/3 sensor seems to be going nowhere. Previously used Canon 5D MKII.
Great list, I'd love to see most of these changes implemented in the NEX 5N also!