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Luminous Landscape (Click here) posted a very well written article about the NEX-7 video button issue. As you know it’s very easy to press the video button which is placed on the grip. And many here and on other websites asked Sony to release a firmware upgrade which could allow to disable or lock this button. After nine months there is still no answer from Sony and I 100% agree with Mark Dubovoy when he writes that this is “Unacceptable because when I spend my hard earned dollars on a product and the product has an obvious flaw that can probably be easily fixed by a simple firmware update, I feel that the company owes it to their customers to provide a fix as soon as possible.”
Marc now reports that he has found a “redneck” solution that makes uses of a rubber grommet mounted around the video button.
Michale Reichmann goes further in his Sony critic by pointing two more big issues we NEX-7 owners have to deal with:
“There is one other aspect to this issue that was also apparent since day one, and has been known to cause cardiac arrest among NEX-7 owners. This problem is that the NEX-7 inexplicably maintains two separate directory structures for its video and stills files. So, when you first discover that you have shot 20 minutes of the inside of your camera bag, and you delete the offending video to clear room on the card, the camera displays – DELETING IMAGES. Note the plural!? Even if you are just deleting one video file, or one still image, it says IMAGES. Heart attack number one.
Heart attack number two is that after you delete the offending video file and then press PLAY the screen displays NO IMAGES, even if you have shot hundreds of raws or JPGs on the same card. The reason for this is that there are separate directories for the two types of files. The simple solution is to shoot a quick still, and now the stills directory of files becomes available. There is also a convoluted way through the menus, but life is too short to delve into Sony menu land unless one really has to.”
I know Sony is working on the release of the NEX-7 firmware update. Let’s hope Sony has already implemented the fix for the here mentioned issues! They really can’t afford to lack of support for the probably most sold Sony camera ever. The camera is on top of all sales ranking at Amazon US (Click here), Amazon UK (Click here), Amazon DE (Click here) and Amazon FR (Click here). Is Sony going to listen to all of these great amount of customers?
92 Responses
whine more imo..
The reason for a separate directory for video has to do with AVCHD’s comparability with Blu-Ray disks, or something like that …
I don’t think anyone has a problem with there being separate directories. The reasoning behind that as a design decision is perfectly understandable (and BR compatibility would imho come after any number of better reasons like, er, keeping stills and videos apart for one thing).
BR? Blu-ray? You mean that defunct physical media thing?
Now could you please show me ONE customer who takes a video as is from the camera, and burn it into a Bluray? If a user had a Blu-ray burner, then they most likely do some basic editing (at least adding a title), so this directory structure compatibility it’s Blu-ray bullshit is simply a major FAIL of the product specification team. (they must have told engineers: “we need Blu-ray compatibility”… And this is the monster we go)
Go ahead, show me one user who burnt a Blu-ray directly from the camera once!
Regardless the AVCHD SPEC which consist of MANY companies specifies how it directories work to interact with other AVCHD compliant systems IE editing software.
Yes,but there are other cameras that also use AVCHD that do not have this problem even though they also have separate directories.
The AVCHD SPEC which consist of MANY companies specifies how it directories work to interact with other AVCHD compliant systems IE editing software.
Sony always showed they didn’t care about customers.
Look at their phones, they simply barf and forget products. Before they released nex 7, I bought a much cheaper nex c3
and shoot couple thousands pics by far and none of them correctly exposed, in focus or of any other expected quality.
I am really disappointed in Sony and
I am happy I didn’t spent more money on nex 7.
I think the problem should be with you as the photographer. The camera is only a tool and the negative/positive exposure compensation is there for a reason. And if you can’t get properly focused pictures (IF YOU ARE DOING IT CORRECTLY), Sony Imaging would have been bankrupt long time ago.
Yeah, right. Are you familiar with thing called FF/BF on lenses? Or need to overexpose sony’s raw on 2 stops? There are subjective reasons but not always.
FF/BF on a CDAF system? You must be confused. This topic is on NEX, not A-mount.
I agree that recently Sony is seriously lagging behind in support in the new cameras they introduce as well as coming up with “photographer’s lenses”.
But @pariska.com, your post doesn’t make much sense. These cameras are used by many people, and they are capable of generating wonderful images.
I hope Sony will finally come back to its senses and treat A77/NEX7 with the respect those cameras and their owners deserve. They made very good firmware progress with A700 in the past.
If you’re getting front or back focus on a camera that uses sensor-based contrast detect AF, then you’re doing it wrong.
+1
There were a few frustrating things about the NEX7 to me that I reported right away. I had doubts they would be fixed, so I held off on buying a NEX7. Instead of seeing others complain about such obvious problems, I saw most of the press being overwhelmingly cheerful about the NEX7 (which there are good things to talk about) while ignoring to publish its big flaws.
To me, no matter how good a camera is, if it has one big giant flaw that rears its head almost every time I use the camera- and there’s no chance it will get fixed- I’ll most certainly just stop using that camera period. Life’s too short to live with obvious shortcomings or design flaws.
The NEX7 is one of Sony’s best designed cameras in so many ways, and yet, there are a few things about it that simply make it unusable. That’s too bad.
-C
Sorry, but what other big flaws did you notice?
And I’ve only managed to press the record button accidentally twice, in 4 months. Big flaw? Whatever.
Suppose you told your wife that you are going to chicago on conference, but instead you ran away with your lover in Las Vegas. So, 10 day’s later you are coming home and deleting all that pervert videos and photos but, accidently, your wife finds out that hidden video that should be deleted. Divorce, alimony, ruined childhood…
Instead of mixing two task together, I would use seperate cards — one: me and lovely wifey… Two: “business”…>.<
“To me, no matter how good a camera is, if it has one big giant flaw that rears its head almost every time I use the camera” … err, you didn’t buy the camera, so how is it rearing it’s head every time you use it?
Carl Gerald is a douche who reviews cameras but can’t take a good pic to save his life. His reviews are worthless like his opinions about a camera he does NOT own.
I should say, thanks!?
-Carl G
If the press were overwhelmingly cheerful, maybe they didn’t spot these flaws, or if they did, they didn’t detract from the fact it is a very decent camera.
Please could you elaborate on the flaws you discovered?
The flaws on the NEX 7 are its menu system, video location button, file separation and implementation, and system wisep- lack of prime lenses, etc etc. Not a direct problem with the 7 but lenses are equally important as the body.
The menu system is the big flaw that kept me from ultimately purchasing the NEX 7. When I used that camera during my trial periods (two separate times) I just couldn’t stomach the menu. There were a few other things that when combined together with the NEX7, just left me with enough distaste that I didn’t want to fork out that much money for one.
The best thing bout the NEX7 is its appearance, build, and built in evf/flash. Got a lot going for it though overall a very decent camera. The ultimate replacement for it should be interesting to see what improvements are made (if any).
C
I agree. Sony should be fixing issues like this. Products are meant to be based on consumer needs. So if feedback is given I believe company should listen. Especially when they have a loyal fan base who are investing in their new products.
I’ll add that the NEX7 probably received so much attention initially because of the direction the camera design was going in, and not so much the final execution. Buyers need to be keen and be patient, that way our wallets make the final decision on design. Camera companies don’t want to change the design after they sell a ton of them- and why should they?
-C
I first ruled the video button out as a non issue. Now I’ve manage to click it a couple of times myself. So no I can agree that it is not optimal. Howevr, thats as far as I want to go. However, I welcome an additional video mode. there are no real need for a dedicated video button in my world, and i use the video function a lot.
Noone is asking to change the (physical) design. A simple firmware to allow changing the function of video record button is all that is needed. Even a cheap, 2 year old E-PL1 lets you do this, so why Sony’s top NEX cam can’t?
Same issues exist with Sony SLT and DSLR. They also have Video and stills in same directories and the camera browser can not display them together like any compact camera can do. That is really a nuisance. It is also annoying that you can’t download images and videos in one step from the camera.
On A77, the video shutter button is often accidently pressed when I adjust the diopter control. Fotunately I don’t have to do that very often since I have new glasses.
This is an issue as some more related to the Sony top models, but it was only solved in the lower end models like SLT-A37 & SLT-A57 . 🙁
At least I would expect some notes from Sony, that they plan to upgrade the FW soon, to solve this issues.
The still/video thing is also true on alpha SLTs. I find it very annoying too. Even if avchd demands a certain file structure, surely it’s not too much for the camera OS to list/display files from both image and video subdirectories all at the same time.
About the movie button, I held a nex 7 in a camera shop yesterday. The first thing I did was take an accidental video! The a77 could also do with a movie button lockout. Not sure how the nex handles things in a dedicated movie mode but with the a77 set to a dedicated mode, the shutter button does not do a thing. You would think it might at least start/stop movie recording, but no….
I took a small piece of velcro pile (the soft half), used a office hole punch (perfect size) and overlaid the video button with it. It keeps your thumb from hitting/reaching the video button accidentally and adds a bit more for your thumb to rest on while shooting…and, it soft!
And, the velcro piece will peel right off with Sony provides a firmware solution….no SuperGlue if you use the adhesive backed velco available anywhere.
Sony users need options like Magic Lantern firmwares more than Canon users.
You bought the camera like that, Sony has no obligation to update it. It’s your responsibility to test it out and see how you like it, as is. Just like you don’t buy NEX expecting Sony to release a lot of pancakes. Now, if it is an obvious bug (like first black frame or something like that), or the camera menu was in chinese, Sony would indeed be obligated to release an update. But nowhere did Sony promise to give a better interface or more features. If it’s an “obvious flaw” then return it. Problem solved.
I agree they do not have the obligation legally even ethically when there is not a flaw technically. However customer satisfactionwise it is a must. We do not merely buy these things, we invest in them.
Yes legally they have no obligations to do release a new firmware. It takes them only 10mn to fix that but it’s better for their business to piss the shit out of their customers.
“it’s better for their business to piss the shit out of their customers”
Yup. Just look at the what they did with the PS3. They roll out a few firmwares with legitimate enhancements but a lot of the time, the new firmwares only contained anti-piracy code and masked them as “bug fixes” or something. Very inconvenient/annoying because Sony forces you to update otherwise the PS3 can’t go online (for multiplayer, chat, etc). In some instances, a firmware update was pushed just to kill a feature, such as “other OS” (which let’s you install a second OS, like Linux). This is practically illegal as Sony took away an advertised feature/functionality that the user already paid for and it’s too late to return the product.
Apple does this all the time – half their iOS updates are mostly yo stop people “jail breaking” their phones. They even tried to make out jail breaking, or gaining roost access to the iPhone or iPad you had paid for, was illegal.
I love my NEX-7, but the video button is nonsense. Lot of times I have found that my camera is recording and when I do want to record video, I can’t find the button without taking my eye off from viewfinder.
So it’s a body design flaw, not sure if it can be fixed with firmware.
Quite often, I press the video button accidentally: it’s a big problem and I’ve missed shots. The heart attack moment happened twice. The second time, while recovering from hor flashes, I noticed there were two directories. When I switched to the other, I noticed all of my other photos, intact. Whew!! If nothing else, Sony should fix the video button issue, and soon!
Luminous Landscape has been an excellent source of good information and praises on the NEX-7, and is reporting on a really anoying issue. It’s a shame that Sony doesn’t seem to be paying attention to their customers, especially on an issue that could be minimized by a simple firmware upgrade ( maybe having the video button to be pushed twice quickly to function or something alike… ).
THE problem is that retards with hands of à gorilla try to handle THE nex7.
while I have found myself pressing the video button a lot of times, I think, that button could be used for other uses and create an specific video mode where you change all the parameter including audio level (with a built in audio level gauge) so you can monitor and control it prior to shooting the video. I’m sure it’s not that hard to employ some of this features or similar and knock off some competition at the same time
Unfortunately, Sony have very quickly gained a reputation for not listening to their customers who want firmware upgrades to their existing A65/77 and NEX cams. They just seem to knock out new cams and totally ignore us. New customers see this and move away from Sony knowing that if Sony get something wrong, like sensor noise and the Jpeg engine on the A65/77 they will do nothing to correct it. Their attitude seems to be…OK, we got it wrong…tough, buy our new model. We will NOT do that.
Sony, LISTEN TO US!!!! If you are working on these problems…TELL US so that we know. We hear nothing….we know you just do not care.
Considering that Sony actually do a lot of firmware updates on their cameras (Nex3,5 had two, Nex 5n has had one recently) than some other companies your comment makes little sense.
Try using a Olympus or Panasonic camera…see what updates you get.
At least you can change the function of the record button on an Olympus cam.
Actuakky, Sony has incorporated quite a few changes on their firmware updates for their cameras. They have added new (and desirable) features on the A700 and A900 serires of cameras (and needed fixes as well). So before you say that Sony does not listen, wait and see what they bring out in the NEX-7 firmware upgrade. The upside on the NEX-7 is still higher the the downside, SAR criticisms aside. Even LL loves the camera, even with its faults. As no camera is perfect, I’ll take the NEX-7, with its imperfections. Michael Recihmann is right, though. You ought to be able to make the image/video preview function work better. I actually find that more annoying than any inadvertent videos that I may take (which, fortunately, has not been a lot).
+1
Exactly
Typical – hardly a PC remark and obviously someone who doesn’t actually own a NEX-7 or you would understand the issue LL are highlighting. Probably makes you the retard……
I believe that NEX 7 is a great camera. And I also believe that has a lot of room for improvements. After all is the first of it kind and with new innovations comes new issues that will be fixed with new models.
And nex 7 would not be the first sony camera with fixes (sony will call them improvements) that could be easily fixed with firmware.
For example the old sony a200 successor sony a230 didn’t have any new thing rather than new product number and better picture quality. 🙂
And where do you think Sony is going with this approach? Vast majority of people nowadays prefer taking pictures with their cell phones. Customers for this kind of photography are neatpicky people, who need to be heard and responded.
They will try to make it last as long as they can. Problem with sony is that is not just photo manufacturer and innovator. When they will realize that photo department doesn’t make profit any more they will simply dump it and bring up something new. Regardless of thousand and thousand photographers around the globe.
I think someone with the skills should write a letter with firmware requests in Japanese to Sony.
I don’t think the Sony engineering team will read many of the foreign forums
I push that record button on accident all the damn time, its irritating 🙂
Retard.
you too 🙂
By the way, is there any way to select few images on sony a33 for delete?
I deleted concert footage from my A55 that i forgot was still in the card which I had yet to download to my desktop when I decided to erase all the still images in the memory card. Also, is there now an option to turn off noise reduction when shooting RAW in the A77 and NEX-7?
These are two of the very reasons I abondoned my wonderful NEX 5N (besides the obvious lack of decent lenses) and did not even consider the NEX 7! I’m so glad that I’m not the only one who feels this way. But to me it was a “Deal Killer!”
I switched to another brand and could not be happier. The Sony files were superior but the user interface and the above mentioned are gone. Ate you listening Sony? I doubt it. You need to employ some of these REAL LIVE testers and users an some real working photographers to refine your superior technology I you ever hope to get to and stay on too!
These are two of the very reasons I abondoned my wonderful NEX 5N (besides the obvious lack of decent lenses) and did not even consider the NEX 7! I’m so glad that I’m not the only one who feels this way. But to me it was a “Deal Killer!”
I switched to another brand and could not be happier. The Sony files were superior but the user interface and the above mentioned are gone. Ate you listening Sony? I doubt it. You need to employ some of these REAL LIVE testers and users an some real working photographers to refine your superior technology I you ever hope to get to and stay on top!
WHY IS IT A SEPARATE BUTTON IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Really? Compact cameras have got this right for years, and something that has been so wrong on many video dslrs. And Sony is absent minded enough to replicate it on the NEX?!!
1) Sony products are designed around Sony semiconductor technology. The product designer makes a sexy looking package to hold the Sony technology.
2) The product engineers who do the design and firmware have a minimal understanding of photography. An engineer needs a space for the Record button, so he finds a space. Done!
His real job is to find a way to control the Sony technology and, if possible, create a FEATURE like “dial your DOF.” His goal is to meet his deadline.
3) The design may not even be done within Sony, as Sony hires other companies who have a track record of producing “good” designs. But, even if the design is done by Sony, an order is placed to a Sony or non-Sony factory (neither likely in Japan). The initial order may be for 10,000 units.
Factories not owned by the big Japanese companies –even when located in Japan — are sweatshops. No lifetime employment. (Sometimes simply house wives doing piecemeal work at home.) The owners are given loans by banks owned by the big electronics companies to buy the equipment they need to get a contract.
Now they can be squeezed to deliver products at a specific price. This explains why a Japanese company can offer so many products. Each gets built on a small order by a small factory. Only if it sells is a follow-on order issued. Of course, the initial order is too small for the tiny company to make a profit, but there are so many of these tiny companies (now world-wide) they must take the risk!
This model, first developed in Japan, is now the model in all poor countries. Japanese engineers lived in dorms next to their work decades before this model came to China.
4) Once production starts, both Sony semiconductor and the product designers are already working on other projects, They feel about their past work how you feel after you drop your income tax forms in a mailbox. Thank god I’m done! Your biggest fear is that you’ll hear from the IRS months later and that you’ll need to revisit what you have done.
5) Units are built in a very short time. A production line may be setup for a product, 10,000 are built tested and boxed, and then the line switched to another product.
Products are immediately shipped to dealers. If they sell, additional orders are placed. If they don’t, no additional orders.
6) The only production issue is “do production units meet technology specs.” And, we now know, even if units don’t meet specs they will be shipped to meet deadlines. (Japanese ads specify the exact day you can buy the product!) The factory’s goal is to meet their deadline.
7) Marketing and Sales have goals to meet WITH THE PRODUCT THAT IS IN INVENTORY. Even if it’s a dog, they must sell it!
8) Of course, someone in marketing and sales read reviews. But, in a Japanese company a good employee never gives bad news to his boss. (In Japan, it is very bad form to make any negative comments about work done by others.) Worse, if you have the guts to tell your boss, then they face the prospect of having to tell their boss, and no USA boss wants to send bad news to his boss in Japan.
9) But, lets say an issue does get back to Japan. Who is going to halt work on the next product — remember the tight deadlines which include projected sales revenue that is critical in a long unprofitable company like Sony — to fix a tiny “bug.”
The smart solution is to collect issues for several months. Now you have a choice. Spend a week working on the firmware fix (which is a bitch to distribute) OR fixing them in the NEX-8. Given Sony releases new models every year, it typically makes more sense to change the next model. After all, you have already sold the NEX-7!
9) But, don’t be surprised if fixes aren’t made. Unlike Bolex or Nikon, these companies have no collective photographic experience. They are semiconductor companies that build chips for themselves and others.
I remember having a meeting at Sony with the engineers who developed the D/A chips for CD players. Here, I thought, was the perfect place to ask how they felt about single-bit and multi-bit sampling. The engineers became very quiet. Then they explained they didn’t own CD players — only Walkmans. Worse, listening tests weren’t part of the development process!
Sony engineers had developed two chips. Marketing decided the newest circuit should go into the most expensive CD player to make them “different.” Marketers then asked the engineers why they THOUGHT single-bit was better and turned that into marketing prose.
10) You might ask what is the mission of the semiconductor division. They work like Intel does. More photosites, more speed, lower heat, lower power consumption, greater yields, and lower cost. Plus, patent everything!
11) For decades Sony management has been trying to get fewer product lines. This is impossible. If you look at cameras and camcorders there are many groups — each with a boss and workers with lifetime employment, plus offices and support staff. Each is a human limb. Sure you can kill the NEX, but what do you do with the human NEX group? You have to wait for folks to die!
12) If you are wondering how know this stuff, I’ve worked with Sony in Japan since 1989 when I sold them a BBN real-time supercomputer. What was it for? Thousands of subjects were captured by both SD and HD cameras and the relationship between two video signals were computed. The relations created a set of coefficients.
By 1997, these coefficients were burned into a ROM used in Sony’s Digital Reality Creation (DRC) technology. The video from SD input signals were compared with the database. The correct coefficient was retrieved and used to modify the input pattern to yield an HD output.
Now DRC is being used to create 4K from HD. But, something strange has been found:
“Asakura: Yes, this time we increased the signal processing capability from 2K to 4K. Incidentally, in the course of this project we made an interesting discovery. Video shot using a 4K camera for digital cinema presentations that had been down-converted and recorded on Blu-ray discs could be brought back fairly closely to its original 4K resolution through super-resolution processing using this IC.
It clearly differed from upconverting film to 4K. Apparently, there is a precise answer when returning content that has been converted using a specific coefficient.”
PS: I’m not picking on Sony. This process, plus active government coordination, is the Japanese way. Another story: the Japan government ran interoperability tests for video conferencing equipment. But, the USA company I worked somehow wasn’t invited. No interoperability certification — no ability to be sold in Japan.
Similar story with NTSC TVs. Japan chose different frequencies for channels. Of course, RCA et al were too damn lazy to build a Japanese version so it’s hard to blame Japan.
Lastly, when I started working in Korea in the mid-80s, Sony products could not be imported! That gave Samsung a decade head start.
Hopefully all my words provide an insight into HOW the process works that delivers the cameras you buy. And, why they get “better” and yet “not better” each generation.
However, with Apple just getting a patent on a signal processing and AF circuit that can precisely focus on at least two different subjects at the same time — I feel Japan may be in big trouble if it continues to depend on technology as the basis for their products.
Steve Mullen
Fabulous Steve. Thanks (Arigatou)!
May have to paste this on my blog… Bookmarking this page for future reference.
Well done.
awesome post – thankyou !
Great post, though we are still not getting the end result we are after. What then is the answer, stop buying the endless stream of products until they listen and fix their flaws or are you saying that will never happen so don’t even bother?
“OR fixing them in the NEX-8. Given Sony releases new models every year, it typically makes more sense to change the next model. After all, you have already sold the NEX-7!”
That’s exactly what I proposed on an earlier post. It does indeed seem as all the new models are simply correcting mistakes and addressing concerns from previous ones. Rarer and rarer are the improvements made to current models. The entire a33-a57 line of cameras is a showcase of seemingly planned obsolescence and market confusion, with no logical model of beneficial evolution… the way I see it.
Gone are the days of long running models like Max 7000, Oly OM-1/2… Back then, improvements came in the form of expanding the system with lenses, film backs, macro kits. The cameras had a ten year production life so production assets could be devoted to system wide enhancements… the way I see it.
This is business.
Never invest in bodies.
Ahhh except for a few that are destined classics, of which, as a collector, I believe the Sony a900 is destined to become. Think about it… It’s value is not decreasing nearly as much as presumed upon release of NEX7 or a77… As the last standing FF Alpha OVF, I believe it will take a short term hit against the upcoming a99, but will recover in a year or so, and slowly begin to gain in value again. Just for the sake of nostalgia.
This will be unprecedented in the digital world. It’s the last of it’s breed. And it had an excellent production life for what it was.
Hold on to those a900/850’s folks. They will reclaim resale collectible value in a very short time. In about two years, they’ll begin to rise in value and never stop rising for those in mint condition.
In mint condition, the a900/850 will become the mint Minolta XK, Olympus OM-3, of it’s time… Get it? Those cameras didn’t sell well either. But the appreciation for them grows decades later. Believe it or not, there will come a time when purist Alpha users lust for unique bodies of days gone by.
The value of the A77 and Nex-7 increased upon release if I recall correctly. Supply and demand. There was no supply, so there was more perceived demand and the resale value shot through the roof.
Oh I’m not saying the NEX7/a77 decreased. I agree with you it is higher than normal price and was much higher upon first releases. All I’m saying is that those cameras didn’t affect a900 used prices nearly as much as some predicted. So many folks were wondering if they should dump their a900’s while they still could. There were dozens of used a900’s on eBay for a while. Right now there are only two, and the new/old stock bodies are hovering at $3G.
Get your last FF OVF Alpha while you still can. It doesn’t matter what CaNikon does against this any more. There are currently, and always will be those few who prefer Maxxum DNA in their OVF DSLR. I don’t think the a99 will hurt it at all. The a900 may actually rise in value upon release of a99. It’s destined to be a collectible classic.
+1
Ty for the insight man. I could have paid for such a refined experience unleashed.
the first week i owned the nex7 i pressed the video button a couple of times (owned since january) but since then i have learned to avoid it and haven’t pressed it for three months accidentally. I don’t understand what the fuss is about. There is a clear ridge separating it from where your thumb should be resting. It’s clearly user error if pressed.
when you reach to spin the outside dial its pretty to have your thumb right in the button but it still take a bit of a push to hit it. I see no need for a setting but what can it hurt if other have issues. I just wouldn’t be putting it above things like Brakets that are greater then .3 (what a waste its not like we are shooting chrome these days.)
You would have to have very tiny hands not to hit the video record button by accident. Just picking up the camera from the bag with normal man size hands I hit the button over 50% of the time, unless I am conciously thinking about the button. It is clearly a design flaw to those with larger hands.
Now SONY is in big league! When professional photographers start to moan and still use the camera that is a good sign. Think about for example Canon’s direct print button.
Very good sign indeed! 🙂
Indeed. Hopefully Sony will listen.
The NEX 7 is an amazing piece of kit, which with a good lens can produce images and video of quality beyond that which Canon 5D Mk III can produce. I personally don’t have a probelm with the video button. Other issues mentioned here are also ones of personal preference, or worse – of not caring to familiarize oneself with the product and how to use properly and rather going ahead to badmouth it.
Sony should concentrate their scarce resources on making new high-quality lenses for the NEX. That’s ALL the nex system needs right now.
Regards.
I agree 🙂 please more lenses maybe with visible markers on the lens (infinity etc)
I don’t see the problem with the video-button. I never accidently pushed it, but I would like a seperate video-mode, with adjustable recording volume etc…
I like the directory structure with a different folder for video and images. I never liked it on my older camera’s that the video’s where in between the images.
For the people who don’t know how to switch between the folders from video and images, just press the index view and then move your cursor to the left bar, you can click it and choose your folder… It’s on page 28 of the manual pdf.
Enjoy your camera 🙂
Businesswise it’s not smart to make the stuff you already payed for any better. It kinda prevents you from buying their newest update of an allready’ish existing product…
I live to believe that this is the short sighted version of smart, but marketing has proven me wrong thisfar…
Sadly
If Sony was really to produce a pro lever mirroless body they’d support it and release lenses to match.
What Sony can’t get through their heads is that the vast majority of their customers are not professionals with plenty of money to go out and buy the next great offering but your average man in the street who, having spent his hard earned money, cannot and will not do it again for a fair length of time.
When he does, however, you can bet your bottom dollar that he will NOT buy another Sony if they have not looked after him and his pride and joy by ensuring good service and the firmware/updates he is justified in requesting.
Yes, I understand that business is business but if Sony do not sort out their existing A65/77/NEX cameras (of which there are still many millions yet to be sold) they will not sell any more of them and they will certainly not sell many new models because people will be extremely apprehensive just in case there is a problem…And they KNOW it will not get sorted.
I know that the A65/77 need a better JPEG engine, less sensor noise and better ISO and I know that NEX owners have their needs as well.
Sony…we know you’re out there somewhere….LISTEN TO US!!!!!
I had a NEX-7, and a most of the lenses, except for the CZ24, and I’ve had it for about 3 months, really loved the EVF, and overally body ergonomics, but the AF accuracy and AF speed was just so poorly done, that I finally sold it off yesterday.
Furthermore the lack of lens selection is always disappointing.
Now selling off my 50mm and 30mm as well.
It’s such a pitty that sony doesn’t focus much on the important areas.
I’ve now moved over to the OMD, with a much greater range of great glass to choose from.
Good lucky sony fans, I’ll revisit the NEX in the future once they nail AF performance, for now, I think it’s pretty poor form.
ahah I remember the first time I went through the “take pictures -> take random film by mistake -> delete film -> AHHHHH where are all my pictures noooo” panic attack
Remember when American car companies believed there had to be a new model every year they took the cheap route of adding bigger fins while skipping fuel injection and disc brakes that cost engineering.
Sony and Panasonic are in such financial difficulty — 6 years of huge losses — that they may not be capable of altering the way they work. Huge layoffs in Japan would be like letting GM go bankrupt! Think of all the tiny companies that might lose work.
I strongly suspect Apple will soon market cameras and camcorders. I don’t expect them to be what we want, but think of the huge losses that will incur in Japan. Now think of all the Euro camera companies that are simply gone!
Chinese companies will DESIGN and build the world’s future products. What will they think cameras should be like? I fear, having listened to the way the Chinese like their boomboxes to sound, we will not like what they design. Given their huge uneducated population you can bet EVERYTHING will be automated — and have every gimmic possible.
That’s why I just bought a 1960’s Bolex 8mm camera. No automation! I’ll continue to review the new cameras (e.g., DigitalBolex and BlackMagic), but I doubt I’ll buy one.
You do know that East Asian as a whole have far higher DSLR and EVIL/mirrorless ownership rate than Europeans right? You made yourself sound like the guy that believes the 1967 Camaro is the best car ever made.
Were it not for the planned obsolescence of the rusting rear quarter panels… it may have been the best car ever made. Let’s acknowledge it’s the only car in history that earned the first name of “Bitchin'”.
There is no such thing as a Bitchin’ Honda. No such thing as a Bitchin’ Beemer. No Bitchin’ Mustangs. No Bitchin’ Bentley’s either. Bitchin’ Hyunda? Bitchin’ Porsche? Bitchin’ Lambo? I don’t think so.
What we want is a Bitchin’ Camaro. Just ask your sister.
“You do know that East Asian as a whole have far higher DSLR and EVIL/mirrorless ownership rate than Europeans right?”
And that proves what? I started a book on the Sony VG-10 and decided it was so useless I switched the book to the NEX-5. Nevertheless I didn’t buy one. For example, building cameras that shoot video without the 64X ND filter needed to get the shallow DOF promised to the uneducated by the camera having a big sensor — how dumb do they think buyers are?
And, nothing selling today interests me because a year from now it will be obsolete. And, the dozens of tiny buttons and crazy menu systems — who needs it!
The only reason the Japanese could build such good cameras in the 50′ and 60’s is because they copied part by part Euro designed cameras. Then they worked out how to perfect these designs.
But, once they started to design pink cameras — for a gimmick loving Asian market — they lost their way. (Remember all the gimmicks added to stereo receivers from Japan. The horrible booming bass and shrill treble. I’ve lived and worked in Asia, and that’s how they setup their EQ. How else did Bose become so big in Japan.)
Interestingly, on the top floor of electronics stores there were showrooms that sold vintage American and Euro sound equipment. The educated Japanese elite did not buy Japanese.
Japan and Korea make appliances that just happen to take pictures. China will do the same. For me, there is no fun in using a plastic computerized microwave with touch buttons. Anyway, I’ve got an iPhone for snaps! And, iPhones will crush the Asian camera companies profits
Do all these Asian buyers really understand that a camera needs only 5 controls: zoom, focus, iris, ISO, and shutter-speed? Just because a camera records digitally doesn’t mean anything else needs to change. The need for automation and gimmicks arises because there are billions of folks in Asia who have never owned a camera. And, in a booming economy they love buying a new toy every year. “I just bought a 36MP camera!”
Japan Inc. could care less about a failing Europe and a fading America. The future is winning the whole Asia market. And, that is a market driven by bigger than the other guys specs. And, honestly, with the our younger generation not learning photography — it applies to us too.
I’m not anti-Asian — I’ve lived there and worked there since the early `80’s. (I’d move back to Tokyo in an instant!) But, I understand how business works.
Google DigitalBolex” and “Blackmagic camera” to see how some filmmakers are fighting back.
1.) I don’t find the video button badly placed. I so far never accidentally recorded a video.
2.) I don’t care that there is two separate file systems. It’s not great, but also not a deal-breaker for me.
What I would like to see most are better lenses for the Nex7 and that they give us more bracketing options, i.e. exposure bracketing from -2 to +2, like on the Sony A900.
There may not be enough lenses for the NEX cameras but at least Sony had the insight to provide two adapters for Alpha lenses so that the Alpha user doesn’t need to purchase all new lenses if he wants to add a NEX body to his kit. Nikon with the D600 was also insightful enough to allow that camera to use DX lenses as well as FX lenses. I hope Sony will continue along this thought process and that the a99 will be able to use both types of lenses. Canon evidently has dropped the ball here.
OOPS! That should be D800.
Apple,
When I asked Sony USA Support if they were working on fixing the video button problem via firmware, this is the response I received from Sony Support-
“Greetings!
Thank you for your recent e-mail. Sony values your opinion and would like to ask you to complete a short online survey to help us understand how you rate our customer support. The survey is only a few questions and should only take a few minutes.”
Guess how I rated their customer support!