**Camera Review: Sony X-7**

As I sat down to review the Sony X-7, I couldn't help but feel excited about the possibilities this camera presented. With its compact size and impressive feature set, it's clear that Sony has made significant strides in revolutionizing the world of photography. The X-7's ability to use manual focus lenses, particularly those from Panasonic and other third-party manufacturers, is a game-changer for videographers and enthusiasts alike.

For me, one of the standout features of the X-7 is its peaking rangefinder aspect. This feature allows for precise control over depth of field, making it easier to achieve the desired level of sharpness and blur in my shots. I was particularly impressed by how seamlessly this feature integrates with manual focus lenses, allowing me to fine-tune my focus settings with ease.

In addition to its impressive peaking feature, the X-7 also boasts an outstanding kit lens that comes bundled with the camera. The Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens is a revelation, delivering exceptionally sharp images and excellent color rendition. I was blown away by its value for money, considering it's priced at just $150 for the kit.

Of course, no review of the X-7 would be complete without mentioning its Sony E-mount. This proprietary system allows for an extensive range of lenses from third-party manufacturers to be used with the camera. However, this also means that adapters are required to repurpose existing lenses, which can add a layer of complexity to the user experience.

Speaking of lenses, I must admit that I was initially hesitant about using the X-7's manual focus capabilities. After all, don't we always associate cameras with autofocus? However, as soon as I started experimenting with different lenses and focal lengths, I realized just how much more flexibility and creative control this feature offers. The ability to switch between 50mm and 85mm lenses was particularly useful for me, allowing me to seamlessly transition between portrait and landscape shots.

One of the most interesting aspects of the X-7 is its Micro Four Thirds sensor. While it may not be as large as those found in full-frame cameras, it still delivers impressive results, especially considering its compact size. The camera's crop factor is also a notable aspect to consider when shooting with this lens.

When I first heard about the X-7, I was excited to try out its features for myself. Unfortunately, Sony's event did not take place during my recording session, but that didn't stop me from putting this camera through its paces. As I continued to use the X-7, I began to appreciate just how much it has to offer.

For me, the X-7 is an incredibly capable camera that offers a wealth of creative possibilities. While it may not be perfect – and I wouldn't say it's my main camera just yet – its ability to seamlessly integrate with manual focus lenses and provide exceptional results makes it a worthwhile addition to any photography collection.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, the Sony X-7 is an exciting new camera that offers a wealth of creative possibilities for photographers. Its compact size, impressive feature set, and outstanding kit lens make it a compelling option for those looking to expand their photography horizons. While it may not be perfect, its ability to seamlessly integrate with manual focus lenses and provide exceptional results makes it a worthwhile addition to any photography collection.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everybody my name is Ted Forbes andwelcome back to another episode of theArt of Photographyif I sound a little nasal today I doapologize. Mixallergies with having a cold for thelast few days and that's where thisleaves me todaybut I am here to surge forword tobring you the best photographicentertainment possibleor something like that anyway todaywe're going to talk about mirrorlesscamerasand if you're not familiar with mirrorlesscameras some of you may be this issomething thatI'll be honest really for me didn't havemuch place in my lifea I've got cameras that work just fine Ididn't see much to the advantage untilrecentlyand I think this camera is a Sony NEX7 and I want to share this with youbecause I've kinda been converted there areI believeare some really nice things about havinga mirrorless design that I want to share withyou todayI like I said this is that not a newcamera has been around at least a yearprobably longerand I think the rumors is that Sony are going to have something come out this is reallynot camera pitch but I am showing it to youbecauseum it's just got me rather excitedabout the whole thingthe reason I ended up purchasing thiscamera is, when I do video projectsI have a Sony camera that I use and Ineed a Sony camera that was smalla handheld that I could be able to dosome b-roll some cityscape kinds ofthings not have to carry a whole lot ofequipment around with meand the specs that I read is that theSony NEX series perform very well in low lightare they were very ergonomic camerassuch as you can see and I thought maybethis is the one well I ordered it and nowI'm extremely impressed with the videocapabilities in these thingsbut the still photography aspect of it Ithought this is going on the showit's really amazing so come on over withme to the bench and I want to take alook at this lets break it down and Iwanna talk about what I think makesmirrorless cameras actually veryinterestingfor photographers so come on over let's have alook! Okay so we're having a look at theNEX 7 from Sony. I want to show you firstof all, here's one of the cool things in generalaboutmost mirrorless cameras is the form factoryou can see that there's justyou know it's like a sensor with thecamera built around it you know there'sthere's very little mechanics in hereyou know much like a DSLR you take yourlens off and you see the mirrorand that's how you do your focusing etc. andthe mirrorless cameras have a much differentdesign and they're a much differentapproach to this in fact I takethe lens off you can see the that's whatyou cameras down toand you can see the sensor right there in front of the lens flangeand you know you have to be careful withthese as far as dust goes fingerprints youknow be very careful changing the lensbut there's a extra fact with thewith the sensorbeing that close lens flange is thisVarious focal lenths variousmanufactures various camera companies aslong as you can find an adapteryou could put just about any lensyou've ever wanted to on herewhich means you could put your old Nikonlenses on we can use Canon lenses youcan useI you for me and affect them I'm filmingwith one right now but here's anotherlens that I love so my favorite lensesever this is ais a Canon FD series 85mm 1.2and you know they have an EFversion at this but you know when whenCanon moved to autofocustheir lenses when completely obsoletewell actually have an adapter I can useon this camerathe first part of this video are youwatching set things up was filled withthis lensthis is one of my favorite lenses of all time the other cool thing to this isanother one my favorite ones is theVoigtländerthis came out a few years ago this is a 15mmon a 35mm camera its pretty wide wide but if you can find an adapter for it and theydo make one. They call this an M39mount so old Leica lensesyou can use your Fed lenses off yourRussian35mm cameras this is a 50mm. Its pretty amazing and you can have a lotof fun with these tooYou just screw that in the basically and then attach this to the camera which isextremely easyYou just want to be careful not to touch sensorYou just match up the red dot with the whitedotand give it a turn in your on andtell me that in a cool form factor forcamera now when you domount lenses from other cameras youprobably gonna lose some functionalityin themand one of the things you can lose someparticular with this lens is theautofocus but that's not a problem andI'll show you how the final works heresecondbut manual focus is not an issuefor me on thisunfortunately depending on in a fewusing Canon EF mounts or that some thenewer Nikonmounts if they don't have an apertureringwhere you can manually change theaperture you're not gonna be able tochange the aperture may be stuck atwhatever the widest setting isstill love a trade-off but you know tobe able to go back and use all three funon the lenses and somebody to reallyreally nice lensesyou get great results okay speaking of,letsl go ahead and turn this on my show youbasically how these cameras work herewhat you may be dealing with is anelectronic viewfinder which is whatyou're looking at there there's no mirrorin this camera's there's no physical wayhave seen the actual scene via a mirror Iinto the viewfinder so you have a choicetwo electronic viewfinders one on the backhere in the other onebasically when you put your eye over here and notice I did it with my hand it it knowswhich one you're using so all you have to dopull it up to your eye and it will switch over to theelectronic viewfinderthe smaller one. What I like aboutthis camerais that all the controls here it'sreally easy and i'd honestlyI just set this camera manual and Icontrol everything from my scenemay not be the fastest way to work butit works really well for me so my focusisin my aperture but this particular lens(we're using the Voitländer) are both mechanicalso I'll use these up here. normally thelense will be done with this this is athis button here my shutter speed iscontrolled with thisThis knob here so I can go through theone on the left and you knowlights up with what shutter speed you're lookingat it gives you a previewbut the screen is it bad it's not thegreatest thing in the world it's not asactually seeing it in low light itshorrendousmake it so much noise in here what'sinteresting is the camera performs verywell in low lightI don't know why maybe because it's havingto drive the LCD separatelyand what's nice is this one does pullout shooting video or something you canyou can adjust it for you the point ofview but anywayyou know the LCD in low-light is horridand there's just no way getting readyyou can be used to itISO is adjustable here on top of themode switch and you just turn itand it basically starts going you can alsocustomize on this particular cameraany these to do any function so far theyhave the ISO be the top left knobthe top right I can reassign which isreally cool in factit's almost a complaint but this camerasince its so customizableit's really easy to forget where you've set things soI can restore it back to the defaultone other thing it's really nice here isthere is a little button on front next toshutter knobAnd when I put this I can go throughI can deal with my focus settingswhere that range is. I love thisyou get a real microcontroll of whitebalance if I use the left now I can gofrom auto to customI to flash we can go to fluorescentdaylight and so on and soforth you can setAnd on any settings what's really cool goback to autoso I can use the knob on the right tofine tune this in the color spectrum soit's really nice you can reallynarrow down your white balance now if you'reshooting RAW, that doesn't make anydifference in the world because it won'trecorded you end up beingyou not committed white balance when youshoot RAW but if you're shooting video or ifyou're shooting JPEGs that is a verynice touch to have to be able to do thatin the cameraparticular for video Another thing that Ireally like about this we have had thisagain you can adjust the dynamic rangedidn't have what we're having whatyou're seeing so funny level five or soyou know the usualhistogram we can see a man but showing agreat for real street this butyou can just a dynamic range I can alsocome in here and this is nice chancereally hard to see that there's theshooting modesall in right now we are set to neutral Ican set this to vividis it to standard you can set to sepiablack & white anyway it's really nicefield preview theseanother thing I should say about this isonce again this does not commitanything to the raw photo I wish therewas a way to use the XMP dated to atleastyou know quite what you did in to theraw photo but it doesn'tso this is again only to legal regime Jpay-per-viewso nothing on show you a quick by themenu settings in here and you can seethis looks more like a smartphone thatit doesa camera it's very different than whatcan and I can do with their DSLR layoutsum but you know it's it's really easyintuitive anddesign for mom and dad who wanna sithere and you knowmaybe not know exactly what they'redoing with thesebe able to find things LCD displaydriver mode flash mode set yourtheir lot of options in here just takesa little bit getting used to if you'recoming from DSL or anything because Idon't really think mom and dad wouldwant to go in and careyou know if the Parts Inc was suggest acertain way with flash photography inthat she's notit happened so I but anyway I really dolike it has laid out it just takes alittle getting used to figure out wherethese things arebut overall I really do like the designthis camera I think it's got someamazing things on ityou know if for nothing else for thefact that you can actually use themanual focus lenses on olderthree from the medicare is she one otherthing is really cool with this it'sharder to seereceiving get this injustice can be hardto see because this is a wide anglealmost everything will be in focusbut see how the red Dotster picking upthereis what Sony calls peking museums beerbottles back therenot that I would keep me and how sriokay said this is called pekingand basically it's a little focus assistand when something starts coming intofocus in the edges become contrast Eyou can assign this to be a collar sothis could be why to clear air I thinkorange is the third color site on thesered and thisis basically your main focus assist soif you're using something like thiswhining or it's really hard to seewhat's buzzing was really clearthat will take and when I'm back tosoften sell the red goes away so it'snot in focus soanyway very very useful and that for methe peking featuremixed with manual focus lenses I'm justlike with some other stuff I use for forvideo productionsaid he's brought this into their linefor from your skin productionlike I said there are other companiesout there that make these panasonic hassome wonderful cameras in varying pricepointsum you know someone may be better thanthis the reason I went was Sony'sas any in a match for some the videowork I was doing I ima disappointed noabsolutely not I love this so for me umit's totally worth it I i've been reallyhappy about it mainly for theability to use your manual focus lensesthe all-russian fed lenses are kindainteresting one my favorite lens linesever was the Canon line for theirft lenses which pretty much beenobsolete you couldn't get adapters toadaptions to the new airlines can ourfocus lensesmainly because the distance between thefilm plane in the lenses could do itI'm so anyways it's really nice to beable to give some he's a second lifeand in a minute when I close this outthis is the lens I'm using a miccamera we're using right now whenswitching from 50 to 85now you get a crop factors in a PSA APSsee size sensorand so that's one thing to consider cat5went millimeter landsit's a still a beautiful look what youare cropped in on it but still usableuse need to move the camera for the backthat's all but anyway great stuff mixthat with thewith the peking rangefinder aspect of itand you've got yourself a cameraon this capable of have quite a bit ofdamage so to speakwell like I said there's other brandsthese two there's Panasonicthey make several that are reallywonderful his other companies they'regetting into the microphonefor thirds you think one thing youshould know is that Sonyand this may be an aide about thiscamera I don't know your mileage mayvarybut they use their own lens mount sothere's a Micro Four Thirds lens mountand then there's the Sony any excellencemap they call it the amountand it's very similar and again it's noshortage adapters and things like thatit's justbut if you have a Panasonic alreadyanyone again the sunny you have to usedifferent after she could notrepurpose what you've already got soanyway that is the Sony any x7the kit lens is outstanding I didn'treally get much into this week uncoveredanother upsetI am extremely sharp beautiful nicecolor retentionI surprisingly good for what essentiallyif you buy the kit cost you 150 dollarsits its unbelievably good okay so thatis a quick overviewvermeer was cameras and namely weretalking at the Sony X eventon you know do I think these areinteresting camera that haveyou know value on a place in your camerabag absolutely I think that they're veryrevolutionary in the terms andversatilityin terms of form factor in terms ofperformance so what they're able to doI in such a small package is amazing andI think the price point in these ispretty good right nowdepending on your needs and budget youcan get in there for well under thousandUS dollars in fact I think the any x5body retails for 500 or so right nowaddictive very much worth the money payfor them um however do I think theperfect nownow by any stretch of the imaginationbut like I said it's kinda like takingI you know the best aspects of a DSLR inthe best aspects appoints youth roominto a blenderand unfortunately the been thrown into ablender now it's time to you to startcooking on theme a manufacture side of things a littlebit and they made some great strides inthis army had some firmware updates isstill small clergythings here and you know like one of ourviewers I were discussing on the websiteits it's a little more like operating acomputer than it isactual camera but the results arefantastic I think it's a veryinteresting camera to use I justwouldn't have is my main camera yetI but you know it's pretty close anywayguysthat's it for today I will leave all theshow notes are links to things all inthe websiteon the web page there so if you go tothe artifice hardly that TV you can findall that stuffand once again -10 forms I'll see younext week another episodeand thanks again for watching cm\n"