Sony A7 : Tests and Reviews

Carl Zeiss’s latest range of Batis lenses have been specifically designed for the Sony A7 series of full-frame mirrorless cameras such as the Sony A7R II and Sony A7S II. Together with the legendary optical precision and outstanding build quality for which Carl Zeiss lenses are known, the new Batis lenses also feature autofocus and an innovative OLED display on the lens barrel that gives both focus distance and depth-of-field information. The first lenses released in the Zeiss Batis lineup are the 25mm f/2 wide-angle prime and the 85mm f/1.8 short telephoto prime.

Rather than follow established trends for high-grade, high-speed lenses that are inevitably large, heavy, and cumbersome, the manual-focus Loxia series from Zeiss, like the AF Batis range, feature the same high-grade optics, but with more modest maximum apertures in a form factor based on the premise of the tiny size of the Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless cameras themselves. Announced in October, 2015, the $1499 Zeiss Loxia 21mm f2.8 is a super-wide-angle prime with a new Distagon design that’s been optimized for the demands of digital capture.

The new Sony A7S II is the upgrade to the A7S and offers ultra-high sensitivity up to ISO409600 and 5-axis stabilization in what promises to be an impressive available-light camera. In addition, the A7S II builds on its predecessor’s video credentials, adding 4K (UHD) internal and Full HD video up to 120 fps. Read on to find out how well the sensor in this new model performs.

Packing a 28.2Mp BSI CMOS sensor, the Samsung NX500 is one of the highest-resolution APS-C hybrids cameras currently available. Wasting no time after posting scores for its sister model, the NX1, our latest review analyzes the stats and scores for the NX500.

We continue our optical analysis of Sony’s latest FE-mount lenses, this time examining the performance of the $1598 Sony Carl Zeiss Distagon T* FE 35mm F1.4 ZA. A professional-grade “fast” aperture wide-angle prime, the new lens is specifically designed for use on Sony A7 hybrid cameras. Including three aspherical lens elements and Zeiss T* coatings for enhanced image quality, let's hope for great results as we run though our industry standard tests.

Packing a 28.2Mp APS-C sensor, 4K-video and 15fps burst shooting, the new Samsung NX1 is hot news on the hybrid scene. For a full overview of features and specifications, check out our NX1 Preview. And now with the NX1’s sensor measurements in and verified, let’s see what Samsung’s latest NX hybrid camera has to offer.

A year on from launching the world's first full frame hybrid camera Sony have unveiled its successor, the a7 II. Claiming another world first the new Sony a7 II is the first full frame interchangeable lens camera to feature a 5-axis image stabilisation system. But what else is new? We trawl through the new Sony a7 II spec sheet to find out.

One of the hottest launches from this year’s Photokina trade show, the Nikon D750, has grabbed the attention of serious amateurs and pros alike. Boasting a newly developed 24.3Mp sensor, expanded ISO sensitivity range and a host of features from their pro DSLRs it looks a mouth-watering prospect. Lets take a look at the D750 sensor scores and results to see how it stacks up against the full frame competition.

Zeiss have unveiled two new ‘Loxia’ full frame E mount lenses for the Sony a7 series. Both lenses feature a ‘fast’ f/2 maximum aperture, manual focus and function to deactivate the mechanical aperture for shooting video. Offering a moderate wide-angle 35mm and standard 50mm focal lengths, let's see what Zeiss have in store for Sony a7 shooters.

If you read the forums on colleagues’ sites lots of users lament the selling of their old full-frame Canon EOS 5D, Nikon D700 or even their bulky Nikon D3 or D3s. Practically every user, so it seems, says their pictures from those old models had something special that the newer models lack.  Sony think they may be on to something and have introduced the A7S a full-frame model with a newly-developed 12.2-Mpix CMOS sensor. Read on to find out well this new model performs?