Sony NEX-7 review

Does Sony's new CSC hit the NEX level?

Sony Alpha NEX-7
Sony's flagship mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses promises professional quality in a compact form

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We shoot a specially designed chart in carefully controlled conditions and the resulting images are analysed using DXO Analyzer software to generate the data to produce the graphs below.

For more more details on how to interpret our test data, check out our full explanation of our noise and dynamic range tests.

JEPG Signal to noise ratio

A high signal to noise ratio (SNR) indicates a cleaner and better quality image.

Sony nex-7 jpeg snr

Sony nex-7 jpeg snr

JPEG images from the Sony NEX-7 have better a signal to noise ratio than the Nikon V1 and compare well with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 and Olympus E-P3. This means the NEX-7 produces a cleaner signal with less image noise than the other cameras.

Raw signal to noise ratio

Sony nex-7 raw snr

Sony nex-7 raw snr

Raw images (after conversion to TIFF) from the Sony NEX-7 have a better signal to noise ratio across the sensitivity range than the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2, Nikon V1 and Olympus E-P3.

JPEG dynamic range

Sony nex-7 jpeg dr

Sony nex-7 jpeg dr

This chart shows that the Sony NEX-7's JPEGs capture a wide tonal range across the sensitivity range, showing a far greater tonal seperation than the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2, Nikon V1 and Olympus E-P3.

Raw dynamic range

Sony nex-7 raw dr

Sony nex-7 raw dr

This chart indicates that the Sony NEX-7's raw images (after conversion to TIFF) capture a wide tonal range across the sensitivity range, beating the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2, Nikon V1 and Olympus E-P3 by a wide margin.