Sony Alpha A7 review

An affordable full-frame CSC

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Shooting at high sensitivities, such as ISO 2500, doesn't present too much of a problem for the A7. Examining the image at 100% does reveal some image smoothing, but sharing and printing at normal sizes is fine.

indoor image

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Generally, the A7's metering system does a decent job, but there may be times when you need to dial in some exposure compensation to produce a balanced exposure. The camera has coped reasonably well with the mixed lighting here.

image of bookshelf

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The A7's 24.3 million-pixel sensor is capable of resolving a good amount of fine detail, especially if you use it with the 35mm f/2.8 lens, rather than the 28-50mm kit lens.

portrait

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The 35mm f/2.8 is a worthy investment if you can stretch to it because its versatility can cope with portraiture, street work and landscapes.

portrait

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Other lenses will be available to buy for the FE system soon, including a 55mm f/1.8 lens, which is ideal for portrait and street work.

mono portrait

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Creative Styles allow you to change the colours of your image while shooting in raw format - helpful if you need a clean version of the image to work with later down the line. This is Black and White, which can also be customised to add extra contrast and sharpness.

panorama

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The Sweep Panorama mode on the camera allows you to capture wide vistas quickly and easily. If you examine the resulting images at 100% you might find some image smoothing and repeated patterns, but overall the effect is very good.

landscape

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One of the most appealing things about this new system is its compatibility with existing lenses via various adapters. Not only is there an official Sony adapter for converting Sony A-mount lenses, some third-party manufacturers make adapters that can be used with other brands. This shot was taken with a 24mm f/2.8 Canon lens with Metabones adapter. The adapter allows you to retain full autofocus as well.

night outside

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Despite its flaws, the 28-70mm kit lens can still be used to take decent shots and it would make a good investment if you're worried about flexibility.

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Amy Davies

Amy has been writing about cameras, photography and associated tech since 2009. Amy was once part of the photography testing team for Future Publishing working across TechRadar, Digital Camera, PhotoPlus, N Photo and Photography Week. For her photography, she has won awards and has been exhibited. She often partakes in unusual projects - including one intense year where she used a different camera every single day. Amy is currently the Features Editor at Amateur Photographer magazine, and in her increasingly little spare time works across a number of high-profile publications including Wired, Stuff, Digital Camera World, Expert Reviews, and just a little off-tangent, PetsRadar. 

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