Sony Alpha NEX-7 photos

For me, the little bit of extra bulk makes the Sony Alpha NEX-7 feel a lot more balanced and comfortable to shoot with.

The large grip and control placement make the NEX-7 easier to operate with one hand than most ILCs. (Note: this is not a proper shooting grip.)

Like most of the NEX models, the NEX-7 has a very compact body, though it's slightly larger than the others and that difference makes it feel a little less dwarfed by zoom lenses.

Unlike the rest of the NEX series, the NEX-7 has a full set of physical controls, all of which are completely programmable. These include a button on the top next to the shutter and two large thumb-operated dials.

The interface reminds you of all your custom mappings for the buttons and dials; for instance, here you can see that the two thumb dials control shutter-speed and exposure compensation, the bottom button will bring up the focus area options, and the dial is set for ISO sensitivity. The button that displays "custom" brings up access to three different settings (in my case metering, white balance, and DRO), though that button is by default usually reserved for selecting the shooting mode. My only complaint is that these programmable buttons are very hard to find by feel when you don't want to take your eye away from the viewfinder. Otherwise, I love the design.

The NEX-7's tilting display comes in handy. I wish the viewfinder's eyecup were a little softer, though.

The adapter allows you to use full-size Sony lenses, and you can see the SLT mirror inside that enables the camera to use phase-detection AF with the lenses.

The camera supports an add-on microphone. Other connectors include Mini-HDMI and USB.