SonyILCE7KB.CE Full Frame Compact System Camera (28-70 mm Zoom Lens 24.3 MP, 117 Points Hybrid Autofocus, 3 Inch Tiltable LCD, 5 FPS, XGA OLED Tru-Finder) - Black

I bought this camera for a specific purpose. I learned photography during the age of film, and consequently the idea of manually focusing and the tactile feel of using a solidly built, metal lens still appeals.I have built up a collection of quality vintage glass, and while I could use these on my Fuji-x there was always a crop factor of 1.5 involved (as in a 50mm lens behaved as a 75mm on the Fuji). This crop factor issue could be solved by using a full frame sensor, but cameras with a full frame sensor are typically much more expensive than crop cameras.The Sony appeared to offer the best value entry into full frame sensors, however I was a bit dubious as in my eyes Sony wouldn't be regarded as a camera company like Nikon or Olympus for example, but rather as an electronics company. However in the end I went for the Sony and must admit that I'm pleasantly surprised.For a full frame sensor camera it's much smaller than I expected, just slightly bigger than my crop sensor Fuji x-T1 if at all. The image quality from the full frame sensor is excellent. However what's most appealing to me is that it has both Focus Peaking and Focus Magnification, which means that manual focusing is a doddle and I can now use all my vintage lenses at the focal length for which they were intended.The price also included a 28-70mm AF kit lens with hood which appears to offer high image quality, a great addition to have for those times when I'm feeling a little lazy or looking to capture non-static subjects.I do have a few complaints though.The manual is very poor. It's a bit bigger than my Fuji manual however the Fuji manual is in English alone whereas the Sony manual is written in 12 different languages?? This means that they are trying to cram a lot of information into a small space resulting in a lot of information missing and the print being too small.Another problem is the battery, and also charging same.This camera is no slouch when it comes to using battery power, yet the battery is pretty small due to the small size of the overall camera. This is a problem because the battery must be in the camera with the supplied charger. I've never come across this before, probably because it's a stupid idea. Why?Because if you have two batteries to overcome the high battery usage, there are situations where you would have one on charge while continuing to shoot with the other battery, but you can't with this charger because you need the camera as part of the charger circuit??However at the end of the day I still give it five stars because of the image quality, full frame sensor, price and features all packed into a compact body, and of course the added bonus of a decent quality kit lens which is virtually a free extra, not to mention the excellent manual focus capabilities of focus peaking and zoom focus.The manual shortcomings can be overcome by checking out the numerous videos online which clarify everything, and the charger problem can easily be rectified by purchasing a cheap independent charger online. I picked up an excellent double battery charger for around £15 here on Amazon.So all in all a quality camera plus lens at a great price with a few little niggles which can easily be rectified.

Had mine for about 18 months now and still blown away by the picture quality with the right lens. Mine came in at just £619 with the kit lens on prime day. I don't think the kit lens is good enough for the sensor though but I kept mine just for shooting stabilised video, lens sharpness being less of an issue for moving footage.I use mine mostly with the excellent FE 28mm F2 lens, a sharp, fast and compact prime that really compliments the A7's small size making a great discreet carry all day outfit. I also use the very compact Samyang AF 35mm F2.8 lens which is equally sharp and a bargain price. One of the great advantages of full frame mirror-less is the ability to adapt older 35mm lenses at their native focal length, I've a bunch of manual Nikkor lenses from pre digital days that work perfectly using a Metabones adapter (much cheaper adapters are available). Focusing these old lenses is easy with peaking and 2x magnification assigned to a button.I have an Sony A6000 too and have to say I prefer my A7 in nearly all areas. The viewfinder is far superior, the buttons and dials are more abundant and fall to the fingers better.....and really there is not a lot of difference in size and weight apart from the raised viewfinder. The A7 produces much cleaner images at all ISO's than the A6000 and the auto white balance does a far better job. Plus there is no getting away from the lovely depth of field effects only a full frame provides. Also like the ease of access to the SD card slot on the side, no fiddling in the underside battery compartment to remove it (particularly useful on a tripod). Just to note the FE 28mm F2 works very well on the A6000 which is a big bonus of Sony maintaining it mount from APSC to full frame.Where the A6000 scores over the A7 is in speed of AF and frame rate, the A7 is not a high speed action camera. That said the AF is a lot better than I was led to believe from reviews, I don't miss shots, it works just fine for me but then I don't shoot sports. The A6000 also has a much quieter shutter.The two things that I like least about the A7 are the poor battery life and the noisy shutter. The good thing is compatible batteries are super cheap (RAVPower work well for me, with the 2 battery kit and dual charger).The A7 still has no peers at it's uber low price point when it's on offer. The price, the compactness, the light weight, the glorious full frame......what's not to love?

Probably the best purchase ive done in a while. I upgraded from a nikon D3200 and the full frame sure makes a difference. Especially being sony these cameras are incredible at low light. I have been using it for almost 5 months and it is amazing. its very strongly built and sturdy and doesn't feel cheap at all. its very rare to see a full frame camera at this price as other competitors full frame cameras from nikon and canon are very expensive compared to this sony A7 and worse and older. I think this is the best budget full frame camera out on the market.Although the camera is from 2013, it doesn't feel outdated. the camera has plenty of features at this price point including smart remote functionality which is very useful for long exposures and landscape photography. the full frame also helps out with the portraits as it gives a very clean and sharp image with a beautiful bokeh when used with f2.8 or lower lenses. If you are doubtful on which one to buy between the A7ii and this one it completely depends on the purpose as there isn't much difference between the two for photography they almost perfectly similar. Although the A7ii is very good for video as it shoots SLog2 which is great for post production, it also has 5 axis stabilisation built in which helps when using old lenses. But the price difference is too much to consider as its almost double for very little upgrade.For pure photography this is a highly recommended camera and for amateurs its a brilliant camera to go professional with.