Sony a7

The Sony a7 arrived in 2013 as an early mirrorless camera built around a full frame sensor. At 474g and 127 x 94 x 48mm, it packs that sensor into a body that is genuinely easy to carry.

It suits photographers who want full frame images without a large camera, whether for travel or everyday shooting. The electronic viewfinder and the Sony FE lens mount complete the shooting experience.

Daily ownership involves a 340-shot battery rating, one card slot and no touchscreen, so settings change through buttons and menus.

A 24MP full frame CMOS sensor defines this camera, and it earns a good 70/100 Optics score, placing the a7 in the top 25% of cameras in our database for Optics. That resolution supports large prints and leaves room to crop while keeping detail.

The electronic viewfinder uses 2,359,000 dots, giving a detailed view for checking focus and exposure before the shot. A top shutter speed of 1/8000 second helps keep wide apertures usable in bright light.

Autofocus offers 117 points, giving you plenty of placement choices for off-centre subjects. The ISO range runs from 100 to 25600, which covers bright days and dim interiors alike.

Two constraints shape real shooting. The 5fps maximum burst suits portraits and events rather than fast action, and there is no in-body stabilisation, so handheld work in low light depends on a stabilised lens or careful technique.

Video is a modest part of the package, with a 56/100 score that reflects the Full HD resolution ceiling and the lack of a built-in timelapse mode. The camera records in AVCHD Ver. 2.0 or MP4, and frame rates reach 60fps.

Those frame rates keep motion smooth when subjects are moving, and Full HD footage is undemanding on cards and drives compared with higher-resolution formats. For casual and online work, that is often all you need.

There is no 4K recording, and timelapse is not built in, so interval sequences mean shooting stills and assembling them in software afterwards. The tilting screen at least makes handheld framing at awkward angles much easier.

Handling centres on a 3-inch LCD with 1,230,000 dots. The screen tilts, which keeps waist-level and overhead framing comfortable, but there is no touch input, so focus points and menu settings are reached through buttons and dials. A modest 57/100 Features score reflects that gap and the absent Bluetooth.

Wi-Fi is built in, giving the camera a wireless connection option, while the lack of GPS means location data has to come from elsewhere.

Weather sealing adds reassurance in dust and drizzle, though it does not make the camera waterproof. With no built-in flash, the support for an external flash unit matters when light falls.

Storage and battery is the weakest area here, with a limited 21/100 score. The single slot accepts SD, SDHC and SDXC cards as well as Memory Stick Pro Duo and Pro-HG Duo, but with no second slot there is no in-camera backup, so carry spare cards for anything important.

The NP-FW50 battery is rated at 340 shots. Treat that as a figure for comparison rather than a promise, since live view, video and Wi-Fi all draw extra power. A spare battery is a sensible part of owning this camera.

There is no USB charging, so the battery cannot be topped up over USB from a power bank or computer. Charging a spare before a shoot becomes the practical habit.