With the H7, Sony comes back to the bridge market with a tempting new line of bridges equipped with an impressive 15x optical zoom, high performance optical stabilization and sensitivity which goes up to 3200 ISO. Unfortunately, the sensor with 8 million pixels is still small (1/2,5''). So, we have to ask if the big zoom and small sensor combination will add up to good numeric results in photos?

Ergonomics

Despite the presence of the 15x optical zoom, Sony’s H7 is a very compact bridge. The grip is relatively short and isn’t too suited for big hands. There is quality construction, but the "all plastic" body doesn’t create the greatest effect and we are far from the reassuring metal finishing touches of the Canon G7. Compared to previous models, there is only one difference, however, it is important. There is now a dial on the back of the camera which allows us to quickly change parameters. It’s very practical for PSAM modes and you can also review the photos you just took. It‘s an appreciable addition, however, it’s not useable in menus. The LCD screen is fluid, but does slightly lack precision. The Super SteadyShot optical stabilization is very efficient and we were able to take photos at 1/10 s and even up to 1 / 4 s. The H7 isn't very fast to start up (more than 2 seconds), but it catches up in this domain with rapid focusing with good lighting. In burst mode, the Sony H7 reaches 1.7 images per second, an honorable score, which isn’t excellent but is enough for sports shooting, for example.

Quality of images

While the objective has a very interesting focal length range (31-465 mm) with a true wide angle, it isn‘t perfect. There is a strong deformation with the 
wide angle and a decrease in performance on the edges of the image. In strongly contrasted areas, we easily noticed purple fringes, which is less a problem with the zoom. However, the biggest problem, as if often the case, comes from noise control. Here, the new Bionz chip shows a rather abrupt processing. Noise is absent up until 400 ISO, but smoothing out is already noticeable at 200 ISO. Beyond 400 ISO, details are less and the deterioration is rapid up until 3200 ISO. It’s too bad we can’t adjust "noise control" more finely. In lower sensitivities, the Sony H7 has excellent results with sharp images and more pronounced accentuation. Colors (as usual with Sony) are well saturated, which makes it a good general public camera. The experienced amateur will be a little disappointed at the lack of RAW format, but the macro (1 cm) is a real pleasure to use.