I tried IR's studio scene at ISO 100. After downloading both samples I:
* Re-sized the 7D sample to the NEX-7 sample size using bicubic sharper.
* Applied Smart Sharpen at 100% / 0.7px.
After that the IQ advantage of the NEX-7 was much smaller then what appears in your samples. It's a 24 MP sensor so I would expect some advantage.
I also tried sharpening the NEX-7 sample a bit and then trying to "catch up" again with the 7D sample. The differences were still small. Basically the largest difference came down to more artifacts on the 7D sample, but on either the artifacts would only be visible while pixel peeping.
That said I expect a 24 MP sensor might yield a better rendition of foliage in landscape shots for larger prints. Not dramatically larger, but another 4-6" for a print which will be critically reviewed. (I consider the 7D to be a 24-30" landscape camera as is. Larger with greater viewing distance, less critical viewers, or less demanding subjects.)
We are reaching the point of diminishing returns in small format sensor resolution, where top notch glass, expert technique, challenging subject matter, and big prints are required to see any difference at all. That said I'm all for more megapixels as long as other characteristics do not suffer as large landscape prints are one of my favorite subjects.
This isn't enough to make me consider jumping ship. But I could end up with a NEX-7 any way because I would like to add a mirrorless system. I would like to see if Fuji releases an interchangeable lens version of the X-100 though. For that matter I would like to see any of the mirrorless systems embrace small, fast, high quality primes. They are too zoom heavy right now, and big slow zooms do not play to the strengths of a compact, mirrorless system.
* Re-sized the 7D sample to the NEX-7 sample size using bicubic sharper.
* Applied Smart Sharpen at 100% / 0.7px.
After that the IQ advantage of the NEX-7 was much smaller then what appears in your samples. It's a 24 MP sensor so I would expect some advantage.
I also tried sharpening the NEX-7 sample a bit and then trying to "catch up" again with the 7D sample. The differences were still small. Basically the largest difference came down to more artifacts on the 7D sample, but on either the artifacts would only be visible while pixel peeping.
That said I expect a 24 MP sensor might yield a better rendition of foliage in landscape shots for larger prints. Not dramatically larger, but another 4-6" for a print which will be critically reviewed. (I consider the 7D to be a 24-30" landscape camera as is. Larger with greater viewing distance, less critical viewers, or less demanding subjects.)
We are reaching the point of diminishing returns in small format sensor resolution, where top notch glass, expert technique, challenging subject matter, and big prints are required to see any difference at all. That said I'm all for more megapixels as long as other characteristics do not suffer as large landscape prints are one of my favorite subjects.
This isn't enough to make me consider jumping ship. But I could end up with a NEX-7 any way because I would like to add a mirrorless system. I would like to see if Fuji releases an interchangeable lens version of the X-100 though. For that matter I would like to see any of the mirrorless systems embrace small, fast, high quality primes. They are too zoom heavy right now, and big slow zooms do not play to the strengths of a compact, mirrorless system.
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