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Saturday, June 7, 2008

Sony Alpha A700 Review

Sony Alpha A700 Review



Intro

I’m a passionate amateur photographer and the reason for writing this review is simply to give a layman’s view on camera equipment that I use.

The reason I purchased the Sony A700 was essentially as an upgrade to my Konica Minolta Dynax 5D (A great camera in its own right and extremely underrated). Sony purchased Konica Minolta back in 2006 and luckily for me they have continued the Alpha mount for the lenses thus all my lenses from my Konica Minolta 5D fit and work as per normal on any of the Sony DSLR Camera’s.

Sony currently has a reasonable range of DSLR cameras starting with the A200, A300 and A350 entry level DSLR’s and of course the A700 Semi-Professional DSLR. All of Sony’s current DSLR are APS-C size sensors meaning that a crop factor of X1.5 is “gained” on SLR lenses i.e. a 100mm on an A700 is equivalent to 150mm on a full frame SLR. In addition to the current range of DSLR’s from Sony there is also the earlier A100 and rumours abound of a pending Full Frame 24 mega pixel A900 to be released later this year.

So back to the A700. The A700 competes directly with the Nikon D300 and The Canon 40D. It’s quite interesting that the A700 is rumoured to have the same sensor as the Nikon D300. I say rumoured but it’s pretty much a given when you consider that Nikon gets it’s sensors from Sony and both sensors are 12.2 CMOS. So having seen the ratings of the D300 it’s a feather in the cap for the A700 and at less of a cost. The sensor is not the only thing in common with the Nikon D300 the LCD is pretty much identical and are the only two cameras currently offering a 3.0 inch Xtra Fine 921K Dot resolution. They also both offer HDMI output from the camera.

So essentially in a nutshell the reasons that I chose to upgrade to the A700 where simple, I had a number of A-Mount lenses, the value for the specs of the camera was extremely good, the features where fantastic and I wanted a camera that would allow me to experiment with setting and bring out some creativity.

Specs

Format SLR
Release Status Current
Max resolution 4272 x 2848
Low resolution 3104 x 2064, 2128 x 1424
Image ratio w:h 3:2, 16:9
Effective pixels 12.2 million
Sensor photo detectors 13.0 million
Sensor size 23.5 x 15.6 mm
Sensor type CMOS
Colour filter array RGB
Sensor manufacturer Sony
ISO rating Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (up to 6400)
Image stabilization Yes, Sensor shift
Auto Focus Yes
Manual Focus Yes
Auto focus type Yes, 11 area, dual-centre cross sensor and F2.8 sensor type
White balance override 7 positions, plus manual
Min shutter 30 sec + Bulb
Max shutter 1/8000 sec
Built-in Flash Yes, pop-up
Flash guide no. 12 m (39.3 ft) m
External flash Yes, hot-shoe
Flash modes Auto, Fill-in, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync, Rear Sync Off
Exposure compensation -3 to +3 EV in 1/3, 1/2 or 2/3 EV steps
Metering 40 segment, Center weighted average, Spot
Aperture priority Yes
Shutter priority Yes
Focal length multiplier 1.5
Lens thread Sony Alpha mount, Minolta A-type mount
Continuous Drive Yes, 5 / 3 fps
Movie Clips No
Remote control Yes included. Wire (Optional)
Self-timer 2 or 10 sec
Time-lapse recording No
Orientation sensor Yes
Storage types Compact Flash (Type I or II), Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo
Storage included None
Uncompressed format RAW
Compressed format JPEG (EXIF 2.2)
Quality Levels Extra Fine, Fine, Standard
Viewfinder Optical (Glass Pentaprism, 95% coverage, 0.9x magnification)
LCD 3.0 "
LCD Pixels 921,000
Video out Yes
USB Yes, 2.0
Firewire (IEEE 1394) No
Battery / Charger Yes
Battery Lithium-Ion (NP-FM500H) & charger
Weight (inc. batteries) 768 g (27.1 oz)
Dimensions 142 x 105 x 80 mm (5.6 x 4.1 x 3.2 in)



Body and Design

The A700 is constructed from an Aluminium alloy chassis with a magnesium body and controls that are sealed against dust and moisture. The body is slightly bigger than the A100 and in my opinion sits better in the hand than the smaller entry level type DSLR’s. The layout of the buttons and menu are a pleasure and although many people are taken back by the amount of dials and buttons on the A700 I really do believe that they add to making this an amazing camera to use. Now buying a new camera does not mean you will automatically take better pictures but what the A700 does offer you is the ability to experiment and the freedom to use manual function far easier and faster than competing cameras. It is often possible to access a button via three different means, the Fn button, a dedicated button or the menu and in my opinion this means that what every function you are looking for you cannot go wrong in finding it.

LCD screen

The 3-inch LCD screen on the A700 is truly amazing and with a pixel count of 921,000 it’s a leader in its class and is only matched by the Nikon D300. Reviewing pictures on the screen definitely gives you and huge advantage over other cameras as you are given a accurate display of what the picture looks like where as on other screens you my end up doing a bit of guess work. I also find it extremely useful when checking the finer detail of pictures I’ve just taken.

Key Features

• Sony 'Exmor' 12.24 effective megapixel CMOS sensor with on-chip A/D conversion and dual noise reduction
• High speed BIONZ image processing engine for superb image quality
• Ultra responsive operation with fast, high-accuracy 11-point autofocus and 5fps continuous shooting
• HDMI output for viewing on HD Ready display plus PhotoTV HD mode for optimised Full HD images on new BRAVIA televisions
• 3.0-inch Xtra Fine 921k dot resolution LCD screen for critical shot evaluation
• Compatible with full range of a-mount lenses from Sony and Carl Zeiss plus Konica Minolta lenses
• Enhanced Super SteadyShot optical image stabilisation in camera body reduces camera shake with all lenses
• New Quick Navi function for fast, easy access to camera settings
• Rugged magnesium body with aluminium alloy chassis and controls sealed against dust and moisture
• Dual anti-dust system protects sensor during lens exchange

Image Quality

I have to say that I find the image quality of the A700 excellent even with a kit lens. Colour is fantastic and I shoot manly in RAW format so any JPEG issue are avoided (Although I personally do not see any Jpeg issues) and despite some of the negative reviews of the high ISO setting I find them personally to be excellent, being able to shoot quite usable images right up to 3200. I use the 6400 setting as a creative tool to add grain to images.

Something else that comes into play here for me is the Auto Focus (AF) which I find to be outstanding on the A700 even with my cheap lenses there is little searching in low light situations. AF is extremely quick and with the 5fps drive it is ideal for me taking sports and Wildlife pictures. Another bonus for me is the eye start AF, which basically starts focusing as soon as you lift the camera to your eye. When a split second can mean the difference between getting the shot or missing the action, this function is extremely handy. The eye start can be set to either simply start when it reaches your eye or else (What I prefer) is to set it up to only work with the grip sensor (your hand needs to be on the camera grip) and eye sensor, thus when the camera is on your lap or around your neck it isn’t focusing continuously. You can of course choose to turn both options off and use the shutter release button pressed half way down.


Lenses

My A700 came with the Sony 18-70mm AF DT kit lens, and for general use it’s pretty good with a decent focal range 18mm-70mm (27 – 105mm, 35mm Equivalent) and will work just fine for your family shots. You can get quite a lot out of the lens with a bit of work as seen here. If you have the money though I would recommend that you buy some top quality glass like one of the G series lenses or one of the Carl Ziess lenses. There used to be a rule of thumb in the days of film, invest in glass and not camera bodies. Nowadays, with digital, camera bodies do make a difference but I believe that the same still holds true, top glass will get you better results than the next best camera body. Unfortunately for me I’m not in the league of top end glass as its pretty expensive stuff. I shoot with the following lenses; Konica Minolta 75-300mm(D) 4.5 -5.6, Sony 18-70mm DT 3.5 – 5.6, Sigma 24-200mm 4.5 -5.6 and a Sigma 170-500mm APO 5.6 – 6.3 DG. As an amateur these lenses give me pretty much all I need.




Conclusion
I have to say that I am extremely pleased with the performance and functionality of the A700 and in my opinion it is an extremely good camera but unfortunately due to the Canikon monopoly, Sony (Like Olympus and Pentax) does not get the unbiased reviews they deserve. The camera is very capable, the AF is brilliant and with the great Sony, Minolta and the amount of Carl Zeiss glass coming onto the market the options are limitless. There has also been a noted uptake from the likes of Sigma and Tamron in producing to end Sony 3rd Party lenses which are often cheaper that lenses directly from the manufacturer. I am loving my A700 and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is considering purchasing a A700.

A comprehensive review can be read at Dpreview.com
For more of my photographs please visit my flickr site at link

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