More A77/NEX-7 news
Video on top. A german A77 preview by videoaktiv.
I am going to soon post a NEX-7 preview summary and my first fullframe rumors summary. In the meanwhile those are the latest hands-on, previews and news I found around the web:
A77 preview at Cameralabs (Click here): “Ultimately I don’t believe Sony has created a true semi-pro contender here. The small buffer, relatively limited number of cross-type AF sensors and viewfinder delay mean it won’t be ideal for pro action photographer, however tempted they might be by the 12fps rate. Some could make it work, depending on the situation, but put the A77 up against a Canon EOS 7D in a sports environment, and you’ll realise why the latter is a better choice. But outside of this specialist environment, there’s a lot to like about the A77, and it’ll put existing mid-range models under a lot of pressure. Cameras like the EOS 60D and especially the Nikon D7000 look quite under-featured in comparison. Perhaps Sony’s cleverest move though was developing an aspirational kit lens that’s relatively affordable. It may not zoom as long as rival kit lenses, but it’s wider, quicker, quieter and crucially brighter. A very classy move that’ll attract a lot of educated buyers”
NEX-7 preview at Cameralabs (Click here): “Personally speaking I can’t wait to test one, along with the new SLT-A77 which it was launched alongside. As Canon and Nikon continue to avoid the increasingly popular and lucrative ILC market, Sony is taking the bull by the horns and giving the Micro Four Thirds camp serious food for thought.”
NEX-7 at Photographyreview (Click here): “The most interesting question for me is the positioning of the new NEX-7. The price sets it apart from previous NEX cameras as well as even the most expensive Panasonic and Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras, which top out at $900. The high resolution and $1200 MSRP make it look like Sony is aiming the NEX-7 at pros and enthusiasts with Leica-envy – the same photographers who are all over the Fujifilm X100 ($1199). And that’s pretty interesting because the NEX-7 costs a hell of a lot less than the Leica M9 ($7750) and looks like a whole lot more camera than the fixed-lens Fujifilm X100.”
More news:
“Sony – please add gain control to A77 sound” at Photoclubalpha (Click here).
NEX-7 at Cameraitmedia.
A NEX comparison table at Sony Japan.
A77 image samples at Chip.de.
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sonyboy68
9 months ago |The autofocus is very good in Video !
The problem is the sound with the wind !
Thathang
9 months ago |What do you expect on a mountain and in a speedboat. Ofcourse you hear the wind!
www.MilosJanata.com
9 months ago |AF looks good but I am worried about stabilization, subject is moving from left to right side of the frame all the time, Very unpleasant to watch
Wirralpix
9 months ago |Haven’t they found a competent builder for those ruins yet?
Definately needs an external mic for the video. The AF on the video is fast. I noticed that it went out of focus at times when sea spray was thrown up in front of the jet ski. Very sensitive AF.
And the photographer needs to learn how to keep the camera steady and level when shooting video.
Chris Lewis
9 months ago |I’m drawn to the NEX7 as it would make an excellent Leica substitute (although I’d prefer the real thing if my pockets were deep enough!).
I’d like to know if the shutter is any quieter than existing A and E cameras? Anyone know?
As a general comment I am pleased with what the A77 and NEX7 promise, but hope that some conventional DSLR’s remain in the Sony line-up.
I am left wondering if there will be an A mount version of the NEX7 in the pipeline as the SLT design seems merely like a step away from the SLR concept towards a future mirrorless design such as the NEX7.
Neonsquare
9 months ago |Regarding A77 vs EOS 7D for action shots – its really more difficult to tell than just to look how many cross type sensors a camera has. At least in its 8FPS-Mode the A77 can use a main sensor based (live view) object tracking, which is an innovation in this class of cameras. It all depends on how good this additional information can get used to make AF tracking more reliable than the AF-sensor-only based tracking of the EOS 7D. Its possible, that this kind of tracking is better, or at least it may be easier to come to better results.
ageha
9 months ago |“AF-sensor-only based tracking of the EOS 7D”? Well, that’s the case for both cameras.
Terryfried
9 months ago |In the A77 usees seperate “AF sensor” based PD tracking. While DSLRs use “main sensor” based contrast tracking.its like using a compact camars AF during tracking and video. While the A77 can focus continualy (even during exposure when aDSLR would have its mirror up and not be able to do PD-AF.
Neonsquare
9 months ago |No – this has absolutely nothing to do with contrast AF. “Object Tracking” in the A77 is the generalized concept of the “Face recognition AF” of the earlier alphas. The object tracking follows a selected object within the live view (marked by a selection rectangle). This live view Object tracking works together with the PD AF-Sensors in the way, that only those PD sensors are selected over which the tracked object resides. This a a complete different thing to what Canon does in the EOS 7D. It is a little bit similar to the 3D-Tracking Nikon does using their exposure sensor – but Sony uses the main sensor for it, which has a much much bigger resolution and therefore much more information for Object recognition.
EddyH
9 months ago |Regarding positioning of NEX 7: on the Belgian/Flemish website (http://www.sony.be/lang/nl/compare/dph-digital-slr-cameras), it is positioned as ‘starter’ (“beginner” in Flemish), not even ‘advanced amateur’ (which the A77 is).
David
9 months ago |Cameralabs a77 review seemed fair, though I don’t think you can judge by just the NUMBER of cross type AF points. He didn’t give any indication of their actual performance.. only that more is apparently better!
And what he says about low-light shooting disagrees with most other reviews, who say the EVF is better than optical so that you can see in the dark. This is where personal preferences come into play.
So the lesson to take from it is to TRY one for yourself. Internet reviews can help to some extent, but what really matters is whether the camera shoots your own style.
As for the “small” buffer depth. I wonder why anybody would need to shoot several seconds of 12fps? Surely you time the fast bursts around periods of action – the bat on the ball, the slam dunk, the tackle. They only last fractions of a second anyway. And as long as the buffer clears quickly, what’s the problem?
I don’t think it’s fair to call it a negative when, if you want a camera which does the same thing, it will cost you 3x as much. But a bit like SAR readers, these reviewers expect everything and don’t expect it to cost. I think the fact you can GET 12fps AT ALL is absolutely amazing.
See this video at 3:20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1itxu5I_wM
A few bursts there, that are close together. You shouldn’t have any problem getting action shots with that.
monkeyfacemcbride
9 months ago |good video, admittedly sony advertising but it does answer the question about how trigger happy you can be with the bursts and the answer, contrary to the opinions of some is that you can pretty much bash ‘em out as you like. you dont run a burst wait five minutes for the buffer to clear, run a burst and so on. Either that buffer clears really quick at the end of a burst or it is dual port and they can write to the card pretty quick. Either way, thats one box ticked for me.
The thing that makes me laugh and I’ve picked up a few on it already is the “well thats only a second and a half in burst mode” comments. Why on earth would you want more, are they such bad photographers that they need to walk around with a never ending burst going on to catch that decisive moment? watch, wait, anticipate, fire!…thats how the pros have been doing it for years, its called skill. If you’re that poor, switch to video and you can get tons of 2MP shots from this thing at 50/60 frames per second, ok the resolutions compromised but it’ll still make your nice 5×7 at walmart or whatever.
alphafan2011
9 months ago |yes, as I said, mostly one second is enough, but sometimes not. Many people are looking for good “continous shooting”, but that are only short bursts!
And real continous shooting can be used to put the pics together to a short movie scene (and with more action than only one second!) or if may things happen in 4-5 seconds you can shoot in in a row and delete the not needed pics. The A77 has to wait 3 seconds for the next one second burst! (and not to forget, they probably have no 30 MB/s card in it, the have the best currently on the market with 80 MB/s write speed because they want to put the camera in the best light possible!).
So there are some reasons, not only less skilled photographers, but even those guys would gain some skill through “continous shooting”.
And for the 50 frames with 2 MP you dont need such a camera
even a 150 Euro compact can do this 
monkeyfacemcbride
9 months ago |whilst I can appreciate that you have your point of view, the argument that you cant make a 4 second movie is, to my mind at least, a bit odd. why on earth would you make any movie at a resolution 12x that of the display medium (HDTV is 2MP, A77 stills 24MP), even cinema films are only 4MP and you’re going 6 times higher than that. Seems rather wasteful to me. As for things happening over 4-5 seconds, well it seems from the figures i can find that most decent cameras on the market have a buffer size equivalent to 2 seconds of shooting at max burst rate at max res. As this is a pure buffer size issue it should be possible to shoot at lower rez e.g 12MP/6MP and shoot burst for ages (incidentally, I’ve seen people make really decent A2 prints from 6MP). To be honest I think peoples expectations are a little, well, unrealistic given the price of this camera and somewhat in excess of their real world needs.
alphafan2011
9 months ago |well yes you are right, and of course i dont need the 24 MP, nearly no one who buys this cam needs 24 MP, but thats another problem (which also fills the buffer much faster)
but extracting every lets say third frame out of a video to get the same effect like shooting with 10-12 fps and put the pics together is hard I think, dont know a tool which extracts every second, third or fourth pic, also the sharpness and quality is higher in the pics than in the extracted frames of a video.
so yes, maybe a lower resolution as images would be possible, we will see, how the A77 works then.
and if you mean me with too high expectations then you are wrong. its the opposite.
In my opinion the A77 should only have the new 16 MP sensor of the 5N (which isn’t more expensive) and maybe an option or the possibility to shoot only 10 fps (or to choose on your own every value lower than the 12 fps peak) to get more pics in a row. That are no expectations to make the cam more expensive, its realistic for the same or with the other sensor a lower price maybe.
But now its still a lot of speculation, we have to wait until the final versions come out on the market. Then we will see.
I still like the A77 with all those features, probably the only thing I definately dont like is the huge 24 MP on the APS-C sensor, thats all. Because I dont see any benefit except a nice advertising from it. 16 or 18 MP should have been enough on the APS-C sensor (dont compare to full frame).
- the buffer fills faster than with lower resoution.
- compared the the NEX-5N sensor it not only has the mirror which reduces the light to 70%, it also has a much smaller pixelsize
(both make it definately worse in low light / high Iso’s – and not to forget, that is the big strength of DSLR’s compared to compacts)
- probably makes it more expensive to develop this new sensor compared to the NEX-5N sensor, which is great
- you have to use very expensive, (but also good) lenses to cover all those pixels with enough light! not to forget that in some example pics you can see a big diffraction effect hat high aperture values like F16 or something like that!
so maybe some people make jumps through the air because of the 24MP, but i definatly don’t and probably my choice will be the NEX-5N for half the price, although thanks to the rumors (nice page!) I was nearly sure to take the A65 or A77 …
monkeyfacemcbride
9 months ago |to address just a few points in your reply, you do realize that the A77 allows you to shoot 8fps as well dont you and with no aperture lock. Thats the same as the canon 7D. 8fps is still extremely quick.
most video editing software will allow you to do the extract of every nth frame simply speeding the footage up by however many 100%s of percent (e.g you want every 4th frame = 400% speed up) certainly Sony vegas does. Just make sure you dont change the rendering frame rate and it’ll subtract all the unwanted frames from the timeline. Render the timeline and there you have it. Obviously for peak image quality dont render the timeline to a lossy compression format.
FWIW I agree that the 24MP seems a bit OTT but when the production cams come out, its possible that Sony did a better job than we think right now. I’ll make my judgement at that time. My simple criteria is that it should be no worse noise-wise than an A900.
alphafan2011
9 months ago |yes, but with speeding up a movie you still have every frame of the movie, not every 4th or 5th … it’s a possibility, but it looks more fluently. also as I said pictures are mostly sharper and have less motion blur than extracted images of a movie.
and yes, we all have to wait till all of those cams are out. it was a presentation, nothing more and nothing less, maybe something in image quality changes, maybe not. we don’t know, Sony does know and if Sony also reads the different reactions hopefully they know how to react.
I definately like the A77 in most things and I’m no pixel peeper (thats why I also see no reason for 24MP except advertising), but as a student I don’t have that much money to feed a high quality lens limiting 24 MP sensor with glasses for 1000 Euro and more.
I only want to have a cam where I still can shoot some nice pics, even with ISO 3200 cause thats the big advantage of large sensor cams, nothing else. And if I look at the first samples the A77 has no chance at Iso 3200 and above compared to 16 MP sensors like D7000 or the new NEX-5N. Not with ooc images, not with reduced size (although its a little bit strange to buy a 24MP camera and to scale the pics down) and also not with some image processing thanks to the strange NR of Sony. They should at least add an option to disable NR!
alphafan2011
9 months ago |well David, I know that you are 100% pro this camera, but like the review I also mentioned the “small” buffer. It’s not only a buffer problem, the “problem” mostly results from the very fast 12 fps and the very high resolution and filesizes!!!
So the buffer would be nice in the same size, but then you have to shoot maybe like the A55 with 16 MP and 10 fps … then it would be more than enough!
So not everyone expects a huge buffer, but if Sony claims to have that nearly perfect new camera and wants to put in into the semi-pro market, then Sony also have to think about the “buffer problem”, introduced be the “highest resolution” and the “fastest burst (!not continous!) shooting” …
Yes, as I said one tackle is a thing of one second, but mostly to get the whole scene you start to shoot maybe half a second before and keep it a little bit longer than needed. That is not possible if you are limited to this one second.
Or think of a short movie scene created out of the continous shot pictures, with only 13-15 frames its not really possible and if yes, the action in the scene is very short!
Eric
9 months ago |“And for the 50 frames with 2 MP you dont need such a camera
even a 150 Euro compact can do this 
”
so get that one.
alphafan2011
9 months ago |I already have one as a everywhere to go cam
David
9 months ago |@alphafan
Honestly I am not 100% pro this camera, but I am trying to be realistic in my expectations.
12fps is freaking amazing.. the fact it exists at all in a <$2000 camera is incredible. I think a small buffer (yes, caused by huge files) is an ok compromise. Do I wish the buffer was larger? Yes, sure! But I'm grateful to have 12fps, even if it's only for 1.5 seconds. With good timing, you can now capture a moment that you couldn't before, faster than you could before unless you have a $5000 camera.
Everyone has to work within the limitations of their gear. And the a77 is fantastic value with comparatively small limitations, considering the low price!
Everything is about compromise. Maybe they could theoretically get continuous 12fps.. but you probably need a larger camera, need a new higher capacity battery, more production costs etc. They would also be compromises that would suit or bother different types of shooter. I don't think anybody claimed the a77 to be perfect.. but it *does* give you a LOT of tools for the price point. And it's up to you to work around them.
If you need continuous shooting, a 7D is a better bet for you. If you value the ability to use 12fps, albeit for a shorter time, the a77 is for you. Depends on your style and needs.
You gotta think that all photographers were doing this stuff on film not that long ago. The fact you can get 12fps at all in a consumer body is incredible imo!
Wheelus
9 months ago |I agree David. As much time as alphafan2011 has been complaining about the 24 MP sensor over the past week, I think he should change his name to alphaenemy2011 (LOL as they say).
At at burst rate of 1.5 seconds, if I am photographing someone swinging a baseball bat or kicking a soccer (football) ball, I will get 18 images. Most of the time that will be way more than enough! Every camera has its limitations and you must work with them. If I ever have situations where I think that for some reason that 24 MP is overkill, I will pull out my Alpha 550, 580, 700 or whatever, and use it.
Gorn
9 months ago |Looks like they had quite a fun time testing the new A77
Still hoping Sony will make all NTSC/PAL formats selectable in the video mode menu…
alphafan2011
9 months ago |yes thats the biggest problem, in the US you get the A77 for 1399 $ with 60 fps … and in Europe you can pay 1299 Euro with only 50 fps!
Not to forget that the 1399 $ are with the current exchange rate only 970 Euro!!!
But its not only a problem of the A77, its a general problem. Yes 50 fps is more compatible to European TV system, but from 60 fps you can make slow motion easier than with 50 fps… cause its 1,2 times the frames
oppel
9 months ago |+1
Cyrus
9 months ago |Hi andrea,
Is there still a 3rd Alpha comming as said by one of your rumors…
Or we have just to forget that?
Thanks in advance.
acolyte
9 months ago |I thought that’s a third FF? (3 FF alphas coming)
Cyrus
9 months ago |SR3 – June 27 2011
Smoke about a third Alpha camera
(to be announced along A65 and A77)
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr3-smoke-about-a-third-alpha-camera-to-be-announced-along-a65-and-a77/
Where are you Andrea?
monkeyfacemcbride
9 months ago |hmm…not so sure about the cameralabs stuff, alot of speculation in there. Statements that the A77 AF system not as good as the 7D with no evidence that he’s actually tried it. In fact there’s no real evidence that he’s even seen one and the general tone is that of someone who read the spec sheet and thats about it. You simply cant say that because one camera has 19 cross sensors and another has 19 points but only 11 cross sensors that the former is better, its not even nearly that simple. Ultimately its pretty poor journalism and whoever wrote it needs to go back re-read and re-write when he can bring more to the party than supposition. What we have in this article is the same sort of preview as you can see on youtube done by 12 year olds two months before launch, but obviously they do it in video form.
As for the buffer size, although the quoted buffer size equates to 17 Raws or whatever, does anyone know that this is a definitive burst size for RAWs/equivalent JPEG or is this simply calculated from the absolute measurement of the buffer size in MB/image size in MB. If its dual port RAM, there’s no reason why it cant be clocking data out to the card while receiving new data from the sensor and given a sufficiently fast card things may change considerably. Remember, the original reason for the buffer was that the speed of cards in the good ole days way slooowwww and certainly not upto direct transfer from sensor to card. While frame sizes have gone up by 4 times since the days of the Minolta 7D, data transfer rates on cards have gone up even more. Anyway, my attitude is to exercise a little patience and see how this pans out in the real world. Spec sheets just tell you what you bought, not how it’ll behave and how useful it’ll be, for that we need user experiences.
CreatePersuasion
9 months ago |You know, just like everything else in our world of bullshit (profitable as it might be) I find thse reviews hedging for what I can only suppose is the desire to be free from the burden of INTEGRITY. I’ve been earning a living with Sony/Minolta since the day the a100 dropped. I recently taught a class 15+ person class recently, where 5 students had Canon bodies and 3 had Nikons, while the remaining students would use any of one my Sony bodies (a100, a700x2, a900, a33x2, and a55) where all of the Sony users (some never having held ANY dslr before) could instantly make the requested adjustments while my Nikonians choked on the cumbersome menu and the Canon folks skyrocketed as photogs with their newly acquired knowledge. Sony’s done the job: ease of use, equal to comp. ISO noise in RAW, faster focus, and IQ that exceeds the pricepoint across the board.
I have to wonder when reading a blog that apparently seeks to short sell the market ( and market share) based on completely arbitrary BULLSHIT. The consumer Sony’s were a little too slow with the inbody focus motor but otherwise? Oh, ISO algorithms were inferior but that’s it. Learn to use your gear and stop worrying about which is better…After years of shooting beside brand whores, I’ll tell you: Nikon is a pain in the ass to operate but delivers GREAT high ISO perf. if you’ve got the bucks. Focus speed is affected more by your glass. Canon, nice smooth color rendoring that you’ve likely accepted as “the look” but is actually way too fucking green to make it to a magezine. Focus speed is faster in consumer bodies than Sony, and its been BARELY more accurate (kudos for Sony supporting, in spite of rep. points lost ANCIENT glass BTW) in the side by side work I’ve contracted with my Canonites. (The a900 newest firmware makes it a lock for accuracy re: focus and I’ve delivered ISO 1600 at 11.14 without a second guess on my “great studio only body”) Deal with the facts here: You’re either too fucking insecure to cope with using the 3rd place brand (so you’re going to ignore the DOMINANT benefits) or you’re hoping you take a late night shit that features some character rectifying ephiphany that would allow you to stop reading the web for some copy that made shooting Sony okay. Anyway, the ride via the Canonite was some shit, from somoene scare she/he might miss the next “for your review” blessing. Peace.
monkeyfacemcbride
9 months ago |Now why didn’t i put it like that? superb post!
Wheelus
9 months ago |I second that!
acolyte
9 months ago |Anecdotes are always welcome.
But it’d be nice for you to at least censor the swear words~
CreatePersuasion
9 months ago |Okay, sensor them, with YOUR browser. Fear of the certain assemblies of alphabetical devices usually indicates a desire for control and even more the desire to perpetuate social order. Blessings in your candle lighting, but I can assure you that the Savior of the planet will not be outdone by words, and is likely offended that you’ve deemed them worthy devices to estimate the character of any man. I’m not sure how that’s an anecdote either. @MonkeyfaceMcBride & @Wheelus, thanks for kind words.
Dennis
9 months ago |While I also dislike the simplified “more cross AF points is better”-scheme in the Cameralabs-Preview, I think they made 2 valid points:
First, the extra lag you get from looking through an EVF. It would be interesting to know the exact lag time in ms. Maybe one day someone will construct an attachable optical rangefinder which could be used to overcome the lag problem in situations where precise timing is crucial. However, I think that in most situations, it is sufficient to have a high burst rate which makes exact timing unnecessary.
The second complaint I agree with is buffer size. Sony says that the camera is designed to empty the buffer quickly and that it was made to suit real-life situations (where you normally don’t shoot bursts for longer than 1 second). That’s nice and I will probably never have a problem with the buffer. But anyways – I guess the actual buffer size is something like 256 MB (11 frames * 23 MB), maybe it’s 512 MB. This is just ridiculous. How hard can it be to put in 1GB of RAM – and if it’s _ONLY_ to make those voices disappear that say the camera’s not good for sports shooting?
Overall, I would rather wait for real reviews and until I can try it out myself in order to make a judgement. It’s just worrysome that the so-awaited super flagship APS-C newcomer is compared to a three year old contestant and is barely able to win the fight. No matter what the final reviews will be like – I think we won’t have too much fun comparing the A77 to the next generation 7D. And it’s a pity, because the camera seems to rock, but Sony fails in _very_ simple details. (buffer size, no CDAF, no tethering etc. Most of these things would cost next to nothing to add to the camera) Image quality is another topic but we’ll have to wait. The fact that Sony allowed preview sites to release pictures shot with beta firmware and that the max ISO is 16000 (compared to 25600 on the NEX-5N) isn’t promising too much and I think the high ISO performance won’t be better that on the A580. I’d love to be taught differently, though.
Dennis
9 months ago |I’ll have to correct the thing about buffer size, since it’s 11 fps with RAW+JPG, so the buffer probably is 512 MB (around 46 MB for one pair of JPG+RAW). Still, the point remains valid. Why not put in 1 GB of RAM, when 4GB cost around 20 Euro?
ahhh-lpha100
9 months ago |Put 4!
And a second SD slot would have been nice. Not just for speed but redundancy. If one card/contacts in camera fail you have another.
I once had a Minolta (film) body repaired and it came back with a new problem: no film transport. So this redundancy thing may look far fetched but it would add a secure feeling.
Still IQ is nr 1 I guess and I think the review is fair on that: wait until the production camera is there.
It’s a hard verdict for Sony though: no semi-pro model.
But yes they can still increase the buffer, but I guess they will not.
ageha
9 months ago |They don’t produce only one camera. Not sure how many they make but you have to multiply the cost by that factor.
alphafan2011
9 months ago |you think its that high? I think all the jpg’s on the pages have a maximum size of 9MB, not something like 23MB, but nevertheless, the problem is the same, whether files and buffer are smaller or but lar larger.
Beer_Stalker
9 months ago |It probably does have a GB of RAM as the A900 had 768MB. The buffer is not going to a dedicated memory chip, it’ll be a structure in main memory. There may be constraint such as the number of physical address lines the Bionz has (it’s an ARM design).
harpo
9 months ago |a580 ISO performance on a new 24 mp sensor would be most welcome.
Steve Jones
9 months ago |Looks like the Cameralab previewer has made his mind up on the A77 usability without, as far as I can tell, having his hands on one.
P
9 months ago |Timing and short shutter lag is far more important when shooting sport/action than be able to spray in 12fps for several seconds…the A77 seems to flush a full buffert very quickly..you just have to lift the finger from the shutter quickly and then you can shoot a new serie of 12fps again..i think it is possible to shoot longer burst in 8fps mode before you hit the buffert roof given how quickly the A77 flush a full buffert.
Terryfried
9 months ago |So the Canon 7D is better because at 8fps it can do 15 Raw images in buffer instead of 12fps and 13 raw buffer ? by my calculation in 8fps mode the A77 should do about 20 raw shots making the buffer last about 30% longer despite 24MP is this not Canon fan boys clutching at straws. And before I am accused of being a Sony fan boy, I am a Canon fan whose first SLR was a Canon A1. I will however be buying an A77. And for those of you who don’t require 16MP one of the advantages of the digital tele-converter as opposed to later crop is that smaller files are faster to process. So you should be able to use 1.4x multiply with 8fps to get approx. 28(12MP) Raw images in the buffer.
acolyte
9 months ago |Funny. I usually see ‘before I am accused as a Canikon fanboy, I am a Sony user’ but this time it’s the other way around
SRL
9 months ago |As impressive as many of the A77’s specifications are, and as cools as some of its new and innovative and yes revolutionary features are, it still disappoints in many ways. This camera fits squarely in the realm of a tech enthusiast device and its market will include upper middle class males whose photographic experience have primarily been a cell phone or a point and shoot, and now wants latest cool gadget to show his friends and has the money to pay for it.
As the “official” replacement to the vaulted A700 it has solid construction, and many pro-like design elements but it’s is also crammed with features and style settings and other play stuff that no real photographic enthusiast would have any use for, and is not the camera that many of us hoped would knock the current market leaders, Canon and Nikon off there pedestals , or cause photographers to dump four-year-old Canon or Nikon equipment and move to Sony and by doing so, help ensure the A-mounts survival and our investment in it.
Many A-Mount photographers had hopes for a solid, high quality camera delivering the highest quality images with low-light capabilities and AF performance that equals or betters cameras released by Canon, Nikon and others some THREE TO FOUR YEARS AGO. The new EVF/mirror technology that in many ways defines the A77 has yet to produce images that equal the capabilities of the competing OVF systems, and reading SAR and other photographic websites, I understand that the NEX7 the uses the same sensor may produce better photographs depending on the situation.
Yes, the A77 is a very good camera and it does many things quite well ….It might even make toast, but within months, Canon and Nikon will announce new cameras that will easily better the photographic performance of the A77, though maybe not it features or all of its specifications.
Photographic performance; isn’t that what we want?
alphafan2011
9 months ago |+1
you are right, lets see what the NEX 7 offers in it’s final version offers, then its only Sony’s turn to offer a wide spectrum of lenses for the NEX-system. cheap, expensive, small (like the new Panasonic X-line), fast, professional, easy to use, different focal lenths and so on … and hopefully some 3rd party manufacturer will add something nice too for the NEX-line!
and hopefully for the A77 there will be no Panasonic GH3 so fast, cause with those amazing lenses, the extremely good performance, the compact size, nice video capabilities, lower price and also the acceptable image quality of the GH2 it could be a perfect camera! Not the studio cam, but for everything else!
emarsh
9 months ago |The canon 60d, nikon d7000, and pentax k-5, are all direct competitors of the Sony a77. All of these cameras have creative style settings and digital filter effects like toy camera, miniature,posterization, etc. Some people want them, and they are better to be there than not. As far as photographic performance, I do know for certain that the Nikon d7000 metering system has a problem with overexposure, and overexposure can’t be undone. Sometimes you have to be careful about shelling out your money on a camera that will bite you in the rear and leave you feeling burned. I would be absolutely ticked off to pay $1200 or more for a camera and have it overexpose my images. On the other hand, the Sony a77 appears to have a great metering system, thus far.
David
9 months ago |“Serious” photographers need to adapt to the times.
Serious photographers snubbed digital. Now they embrace it
They snubbed live-view, but now many are realising what a useful feature it is.
The same will happen with EVF etc
As for “photographic quality” – seriously, could you tell two images apart from ANY dSLR under the conditions 90% of us shoot under. Check the imaging resource comparison pictures. At lower ISO settings there isn’t much difference between a rebel XT and a D3X unless you pixel peep.. certainly not 8x the price worth. The high price cameras differentiate themselves under extreme conditions – but that is where the majority of photographers will never go anyway.
As for your checklist – solid build quality has been delivered. And as for AF performance and ISO performance.. how can you judge yet? You’re already writing it off without even trying the camera.
Wheelus
9 months ago |I agree with you again.
We have people here saying that I think that the ISO is bad, and I think that the EVF is bad, and I think that the burst rate is bad, and I think that Canon and Nikon will come out with something better, and why did they put all of those “unprofessional” features on that camera and why didn’t they put these 10 features on the camera that I think are important. And they have only seen photographs of the camera.
If you know your camera history, back in the film days, Nikon was by far the dominate camera maker. When digital came along they went to sleep thinking digital was not important. Canon decided to be more innovative, and went with digital. By the time Nikon woke up, Canon was far ahead. They are now finally catching up.
So when you condemn Sony for trying new technology, don’t ever say,”Well that new stuff is all wrong.”
Andy
9 months ago |Question:
Will the New A77 be presented at the IFA in Berlin?
Thx
Andy
acolyte
9 months ago |Google News may be quicker.
And as I’ve tried, there’s only a bit of talk here and there ‘expected’ to appear, but most still doesn’t hint at it, focusing on those mobile phones more.
acolyte
9 months ago |Yay! Shifted bullying from ISO quality to buffer size! >.>
And always with a ‘lack of lens selection’ as a cherry on top :p
emarsh
9 months ago |I think the buffer size is being looked at from an old school perspective. This a77 seems to be sending a constant stream of data to the sd card. It does not fill up then dump to the card. It simultaneously fills and dumps at the same time, therefore giving longer burst than what would seem to be possible before. The sd card speed will be the bottleneck, not the buffer. When I say bottleneck, I don’t mean to say that performance will be poor, but rather will depend on the speed of your sd card. Nevertheless, even with a class 10 sd card performance will be better than what you might think by just judging by the buffer size, because the buffer constantly streams the data to the sd memory card.
Joey C
9 months ago |I wonder why they used the 18-55 3.5 instead of the 16-50 2.8 on the A77 for the video??
TypeZeiss
9 months ago |I think they (Sony) should create a second a77 model, something just above the current a77 that has more AF points, MUCH more and with a faster refresh rate EVF that can compete with the d700 and the canon 7d
monkeyfacemcbride
9 months ago |well, firstly you dont yet know how well this will perform in comparison with those cameras because no-ones done a back to back test of AF speed and accuracy, i suspect the A77s AF performance is way better than you think. Additionally, from the general comments so far a better tack would be a A75 or something with slightly lower spec using the sensor from the NEX-5N. Whilst it wont match the D3/D700 for high ISO, it’ll pretty much beat everything else and for a significantly lower price. But then Sony may have some neat tricks up their sleeve high iso-wise for 24MP sensor or the current noise levels we see may just be the result of the bodies not being final production units