New A77 review (contains lots of suggestions for the A99)
REVIEW: Sony A77 from Caleb Pike on Vimeo.
As I told you a week ago Sony delayed the A99 fullframe camera release to September in order to have enough time to evaluate the A77 customer reaction. On the video on top Caleb Pike is highlighting some of the “limits” of the A77 the A99 should try to solve. I hope Sony will take notice of these because I really want my A99 to be as close to perfection as possible 
What do you think about Caleb’s review?
The A77 is in Stock:
in USA/Canada at Sonystore US (within 2 weeks), Expansys USA (within 8 days), Expansys Canada (within 8 days),
in Europe at Jessops (within 10 days), Amazon Germany (Click here), Expansys UK (within 6 days), Amazon Italy (Click here),
in Asia at Amazon Japan (Click here), Amazon Cina (Click here),
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Recent comments
Comment from Tommy Hollister: Hi,
Well if the reviewer has had g...
Comment from sabunyuma: I'm a bit of a Sony fanboy, and I disagr...
Comment from Caleb Pike: You might try updating the Firmware. My ...
Comment from Francisco G: He should've mentioned the overheating i...
David
5 months ago |I think the guy seems like a douche, and he is clearly biased anti-Sony.
DP
5 months ago |I couldn’t watch the whole thing, but after one minute I have to add +1 to the douche comment.
Honestly, 27 minutes? Maybe he should visit DSLRvideoeditor.com
Vlad
5 months ago |The moment he said that the translucent mirror allows him to “use the small OLED monitor up in the eyepiece”, I got bored.
Caleb Pike
5 months ago |Please read my comment below and be enlightened.
SonyA77
5 months ago |His answer to a question in the Vimeo comments section says it all.
“In regard to Moire, I didn’t notice any better/worse. But again, I hated shooting on this thing so I didn’t really look for it”
The obsession he has with the crop had already made his mind up about the A77, after that it was never going to be as good as a Canon.
David
5 months ago |Pretty much.
Although I don’t understand why Sony doesn’t disable the cropping if you turn the electronic stabilising off.
Anyone know why?
Dulaney Ward
5 months ago |Other than this reviewer’s suggestion that the crop is due to stabilization (which is mechanical, not electronic), what reason do you have to think that the in-body stabilization is the reason for the crop? After all, he says that Canon, though they don’t crop, nevertheless similarly soea not use the full size of the sensor, skipping lines rather than cropping. I would think that would give the A77 better viseo IQ.
David
5 months ago |Nope.
The Steadyshot stabilising for IMAGES is mechanical by moving the sensor.
However, in VIDEO the sensor moving caused overheating issues in previous alphas. So now it’s electronic stabilising. That works by reducing the video area slightly, so that there are “spare” lines at the edges.
My question is why can’t you have the full area if you turn stabilising off? Seems like just a software thing to me. The camera obviously can capture that area, so I don’t see why not…
Widmark
5 months ago |The a77 cropping is a big deal to me and shocked that I didn’t know about this until Caleb’s review.
Dulaney Ward earlier in this post mentioned that Canon skips lines instead of cropping in video mode. Is that true? Does it impact the quality of the HD video on Canon… or is it skipping unnecessary lines bc the resolution of the sensor is greater than the resolution of HD video? Would love to know more. I am not going to buy an a77 if this 1.86x crop isn’t fixed with a firmware update… its a $2K camera with kit lens! I video way too much in close proximity for that kind of cropping. But most everything else about the a77 sounds great… save perhaps the low light performance.
The Lotus Eater
5 months ago |Isn’t this guy related in some way to that other Canon-biased guy who also reviewed the A77?
If a reviewer can’t put biases aside, then they have no place doing a review. Not if they want to be taken seriously, anyway.
*Edit* Yep, I thought so: http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sony-a77-reviews-and-in-stock-status-check/
Caleb even posts in the comments section, but unfortunately comes across as pretty unprofessional and makes a very vague statement relating to “useable focal length”.
He even recommends a Canon T3i or alternatively a Sony NEX-5N, “if you are a diehard sony fan”. If crop factor is such an issue, wouldn’t the 5N be a better choice than the T3i, diehard Sony fan or not?
Dulaney Ward
5 months ago |that’s right, the other guy said that “Caleb” was going to post later
Joe Gilbert
5 months ago |Pretty obvious by comments about the Zeiss lenses, that he has little or no knowledge of the product line. This reminded me of another “Canon” guy that did a video review. Not the least bit credible, and clearly biased.
egf
5 months ago |we cant compare a crop camera with a full frame camera a77 is an amateur camera in all its parts a canon 5d will destroy all aspect of a a77… in video and in shots it isnt a fair game at all
SonyA77
5 months ago |The Canon 5D does not “destroy all aspect of a a77″. They are completely different classes of camera and people use them for different reasons.
egf
5 months ago |canon can do everything but sony cant this is the point… canon is slower, sony is faster for 14 fps and then it stop.. is a commercial product… all pro in reuters, sports and national geographic use the 5d… how much for the sony?… 0
SonyA77
5 months ago |Yawn…
Hellven
5 months ago |5D for sports and N. geog and photojournalism?? ahahahahahahahahahahahaha
wrong camera for the job, if you say 1D i would agree
klw10
5 months ago |AGREED
loopi
5 months ago |go and see some reportage from national geographic and you can see what camera they use
goodbye
Dulaney Ward
5 months ago |doesn’t matter, loopi, there’s change afloat
klw10
5 months ago |I am sorry but the AF on the Canon 5D is not fast enough for sports. Canon users will tell you that. The a77 destroys it.
loopi
5 months ago |yea for 12 seconds. then sony stops buffer full
David
5 months ago |5d autofocus is terrible.. the a580 destroys it lol
tobiasNEX7n
5 months ago |what a waste of time to watch this, terrible review, clearly a Canon fan boy, and very unprofessional indeed
The Lotus Eater
5 months ago |Let’s not forget that any Canon APS-C camera already has an additional crop to start with over their 1.5x counterparts, so the difference is less than you think.
While the A77 may have additional crop over the 7D, the ability to stabilise ANY lens you attach is a major benefit over the 7D or any other DSLR without IBIS.
I’d much rather have the crop than shaky handheld video with Canon primes and non-stabilised zooms.
Mandrake
5 months ago |Awesome responses! He points out some negatives and all of the sudden he’s a *insert brand* fanboy. lol!
The Lotus Eater
5 months ago |On Vimeo: “Sorry, comments have been disabled by the owner of this video.”
I guess Caleb can’t handle critisism. Strange, seeing as he’s happy to hand it out.
Jonathan
5 months ago |I agree with some points being biased and seems like a Canon fan, BUT he also makes some very good points that I hope Sony do listen to and resolve!
- Crop factor (or at least the option to fix/disable stabilization)
- Camera overall operational speed (This is a big issue and I totally agree with him, Eg, manu, playback, recording speeds, movie mode selection..etc..etc)
- Better OLED magnifier quality at different angles
- Blocking of some ISO modes (maximum ISO is 1600, why I’m not sure?)
- Better Mic control (he did not seem to mention this but I’m sure it will be an issue for him as well being a videographer)
In he’s defence he is the first Canon focused reviewer to say he wishes Canon had some of Sony’s glass options… some other good points are he loves the OLED, screen flexibility, focus peaking, focus tracking and LCD screen focus confirmation..etc..etc
Mike
5 months ago |Yeah but he somehow forgets to mention that the 7D has a crop factor of 1.6 vs 1.5 for Sony.
So for stills the Sony is “better” (because he prefers low crop factors). For video, the A77 crop factor is 1.86.
Caleb Pike
5 months ago |The Lotus Eater,
You should really check your facts before you make up quotes. If you did, you would have noticed it says: “This comment has been deleted.”
The user deleted the comment not me. Please do try to keep it professional
The Lotus Eater
5 months ago |Caleb, I wasn’t referring to the deleted comment. At the bottom of the comments section it said, “Sorry, comments have been disabled by the owner of this video”. This is no longer the case. I registered with Vimeo yesterday, so maybe that’s why it said that, so sorry if it wasn’t down to you.
ShakyA77
5 months ago |agree pretty much with all previous posters, however, the one and only positive after watching this video, one can definitely strike DSLR Video Shooter from the list of unbiased reviewers. I wouldn’t trust anything they say/review on their site.
Nick
5 months ago |He says that it crops in video so you lose angle of view – OK – but then goes on to say that sensor
is still APS-C so you don’t lose the depth of field effect !
Huh ?
For an online expert he seems to have a remarkably fragile understanding of what the hell he’s talking about
Anyway – at the end he clearly identified me as a potential A77 user so I can safely follw his advice
shamb
5 months ago |He might be a little canon biased, but a lot of Sony users seem to have also made their mind up on this guy without seeing the whole review.
He gets the target audience for the A77 spot on at the end of the review for example. Plus he pulls up the camera on the main issues that Sony users also do: slow UI response.
I would say its a fair review, and he does identify the major failings.
The only thing I think he omits because of unfamiliarity with Sony technology is that the A77 *doesn’t* suffer from heating issues (important because that is actually related to the video crop issue that he *does* talk about).
ShakyA77
5 months ago |I agree, he hits a few points (even a blind chicken finds a kernel of corn now and then) but I expect a reviewer to familiarize himself completely with the product before dishing out criticism, which he clearly did not do…..
Francisco G
4 months ago |He should’ve mentioned the overheating issues. My Canon T2i and a 7D I rented both turned off around the 10-12 minute mark while I was filming a conversation between two artists. Talk about frustration… Anyways, I believe he didn’t mentioned it cause he basically didn’t even try it long enough in a real world scenario.
lop
5 months ago |When canon will buy sony and kodak it will remain only fuji to the contest
SonyA77
5 months ago |You really have no idea how big Sony is.
oppo
5 months ago |:-O fanboy
Fujy will destroy that shitty sony playstation YAY
SonyA77
5 months ago |Idiot, Sony has almost double the revenue of Canon.
sleek
5 months ago |you guys are sony nutballs! lol! =p i too. where’s nikon btw? imagine caleb’s a nikon fanboy… hmmm.. “crop factor on the nikon d7000 is blah blah blah… and video quality is blah blah blah.. which is better than sony, IMO.”
ed paul
5 months ago |and u didnt know fuji slowly giving up their sensor and started to use sony… not to mention the other 4 major brand and 2 coming brand(in nego) will join the sony sensor family.
Caleb Pike
4 months ago |You might try updating the Firmware. My 7D hasn’t over heated in since even in 105 degree situations.
David
5 months ago |lol, canon buying sony.. as if they could afford it!
Roman
5 months ago |The sizes of these two companies are about the same.
So it is not probable…
SonyA77
5 months ago |Sony has almost double the revenue of Canon.
Mandrake
5 months ago |Maybe just their imaging division. lol
facepalm
5 months ago |oh my. sony wouldnt even wan to sell if the imaging is losing money as much as canon is earning, they have Sony Music and Sony Pictures which are making like 100 times more then canon! sony imaging is just a small part to support sony picture (as most sony imaging fund are from sony pictures). oh, not to mention sony supplies 70% of world ‘cctv cam sensor’… and iphones… and… and… what did canon do?
so the whole sony “corp” is like 100-150 times larger then canon.
Bengt Nyman
5 months ago |Grossly amateurish review. Why did they even put him up here?
admin
5 months ago |He is quite a known guy working for a known magazine. So right or not right he has some “weight”. I thought it’s better to publish it here so that we can discuss if and why he is wrong with some of the critics!
Dulaney Ward
5 months ago |known or not, this is an amateurish review; so was his friend who preceded him
FTW
5 months ago |Dear Admin,
It would be nice if you could post up more of Mike Kobal’s work.
I find him to be very professional and informative.
Matthe
5 months ago |I agree with all the criticism of this guy’s review. I have an a77 and like all cameras there are advantages and disadvantages; however, I’ve used this camera now for many months and overall I’m thrilled. Last weekend I shot a video of a band. For effect, we decided to over clock the video. So right there, my co-shooter’s Canon spent the day collecting dust on the shelf as the shoot required 60p. This is but one example of times I’ve seen my a77 outperform competitors hands down. Also, this reviewer seems to have a problem with the crop factor. I don’t get this. When you guy a camera with a small sensor like the a77, presumably you’re aware of this limitation. For me I’ve simply gotten used to the crop factor and I never even think about it. In fact, I can’t think of even one time it’s been a problem. If I need a wider angle, I slap on my 10-16…what’s so bad about that? Anyway, I like my a77 and bought it because of it’s many innovative features and I’m looking forward to buying an a99.
WTH
5 months ago |+1
I love my A77, I gave my Canon T2i to my kid. He uses it like a sling, holding it by the strap and swinging it around.
His review made me chuckle… Though it might be a bit long, it was quite funny.
Sergei
5 months ago |A77 does NOT overheat as a580. I was recording a private party last Sunday and it was excellent. Put on a light panel and get some fill. The built in mic is awesome.
Nick
5 months ago |heres a bit of perspective on the cropping issue with video that the guy was so upset about.
Sony sensor normally has a 1.5x crop factor. So a 16mm lens is equivalent to 24mm FF for field of view.
When doing video it has a 1.86x crop factor (apparently – I’m taking his word for it here). So thats 29.76 FF.
Canon fills its sensor with video. Yuppee. But its a 1.6x crop sensor. So 29.76 / 1.6 gives you 18.6
So just to be clear – the Sony 16-50mm kit lens on an A77, for video purposes, is like putting a 18.6-58.1 zoom on an equivalent APS-C Canon.
If he had to review a Canon that came with a 18.6-58.1 kit lens would this fact dominate his review ?
Would it be a deal breaker for the camera ?
Or would he just recommend a wide angle zoom for interior work
(oh, and perhaps just not mention the lack of image stabilisation).
cbgugu
5 months ago |Your calculation is wrong, it should be 16mm x 1.6(crop factor) = 25.6mm for the canon in video compared to 29.76 fot the sony 1.86 crop in video. not a huge difference in my opinion!
Nick
5 months ago |My calculation is not wrong, its just a different calculation from yours.
I was working out what lens you’d have to put on a Canon APS-C DSLR in order to get the same angle of view as a 16-50 gets on a Sony DSLR.
I repeat, that would be a 18.6-58.1 – not too far off a standard zoom – i.e. no big deal here.
So my conclusion is the same as yours.
Have another look at my working.
Andrew
5 months ago |Nothing unusual here, just another Canon guy testing a Sony body. Us Alpha mount guys know what a Sony can do so don’t get discouraged when guys like this try to push other products.
WTH
5 months ago |+1
After using the A77, I wouldn’t be able to look at my friend and advise them to go buy a t2i or a t3i.
At least Sony doesn’t add a flappy screen to a camera and call it a totally different product…
john
5 months ago |I have to agree with much of what he says BUT he still comes off as a MAJOR DOUCHE.
In the end to a lot of people out there SONY still remains
“a four letter word”
Douglas Grillo
5 months ago |Booth; Caleb and Dave Dugdale are know as Canon users, obviously biases to Canon but at the same time they express some important negative aspects about the A77, mostly are video related.
The A77 need proper sound levels adjustments, the crop factor is certainly a no desired behavior. 50 and lesser isos are really useful at video no just for pictures, clean HDMI and mirror output for me is a must with good quality all the time no as the Nex5n what is a kind of preview version of the output.
I have the Nex 5n, and i´m happy with it, of course knowing it weakness, i don´t know why the A77 can be less versatile at video than the 5n.
Ross
5 months ago |I heard somewhere that, while the in-body stabilisation in the A77 is both hardware and software based when shooting stills, it’s only software based when used in video mode i.e. the sensor doesn’t actually move, hence the crop.
Does this not just make it the same as filming with a non-stabilised body like the NEX-7 / NEX-5n or even a Canon/Nikon and running the footage through FCP’s Smoothcam or Premiere’s Warp Stabilzer?
I don’t mean that as a dig, it’s a genuine question!
Mr M
5 months ago |Interesting, I didn’t know my a77 crops in video mode. But heck , it’s a picture taking tool for me . Sure it’s ui isn’t lighting fast but not slow enough to make me miss any critical moments.
It’s perhaps not the best camera out there , but mounted with my zeiss 135 1.8, it is the best tool that other can’t offer at this point in time .
As for video, its a bonus to me. Maybe when I get more ideas how to shoot cinematically , I might start to use it as a serious video tool .
courtenay
5 months ago |do u know how to review any thing ? i’m just asking a ? canon ,canon canon is not how u describe a sony . just like you don’t say orange when describe a apple
SRL
5 months ago |Maybe not the best camera, but the Zeiss 135mm is considered by many as the sharpest in the A-mount catalog and my favorite lens for portrait work on my FF alpha.
For my street photography I question the “speed” of the a77 interface but have high-hopes for the a99 (or whatever)for studio.
doug
5 months ago |The Zeiss 135mm and also their 85mm are the best lenses I’ve ever shot with.
doug
5 months ago |Pike failed to mention the biggest limitation of the A77 – the pellicle mirror. If Sony designs the A99 with an image-degrading semi-transparent mirror like that in the A77, it will be a huge disappointment. Sony’s best approach to the next generation fullframe camera would be to make it mirrorless–essentially an A-mount big brother to the NEX-7. That will ensure that image quality is not being compromised.
cafi
5 months ago |Canon will rule them all !
bye bye nikon sony pentax and sony sensor users !!
SonyA77
5 months ago |Yeah because Canon are sooo innovative….sigh…
WTH
5 months ago |They ARE!!!
They took the T2i added a flappy screen and called it the t3i and it goes for double the price!
LAWL!!!!
WTH
5 months ago |With people like you, I am certain Canon will succeed.
Dan
5 months ago |Thanks Caleb,
Great video despite the monotone delivery (yawn). After watching this I was soOoo glad that I opted for the dinosaur A900. The only feature I really liked was the articulating rear display for really versatile use, especially for self-portraits (since I have no life). Aside from that I no longer have ANY buyer’s remorse over the 900.
Regards,
Dan
harpo
5 months ago |I’ve seen the review and I don’t understand where you’re coming from with your comments. This was not a review from the perspective of a photography tool in any way shape or form. The focus of this review was strictly as a video tool. As the a900 doesn’t shoot video I’m wondering what it is Caleb said that so affected your confidence in your choice of the a900 over the a77? It’s quite baffling to say the least that someone who needs a photography tool would be so enamored by a video review and choose a camera that doesn’t shoot video.
The Lotus Eater
5 months ago |Good question, Dan’s comment is pretty baffling.
I think he just likes telling us he has an A900.
SonyA77
5 months ago |Dan is just pretentious, anybody using an APS-C sensor is obviously not a real photographer to him. He’s the first Sony snob I have heard of, in fact he’s worse than biased canikon users…
Look at me, look at me, I have the A900….ffs Dan get a life mate!
SonyA77
5 months ago |Dan, you do realise this was a VIDEO feature review? I don’t think you watched it at all!
David
5 months ago |Nor should you. The a900 is amazing
I kinda want an a77 for all the extra stuff – video, tilty screen, fast liveview etc
But as a pure photographic tool, the a900 is still godly!
Gene Stoesser
5 months ago |Why does Caleb reccommend a canon T3i, which has IQ that is in the crapper compared to the A77, He is a canon guy .no matter what. The sonyA77 has faults but I find a lot more faults with the camera’s he likes
WTH
5 months ago |I agree.
BUT TEH SONYS HAZ CROP!!!!! RAWR! I RECOMMEND IPHONE 4S!
Jose Ramos
5 months ago |I´m sorry but I must go against the stream on this one. Right now I´m using a Sony a55 as my only camera, and I just love it. I respect Sony as much as I respect any other brand, and I´m looking for the right tool, not camera makers…
I´m glad that someone finally made a big deal about the ridiculous additional crop factor in video mode. As landscape photographer who is currently venturing into landscape videos, and considering that I want to be able to use ultra-wide angle video, I was shocked to find about the additional crop factor. It could make sense because of the stabilization, but Sony shot themselves in the foot when they forgot to allow it to be turned off with stabilization off.
I would have upgraded to the a77 if it weren´t for this. It would be a small upgrade over my a55 in terms of photography, and a downgrade in video. No, thanks.
balroth
5 months ago |a small upgrade over your a55? really you don’t know what the a77 is…
Jose Ramos
5 months ago |Of course I know what the a77 is… Will the a77 give me clearly superior images than the ones I have on http://www.joseramos.com ? Of course not… as the a55 didn´t achieve superior images to the old Pentak K10d I had… Having loads more features doesn´t mean it will give me clearly better images.
WTH
5 months ago |You have no idea what the A77 can do.
Do yourself a favor and try one out.
I have both the a55 and a77.
Camera stabilization is more important to me as I don’t have professional gear to mechanically stabilize the entire camera.
I just used a wider lens and framed the subject better in it. I then had the extra option of software stabilization.
Francisco G
5 months ago |Lol, the iphone trounces the A77
Bionz
5 months ago |Here is my A77 plus gifts on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-alpha-A77-24-3-MP-Digital-SLR-Camera-Black-Kit-w-16-50mm-Lens-/300652554154?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5725655983961121690
harpo
5 months ago |I see you said that the camera is new and unused? So you’re selling it without even having a go with it, or maybe it’s not new and unused?
Bionz
5 months ago |New Other, I just open the Box and update the FW & shot some picture inside and Return it to Box , however if any body want the cam , he can pay Directly via paypal and i give him Discount to 2450$( because the ebay take 120$ fee) and the shipping with DHL Express (take 6 days Usually ) with tracking number.
A77+16-50+Lovely alpha bag+HDMI cable+sundisk 16 gb class 10.
don’t forget the chance .
WTH
5 months ago |Nice, with the shortage of the A77 out there, I am sure this will be sold in no time.
Bionz
5 months ago |hope that thanks bro , if any body have paypal account i will send to him invoice Direct and the cost will be 2450$ . . .
Albin
5 months ago |the guy is actually ok.
let’s not forget that this was focused on video and video only. I think the crop is a non issue, just use an ultra wide angle lens and you re good, especially if the crop is there for a reason!
all the problems (speed, crop, etc) are software related.
also, when doing video with DSLR, it is pretty clear that only canon offers recognised quality, sony is only new in this, this is obvious that he will appear as a “fanboy”.
the think that bothers me is that he would not recommend it… the issues are probably (not to say certainly) possibly corrected by firmware update which he should have mentioned. I think he will have a hard time not recommending it when those issues are addressed!
Jose Ramos
5 months ago |What if you want WIDE angle to film? Not “cropped” wide angle, but WIDE angle?
Albin
5 months ago |tokina 11-16 f2,8 is uber wide by anyone’s standard
Jose Ramos
5 months ago |The Tokina 11-16mm is uber wide by anyone´s standard, until you add a further crop to it! Landscape photography and video often relies on uber wide angle. There´s a reason why there are so many people using 10-20mm, 10-22mm, even 8-16mm at their widest.
SonyA77
5 months ago |You want WIDER than 8mm + a TINY crop? You shouldn’t be an APS-C user and are using completely the wrong equipment.
balroth
5 months ago |If you use the small, plastic, not sealed a55 body with 1.5 crop factor and you are so concerned with the extra 0.3 crop factor in video, really you are very confused about the gear you use. Change to Canon FF or wait for the A99
Jose Ramos
5 months ago |I used the “small plastic not sealed” a55 body during the last year in the harshest conditions, usually near the sea, and it´s still going strong… I´m not confused about the gear I use… I use to make photos and video, not to collect lists of features.
harpo
5 months ago |I read the comments before watching the review and I have to say I don’t think it was all that bad. Caleb pointed out many positive features with the a77. I didn’t buy the a77 to be used as a video tool so his review good or bad really doesn’t mean anything to me. The a77 was built first and foremost as a photography tool and a good one it is. His biggest complaint is the video crop factor again “who cares” if your main purpose is photography. I will say though he should have done a side by side video comparison of the a77 and 7D to show how much more the a77 video crop is over the 7D. My guess is it’s not that significant, but he should prove it wrong if it so annoys him. The other little niggle is his recommendation of the cheaper Canon bodies over the a77 and the difference in price. Again you need to look at the whole picture meaning not just as a video tool. IMHO 95% of those who buy the a77 are buying it as a photography tool with the added benefit of video. Again I think for the most part Caleb pointed out the good and the bad with the a77 in regards to video albeit with a little Canon bias.
Jose Ramos
5 months ago |I just don´t understand how Sony didn´t realize that “budget” video dslr is currently a HUGE business!
redfern
5 months ago |I didn’t really play around with the video much when I rented an A77 but I noticed in this video that there are two “Steadyshot” options in the menus: one under the stills menu and one under the video menu. So the one in the video menu doesn’t actually turn off the electronic crop? That seems strange. Why even have that redundant option under the video menu if it doesn’t do anything? Can anyone with an A77 confirm?
Otherwise this seems like a pretty fair review from a video shooter’s perspective.
Ryan
5 months ago |The guy is waayyyy biased toward canon. He mentions canon more often than sony.. And it’s supposed to be a sony review. I think what he is missing and Alot of other people as well is that the a77 is first and foremost a camera. It also happens to do video amazingly well. If the crop factor bothers you that bad, go buy a high end dedicated video camera and stop bashing a very good camera!!!
Jose Ramos
5 months ago |If the crop factor bothers someone that bad, he doesn´t need to go buy a high end dedicated video camera. He can instead go buy a cheap canon 600d and have great uncropped video, for example…
Mr M
5 months ago |is uncropped video the only meaningful thingy in videography ? Even on 600D, the video remains cropped. If ultrawide is the main object, I will agree that using apsc-video is a wrong equipment choice.
Jose Ramos
5 months ago |No one said it is the only meaningful thing, and that shouldn´t stop anyone from complaining about a “feature” they don´t find to be positive. There´s a concept called ultra-wide angle, which is achieved with a 16mm lens on a full frame, or a 10-11mm lens on a APS-C. These lenses are expensive, and allow you for an amazingly wide field of view. As such, it´s ridiculous when a camera brand decides to implement a piece of code which says “even when stabilization is off, we won´t care about whoever wants wider, and the image will still have an additional crop, making it considerably less wide”.
Ryan
5 months ago |The guy is way biased toward canon. He mentions canon more often than sony.. And it’s supposed to be a sony review. I think what he is missing and Alot of other people as well is that the a77 is first and foremost a camera. It also happens to do video amazingly well. If the crop factor bothers you that bad, go buy a high end dedicated video camera and stop bashing a very good camera!!!
Si
5 months ago |A very selective review, for 27 minutes I’d expect video and still included and cover all the the cameras feature in both fields. What an Ar$e ;-}
Si
Amit Zinman
5 months ago |Does the A77 have an earphone plug? I really miss this on my A580.
lollo
5 months ago |When I realized how long the video was, I could not past 20secs mark watching that douche that could not even speak.
Per
5 months ago |Well why are be getting blined on crop factor
First even with 1.86crop you have better resolution and more data streamed by the A77
So what’s all the fuss about
And the focus works perfect on the Sony and both 5d and 7d has to be manually focused
I have a 7d so I know
To me the clear winner is Sony A77 and nex-7
No compare same has been said in multiply mags in europe
That’s my 2 cents worth
Per
Mike Bates
5 months ago |Isn’t this crop factor in video all down to the basis of coversion from 3:2 aspect to 16:9 video mode. Bearing in mind the A77 holds onto 1080p video whilst the canon only manages to hold onto 720p. The sony holds onto more resolution within the 16:9 window. I think what he is seeing is not so much the the antivibration system altering things but the way the camera has to alter it’s resolution to get it into 16:9 mode. I have seen this crop on video camera altering between 16:9 mode and standard old tv’s of 3:2. I’ll check on my father inlaw’s A77 camera to see if the video mode can be put into 3:2 mode to see if it still crops. I don’t have one of my own yet but will be purchasing one soon once all back in stock. I was heading for a canon 6D but after using his, I am sold on it.
Jose Ramos
5 months ago |The 3:2 –> 16:9 crop happens in all video dslrs… The a77 applies a further crop, converting the 1.5x to something like 1.86x
Frank Withers
5 months ago |what a douche bag. His review was inaccurate but most of all I simply couldn’t tolerate HIM!
zstan
5 months ago |Video review…? not gonna waste my time then. i buy a77 for stills not video.
Blackriver
5 months ago |“What do you think about Caleb’s review?”
Based on his so called “review” of the A77 I will not give much credence to any other review he does.
Caleb is so obviously in love with Canon. He may has well have called this video “Why I love my Canon 7D.”
For a self proclaimed dSLR video shooter he sure does like to blow right into the mic alot…
Caleb Pike
5 months ago |Well I knew this was going to get posted here. Here is where I am at.
I pulled out $2K and was preparing to call B&H and tell them I wasn’t going to send the review unit they sent me back, and that I was going buy the thing. I was seriously excited about this camera. The only tie I had to canon was my 7D. Most of you punks called me a biassed Canon man. But I don’t own one single canon lens. I have all nikkor lenses (which allows me to use them on ANY camera).
So in other words I really really REALLY wanted this thing to rock my world.
Then it came and I used it. Now I don’t know about you guys but I don’t dick around when I shoot. I have serious clients with serious projects. The 7D has performed well in those environments. I really can’t afford to use a camera that is this slow in response time.
The Crop.
Yeah… It freaks me out. Look at anyone who is a pro shooter (video of course not stills). You won’t find the A77 in their hands. To spend $2K on a camera that can’t take advantage of the great lenses we use is silly.
I am not Biased.
I’ve owned 3 Sony HVR cams. They have all worked great for vid work.
Hell, I also own the Sony NEX 5n. Funnest camera I have ever worked with. (used it to shoot this video actually). But what they did with the A77 is kinda silly. I am sure they will work on this going forward, and like I said in the video there is some bad ass tech in this thing. Its just not matured enough for me to use.
As an example I was just shooting at an event in Chicago and was contracted to shoot for a doc on Betty White. We had 1 hour to get an interview and b-roll. The A77 would have been a nightmare (in its current state) in that situation for video. I’d take the 5n over it for sure.
As for recommending the T3i, I think for someone getting started it would be more affordable AND they could get a lens or two with it for the price of the A77.
So there you go. Take it of leave it.
Nick
5 months ago |The bottom line is that the Sony crop of 16 x 1.86 = 29.76 “freaks you out” compared to the crop on an (admitedly cheaper) Canon with kit lens that many might get as an alternative which is 18 x 1.6 = 28.8
So sure, the Sony kit has a tighter crop, by 29.76 FF eq compared to 28.8
Is that really such a big deal ?
Thats a personal decision of course, but looking at the numbers doesn’t hurt
WTH
5 months ago |Thanks Caleb, I left it…
conny
5 months ago |what i expected was a review of the A77 done by a pro. What i saw however seemed to be a comparison of the A77 with the one camera that is currently the author favorite own cam. Nothing wrong about that. What might have made the review a bit more professional is if the author would have taken into account more features to compare with, other brands and if he had done a true review of the features (pro and cons) first, before he does a comparison and conclusion afterwords. It also helps if a viewer can not tell after 10 seconds of the movie what the outcome will be and that the author is in love with another camera.
Again nothing wrong with showing personal dissapointment or a conclusion that the A77 is not what he was dreamng of but if you want to be accepted as “unbiased” then you have to do a review differently imho.
However i want to thank Celeb for the time he’s taken to provide us with his view and also to share his comments on SAR (even though i had preferred to learn less about his below-belt habbits …)
Alpha77
5 months ago |Well, this was more of a comparison rather then a review.
Pushing a different product at the end of the review/comparison makes this very unprofessional.
Sony Video Guy
5 months ago |???
He does video, he reviewed the video functionality of the camera… AND he made comparisons to one of the standards in DSLR video the 7D.
There are still lots of people out there, heads still spinning, that he didn’t talk about stills… or that he only focused on video. It is what he does. I valued the comments BUT I also understand why they are valid.
Any review that doesn’t reference current tech or standards isn’t worth much as a review in my mind. Sony is the leader in pro video, but HDSLR is a new game and Sony just got to the table (higher data rates and 24/60p put S in the running… give it a year or so for the HDSLR offerings to match what is on the Sony pro side).
WTH
5 months ago |No great praise for the Sony Phase Detection + SLT for continuous autofocus during video…
No great praise for 50/60 HD shooting…
No great praise for the newer sensor technology that gives more color depth….
Yes the crop is annoying, but I just use a wider lens… Or as some people has suggested, I take a step back.
Clifton
5 months ago |to be honest his point on cropping is a disadvantage to video users, it wouldnt be much of a review based on video recording without mentioning it. He does bang on about how good the lenses are, which is something we NEVER see in reviews when comparing to Canikon. The A77 does have its quirks, we cant ignore that.
WTH
5 months ago |But the CROP!!!!!
The CROP!!!!! EUUUUUGGGGhhhh!!
CROP!!!! ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!
CRAP!
Mirciutz
5 months ago |OK, I’ll propose a new review to this guy: let’s review a big truck and show how bad is it when you’re moving people with it, and another firefighters truck with ladder is beeter than previuos one.
Pretty similar to this review….
obican
5 months ago |The website is actually called “DSLR Video Shooter”, so you can expect him to focus on the video properties of that camera, wouldn’t you?
Ian
5 months ago |Whew!
GSR
5 months ago |This may seem like a bone headed response, but if he’s bothered by the crop, why not just take a few steps back when recording? Sure, he won’t know the frame, until he presses the record button, but it doesn’t seem like a big deal.
Sony Video Guy
5 months ago |I watched the video… I read most of the comments (Ok I got bored with the ignorance and diatribe half way through). Many of you are being way too tough on the review, and really show YOURSELVES to be too pro sony and not open enough to other tools. Yes I just said that, and yes I work for Sony.
Honestly, as a no bones video review it was pretty decent. I shoot with the A77 daily, the A900 too. I also shoot video on he FS100, EX1R, 5DMK2, & 7D. Everything he mentions as gripes are legit (some understandings of how the translucent tech works was funny, but a non issue since Caleb is working manually). The comparison to the 7D makes complete sense for price and specs, the 5D as a main comparison would be futile since it is a different game altogether, but the occasional comment alluding to the 5D is expected. It is the standard.
The crop factor does put people off, and to the poster that said ‘just move back’… Very often space is an issue standing let alone with any sort of rig/jib/rail system; plus we we shoot using top quality FF lenses like the 24-70zeiss or the 35G we lose valuable real estate of the elements on APS-C let alone a further cropped APS-C. Yes you can work around this, but as he mentions in a follow up reply, it needs to work and be fast… when coming from Canon (and let’s face it, the standard in DSLR video up to this point) it is expected that people notice this point. Just as many feel only canon or nikon are real cameras- with how Canon have positioned themselves, many feel that your only choice is Canon for HDSLR video. This will change with more options readily available, especially in FF packages.
Overall, I don’t find Caleb biased to Canon, but slightly biased due to industry standards/standardized kit/tools. Everything he said was understandable, and while there are workarounds to adopt the workflow, like many shooters (video/stills), workflow modifications are a stubborn issue to raise. That said, many of you feel he was too pro Canon, quite the contrary I found his parallels to Canon welcome and expected, and certainly not pro-canon. Watch some other video reviews with direct comparisons for video, Caleb comes across as quite impartial at points.
Alpha Detective
5 months ago |“I watched the video… I read most of the comments (Ok I got bored with the ignorance and diatribe half way through). Many of you are being way too tough on the review, and really show YOURSELVES to be too pro sony and not open enough to other tools. Yes I just said that, and yes I work for Sony.”
This Sony Video Guy sounds like Caleb in disguise, hoping to achieve some kind of remorseful thinking in those that disagreed with his A77 “review”. Nice try “Sony” Video Guy…
WTH
5 months ago |Mike Kobal uses Canon and Sony, many people find his reviews informative and have a professional demeanor…
So what’s the difference?
I have used Canon, Nikon and Sony cameras. The Sony A77 blows my mind.
Just the instrumentation feels like a generation ahead of the competition.
Yes, the Sony A77 does have some bad points! We all get it, it’s not perfect.
But don’t go and “Throw out the baby with the bath water”…
IF Caleb said at the end, go and try out the camera at your local store before making a purchase, I think he wouldn’t have had such a ripping.
mike
5 months ago |Hey Caleb you brought up some good points about the camera but I’m curious about what Firmware you were running on the camera, because as soon as you mentioned the crop factor and how it changed right away I wanted to see it on my own a77. As soon as I press record the shot that I set up remains the same it doesn’t crop further.
thanks for your review,
Mike
mike
5 months ago |well I just saw how you see the crop factor. I am normally in video mode when shooting videos so it doesn’t just crop as soon as your press record thus ruining your framing. It only does this if you shoot in manual mode which I don’t recommend if you shoot video as you surprisingly don’t have as many options as you do when you switch to movie mode manual. Once in movie mode, the camera is already in the 1.86 crop so you can properly frame your shot. Again he brought up some great points but if I remember correctly Canons and Nikon HDSLRs weren’t as good when they first came out and it was only firmware that allowed users to do more. I wish the a77 was flat out the best camera to begin with, but there will be firmware updates that will address issues. I am very happy with my camera and I suggest those that are interested in it try the camera before you buy. I was using an a700 before so to me this camera is everything I could have asked for.
George
5 months ago |“As an example I was just shooting at an event in Chicago and was contracted to shoot for a doc on Betty White. We had 1 hour to get an interview and b-roll. The A77 would have been a nightmare”
Really ? Perhaps he could have told us why.. An interview ? I suspect Betty was sitting still in front of some video Lights/Boxes and all you had to do was focus on her and hit the record button on “A” Cam while she talked. with another Cam getting some of the B-roll. How difficult is that.
I wonder what these guys would have done if they had to shoot Film.
Some of these reviewers are jealous of some of the features they wish they had like focus peaking or 1080p/60 or Zeiss Glass with Autofocus so they pick nits on what they don’t like.
Douglas Grillo
4 months ago |What worries me is the long history of Sony on no more than one firmware update for prosumer and consumer division, maybe the camera is capable of a lot more but they prefer to release a new camera before give you the update options for your camera at the moment.
The Caleb review give me some valid points from the convenience to me of the A77 over the already own Nex5n, the crop factor isn´t a “all is dead now” issue, if some of you has worked with Lumix GH series before the factor is almost similar, where is a inconvenient is when we need a wider lens.
Now i see it this way; ok Sony you give me a stabilized image with crop factor, but is that good that in body stabilization system? what about when i work with my tripod(mostly time in my case)? can i disable and give me my ASP-C normal crop?
For me the A77 can became the best HDSLR camera with:
Enable/Disable the video crop factor.
Clean and good resolution on Live view HDMI output.
Manual audio gain control.
Even so, the A77/65 are for the moment the best DSLR camera system at this time and the Nex7/5n the best from the mirrorles world.
Good work Sony but is not over yet.
sabunyuma
4 months ago |I’m a bit of a Sony fanboy, and I disagreed with Caleb’s conclusion that the crop factor is a deal breaker. However, I can see where he’s coming from and he’s entitled to his opinion.
Most importantly, all of the knee-jerk reaction, name-calling and nastiness directed at him (and previously, at Kai) is just uncalled for. You guys are making us Sony fanboys look like a bunch of whiners. Just chill out and take the good with the bad.
Tommy Hollister
4 months ago |Hi,
Well if the reviewer has had good luck with the Nex-5n why would he even consider the A77 and not go for the NEX-7 (no mirror slightly better low light abilities) or VG-20 that can share his vast Nikon lens collection with a cheap adapter that the Sony Alpha mount a77 can not and can also have an adapter for the amazing alpha glass he loves so much. (seems fishy) The NEX-7 I believe also does not have the crop ( not sure) Also if he was so willing to pay as much as $2000 on a upgrade from his 7D why would he not either buy the FF 5D mark ll (no Crop at all super wide and proven) or wait for the mark lll.
If you’ve been following the tech lately you’ll also find that the lens compensation albeit software based is one of the reasons Sony’s new kit lens preforms so well so why the heck would he not use it and also why is he pushing the Ziess 24-70 when that even on his 7D could never be wide enough for him also way expensive. The 16mm – 50mm 2.8 with the optimized camera correction is by all accounts STELLAR and way cheap and probably deserves a G rating at least. This lens is a loss leader for sony and most pro’s know this and thats just where the jealousy begins with sony at present.
I’ve seen and edited video from all or most the cameras mentioned by him and the a77′s 60p blows the canon models he mentioned away regarding color, resolution, and stability.
I’m not a body language expert but at certain sony bashing moments his eyes roll up and I think Fox news has had experts on that say that it may imply fibbing I may be wrong. His style is not that likable and if I were Canon I would be sending him a cease and desist letter ASAP regarding mentioning their products again maybe send him a prerelease 5D mark lll to shut him up. He reminds me of my friends when I get a new Mac laptop and they tell me I wouldn’t buy a new model till the second or third update and then they are mowing the lawn more often for there higher earning wives just to order it with just alittle more ram.
I’m just sayin.
Its all in the content you’re shooting anyway he is just lucky to shoot Betty White to give him something to shoot other than himself with that NEX-5n that shot superior video to his 7D as well with the right Nikon lens or with the Awesome Sony 16mm-50mm 2.8 with a LA-EA2 Alpha mount adapter. WHY NOT THE NEX-7 WHY HMMMMM ??????
He already has his boat anchor 7D for the size issue for customers just throw it on a tripod and pretend it Shoots as well as the SONY cameras he mentions.
I just hope Nikon can start to give us great video as well they don’t have a higher end
video products in their line to feel the need to cripple the products a little unless Sony has them over a barrel to not rock the video world to much or they won’t sell them chips anymore. ? . ? Most of us are sure the 5D mark lll will be stellar but maybe to pricey for most of us. Sony can surprise us with A99 and Red has blown them all away with the Scarlett. We can always rent. The real high end Canon C300 is way overpriced when you see RED. But I really expected Nikon to kill them all due to the not hurting their higher end market issue Sony Canon have. Maybe it is the Sony Chip Thingy.
Who Knows lets ask CALEB .