March 2008
First Look: Sony alpha A700 digital SLR
Sony steps up to compete with Canon's and Nikon's advanced SLRs
Sony's first forays into the digital SLR market were aimed at competing with other entry-level or basic SLRs, such as the
Canon Rebel XTi. With Sony's first 12-megapixel SLR, the $1,400 alpha A700 digital SLR, the company is breaking into advanced SLRs, a market
dominated by Canon and Nikon. When the A700 was introduced, it was the company's highest level SLR, though it will be supplanted
next year by a 24-megapixel model with a full-frame sensor.
In our tests, the A700 had very good image quality, excellent sharpness and dynamic range, and very good overall visual noise levels. It had just fair daylight color balance, though. Even though the A700 has a maximum ISO setting of 1600 ISO, based on our tests the highest ISO we recommend for an acceptable image is 800. (For those tests, we used an f/1.4 50mm lens, because the camera is sold as body-only. But Sony also packages the A700 with one of these three lenses: an 18-70mm Sony lens for $1,500, an 18-200mm lens for $1,600, or a 16-105mm lens for $1,900.)
We hope to finish testing soon and add the Sony A700 to our Ratings of digital SLR cameras (available to subscribers) soon.
Still, there is an abundance of functions and features to go over. Here are some additional details on the Sony alpha A700 digital SLR camera:
HIGHS
Versatile autofocus. Sony has increased the number of autofocus points from 9 (on previous Sony SLRs) to 11, which can be especially helpful with action shots because, for the most part, a camera with more autofocus points can better detect which subject to focus on. The viewfinder and grip activate the autofocus system when you bring the camera up to your face. The A700 can also deactivate the AF. For example, when the camera is simply hanging down from your neck and you are not touching the camera, the AF system automatically turns off.
Dynamic range optimizer. This feature lets you brighten the dark areas of the dynamic range, allowing for more detail in shadows.
Sharp LCD. Another distinguishing feature is the LCD, which has more than 900,000 pixels, (a resolution known as VGA). In contrast, almost all other SLRs (the Nikon D300 is one exception) have much lower pixel counts. That allows the A700 to display images on the LCD with exceptional sharpness. The LCD had excellent readability in bright sunlight.
Built-in image stabilizer. The A700's mechanical image stabilizer is built into the camera's body. That has the advantage of working with any lens the A700 can accept. But it's different from the systems in Canon and Nikon SLRs, namely the Canon EOS 40D and the Nikon D300, which rely on a mechanical stabilizer in the lenses themselves, notably selected long-range zoom and telephoto lenses. (Paired with a telephoto lens, the A700's built-in stabilizer isn't quite as effective as the lens-based stabilizers built into Canon and Nikon telephoto lenses.)
Versatile flash system. In our labs, the flash had excellent performance. As with most SLRs, the A700 includes a pop-up flash and a hot-shoe (also see "Lows" below), which lets you attach an external flash. There is also a flash-sync connection jack on the camera body that works with third-party flash units. Like other SLRs, such as the Nikon D300, the A700 can synchronize with a flash at shutter speeds as fast as 1/250 of a second.
HDMI connector. This feature, unusual in an SLR, lets you output high-definition images directly to an HDTV.
LOWS
No live-view LCD. Although the A700's LCD was quite sharp, it does not include live-view function, which lets you compose shots directly on the camera's LCD the way you would on a point-and-shoot camera. That feature is appearing on more and more SLRs, including some recently announced Sony SLRs, such as the alpha a300 and a350.
Need to select memory card format. Although you can use two different memory card formats-CompactFlash and Sony's Memory Stick-with the alpha A700, the camera doesn't automatically recognize which card slot you're using when you're only using one. You must select the correct slot through the camera's menu system.
Proprietary hot shoe. It can be used only with Sony-brand external flash units.
No top LCD panel. To view settings, you must rely on the main LCD on the camera's back.
BOTTOM LINE
While the A700 doesn't include certain new features, such as live view, it is competitive with step-up or advanced SLRs from other brands, especially if you already own compatible lenses that don't have a built-in stabilizer.
In our tests, the A700 had very good image quality, excellent sharpness and dynamic range, and very good overall visual noise levels. It had just fair daylight color balance, though. Even though the A700 has a maximum ISO setting of 1600 ISO, based on our tests the highest ISO we recommend for an acceptable image is 800. (For those tests, we used an f/1.4 50mm lens, because the camera is sold as body-only. But Sony also packages the A700 with one of these three lenses: an 18-70mm Sony lens for $1,500, an 18-200mm lens for $1,600, or a 16-105mm lens for $1,900.)
We hope to finish testing soon and add the Sony A700 to our Ratings of digital SLR cameras (available to subscribers) soon.
Still, there is an abundance of functions and features to go over. Here are some additional details on the Sony alpha A700 digital SLR camera:
HIGHS
Versatile autofocus. Sony has increased the number of autofocus points from 9 (on previous Sony SLRs) to 11, which can be especially helpful with action shots because, for the most part, a camera with more autofocus points can better detect which subject to focus on. The viewfinder and grip activate the autofocus system when you bring the camera up to your face. The A700 can also deactivate the AF. For example, when the camera is simply hanging down from your neck and you are not touching the camera, the AF system automatically turns off.
Dynamic range optimizer. This feature lets you brighten the dark areas of the dynamic range, allowing for more detail in shadows.
Sharp LCD. Another distinguishing feature is the LCD, which has more than 900,000 pixels, (a resolution known as VGA). In contrast, almost all other SLRs (the Nikon D300 is one exception) have much lower pixel counts. That allows the A700 to display images on the LCD with exceptional sharpness. The LCD had excellent readability in bright sunlight.
Built-in image stabilizer. The A700's mechanical image stabilizer is built into the camera's body. That has the advantage of working with any lens the A700 can accept. But it's different from the systems in Canon and Nikon SLRs, namely the Canon EOS 40D and the Nikon D300, which rely on a mechanical stabilizer in the lenses themselves, notably selected long-range zoom and telephoto lenses. (Paired with a telephoto lens, the A700's built-in stabilizer isn't quite as effective as the lens-based stabilizers built into Canon and Nikon telephoto lenses.)
Versatile flash system. In our labs, the flash had excellent performance. As with most SLRs, the A700 includes a pop-up flash and a hot-shoe (also see "Lows" below), which lets you attach an external flash. There is also a flash-sync connection jack on the camera body that works with third-party flash units. Like other SLRs, such as the Nikon D300, the A700 can synchronize with a flash at shutter speeds as fast as 1/250 of a second.
HDMI connector. This feature, unusual in an SLR, lets you output high-definition images directly to an HDTV.
LOWS
No live-view LCD. Although the A700's LCD was quite sharp, it does not include live-view function, which lets you compose shots directly on the camera's LCD the way you would on a point-and-shoot camera. That feature is appearing on more and more SLRs, including some recently announced Sony SLRs, such as the alpha a300 and a350.
Need to select memory card format. Although you can use two different memory card formats-CompactFlash and Sony's Memory Stick-with the alpha A700, the camera doesn't automatically recognize which card slot you're using when you're only using one. You must select the correct slot through the camera's menu system.
Proprietary hot shoe. It can be used only with Sony-brand external flash units.
No top LCD panel. To view settings, you must rely on the main LCD on the camera's back.
BOTTOM LINE
While the A700 doesn't include certain new features, such as live view, it is competitive with step-up or advanced SLRs from other brands, especially if you already own compatible lenses that don't have a built-in stabilizer.
