Overview
I have been enjoying shooting with DSLRs for quite some time now and while I am very happy with the cameras and lenses I use, I just think that we have not been seeing major breakthroughs in new DSLR cameras. New cameras pack more resolution, faster frames per second, better video features and other bells and whistles, but nothing innovative and revolutionary that changes the way we shoot. With Sony entering the DSLR market rather late in 2006 (after acquiring Konica Minolta), it was tough to compete against the long-established Canon and Nikon cameras. Sony introduced a few DSLRs with great features at a competitive price and secured itself the #3 market share spot in DSLR sales globally, mostly with lower-end DSLR camera bodies. With a rather slow adoption rate and a limited choice of lenses and accessories available, the company quickly realized that its only way to challenge the big two was to innovate. In August of 2010, Sony announced its first “Single-Lens Translucent” (SLT) cameras – the Sony A33 and A55. While the concept of a translucent mirror is not new (in fact, Sony calls it “translucent” for marketing purposes, because it is actually supposed to be “pellicle mirror”), Sony was the first to design it to work with an electronic viewfinder. Its first SLT cameras were a success, so Sony decided to embrace the technology and take it a step further with the new Sony A77 and A65 cameras. Going forward, we will most likely not be seeing any more DSLR cameras from Sony, since its management already expressed commitment to this new breed of cameras. We should be seeing more cameras from Sony with translucent mirrors, including high-end, full-frame models.
The Sony SLT-A77 was kindly provided by B&H – the largest photo reseller in the world that I personally use to buy my photography gear.
1) Sony SLT-A77 Specifications
Main Features:
- 24.3 MP best-in-class resolution
- 2nd Generation Translucent Mirror Design directs light to both the image sensor and the Phase Detection AF sensor simultaneously
- World’s first OLED viewfinder with 2359K dots for amazing resolution and high contrast ratio for incredible depth
- Rugged, magnesium alloy body
- Three-way tilt/swivel LCD screen
- In-camera HDR mode
- Built-in GPS
- 1200-Zone exposure metering
- Built-in Flash
- Continuous shooting at up to 12 frames per second
- Full HD Movie modes at 60p, 60i, or 24p with full exposure control
- Full-Time Live View in LCD or EVF
- Multi-frame NR, Panorama and 3D Panorama Modes
- ISO 100-16000 sensitivity
- Upgraded BIONZ® image processor
- In-camera image stabilization
- 19-point AF with 11 cross-type sensors
- AF Micro Adjust Capability
- 3 inch LCD monitor with 921K dots
- Dynamic Range Optimizer mode
- Advanced sensor Anti-Dust Technology.
- Face Registration and Detection
- Up to 1/8000 shutter speed
- Shutter rated for 150,000 actuations
Click here to download the above photograph in 1920×1200 Widescreen Wallpaper format.
As you can see, the camera packs some very impressive features when compared to Canon and Nikon rival products. Not only does the Sony A77 have the highest APS-C sized sensor on the market today, but it also comes with great built-in features such as built-in GPS (without the need to use external GPS devices), in-camera image stabilization, a plethora of image capture and image editing modes, high-resolution OLED viewfinder and much more.
Detailed technical specifications for the Sony A77 are available on Sony.com.
2) Camera construction, handling and ergonomics
Unlike the square and flat design of the previous-generation Konica / Sony DSLRs, the Sony A77 features a brand new, modern look with a stylish design. The top of the camera is a lot more round and curved, giving a sleek look to the camera on the front, while the curvy back resembles some of the Canon DSLRs. Camera front has a simplistic layout with one preview button, lens release button and focus mode dial. A large AF illuminator (located on top, between the grip and the lens mount), along with an IR receiver (located on the grip) are also visible on the front of the camera.
Like other higher-end DSLRs, the Sony A77 features two dials, one in front and one in the back for controlling exposure and some camera settings. The design of the On/Off switch, along with the two medium-sized buttons located right next to it (exposure compensation and ISO), is clearly borrowed from Nikon DSLRs. Along with a few other buttons on the top, the camera also features a top-panel LCD, which can be illuminated at night by pressing the light bulb button to the right of the LCD. The typical PASM dial with a bunch of camera modes and presets is located to the left of the camera. The typical Sony Alpha hotshoe sits together with a silver microphone in the center:
Speaking of the hotshoe, I found the proprietary Sony Alpha hotshoe to be inconvenient and annoying. I do not understand why manufacturers feel they need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to simple things like this. While there is an adapter available to convert the Alpha hotshoe to a regular one, I did not get a chance to obtain this adapter and hence could not use the camera with my PocketWizard radio transmitters to trigger off-camera flash.
The back of the camera is loaded with plenty of customizable buttons, along with a joystick for menu and image navigation. To be honest, I found the button layout to be poorly designed. I had a rough time getting used to the buttons, even after two months of shooting with the camera. I am perfectly fine with where the Menu button is, but the rest are just all over the place. The joystick is another poor design choice in my opinion. I always had a rough time using joysticks on cameras – the joystick that Nikon uses on their camera grips is horrible and I never liked the joystick that Canon uses on its DSLRs either. I prefer Nikon’s big multi-purpose navigation button and Canon’s rotary dial. The design, layout and navigation of the Sony A65 are much better, in my opinion.
My negative experience with the button layout and the joystick, however, was compensated by the beautiful three-way tilt/swivel LCD and the stunning OLED viewfinder. The articulated LCD has a very unique design that gives the freedom to rotate the LCD pretty much any way you want. You could set the LCD up backwards for protection, or like a traditional LCD. You could tilt it to the side or flip it down or you could even set it up to display what you are shooting right in front of the camera. The camera is smart enough to flip the image on the LCD, so you won’t find yourself looking at yourself or at your subject upside down. As I have already pointed out, the OLED viewfinder is absolutely stunning. After being so used to an optical viewfinder that always shows the same thing with very little customization options, my experience with Sony’s high-resolution electronic viewfinder (EVF) was beyond positive. In fact, the OLED viewfinder was the very first thing that got me glued to the Sony A77 right after I got the battery charged. I have had some experience with electronic viewfinders before, but none of them even remotely compare to this one. It is mind boggling to think that this OLED viewfinder has 2.4 million dots – compare that to 921,000 dots used on the 3 inch LCD screen! But wait, it doesn’t stop there. The OLED viewfinder size that Sony used on the A77 has a 0.73x magnification; compare that to the 0.63x magnification on the Nikon D7000 or 0.70x magnification on the Nikon D3s. So not only do you get a beautiful-looking rending of live view and images inside the viewfinder, but it is also bigger than what most other DSLRs have.
The beauty of the electronic viewfinder when compared to an optical one is that you see everything live. With an optical viewfinder, as soon as you turn on live view, the viewfinder is blocked by the mirror. You look at the live and customizable data inside the viewfinder, frame your shot and take a picture. No loud mirror slap, no extra vibrations, you only hear the camera shutter. If you are used to a DSLR, this is a totally different experience. I won’t go into much detail about advantages and disadvantages of an electronic viewfinder and how it compares to an optical viewfinder (maybe in a separate article), but one thing I am confident about – electronic viewfinders are the future. Yes, there are some serious limitations with EVF today, especially when using them in low light situations, but I believe it is a matter of time until those issues are addressed.
Another key advantage of the A77, in my opinion, is built-in GPS. Instead of ripping people off like Nikon and Canon are doing with GPS-ready connectors that require cables and expensive external GPS devices, the Sony A77 has a GPS unit integrated into the camera. Although I often need the GPS functionality to save places I have been to, I simply refuse to use an external GPS device on my Nikon cameras. We have seen point and shoot cameras from both Canon and Nikon with integrated GPS and yet they are blatantly refusing to add it to DSLRs. We get it, they want to sell us more accessories that get frequently get lost and broken. But how long will it continue? Thanks to pioneers like Sony, not long, or they will start losing their customers. Some people say GPS drains batteries. True, it does. But if you do not want to use it, simply turn it off and the problem is solved. That is not an excuse for not including it in the camera.
Speaking of batteries, the 7.2V InfoLithium battery is rated at 470 images when used with the OLED viewfinder and 530 images with the LCD monitor. This is expected, considering how many more pixels there are on the OLED screen compared to the LCD. However, these numbers are quite poor when compared to the Nikon D7000, which is rated at a whopping 1050 shots.
The Sony A77 measures 142.6x104x80.9mm, which is bigger than the Nikon D7000 that measures 132x103x77mm, however, it only weighs approximately 650 grams, which is 40 grams lighter than the D7000. The camera is fully weather sealed and has a solid magnesium alloy body protecting the front and the back of the camera (top is plastic). As for external camera connectors, the Sony A77 has plenty of them, from flash sync to USB and HDMI.
3) Camera Sensor and the new BIONZ Processor
As of January, 2011, the Sony A77 has the world’s highest resolution APS-C (23.5 x 15.6mm) sensor. With a whopping 24.3 Megapixels, its pixel density is very high, with a pixel size of just 3.89 microns. A high resolution sensor is generally a good characteristic of a camera, because it can resolve a lot of detail, but high pixel density equates to small pixels, which ultimately result in more noise, or low Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR). Now this last sentence is subject to heated debates among the photography community lately. I have written a detailed article on the benefits of a high resolution sensor, explaining why small pixels are not necessarily bad. In summary, if you were to take two cameras, one with a high resolution sensor (smaller pixels) and one with a lower resolution sensor (larger pixels), the former might look very close to the latter in terms of noise, once the image is normalized to the same resolution or print size. That’s because noise is reduced during the down-sampling process, as explained in detail here. While the camera with a lower resolution sensor has higher ISO sensitivity modes, the high resolution camera has sharper images when down-sampled (assuming the lens can resolve enough detail). The pros and cons list expands to many other areas such as file sizes, processing speed, storage requirements, etc.
So, where does this all put the 24.3 MP Sony A77 sensor? Is it truly advantageous to have such a high resolution APS-C sensor, or did Sony make a mistake by reigniting the megapixel war? My initial reaction to the high resolution sensor was rather negative, because I knew that it would impact the low-light performance and the speed of the camera. At the same time, I could not wait to try shooting 24 megapixel landscape images at ISO 100. After a detailed lab and outdoors analysis, along with comparison to other cameras, I came to the conclusion that the sensor performance is surprisingly good. True, high ISO shots do look very noisy at pixel level above ISO 1600, but once you down-sample images to around 16 MP (which is what Nikon D7000 has), noise is significantly reduced and does not look bad. It is still noisier than the Nikon D7000 at 16 MP, but not much worse. This is something I expected to see, because Nikon has a lot more experience with noise reduction at high ISOs and its image processing pipeline is clearly superior at anything above ISO 800.
The real advantage of the A77 sensor, however, is its low ISO performance. Images at ISO 100 look stunning, with plenty of details, colors and dynamic range to play with. As long as you are using good lenses that can resolve so much detail, you will not be disappointed with the sensor performance. With so much resolution, this is the camera that will make landscape and fashion photographers happy.
Please note that I only shot RAW with the Sony A77 and processed all images in Lightroom and Photoshop, with the latest version of Camera RAW. I noticed that Sony applies some heavy noise reduction on JPEG images that results in detail loss, so I switched to RAW pretty much from the start.
To make the crazy 12 FPS speeds possible with the 24.3 sensor, Sony had to beef up its image processor. The A77 ships with an upgraded Sony BIONZ image processor that not only does a great job in keeping up with such enormous throughput needs, but also allows for in-camera image processing and tweaking of final output. You can even combine multiple exposures for HDR and 2D / 3D Panoramic effects. Furthermore, the BIONZ processor is fast enough to cope with 1080p high definition video at 60 frames per second – something neither the Nikon D4, nor the Canon 1D X can do, being top-of-the-line DSLRs.
4) Ease of Use
I have never used a Sony Alpha before and I did not know what to expect in terms of the learning curve. To my surprise, despite some functional differences and slight annoyances here and there (like the direction of the front and rear dials is reversed compared to Nikon and cannot be changed), I found the Sony A77 quite easy to use and operate. Its default settings were already good enough for my photography needs and aside from changing image format from JPEG to RAW and playing with a couple of other settings, I was quite happy with the results. The menu system has a horizontal structure like Canon DSLRs and there are only a couple of sub-menus to deal with. Everything in the menu is descriptive and easy to understand, nothing like the cryptic menu system on the Olympus E-PL3.
The camera responsiveness is good, although I had a few occasions when the menu system, image playback and EVF to LCD switching were lagging behind a little. Although updating camera firmware helped with the lag a little, it did not seem to completely eliminate it. Quickly rotating the dials on the front and the rear of the camera is still rather laggy.
5) Autofocus Performance and Metering
With 19 focus points and 11 cross type sensors, the Sony A77 autofocuses quite well in most situations. I tried a number of different Sony and Zeiss lenses on the camera and all (except one Sony lens that had a severe back-focus problem) seemed to perform reliably well when photographing portraits and landscapes. Phase-detect AF was mostly quick and accurate, even in some low-light situations. I occasionally got out of focus images here and there, but the hit/miss ratio was not anything excessive; I would say on par with what I typically get with Nikon DX cameras. I found the implementation of continuous AF and subject tracking quite poor, on the other hand, especially when compared to Nikon DSLRs like the Nikon D7000. I tried to take some pictures of my kids running around in a park in AF-C (continuous) mode and the camera had a tough time keeping focus (using 50mm and 85mm prime lenses). Many images came out blurry and it felt like the camera had some sort of a focus lag when photographing fast-moving subjects. I have never experienced this sort of erratic autofocus behavior with any Nikon DSLRs, including entry-level models like Nikon D5100. Other than that, AF seemed to be more reliable in continuous mode with slower subjects.
With an amazing speed of 12 fps, you would think the Sony A77 could challenge the big guys like Nikon D3s. Well, note quite. You can only get 12 fps when shooting in Continuous Priority AE mode, which puts some limitations on lens aperture. For continuous AF to work at 12 fps, lens aperture needs to stay wide open or the phase detect sensor might not receive sufficient light. On a traditional DSLR, lens aperture is always wide open and the lens only stops down right before taking the picture. This is a necessary measure, especially when shooting at high frame rates in continuous mode. The same applies to the Sony A77, except it cannot quite keep up with such fast speeds and therefore the lens aperture must stay wide open. If you want to shoot continuously without this limitation, then you could either switch to AF-A / Manual Focus modes, or you could switch to Standard Continuous mode that is limited to 8 fps. On top of this, unlike DSLR cameras that let you see the action through the optical viewfinder in between shots, the Sony A77 blocks the view inside the viewfinder by playing back previous images. This is problematic for high speed action photography, so sports and wildlife photographers should be aware of this limitation. Still, 8 fps with continuous AF is a very impressive speed.
Now let’s talk about one more factor that impacts the performance – camera buffer. With huge 24.3 MP files and high frame rates, it would be difficult for the camera to maintain those high speeds due to the sheer amount of memory that is required to hold so many images. Even the best SD cards today are not fast enough to keep up with such speeds. When shooting in RAW at 12 fps, the buffer fills up in a little over a second and then crawls to extremely slow speeds, roughly 1 fps. It then takes about 12-15 seconds for the buffer to transfer all the images to the card. Switching to smaller JPEG files and slower speeds helps, but it is still pretty clear that the buffer size on the camera is too small for such high resolutions and fast speeds.
As for metering, I had a mixed experience with the A77. When it comes to matrix metering, one great thing about Nikon DSLRs is their exposure consistency, even in changing light conditions. Consistency is a key word here, because the Sony A77 does not seem to have it when photographing people. I had a few cases when I shot the same subject with the same background twice in multi-segment metering mode (which is equivalent to matrix metering on Nikon) and ended up with two different exposures (one good and one underexposed). I did not see the same problem when photographing landscapes though – multi-segment metering did a pretty good job and I rarely had to resort to exposure compensation.
6) Built-in Image Stabilization
One distinct feature of the Sony Alpha cameras that differentiates them from Nikon and Canon DSLRs, is their in-camera image stabilization. I won’t go into details on advantages and disadvantages of in-camera image stabilization vs lens image stabilization, but one thing for sure – it works well, especially when using fast aperture prime lenses. Canon and Nikon DSLRs only offer lens image stabilization, so you have to watch your shutter speed when using non-IS lenses like Nikon 50mm f/1.4G. You do not have to worry about that when using any lens on the Sony A77. Sony calls its image stabilization technology “Steady Shot” and it can be turned on or off for capturing images or video through the camera menu system. The in-camera image stabilization is silent and you do not hear the same hum you normally hear on Nikon lenses when image stabilization is engaged.
7) Movie Recording
The Sony A77 has very impressive video features that will definitely appeal to videographers. With a high-quality 1080p full HD video, the camera is capable of recording videos at 24p, 60i and 60p modes in AVCHD / MP4 (MPEG-4 AVC H.264) format. There is a separate “Movie” silver video record button on the camera used for starting and stopping video recording. Movies are limited to 29 minutes and the battery should last for up to three hours of continuous movie recording. Full exposure control is available in movie control mode, but continuous/full-time autofocus does not work in that mode. If you want full-time autofocus while shooting videos, then the only option is to use one of the PASM modes instead, at which point the camera takes over the exposure control of videos.
8) Sweep Panorama Mode
While I personally would not trust the camera to take panoramic shots for me (I do it manually through post-processing and panoramic software, as detailed in my “panoramic photography tutorial“), I tried using the sweep panorama mode on the Sony A77 and I was surprised by how well it worked. It took me a few tries to successfully do a full panorama, but once I figured it out, it was an easy process to follow. Images were stitched well and I did not see any major artifacts or stitching problems in the final images. Here is a sample panorama taken with the camera:
Looks like the sweep panorama mode is not designed for serious work, because the resolution of the panoramas is limited to 12416×1856 in wide mode, 8192×1856 in standard mode (for horizontals) and 2160×5536 in wide & 2160×3872 in standard (for verticals). That’s pretty low, considering the native resolution of 6000×4000. On top of that, panoramas are also captured in processed JPEG format, limiting the options for tweaking the image output in post-processing. I prefer to shoot my panoramas frame by frame in RAW format, then use panoramic software for stitching. That way not only do I get more control over panoramas, but I also get a lot more resolution in the final image. In one case, I was able to stitch 11 vertical images in one row and got a massive panorama with a 22450×5890 resolution, which is almost twice bigger than what the automatic sweep panorama can deliver.
9) Built-in GPS
The built-in GPS on the Sony A77 works very well. I had it turned on at all times when shooting outside and it provided accurate GPS results on every image. If you are interested in seeing exactly where each image in this review is taken, the GPS data is available as part of EXIF data. Latitude, longitude, altitude, direction, GPS timestamp and other related GPS data is automatically embedded into each image as part of metadata.
In my opinion, all cameras should have the GPS capability. It is always nice to be able to go back and locate the exact spot from where the picture was taken. Sometimes I look at some old pictures and want to find where I took them, but because I did not put any notes on exactly where I physically was, I cannot travel back to find the location. In addition, with all the GPS-ready applications such as Lightroom and photo sites like Flickr, Picasa and others, GPS data is getting more and more useful. Some websites even provide a Google map of where the photo was taken when a picture is uploaded.
10) Lens Compensation
Another very useful feature for JPEG shooters out there, is the ability to reduce lens issues such as chromatic aberration, distortion and vignetting right from the camera. This is a very similar feature as Lightroom’s Lens Corrections module. The camera stores profiles of lenses in camera firmware and when a new lens is released, Sony will push the lens profile via a firmware update. If you shoot RAW and use third party software like Lightroom, chromatic aberration and distortion corrections will be discarded upon import, because the data is stored as metadata (similar to Nikon’s RAW/NEF files). However, if you enable vignetting correction (Sony refers to vignetting as “shading”), then those corrections are done at the image processing pipeline, which means that corrections are directly written into the RAW data. Considering that Adobe releases lens profiles for Sony cameras and lenses, this sort of irreversible correction on RAW level might not be a good idea – you do not want vignetting to be corrected in two different places. Therefore, I would keep “shading” correction off.
11) Dynamic Range
At ISO 100, the dynamic range the Sony SLT-A77 offers is very good. Although I did not perform any scientific tests to measure the dynamic range, I tried to recover some shadow details from a high contrast RAW image sample and results were comparable to what I got with the Nikon D7000. DxOMark ranks the Sony A77 at #10 among all cameras with 13.2 EVs, putting it ahead of many medium format cameras like Phase One P40 and P65 Plus (with Pentax K-5 and Nikon D7000 topping the chart).
Don’t forget that dynamic range decreases as you increase ISO, so if you want to be able to recover the maximum amount of details, you should be shooting at ISO 100. This is especially important for HDR photography – always shoot at base ISO of 100 and use a tripod.
The built-in Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) is very similar to Nikon’s Active D-Lighting – it only applies to JPEG images. Since I shoot RAW, I had DRO turned off. If you shoot JPEG, it is probably best to keep DRO on for the best results. As for the HDR tool, I personally did not use it either, since I believe that HDR should be properly done through HDR software instead. HDR effects can only be applied to JPEG images as well.
Let’s see how the camera performs at low and high ISOs, click the next page of the review.
ISO Performance
12) ISO Performance at low ISOs (ISO 100-800)
Some technical junk:
- White Balance: Auto, changed to “Custom”: 4600 Temp, +26 Tint in Lightroom
- ISO: 100
- Lens Used: Zeiss 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 ZA DT
- EXIF information is preserved in the images
- Aperture: f/8.0
- Focusing was performed through Live-View Contrast Detect
- Long exposure NR: Off
- Image Format: RAW
- Imported images into Lightroom and cropped to 100% – no resizing was performed in Photoshop, unless indicated
- No exposure adjustments were performed in Lightroom (besides White Balance)
- Lightroom sharpening: 25, 1.0, 25, 0 (default)
- Lightroom export: sRGB JPEG Quality 80
Let’s take a look at how the Sony A77 performs at low ISOs. Here are some crops at ISO 100, 200, 400 and 800:
ISO 100 and 200 images look very clean.
ISO 400 adds a little bit of grain, but nothing to worry about. ISO 800 doubles the amount of noise from ISO 400 and we start to see larger grains in the shadows.
13) High ISO Performance (ISO 1600-16000)
High ISO performance is a very important measure of DSLR sensor quality. Here is how the Sony A77 performs at high ISO levels between ISO 1600 and 16000:
ISO 1600 adds significantly more noise than ISO 800, but the image is still usable, even at 100% view. Shadow areas have much more noise, but the detail is preserved. At ISO 3200, however, grain gets much bigger, I would say about twice bigger in size, and the details in the shadow areas start to disappear. Colors are definitely affected at ISO 3200.
Anything above ISO 6400 looks pretty bad at 100% pixel view – details are completely lost in the shadows and there is a significant loss of detail in well illuminated parts of the image as well. ISO 12800 and 16000 are downright unusable, in my opinion.
14) ISO Performance Summary
This is a clear demonstration of what happens with high resolution cameras that have very small pixels. While the low ISO performance is very impressive, ISO levels above 1600 show a significant amount of noise throughout the image. I would say that ISO 1600 is my threshold for the amount of acceptable noise that can be later cleaned up in post-processing. However, keep in mind that we are looking at the above images at 100% view, or “pixel level”. As you will see in the next page of this review, once the 24 MP image is down-sampled to smaller resolution, the camera actually performs surprisingly well when compared to other lower resolution cameras.
Camera Comparisons
Compared to Sony NEX-5n
Let’s see how the Sony A77 compares to the mirrorless Sony NEX-5n that has a high quality 16.1 MP sensor.
15) Sony A77 vs Sony NEX-5n Low ISO Comparison
Here is a comparison at low ISOs between ISO 100 and 800:
Both cameras perform equally well at ISO 100.
ISO 200 is a tad cleaner on the NEX-5n.
The same is true for ISO 400.
At ISO 800, the NEX-5n definitely appears cleaner throughout the image.
16) Sony A77 vs Sony NEX-5n High ISO Comparison
Let’s see what happens at higher ISOs:
Sony A77 is definitely much noisier at ISO 1600 than the NEX-5n, mostly due to the size of the grain.
At ISO 3200 the Sony A77 loses most details in the shadows and the grain appears to be about twice bigger in size when compared to NEX-5n.
There seems to be at least a full stop of difference between the cameras at these high ISO levels. ISO 6400 and higher are unusable for my taste at 100% view.
17) Sony A77 vs Sony NEX-5n High ISO Comparison (Down-Sampled)
Now let’s see what happens when the Sony A77 images are down-sampled to match the NEX-5n resolution. Please note that although the below images say Sony A65, the sensor performance is actually the same, because both cameras use exactly the same sensor and image processing pipeline.
ISO 800 looks very clean on both cameras.
The same is true for ISO 1600 – both look about the same.
Again, ISO 3200 is comparable between the two, with a slight advantage of NEX-5n.
At ISO 6400, the Sony A77 has noticeable loss of colors and lots of chroma noise in comparison.
18) Sony A77 vs Sony NEX-5n Summary
While the low ISO performance of both cameras is very impressive (with Sony A77 having the lead due to more megapixels), the smaller resolution sensor on the NEX-5n clearly shows superior performance at ISO 1600 and above, when viewed at pixel level (100%). The difference in ISO performance increases at higher ISO levels to NEX-5n advantage and reaches over 1 stop of difference at ISO 6400. However, when Sony A77 is down-sampled to NEX-5n resolution, things definitely get more balanced out and there is very little difference between the two at ISO 800, 1600 and 3200. Images at ISO 6400 and higher are unusable on the A77 and there is lots of color loss, so the NEX-5n still has an advantage there (although I would never shoot at such high ISOs on either camera).
One other thing to note here, is that the NEX-5n sensor receives more light than the A77, because it has no mirror that blocks any of the light. Sony had to boost the ISO performance of the A77 further, because it needed to compensate for the light loss (which is roughly 2/3 to 1/2 of light loss). That’s why the NEX-7 that has exactly the same 24 MP sensor performs better than the A77.
Compared to Nikon D700
While the below comparison is not fair due to sensor size difference (full-frame D700 vs 1.5x crop factor A77), the resolution of the Nikon D700 is much lower, so you might find down-sampled comparisons pretty interesting to look at.
19) Sony A77 vs Nikon D700 Low ISO Comparison
Let’s see what happens at low ISOs (pixel level performance):
As expected, the Nikon D700 looks very clean, thanks to its much bigger sensor and pixels.
There is already some noticeable difference at ISO 200.
ISO 400 on the D700 continues to look noise-free, while A77 has some visible noise in comparison.
As we increase ISO to 800, the difference is even bigger.
20) Sony A77 vs Nikon D700 High ISO Comparison
Nikon D700 completely destroys the A77 at IS levels above ISO 800 (pixel level performance).
I would say there are about two full stops of difference between the Sony A77 and the Nikon D700.
21) Sony A77 vs Nikon D700 High ISO Comparison (Down-Sampled)
Now don’t forget that the above images are shown at 100% view, meaning pixel level performance. That’s not really a fair comparison, because the Sony A77 has a lot more resolution and its images can be down-sampled to 12 MP to significantly reduce noise. Let’s now take a look at what happens when we do exactly that:
ISO 800 performance is comparable between the two, with a slight advantage on behalf of Nikon D700.
The same is true for ISO 1600 – both look somewhat comparable, with a cleaner image on the D700.
Plenty of details on both images at ISO 3200, with a cleaner image from the D700.
And the Nikon D700 performs much better at ISO 6400 and higher levels, mostly due to heavy detail and color loss on the A77.
22) Sony A77 vs Nikon D700 Summary
The above comparison is very interesting to look at. As expected, the Sony A77 sensor is no match to Nikon D700′s legendary full-frame sensor when the image is viewed at 100% (pixel level). But let’s not forget that the Sony A77 has a lot more resolution than the Nikon D700, so 100% pixel performance is not a fair comparison. A more balanced and fair comparison would be to down-sample the 24 MP image from the Sony A77 to 12 MP and then compare the two. As can be seen from such a comparison above, the Sony A77 performs very well at 12 MP between ISO 800 and ISO 3200. The Nikon D700 still looks cleaner, especially at higher ISO levels, but that’s expected from a full-frame sensor. The Sony A77 images at ISO 6400 have too much chroma noise and heavy loss of colors.
Summary and Image Samples
23) Summary
Coming from a Nikon DSLR background, I did not know what to expect from the newly released Sony SLT-A77 camera. Its impressive performance characteristics, high resolution and bundled features were the reason why I decided to give Sony a try. After several months of using the camera in various environments, I am happy to say that I am very impressed by this solid and highly capable camera. Sony chose the path of innovation to differentiate itself from the competition and put a lot of effort into making the translucent mirror (SLT) and electronic viewfinder (EVF) technologies work, challenging the outdated 60 year old SLR. Its implementation of the cutting-edge OLED electronic viewfinder contributes to the success of the SLT line. I have tried out other cameras with electronic viewfinders before (including the new Nikon 1 V1) and none of them even remotely compare to the gorgeous OLED viewfinder on the Sony A77. I was at first somewhat skeptical of an electronic viewfinder, but my view changed rather quickly after using the camera. In my opinion, seeing the live view screen both on the LCD and inside the viewfinder without having to lock up the mirror outweighs the disadvantages of the EVF and ability to see exposure changes live with plenty of useful overlay information can be invaluable, especially for beginners.
Its high resolution 24.3 MP sensor yields impressive images at low ISOs. However, higher ISO levels (especially above ISO 3200) tend to produce too much noise due to high pixel pitch. There is also a considerable amount of detail and color loss, which is expected from such a high resolution sensor. As I have explained in my “benefits of a high resolution sensor” article though, these performance differences are greatly reduced when images from the Sony A77 are down-sampled to a smaller resolution. Coupled with the upgraded BIONZ image processor, the Sony A77 can deliver up to 12 frames per second of full-resolution images. Sadly, due to the sheer size of high resolution images, especially in RAW format, the buffer on the camera is too small to accommodate more than a second worth of images.
The AF performance of the camera is good, but does not quite match the AF performance of a Nikon equivalent such as Nikon D7000, especially in continuous drive mode. Wildlife and sports photographers should probably stick to Nikon/Canon DSLRs for now, until Sony addresses these AF issues (Sony does not yet have a good selection of long telephoto lenses anyway). As for ergonomics, I find the button placement on the back of the A77 to be rather random, making it difficult to efficiently use the camera. While many of the buttons are programmable, I just think that Sony should have followed a simpler layout like on the Sony A65. On a positive note, the tilt/swivel LCD implementation is the best I have seen in any camera to date. While there are some lags and annoyances here and there, I believe Sony can iron most of them out via future firmware updates.
Overall, I am very impressed by the Sony SLT-A77 and I highly recommend it to our readers. I mostly used the Sony A77 for photographing landscapes and I can honestly say that I would not hesitate to use it professionally for my work. In fact, some of the images I captured with the Sony A77 have already made their way into my portfolio.
24) Where to buy and availability
B&H is currently selling the Sony A77 (body only) for $1,399.99 (as of 01/30/2012).
25) More image samples
About Nasim Mansurov
Hi Nasim,
Thank very much indeed for your in-depth review of the A77! I think I requested you to do so when I commented on your post about the release announcement.
Being a “beginner” in the field of photography, there are some features that I have not explored yet which you elaborated very well here. I also understood now why I have to turn off some settings when shooting RAW and other very valuable information. You can see my test shots on my blog which I think the colors are all out proportion when processed. The jpegs however turned out alright straight off the camera.
I knew I was not wrong when I chose the A77 as my first decent camera. Cheers to you my friend! :)
Bobby, you are most welcome! Continue exploring your A77 and learn how to use it – I am sure you will be able to create amazing photographs with it. I will be publishing the reviews of Sony lenses and A65 soon, so stay tuned!
Thank you so much Nasim, I can’t wait to read your reviews on Sony lenses. Btw, I was able to get my hands on some classic Minolta lenses which worked well on my A77. I am hoping you’d have the chance to pick up some of these lenses and let us know what you think when paired with an SLT body.
I find your website very helpful and shared it on my FB page where all photos are dedicated for my A77 shots. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kap10bob-Photography/329768407037019
Cheers to you my friend and more power!
PS. There is no DONATE link on here? I was thinking of sending some for your efforts in keeping this site.
I just wanted to ask if you ever did publish the A65 and Sony lens reviews?
Another excellent review, Nasim. While Sony keeps developing some solid innovations and features, the resulting products – all things considered – continue to fall short of the Nikon/Canon lines in some key areas. I am often left saying something to the effect, “That’s a great feature, but…”.
Given that you buy into a “system” vs. a single device (lenses, flashes, etc.), I suspect Sony’s innovations likely wouldn’t cause many people to jump ship. They might grab a few new photographers moving up from a point and shoot, but given the limitations of the A77 and corresponding features of Nikon/Canon, I see few reasons why I would not buy a Nikon D7000 (or even D5100) if I was in that position.
Bob
Hi Bob,
I was actually considering the D7000 over the A77 when I was scouting for a camera. I read so many reviews and it all points me to the direction of D7000, having so much edge in almost all respects. The main deciding moment for me was when I came to the dealer and held both cameras in my hand. The EVF of the A77 just blew me away.
You are right that very few, if any, will ever switch system unless there is a way for them to use their gears with Sony. But for a newbie like me, why stick with the present when you can have the future?
Cheers,
Bobby
Bobby,
The A77 certainly has its merits. One of the issues one needs to consider however, is the number of lenses, accessories, etc. that support the Sony system. Clearly, the number of Sony lenses and accessories is growing, but will likely continue to lag behind Nikon/Canon. If you get more serious about photography, this may (or not) become a bit of an issue for you. I found this out when I originally bought into the Pentax K10D and then wanted to get into infrared photography. I was out of luck having someone convert a Pentax camera for IR usage, so I could share lenses between my IR and regular Pentax camera.
But I don’t believe you can’t go wrong with the A77, particularly if you are just starting out and the ecosystem of lenses, flashes, accessories, etc. is not as important to you. And I am sure there are quite a few Nikon/Canon users that would like to see some of the Sony A77 innovations find their way into the Nikon/Canon camera lines!
Bob
Bob, absolutely! I would love to see some of these features make their way into the Nikon/Canon cameras…
Well said, I like your statement “why stick with the present when you can have the future”. We need innovation and EVF is definitely the future.
Bob, I think Sony has a lot to offer for a person who is thinking about upgrading to a DSLR. After testing the new Sony cameras, I will be recommending them to all of our readers who are thinking about buying a DSLR, as long as they won’t be shooting wildlife or sports. I think these cameras have a lot to offer and while they do have some issues here and there, I bet Sony will work hard on fixing the issues and make the cameras attractive for even wildlife and sports shooters out there. Where Sony is weak at the moment, is accessories and good fast lenses, but it is just a matter of time :)
Nasim,
No disagreement here. But as you well know, buying a given camera, also means a decision to buy into that camera makers “system” and support. As such, one needs to think about the given ecosystem of a given camera manufacturer. For some, newbies and those that are simply looking to upgrade from a point-n-shoot camera, the notion of the camera manufacturer’s ecosystem isn’t likely to be as big of a concern.
For others, however, a few nifty features may not be enough to overcome the disparity of lens choices, flash trade-offs, and the host of other add-ons that are made for Nikon/Canon first, and everyone else later (or never!).
I realized after originally buying a Pentax, that there is a significant difference in the gear options between the first tier (Nikon/Canon), and the others. My next concern happened to be Pentax’s survivability and the impact its financial issues would have on its ability to introduce new lenses (which was lagging quite a bit for some time).
The A77′s features are indeed leading edge, but again, I would always urge people to consider the bigger picture relative to what aspects of photography they believe they will pursue, and what the implications are for going with each of the various vendors. For the serious amateur, such concerns outweigh the benefits of any specific feature from one model to the next. Besides, cameras have become very similar to computers – one leapfrogging the next in any given cycle, so you probably don’t want to make a decision on a single feature on a given model at any one point in time.
I would suggest that people choose a camera manufacturer who’s overall array of lenses, noteworthy characteristics (such as nikon’s lighting system), flashes, and other add-ons seem to best match their interests. Switching manufacturers is not for the faint of heart, particularly after you accumulate a decent stable of equipment! ;)
Bob
Bob, I 100% agree with what you said and I would never suggest switching brands just because one camera is better than another one today. And yes, it is always a good idea to look at a system as a whole and decide what’s more important for one’s particular needs before making a decision on what to buy…
Nasim,
When you think about it, buying into a camera manufacturer is a bit like making a deal with the devil for your soul. You may be able to switch, but it will be painful and cost you! I hope Nikon is not reading this post… :)
Bob
Hahaha Bob, so true!
This really made me laugh out loud Bob! “buying into a camera manufacturer is a bit like making a deal with the devil for your soul” hahaha
If D7000 had an EVF like the A77 and the built-in GPS, I would have looked the other way ;)
Hello Nikon… wakey wakey :)
BTW, rumors has it that a full frame Sony SLT with massive features (definitely more than the expensive D4) is on the pipeline. Nikon should really be waking up by now!
@Bobby
Well, D4 is a professional “tool” and it’s owners don’t need “massive features” like HDR, panorama and many more. I think people who want to buy D4 care about picture quality – i’m sure it will destroy everything from Sony. But some people prefer “bells and whistles” – it’s up to them:)
I must disagree with your wildlife and sports statement. Recently I had a chance to shoot some wildlife at Sri Lanka with my a77, including bird shooting which is quite challenging. The results have exceeded all my expectations. If you approach a77 as m16 rifle and have 95 mb/s card, buffer size is not an issue at all. It takes about 7 seconds to store a buffer on the card, and in fact, situations when I needed to fill the buffer were very rare.
I wouldn’t even try to compare results achieved with 12 fps to 8 fps. The cases when I didn’t manage to capture the moment I wanted were extremely rare with 12fps.
So the bottom-line is that in order to get the most from a77 12fps mode you must to adjust to it and change some of your behaviors. If you try to use it say like D7 @ 8fps you will inevitably get frustrated with short buffer. But I don’t think I will ever trade 12fps for infinite buffer @ 8 fps.
There are few other drwabacks that are not mentioned in this review. One is lag when changing settings, for example when changing apperture with wheel, wheel starts spinning and after a split second value on the screen changes. Very anoying!
Other thing is that ridiculus lag when switchingfrom screen to EVF, there is an eye sensor just below the EVF that takes too long to activate. Result, that image you just saw is gone by the time you actually managed to take picture.
Sony has aknowledged these misses and have put together a new firmware that was supose to fix this but it did not. True, lag has been reduced but it is still there. Strange that you did not notice anything that I mentioned above Nasim. I did when trying camera beside Nikon D7000 in store and so have other users and testers out there. Btw, guess what I took home with me..;)
EVF may be the future, but at present we are just not there yet.
Red, check out the last paragraph under “ease of use” – I mentioned both problems with the lag… :)
You are right, my apologies.
Nasim, very interesting review.
I have a D700, and I’m beginning to wonder if this is one of the best cameras Nikon has ever made. What would a camera have to have to beat the D700 by a SUBSTANTIAL degree? No bells and whistles, I mean real concrete changes that any pro would agree on.
I’m beginning to think that we are near the level of perfection as we were when Nikon introduced their best film camera. Where are we?
I took some photos of an antique quilt today of the various “squares”, and I can’t conveive of better images for exact color reproduction than the D700 RAW images. I do my own Photshop so I know.
What’s left for SUBSTANTIAL improvement or change?
Peter, that’s why I state in “our gear” page that the Nikon D700 is the best camera in the world :)
As I have already stated before, the Nikon D700 will stay with me till it dies, which I hope won’t happen anytime soon :)
I am hoping you will get your hands on the upcoming Sony SLT full frame (i heard it will be called A99) and let us know how your D700 compares to it. I like your fair review because unlike others who are die hard Nikonista or Canonista, your review is not influenced with the love for the brand. Keep it up Nasim! Cheers :)
While I’m also a happy user of a D7000 I was in no position to evaluate the Sony when I bought the Nikon – in early 2011… ;-)
However, I don’t think that I would have given the A77 (or A65) the preference over the Nikon, given the choice – even though I also think that OVFs are a thing of the past soon.
Why? As the D7000 is my first DSLR it was up to me to choose a complete system (body, lens, flash, accessoires) and not just the body with a kit lens. I pondered for months what system I should invest in: Canon, Nikon or Pentax. Canon has the 60D and Pentax the K-5 in my price range but what made chose the Nikon?
Pentax has a smaller lens selection and I wasn’t sure where the company was heading at the time. Also, the main advantage over the D7000 seems to be the slightly better body construction and weather sealing. Will I use this? At least the K-5 has a GPS option!
The Canon 60D, as good and proven as the 18MP sensor is, has no easy GPS solution and the body isn’t as sturdy as the Nikon and the Pentax. It has a swivelling screen but then again I wanted a good viewfinder, if possible with a 100% “viewing area”.
I also liked holding the D7000 a bit more when comparing it in the store but it wasn’t critical. A colleague of mine has a D80, though, and I could swap lenses – hmmm….
The result was a D7000 but, really, I’d rather spend my money with either Canon or Nikon instead of throwing it at Sony. They may be serious about cameras but I have seen way too many Sony products that don’t get supported after some time and were too much of a “me too”-product (their PNAs, for example). For me, Sony is the “Playstation company”: Relatively cheap products that you can replace easily with support from Sony neither needed nor expected (similar to Microsoft).
However, in my humble opinion EVFs will be the future and that either means a SLT-like or mirror-less design.
Why? Because if mechanics can be supplanted by electronics well enough it will happen – simply because companies like to save manufacturing costs. Expect to see Nikon marketing praise the advantages of EVFs in their future DSLR-replacements.
Yes, the current EVFs may still be quite expensive and inferior in some aspects, but this will change in the future – like every cheapo camera now having a 3″ LCD screen on the back. This was unthinkable ten years ago!
Sensors are getting more sensitive and display technology also advances continually. I’m sure that we’ll see near-perfect EVFs in less than five years. In ten years no mainstream camera company will manufacture optical viewfinders in high numbers, if at all.
Yes, there could be a Nikon D5 with an OVF, but then the D6 will have an EVF.
EVFs mean less complex body manufacturing, less weight, less cost (in the future), a more fully digital system with all the advantages (better HUDs, better approximation of the expected image) and with an image stabilizer built around the sensor you get a steady viewfinder image with all lenses.
But would I buy a future EVF-equipped body from Sony? I doubt that. I’d like to put my money on somebody who actually makes cameras for a living and who has a broad range of equipment to bolt onto the body and can support that.
Marcus, great thoughts in your comment, I appreciate it.
I think Sony realizes that if they continue to be a “Playstation” company as you have pointed out, they will not be able to gain any market share from serious amateurs and pros. I think they are headed in the right direction with their innovative products and only time will show if they are willing to seriously compete with Nikon and Canon in terms of lenses and accessories.
In my opinion, there are two scenarios for Sony at the moment. We will either see more SLT developments with some serious products in the future (with a full-frame SLT coming very soon), with lenses and other accessories to accompany them, or the company will abandon the SLT ship and completely switch over to mirrorless. With their recent mirrorless success in NEX-5n and NEX-7 lines, the company might eventually completely switch to the mirrorless technology, if their sales of mirrorless cameras stay high and interest in SLT line diminishes. Only time will show exactly what will happen, but the mirrorless market is growing much faster than the DSLR market at the moment, so the next 5 years should be very interesting to observe.
One fact you should not forget about, is that Sony manufactures most sensors for Nikon DSLRs, so it clearly has the capacity and lead in sensor development. In fact, it is driving innovation at the moment and it has a good chance of success in the future, if it can put enough R&D into its camera system development. Take Nikon before the D3. People were looking at Nikon as a dying company with no full-frame offering to satisfy the demanding pros and serious amateurs. One single product completely changed the company and now we see Nikon having a bigger market share than Canon in many countries. I believe that if Sony continues to drive innovation, it might end up with a similar product like D3 that might change the company. If we had a camera with D4 features and performance at a much lower cost, you would see how quickly people would adopt it. I do not think Sony will be out of the game any time soon.
Hi Nasim,
I agree with your comments fully. Perhaps I came across a bit strong against Sony in my post but I’m indeed not completely anti-Sony. As a matter of fact I also have an expensive Sony-TV, which is also rather a “fire & forget product” and not a system (like a camera body, lenses etc.), though.
In my opinion Sony does have both great & innovative ideas/concepts and the means to translate them into usable products (as the new SLTs show). However, in my opinion they fail as a solution provider and system partner. They could be, with their resources, but instead they regularly choose to pump out masses of consumer throw-away products with regular replacement schedules.
Yes, their mirror-less range is great and they certainly have a long way behind them but will they support this system for a long time? I have massive doubts here as their takeover of Minolta/Konica didn’t really bring their DSLR range into the first row.
I wouldn’t want to compare Canons camera department to Sonys but perhaps Nikon is next best alternative. One can argue if Nikon or Canon DSLRs are better – but they both have passionate followers ranging back to the film days and have developed a certain culture about their products. They practically live from this business, even if they have other product ranges as well.
Buy a good Canon or Nikon and you are being taken care off – you’ll find practically unlimited resources (including your great site here!) for them. Not so with Sony – yet.
Even though Sony now has winner-products with the A65 and A77 they had more than enough time to develop some care for the photographer market. In my eyes they are content with producing (great) bodies, a rather small selection of lenses and not much else. They appear to be some kind of pure hardware company instead of a solution provider.
Example:
Sooner or later probably all cameras will feature GPS tech inside them but we aren’t there, yet.
Sony however up-specced their new SLT-range by integrating the GPS receiver, which is absolutely ADMIRABLE in my book.
You are right in pointing out that Nikon still doesn’t do this but at least they supported separate GPS units for years. (Note that you aren’t forced to buy Nikons rather limited unit – do yourself a favor and get a Solmeta Geotagger Pro instead!)
Yes, Sony produces sensors – for many years, actually – and they also develop them (sometimes they only manufacture them for Nikon etc. like TSMC manufactures the Nvidia graphics chips).
Sony also has extensive manufacturing capabilities of integrated circuits (ASICs), LEDs. They were, for a time, the only manufacturer for pickups for Blu-ray players – and also sold them to competitors. They have the capabilities – but will they use them right?
While SLT or mirror-less cameras will be the future, people still factor the amount & quality of lenses into their purchase decision (even I did and I’m no expert ;-)) – so I expect Canon and Nikon to gradually abandon moving mirror and OVFs, starting in the lower segments. Nikon obviously already did that with the Nikon 1, which they use to get experience in the field. Even if you aren’t a fan or don’t need the Nikon 1 – expect to see these features creep up into their lower-end “DSLR” range (not “mission critical”) and then moving up as technology evolves.
In other words: Canon and Nikon *will* at some day *have* to start offering EVFs and fixed (or no) mirror designs.
Will Sonys next fullframe DSLR (or DLT) storm the market? Perhaps many professional photographers wouldn’t mind buying one (especially cheap ones) – if they had access to a larger “eco system” with more professional lenses from Sony and wouldn’t have to rely so much on second tier producers like Sigma or Tamron.
I’m sure, though, that there’ll always be a market for big, expensive & capable cameras – just to please customers that want to get the extra mile for their clients (image quality and/or reliability).
Marcus
I am amazed of how much misinformation is in your post.
“However, in my opinion they fail as a solution provider and system partner.”
Have you used the Sony solutions to know if they are good or bad; for example have used even once an accessory like a Sony flash?
“Buy a good Canon or Nikon and you are being taken care off – you’ll find practically unlimited resources (including your great site here!) for them. Not so with Sony – yet.”
Rely have you even searched on Google? I can point you to a lot of good sites for Sony cameras but they all require an open mind and unbiased attitude to be found.
“Yes, Sony produces sensors – for many years, actually – and they also develop them (sometimes they only manufacture them for Nikon etc. like TSMC manufactures the Nvidia graphics chips).”
This is wrong because you cannot compare a sensor with a graphic chip. A graphic chip has a logic part for example TSMC makes chips for ATI and NVIDIA the manufacturing is the same but the logic part is different. A sensor has no logic part it has nothing for Nikon to design, a sensor is more like a memory chip and there to there is no case of someone designing and somebody else to manufacture. Please see how this chips are manufactured and how are design then you will understand what I’m talking about.
The sensors that Nikon is using are exactly the same the difference is in the way the signal from the sensor is interpreted.
“Sony also has extensive manufacturing capabilities of integrated circuits (ASICs), LEDs. They were, for a time, the only manufacturer for pickups for Blu-ray players – and also sold them to competitors. They have the capabilities – but will they use them right?”
Wrong, Blu-Ray was developed by Blu-Ray disc Association of which Sony and other 18 companies are members. So Sony cannot sell something it does not own.
“In other words: Canon and Nikon *will* at some day *have* to start offering EVFs and fixed (or no) mirror designs.”
Yes they will only if they do it to late the market will be flooded with Sony, Panasonic and Samsung.
Now let’s look a bit to what Nikon has done so far.
Nikon (and Canon) had the lead in steppers (together they held about 80% of the market) but managed to lose it to ASML to the extent that ASML now holds 60-70% of the market.
On the camera side Nikon introduced the first DSLR capable of taking movies. With no video camera to protect I expected them to be ultra aggressive in this field but instead they let Canon, Sony and Panasonic to take the lead. Now they are playing cache up but is hard. For example D800 is missing raw video output on HDMI so now for anyone serious into video and Nikon will have to wait for D900 perhaps to have this important feature. The point is that had they continued when they started by now for sure they would have figure things out. But with professional solutions already on the market from Sony, Panasonic and later now Canon who will wait for Nikon.
Mirror-less cameras appear on the market with Panasonic, Olympus, Samsung and Sony on the market. The mirror-less cameras take up 25-30% of the market what used to be low end DSLR because people want a better camera than a point and shoot but smaller than a DSLR. Nikon answer after several years is Nikon 1 basically a point and shoot with interchangeable lenses ridiculously over priced. I doubt that it will ever get much traction on the market.
For a not so big company like Nikon to do all the above and be on loss for the second or third year now is bad. I would be a bit worried now if I were a Nikon fan.
As for Sony; every thing that you or others see on TV has passed at some point trough a Sony device. Because Sony is the leader in cinema and broadcasting, where professionals pay amounts of money unheard of in the photographic industry and expect a service that photographers can only dream. And they are leaders because they know how to manage this. Sony is also the world largest manufacturer of photo and video sensors. I would be somewhat less worried for them.
Hello Ike,
Thank you for your very detailed view! I did not get that much info before I chose to get the A77 but I am glad to read this analysis from you. You have really done your homework there Mate!
Cheers,
Bobby
> Rely have you even searched on Google? I can point you to a lot of good sites for Sony cameras but they all require an open mind and unbiased attitude to be found.
Yes, you find stuff for Sony cameras – but not as much as with Canon or Nikon. A handful of extremely dedicated fans does not really compensate for this.
> This is wrong because you cannot compare a sensor with a graphic chip.
I was merely stating that Sony does chip manufacturing for other companies as a business – like TSMC (or IBM or several other companies).
I was in no way comparing a graphics processor to a sensor so I don’t really see what your point is here – except to deliberately stir up an argument.
> A graphic chip has a logic part for example TSMC makes chips for ATI and NVIDIA the manufacturing is the same but the logic part is different.
Of course it is, DOH!
> A sensor has no logic part
Wrong.
> it has nothing for Nikon to design, a sensor is more like a memory chip and there to there is no case of someone designing and somebody else to manufacture. Please see how this chips are manufactured and how are design then you will understand what I’m talking about.
Yawn…
http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/microsite/d-technology/imagingsensor/format/index.htm
Go complain there and call them liars…
> The sensors that Nikon is using are exactly the same
I never denied that Nikon *also* buys complete products (=sensors) from Sony, most notably the 16 MP one in the D7000 or D5100. They don’t freely admit it but it has been proven by Chipworks and it’s common knowledge among interested Nikon users & others.
> the difference is in the way the signal from the sensor is interpreted.
Oh, really? You mean not all cameras are the same inside?
Now that’s a revelation to me, NOT! (for the irony-impaired)
> Wrong, Blu-Ray was developed by Blu-Ray disc Association of which Sony and other 18 companies are members. So Sony cannot sell something it does not own.
Can’t you read?
Sony was MANUFACTURING the LASER PICKUPS and SELLING them to other companies. This is FACT.
> Yes they will only if they do it to late the market will be flooded with Sony, Panasonic and Samsung.
ROTFL -> Wishful thinking — but your next bit is even more bizarre:
What on Earth has Sonys professional broadcast equipment department to do with their run o’ the mill consumer products like SLT cameras? Exactly: Nothing.
Do really want me to go on about how bad their TV division is? Six years loss after loss, selling their factories, especially the one in Mexico, to FOXCONN (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.). The very same company that had dozens of worker suicides in the last few years because of their working conditions.
Sony, who made Samsung the new Numero Uno in TVs because of bad management decisions like collaborating with them (“S-LCD”)?
You talk about “professional solutions” from Sony when they can’t or don’t want to support their puny consumers? Sony, the master of “planned obsolescence”?
Their consumer service is bad (seen & experienced this!) and I don’t wish anybody to live through it. The only bit that was new to me is that they screw ANY customer, not only those with cheap equipment. Let’s look how they deal with $6500 TV sets like the SONY BRAVIA XBR8:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=21595033#post21595033
Even if you have an expensive Sony TV like this failing on you then you are “SOL” (shit outta luck), regardless if you have an extended warranty (“Sorry, but we have no replacement set / spare parts!”) or not ( “The panel is defective – a replacement would cost $5999.”)
Sony doesn’t want to repair, they want to sell you new stuff – and nothing more.
You are trying to defend Sony, the mothership of ill managment, who suffers a loss of 3.1 BILLION DOLLARS for 2011 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13557431) by comparing it with the failures of other companies? A loss that has doubled since November?
No, I don’t think that Sony will fold but I really think they will clean up some product divisions and who knows what they will shut down or sell to other companies.
In fact I don’t even see a problem for Sony customers – they were out of service the moment they handed their money (or credit card) over the counter. I’d only be worried if I had a business based on Sony equipment…
I don’t have anything against the Sony cameras (as of now), but I agree about Sony’s notorious problems with their products and their customer service. Don’t have to go far, take a look at what I wrote in 2006:
http://photographylife.com/tech/sony-vaio-sucks
People still leave comments on that after 6 years! I know, Nikon also has plenty of complaints in various forums and websites, but I do not think they are anywhere as bad as Sony’s.
I won’t get into the debate here, but just to clarify one point – the Nikon D800 will feature uncompressed video output via HDMI :)
Great review Nasim!
One question – did you try to use A77 in cold weather? Does very low temperature affect EVF?
Michael, yes, the first picture in this review was taken on a very cold (approx 20F) and windy day. I saw no problems with the EVF, although the batteries did not last very long that day.
“Not only does the Sony A77 have the highest APS-C sized sensor on the market today, but it also comes with great built-in features such as built-in HDR (without the need to use external GPS devices), in-camera image stabilization, a plethora of image capture and image editing modes, high-resolution OLED viewfinder and much more.”
I think you mean built in GPS
Hi Mohd Rapa,
Let me answer on behalf of Nasim… there is indeed built-in HDR on the A77. It can be set on PROGRAM mode and takes continuous shots at different exposures then merge it into a single image. It can also be set according to your preference. As a hobbyist, I find the in-cam HDR feature very useful.
Btw, I think Nasim forgot to mention about the PEAKING LEVEL feature when composing the shot on manual focus mode.
Cheers,
Bobby
Nice review.. thank you.
“Sony calls its image stabilization technology “Steady Shot” and it can be turned on or off for capturing images or video through the camera menu system. ”
Is it true IS can be turned off in video mode? Some have said it cannot.
Hi Nasim,
This is a great read! Thanks for your review.
I found the down-sampled shot-for-shot comparisons between A77 and Nex-5N particularly interesting. Much is made of high ISO performance (for good reason) in camera reviews, but it is good to see an “apples to apples” comparison like this.
I have a couple (newbie) questions: how did you actually down-sample the images? Did you use any special function to re-process the noise in the images? Or did you just save the RAW file as a smaller resolution?
Also, would you expect the same effect if you simply chose the smaller-resolution in-camera setting (shooting jpg-only of course) ?
Thanks again for the review!
Adam
Nasim,
One other thought that some have alluded to – Sony’s commitment to photography business. Techies typically love to focus on the “gee whiz” features and functionality of a given product, and all too often, ignore the business aspects of the company’s performance, which might ultimately be an indicator if that company will be here in a few years.
Someone mentioned that they are now the “PlayStation” company. In looking at Sony’s revenues, the PlayStation revenue is far and away the biggest aspect of their business. While Sony has a decent percentage of the point and shoot market, Sony’s DSLR business is not even close to being a major part of their overall revenue/profit picture.
Coming at this from more from the business side, the concern over a company’s commitment (usually based on % of the business, revenue, profits, market share, etc.), is not something to be overlooked when making a buying decision, particularly when business stability/profitability has a strong influence on it and others developing the ecosystem of lenses, flashes, accessories, etc.
Despite the fact that Sony has introduced some interesting technologies, the company is not what it once was. Sony was at one time, a leader a variety of niches, including TVs, stereos, and others. Nowadays? Sony doesn’t crop up much when I make purchasing decisions, as they have been outflanked by a number of competitors, most notably in the TV arena, where they were for many years, the gold standard of quality, and commanding a hefty premium over their competitors.
If I were buying a DSLR from Sony, I would be concerned that they might decide to shelve/sell this business at some not-so-distant point in the future, since as they struggle along financially, it would not be unheard of for them to unload a business where their market share is near the bottom of the list.
So while there is no reason to think Sony will deep-six their DSLR business tomorrow, in a restructuring effort to improve the company’s focus and financials, one could easily make a very convincing case that the DSLR unit might be one of the most obvious candidates to shutter or sell.
And if you believe “it can’t happen here”, you only have to recall that Sony’s DSLR business is a result of both Konica and Minolta, once leaders in the industry, falling by the wayside and deciding to get out of the business.
Bob
Hi Bob,
That is a very thorough business analysis you elaborated. I heard it is Samsung that’s leading the TV business this time. I bet you are aware that Samsung is into DSLR business as well now, are you willing to give their camera a try?
You have given the fact that Konica Minolta used to be on top but went bankrupt. Have you also heard of Kodak going out of business recently? Well, my question now is…. how confident are you that Nikon or Canon will not have the same fate as those former “kings” of the imaging industry? Do you know that “allegedly” Nikon is sourcing out their digital sensors from Sony? Perhaps it won’t be long before it becomes Sony-Nikon :)
My point really is, with the innovation in “gears” that Sony is going… new generation of photographers might opt for the brand. Sony may be a new player in the field of photography but they have acquired the Konica Minolta experience.
Just my two cents…
Cheers,
Bobby
Bobby,
Canon & Nikon have ~77% or so of the market share as I last recall, with Canon edging out Nikon by 12-15% depending on the specific analysis you find. I am not saying that Sony does not have some good technology, but their DSLR business is a tiny fraction of their overall business. Nikon is a camera company first and foremost. Sure, they use parts and components from others, but despite Sony and Nikon using the same sensors for some models, Sony’s higher ISO performance seems to lag the others quite a bit (rather odd considering that they should know their sensor better than others!). So there is something more involved than simply using the same parts. A camera is indeed a system, particularly so as you start to invest in more gear.
Samsung partnered with Pentax, so their first cameras were based on the Pentax K series. I have the same concern about them. The Samsung ecosystem is essentially the same as that for Pentax. Not bad, but nowhere near that of Canon or Nikon. The ecosystem of each manufacturer is a significant concern for people when they get serious enough to plunk down $1,000 – $2,000 or so for a DSLR. Without a large install base, there is simply not as much incentive for Sony or third parties to develop lenses, flashes, accessories. IMHO, I wouldn’t recommend investing in Olympus, Pentax, or Sony for DSLRs primarily for the ecosystem concerns as well as the overall commitment these companies have to the DSLR market (based on % of their business revenue derived from DSLRs and their market share). Point & shoot cameras for $200? It really doesn’t matter who you pick. But for a DSLR system? A different animal and decision making criteria come into play.
Besides, I never get too worked up if someone comes out with something not on my D7000. The camera manufacturers, just like the computer makers, cellphone manufacturers, etc. simply keep leapfrogging one another. The A77 will be the cats meow for a while, and then the Nikon D800 will take the market by storm, and then the Canon 5D III will come along, and then the Nikon D400, soon to be followed by the Canon 7D II, etc. Each will have their pros/cons, but at least with the two top brands, you can be sure that the DSLR business is critical to their survival and thus they will continue to innovate and advance, and their ecosystems of accessories will continue to grow as well. Anything can happen, however, and I could very well be downing a plateful of humble pie in a year or so. As I already pointed out, Minolta and Konica are no longer around. With technology, I have learned to never say never!
I don’t mean to rain on your parade and excitement regarding your A77 purchase (which it probably seems like I am doing! :). But I already have been through this after buying into Pentax, and then understanding that even though the K10D was a good camera, the Nikon D80 had a much more robust ecosystem, and left me longing for some lenses that Pentax didn’t have for over a year after I sold all my gear on ebay. I simply urge people to be careful about buying a given camera in light of the fact that if you really get into photography, the vendor’s market share, commitment to the business, and size of the ecosystem are indeed every bit as important to consider, as the latest feature set of any given camera model. In the meantime, I am sure your A77 will serve you well. Enjoy it and post some pictures when you have a chance. Who knows, you may even convince me to convert over to Sony from Nikon! :)
Bob
Hi Nasim,
If possible please add the same low and high ISO photos from a D7000 for comparison.
Thanks.
Regards,
Stefan
What a great article, Thanks. I enjoyed your article on how to down size images for web use. I and many others would love to have you do an article on how to down size for printing using when using cameras such as the Nikon D700 with images shot at high ISO.
Thanks again…
Hi Marcus,
I have just one quick question… how many lenses to you really need to purchase when owning a camera? Just made me wonder because that seems to be one of the reason you stipulated someone has to consider when deciding to buy an interchangeable lens camera.
BTW, the classic Minolta lenses works well on alpha mount like the A77. I wish Nasim could review some of this lenses for us soon.
Cheers,
Bobby
Bobby,
you know that there is really no universal answer to your question.
Each and every photographer has to decide for himself (or herself ;-)) what lenses he or she needs.
While in my opinion it indeed doesn’t make much sense to buy an expensive interchangeable lens camera and then **only** a super-zoom, i.e. 18-200 mm or something like that (even then the image quality and the amount of manual control would be better than with a bridge camera), you still have to form your “photographic awareness/consciousness”.
Photography – as commercial as it may be for professional photographers – is *still* also a very personal thing and you can come up with several solution to a given problem. You can use either a limited selection of lenses or many specialist lenses like prime lenses, fisheyes, ultra wides etc. – I like the freedom to buy what I want, when I want it.
That’s also why I don’t like people telling me that I have to get a “holy lens trinity”: A 14-24 mm, a 24-70 mm and a 70-200 mm (or a “18-55″ and a “55-300″ for DX) “to cover all areas”.
This is a rule for a “follower” and not an “individual”.
If you want to make wide angle photos get a wide angle lens. If you want to take macro shots – you can get a macro lens and it would be even better if you have a range of macro lenses to choose from.
If you indeed have much experience and you have already formed your “photographic view of the world” you already know what you want and you may discover that a different vendor may completely fulfill your needs even if he has a smaller range of lenses.
And no, only buying second tier lenses from Sigma, Tamron, Tokina or whatever doesn’t cut it in my book. Yes, there are lenses that your camera maker doesn’t provide, even with Canon and Nikon like the Sigma 8-16 mm I actually bought, but it’s mostly about cutting costs with them and a lot of customers pay for that by accepting limited quality control and lower standards. There are just too many customer reports about that to ignore it.
When buying a DSLR as an hobbyist with limited funds it’s rather important to abstain from impulse buyings, IMHO, and I would never buy into a camera system just because there are are terrific reviews about a single camera body with a good kit lens in a colorful magazine.
I also want a large *current* selection of robust lenses with decent sharpness, (silent) autofocus motors built-in and good handling.
But while I wouldn’t buy very old lenses if lens compatibility is indeed given – it would indicate at least that the manufacturer in question does care about his customers in the future and support the new lenses you buy now and in the future to be supported by future bodies.
Your mileage may vary, Bobby, and I have not the smallest problem with that but my advice to *beginners* is: The less you know about photography when you buy your first DSLR the more important it is to buy into a big, proven system (= body, lenses & accessoires from one manufacturer) – to be able to expand at will. Note that I’m not universally recommend Canon or Nikon – just be careful where you spend your money.
If you have money to support two systems and/or enough experience to try out less established systems (like the new Sony SLTs) then by all means go for it! As I stated earlier I’m totally convinced that the days of the classic DSLR are numbered (like the days of the non-D SLRs).
I’m not against people buying the new Sony – far from it: More people on this bandwagon means more competition for Canon and Nikon – which means better cameras and lenses for all of us!
Hi Nasim,
Wonderful non-biased review!
As owners of 2 A77s we have fired off about 30,000 excellent photos and some fantastic videos as well. Our 2 main applications are wedding photos and concert photography and the A77s have not ever let us down in either situation. We’ve shot some wedding receptions under very difficult lighting and the Sonys have come through very well.
We made the switch to Sony with the advent of the SONY A55 which was an amazing camera. We were able to resell all of our old gear and just about break even with what we needed with the new brand. When the A77 came out we sold our 3 A55s to finance our 2 A77s and the 16-50 2.8 lens.
One thing a lot of reviewers miss on is when they talk about available lenses for the SONY they forget to mention that all that wonderful and legendary MINOLTA glass is compatible. We only use 1 Sony lens, the 16-50 2.8 (an excellent lens) on one camera and nothing but Minolta on the other. My personal favorite and walk around lens is a 27 year old Minolta 28-135 that keeps wanting to put out prime lens quality.
Thanks again for a great review!
If anyone would like to see some photo samples we have some under the SONY/MINOLTA tab on our site httpo://www.abetterdj.net
Pentax k-5 dropped the ball with 25fps(PAL) for North America. We are 24fps(NTSC) and so is Japan. In my tests, the picture quality was excellent. Now they have come out with the K-01 with no viewfinder. This is a bad joke. Cameramen want to compose their shots in a viewfinder not with a live-view. You can’t control your composition using a three inch LCD. Having done my research on Sony’s A77 – I will be making the transition. When can we expect new shipments?
Hi Harry… the A99 (full frame SLT) is coming out soon. You might want to wait for it if you want the latest super camera :)
@ Bobby. Who makes the A99 and where can I get details? Live goes by so fast – waiting for a new tool is crazy.
Hi again Harry… the A99 has not been launched yet perhaps just giving a leeway to the recent release of D800 which uses the same sensor. Here are some of the specs that will sure to make you wanna have it:
36.9 Megapixel Exmor Sensor (3mos)
There’s no Bayer filter
It is a ISO 100-102400 and extendable to a 204800 & 409600
There’s no anti-alias filter/s
Twelve frames/second (same frame rate as my A77)
There is digital filtering (infrared) with 3 modes- WITH IR, NO IR, ONLY IR
An eighty-nine cross-type AF points (that’s 89 cross-type!)
An in-camera moiré remove (the Nikon D800 have this on separate model and additional 300USD!)
The metering is direct from the sensor
There is a focal plane bulb shutter, 60/1-1/24000 seconds
There is a GPS that is built-in for convenience (no need to buy extra unlike Nikon & Canon)
There’s also Wi-Fi plus thunderbolt (you can upload to web directly if you wish)
The flash synchronization is up to approximately 1/500 seconds
The high-speed synchronization is close to 1/24000 seconds
It comes with 2 card slots
Whoa! If it indeed has these kinds of specs, I will definitely be reviewing it! :)
I’ll be staying tune for your review Nasim! Those specs are just simply mind blowing :)
Thanx Bobby…!
How does one get to test their Beta camera?
Sixty frames/second is very important…..more would be better.
The standard used to 120 – then the Star Wars explosions were 350fps.
My olde Bolex did 64fps.
Trying achieve the maximum film effect with the best camera and using CS5 as my cutting tool.
Shooting from aircaft and helicopters is very important to me.
hi, I would love to know what would you choose between sony a77 and nikon d7000 and why? what are the great differences between them? thanls
Both Pentax and Sony have lens stability built into their bodies which is a great plus. Lenses are more affordable. Does anyone have an ETA on the A99? I want to compare with it with the A77 and make my transition from Pentax to Sony. I would have bought the Pentax k-5 if it had: 24, 30 and 60fps.
Finally got to hold the Sony A77. Clerk didn’t want to put in a battery because other customers want a “virgin” camera. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Finally he took a battery from an A65 to allow me to see it booted and wouldn’t disturb the virgin battery. After a few minutes I decided I would have to take a color chart, lens cal chart and shoot some footage and Stills. I would purchase the memory card to evaluate my results in CS5. Tomorrow Canon’s 5D3 details will be released. I will do the same procedure…because I only want to spend my money ONCE. Camera stores don’t allow returns. Years back I tested a 400mm lens outside the store ONLY because they had my credit card. There is no trust. Purchasing a new camera and switching camera platforms is difficult.
magnification of D7000 is not as described 0.63x, it is 0.94x and therefore much better than A77 magnification of 0.73x
The magnification of the A77 and the D7000 is the same both 0.72X
What the A77 leads the Nikon is in coverage.
http://snapsort.com/cameras/Nikon/D700/specs
http://snapsort.com/cameras/Sony-A77-specs
Great, detailed review Nasim, not like those over detailed Dpreview ones. Btw Sony have some long telephoto lenses; 300mm F2.8 G, the 70-400mm F4-5-5.6, 500mm F8 reflex lens, the new 500mm F4 G, and don’t forget, you can get a whole load of older Minolta lenses, like the 600mm F4 G and the 400mm F4 G
Thanks for the great review. I am still debating between Nikon D7000 and D800 (for a non-pro), while Sony A77 came to my attention. I knew I can rely on your review as it is always unbaised. The biggest plus point in A77 is the video and excellent stills at low ISOs. Your analysis of Autofocus Performance and Metering is does bother me quite a bit. I am not sure if I stand to gain anything paying A77 as much as I would pay for D7000.
Great review with in-depth details and beautiful photos. I have been using the camera since Oct 2011 and I really like the camera. My main lens with this camera is the SONY 16-50 f2.8 lens. I shoot in RAW and wish that it would have less noise in the higher ISO settings. Anything above ISO800 gets a little noisy. Makes me sometimes think that I should have gone for the D700/800 instead.
You can check out the shots at http://www.translucentmirror.com
Awesome update. Lag removed. Now I will have in-body compensation to my prime lenses too, the 35mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.8 and Zeiss 85mm 1.4. Life is good. In-body lens compensation is huge for me as it puts these lenses into perfect state. Next up, Sony pleeeeeeeaseee….. add tethering feature back to the 7-series lineup. It will make it the perfect camera for my use once that’s in.
The A-77 is a very interesting camera and the stills in this review are stunning, a real pleasure to look at. My hesitation about getting an A-77 is that I want a body for bird photography. While the A-77 could be coupled with Sony’s impressive 70-400 zoom, I note that the review advises against getting an A-77 for wildlife or sports photography. Is this advice given because the viewfinder is blocked by previous images or because high-magnification photos may need to be taken at (noisy) high ISOs to avoid camera shake?
Update to previous response:
We have now taken over 50,000 excellent photos with our 2 Sony A77s and continue to be impressed by the results of this camera. We recently shot 2 complete concerts on video and are equally impressed with not only the quality of the video but the sound as well.
We’ve also changed lenses. As much as we loved the Sony 16-50MM 2.8 lens our Minolta 28-135MM lens was consistently beating it with sharper photos at weddings. We re-sold the 16-50 and bought another 28-135 and a Minolta 20MM 2.8 (our 3rd one) to handle our wide angle and extreme close-up work. If you can get by without the 16-19MM and 21-27MM ranges I highly recommend this combo. The 16-50 was a great lens for us and I’ll miss the silent motor but in our business the best photos possible is mandatory.
For photo and video samples and in depth reviews of the camera and lens visit our site at http://www.abetterdj.net
Hi Nasim,
Is A77 controllable via a software?
As in we have the camera control pro for Nikon..
Thanks
Ragav.K
Updated from May 2 response:
Our photo business is very successful so we can spend all the money we want on cameras and lenses. That being said and after testing almost every camera/lens combo that makes any sense we are still sticking with Sony. Can’t wait until the new full frame comes out!
We now have our 3rd Sony A77! We are also back on board with the Sony 16-50 lens on 1 of them. I guess we had a bad copy with the 1st one as this one is extremely sharper.
Our arsenal now includes:
3 Sony SLT-A77s
Sony 16-50 2.8
Sony 18-135 (you’ll be pleasantly surprised by this one)
Sony 35 1.8 (awesome low light lens)
Minolta 80-200 2.8 (fantastic zoom lens)
Minolta 500 1:8 AF (awesomely sharp long distance shots)
2 Sony grips
3 Sony flashes
2 Gary Fong lightspheres (ya’ gott get 1 of these!)
and a Fuji x1-10 2.0-2.8 for places that won’t let us bring our big cameras (best rated low light PnS)
With the latest 1.05 firmware update Sony has fixed most of the minor bugs. Dial lag time is almost non-existent, on-off time is 20% of what it was, and the in camera lens adjustments are phenomenal. It is amazing watching the camera fix distortions on the LCD, especially with the new 18-135.
Http://www.rocklegensphotographers.com check out some of our concert shots!
http://rocklegendsphotographers.com forgot the D
Ordered my A99. Really looking forward to FF format.
I just got my a77 today, and upgraded to the firmware released 1/29/13, version 1.7.
I believe it switched the dials so that they are now the same as with Nikon or Canon. That is to say, turning the dial right decreases the aperture (raises the f/ number) and turning it left increases it (lowers the f/ number).
I noticed in the review this was a complaint, and thought it was worth mentioning they fixed it (because I would have found it annoying as well).
Thanks for your review Nasim, as usual, very helpful.
I’m ‘tempted’ over to the A77 from Nikon D7000, main reason is, I intend to go full frame soon and need to decide now, Nikon or Sony. In most reviews, the D7000 just edges in front for different reasons. My main concerns about a Sony system, would be the availability and price of the best lenses (Carl Zeiss) and much more relevant, the lack of choice of conversion options for ARW files. Image Data Converter is pretty basic to say the least, other converters may open ARW files but don’t support lens corrections for Sony lenses. Sony’s attitude seems to be ‘we produce great hardware which in turn gives you great jpegs, why would you want to mess with that?’ I haven’t checked but if the A99 comes bundles with IDC, well that would just be a joke in my opinion, they need to team up with Phase One or similar (for credibility) and pretty quick too.
hi Nasim,
Thanks For 2 Great Reviews On The A77 And The Nex 6, I Can’t Decide Which To Buy Between These Two And Hope You Can Offer Some Advice Please?
I’m Wanting To Get A Little More Creative In My Photography Rather Than Point And Shoot!
Great Site, Many Thanks,
Brett