SONY A700 Review - luminous-landscape
Released in Sept. of 2007, the Sony A700 is a worthy entry in one of the most competitive DSLR market niches - the semi-pro or serious enthusiast level.
Clad in a tough magnesium alloy/polycarbonate outer skin, this camera boasts fast 11 point auto focus, with special overlapping cross type sensors in the centre for ultra precision, a 5 frames per second shooting rate, 12 megapixel file size, which is currently the largest file size available in this category (shared with the upcoming Nikon D300), a very fine resolution 3 inch LCD for image review, and HDMI output that will turn your large screen TV into a high resolution photo monitor.
The A700 has effective built in image stabilisation, lending a stabilising influence to every lens used with the camera, and an automated sensor cleaning function to keep dust bunnies under control.
It's an impressive and very capable package.
I attended the official Sony Canadian launch for the camera and had the opportunity to use the camera with a couple of different lenses and the well-designed accessory grip.
We also got to see the new HDMI option demonstrated on a 40 inch Sony Bravia TV.
Traditionalists may scoff, but the fact is fewer people these days are converting their photographs into prints (as proof of this, the three main commercial labs in Toronto have all either gone out of business or shifted to other business plans) and the HDMI option offers an alternative to viewing on the relatively smaller computer monitor. It could also be useful feature for client presentation and wedding studios.
On the full size screen the newer format is clearly superior to older methods of displaying on a television, even besting HD mode. The HDMI output truly does deliver impressive resolution, contrast and tonality to the big screen.
The camera can even be set to shoot in a more format friendly 16:9 ratio, which trims the top and bottom of the frame to fill the wide screen.
A couple weeks after the launch Sony Canada arranged to lend me the A700 with their new general purpose 16-105mm lens (24-158mm equivalent) for a couple of weeks.
During this time I used the camera for work and play, shooting images that were eventually published online, sent to clients and distributed to the media, and as well, some family and travel shots more in line with your typical enthusiast's use of the camera.
This article is not meant to be an exhaustive technical exercise but rather a user's perspective on how the camera performed in several challenging real world situations.
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