Getting used to a77

[Dr. Harout]

Day by day, I'm getting used to the a77, to its functions, buttons, but... much more slowly to the EVF. After more than 3 decades of OVF it's getting kind of hard to change to the newer concept. Though, my guess is the future is for EVF. Probably some of you would agree, some will not as for others will "philosophically" say that OVF and EVF both will stay.
I do not want to get in debates... just let us remember the "war" of accepting or not AF system, then another "war" on analogue versus digital...
It's a rugged camera and very comfortable to the grip. The texture of the a700 is slippy somehow while the a77 is less.
I hope I'll be of help for people to make decision in buying one or not, and if I succeed to persuade any of you to buy, then please do mention here and who knows maybe one day Sony will grant me a 300/2.8 lens
I will compare my new toy with my former one, the a700. After all relativity counts.

What I really really like:
- the shutter sound. much much less than its successor, even less than a55's due to front curtain shutter.
- LCD
- the design (it really looks sexy)
- much comfortable and brighter viewfinder (you don't need to adjust the diopter of the viewfinder that much, and with a brighter one means you are more at ease than a dimmer viewfinder be it OVF or EVF)
- It is fast and quick

What I don't like (but can live with it):
- one card slot
- after you switch the camera off, it will take up to 5-6 seconds for shutdown.
- that question mark button...
- whenever you try to adjust the diopter... there you go, you have activated the video recording.
- do not remove an external flash immediately after switching the camera off. Wait till it shuts down or else your camera might "hang" (removing the battery fixes the issue).

What I should learn yet:
- the EVF

Enough for now. I'm still experimenting.
As for the SAL1650, I will disagree with David. It is a wonderful lens (I'll open a new topic soon in "Lens lore" so stay tuned if interested)

Will be glad to answer your questions (non-scientific ones )

[Dr. Harout]

Did I tell you that my Rokinon (Samyang) 85/1.4 lens works brilliantly with the a77v?

[Birma]

Thanks for the update Doc .

[bossel]

Thanks Doc, I am sure you're going to love it! Keep us up to date how its going

[pakodominguez]

What I don't like (but can live with it):
- after you switch the camera off, it will take up to 5-6 seconds for shutdown.
- do not remove an external flash immediately after switching the camera off. Wait till it shuts down or else your camera might "hang" (removing the battery fixes the issue).

Really?
What memory card are you using?
In my own experience, using Sony branded MS makes everything smother, specially the turn on/off lag.

[aramkostanyan]

Good one Doc.
But, can I ask one a bit scientific question? ))))
There is a shot nearby my university, which has A77 in stock. So I "sometimes" go and take the camera in hands. I use A55 so I can see a huge difference in EVF. And will disagree about the lag that was reported, when you change the aperture and shutter speed.
One more thing, I think, that you should really like the marching ants (focus peaking) with Rokinon wide open it will really help you to focus, as with OVF its really hard to focus it at 1.4. As I like that lens very much. What will you say about this Doc?

[Dr. Harout]

...Really?
What memory card are you using?
In my own experience, using Sony branded MS makes everything smother, specially the turn on/off lag.

MS Pro HG Duo 16GB (Sony). I did not notice any switch on lag. As for the switching off, the LCD/EVF immediately turns off followed by (up to 5 sec or so, sometimes 2 sec) a shutter-like sound.

Good one Doc.
But, can I ask one a bit scientific question? ))))
There is a shop nearby my university, which has A77 in stock. So I "sometimes" go and take the camera in hands. I use A55 so I can see a huge difference in EVF. And will disagree about the lag that was reported, when you change the aperture and shutter speed.
One more thing, I think, that you should really like the marching ants (focus peaking) with Rokinon wide open it will really help you to focus, as with OVF its really hard to focus it at 1.4. As I like that lens very much. What will you say about this Doc?

I did not feel such or any lag when changing shutter or aperture.
Yes, the focus peaking and the magnifier are both wonderful things. Should've included them in "really really like".

[bfitzgerald]

Couple of questions!
Not sure I read DK not liking the 16-50mm maybe I missed that somewhere.
Points about war on AF/MF it never was a war because you can use either. Same with film and digital you can still use both.

With an EVF you have no choice.
I've had a quick peek at the A77 yesterday and I can see the EVF is much improved over the A55, didn't have enough time to really try much out but I think DK's assessment on blocked up shadows in higher contrast scenes and his points overall seemed pretty on the mark. I can't see myself being comfortable using such a camera I'd find it a barrier for my shooting style.

Anyway enjoy the camera

[agorabasta]

Latest Nexes are also very slow to fully switch off. They just turn off the displays immediately, but the lenses are disengaged only in a few seconds.

Memory cards have no effect on the time to switch off if the cam is not busy writing too much to them.
In fact, the max speed of all operations, including high-speed shooting and turn-off, is achieved without a card inserted - that's the best way to check things like buffer/processor max operation speed with the Sony cams.

[Dr. Harout]

Couple of questions!
Not sure I read DK not liking the 16-50mm maybe I missed that somewhere.
Points about war on AF/MF it never was a war because you can use either. Same with film and digital you can still use both.

With an EVF you have no choice.
I've had a quick peek at the A77 yesterday and I can see the EVF is much improved over the A55, didn't have enough time to really try much out but I think DK's assessment on blocked up shadows in higher contrast scenes and his points overall seemed pretty on the mark. I can't see myself being comfortable using such a camera I'd find it a barrier for my shooting style.

Anyway enjoy the camera

David mentioned it somewhere in the forum not in his article, as I remember.
Barry, I meant "war" not war... too many of my friends were against the introduction of AF lenses, saying that would destroy photography and creativity. Frankly, I was influenced too. The same for analog vs digital.
As for the EVF, I guess the next generation will be much much better, at least I hope so.

[Dr. Harout]

Latest Nexes are also very slow to fully switch off. They just turn off the displays immediately, but the lenses are disengaged only in a few seconds.

Any idea why is it so? After all a55/33/35 don't show such a behavior.

[agorabasta]

Any idea why is it so? After all a55/33/35 don't show such a behavior.

It must be for the same reason as why the computers turn off longer than calculators. They write the routines termination states into some internal non-volatile memory.

P.S. Also, to terminate correctly some routines have to wait for the other; that extends the process further.

[bfitzgerald]

I did look into the ? button aspect and I was puzzled on this one too it seems you cannot customise this button on the A77..but evidently you can the ISO, WB ones etc etc.

That is a bit strange because I very much doubt anyone would change the function of those 2 buttons, yet the ? doesn't appear to be a very useful button at all

[Magnar Fjortoft]

... I can't see myself being comfortable using such a camera I'd find it a barrier for my shooting style.

I think the photographer's shooting style is essential.

For me, who mostly decide the crop before putting a preset camera to my eye, the electronic viewfinder is superb.
Also, this kind of viewfinder is excellent for critical focus check, no matter bright or low light.

[bfitzgerald]

Well it's down to taste and you can never really get a good idea with a quick grab in a shop but it's better than nothing.
I can see some advantages for sure like the focus peaking, overlays and histogram etc.

On the other hand I have grade A1 eyesight so I don't find it that difficult to MF with a DSLR
It's a nice body no question very solid build design wise again it's down to personal preference. But ultimately I'm just more comfortable with an optical viewfinder.

If somebody gave me the cash to buy one I'd just walk out with a K-5, that's not because I love that system I've far more A mount stuff to use. But it's "all round" much more my kind of camera, nice and compact, very strong build, excellent handling and control placement...and critically for low light work the 16mp sensor is about the best there is. The overall package is what I'm getting at here. The A65 is a smaller A77 and again pretty nice minus a few bits it should have.

I think it's a shame really Sony don't want to play ball with the K-5 A mount idea that would be about the only thing that would drag me back to A mount. As it is right now I am gradually selling off what A mount stuff I have. You could say I'm conservative and don't like change, but change isn't always a good thing for everyone.