More thoughts on my A77

[johnstra]

There is no such thing as a camera that is right for every job but as amateurs we cannot own them all. So we have to look for the best compromise and I think that the A77 is as near as can be achieved in APSC format. I have sold my medium format film kit as the 24MP of the A77 renders it superflous - and I needed the money to buy the A77. The trouble with the NEX7 is that it has relatively slow focusing and so is not suitable for action shots, it costs more, it cannot be used with studio flash and once you attach a lens it is not particularly compact either. Neither one thing or the other in my opinion. I do have a compact as well, for when the A77 is too big and heavy.

I have not run into the limited buffer problem yet. To be honest though I have not taken much action so far. The response of the camera is excellent. There is no noticeable shutter lag. The pellicle mirror and the electronic first curtain shutter mean that compared to a normal SLR it is near silent. This can be a great boon in certain situations and I am surprised that the reviews never seem to mention it. The weather sealing is very welcome, probably even essential - this is the UK. The lcd screen is a boon too for those low angle shots. The sweep panorama works well albeit in jpeg only. This camera is made for raw. You will get better results using raw and ACR via Photoshop or Lightroom. The autofocus seems to be better than the A700 and there is micro focus adjustment for those wayward lenses. There are many things that I have yet to try out. In fact it is a very complicated camera but thanks to the ergonomics can be used without worrying about the many advanced functions. If you want to dig deeper Gary Friedmans excellent ebook is essential. The Sony instruction book is frustrating to say the least.

That's it for now. I hope that if anyone is thinking of buying one of these my comments will help but you will need to experience the viewfinder first to make sure that it is for you.

[Birma]

Thanks Bob, usefu l to have another user review.

There is much comment on A77 noise on the web. How does it compare with the A700?

[johnstra]

Birma,

I have not done any proper tests of one v the other yet. When I get the A77 back I will try to do that. However I would say that subjectively they look at first sight to be about the same, but you have to remember that the A77 has a higher resolution. If you reduce the image size to that of the A700 the A77 is better I think. I am just taking a few moments off from work at the moment. later I will see if I can sort out how to post a 3200 iso example that I took as a quick test. What I do know is that Adobe Camera Raw 6 made a huge difference compared to the previous versions. Using this I got an immediate improvement and results that you cannot get fom the in camera jpeg. I wonder if version 7 as found in CS6 or Lightroom 4 is even better? I don't know how other raw converters compare.

I think that most of the comments re the A77 having bad noise are made by people who pixel peep but never take a real photograph and/or are Canikon fans that like to slag off other makes to make themselves feel better. I have seen some really stupid comments such as 'the Canon 5D Mk 3 is much better'. Well of course it is. The A77 is at the high end of what is reasonably affordable and is an APSC camera that has been designed to give stunning quality at lower isos, which in my opinion is the right compromise. The 5D Mk3 is a full frame for professionals or rich boys and is much better at taking pictures in conditions that most people rarely encounter. Having said that we all know that Nikon in particular seem to make a much better job of in camera processing. But why would you spend all that money on a camera and not use raw? It's like buying a Ferrari and only using second gear. Oh, I will probably upset someone with that comment. There is a place for jpeg for sure.

[mikeriach]

Birma,

I have no complaints about the noise on the A77.
Usually don't go further than ISO400 and found that it can be quite effectively dealt with in LR.
Happy bunny!

Mike

[Birma]

Thanks Bob and Mike. Sounds good to me

[kaled_201299]

I've the A77 and it has been fantastic for taking shots of my kids. Focussing is accurate and the camera is fast enough to keep up with fast moving objects at close range (children).
I'm a lazy photographer and most interested in getting 'the shot' so I often set the 8fps and pick the best shot from the many taken (it is amazing how much children move, even their face expressions in a short time).
Anyhow, the real point I wanted to make is that even at high fps, if you use a Sandisk Extreme Pro SDHC card (95mb/s edition) - I rarely if ever encoounter any slow down in continuous shooting of the kind I do - bursts of 5 to 8 shots with a pause. Pauses can be a second or 2, but equally, can be a simple lift and then repress. This card does make a big difference, even compared to the older 45mb/s edition.

[Juanito200]

I just bought an a77 today. I look forward to putting it through its paces, and comparing it to my a700. From a very brief first impression, I like the capabilities of the camera, but the interface will take a bit of getting used to...I will update as I grow more familiar with the camera.

John

[bakubo]

Looking forward to hearing more as you get familiar with the new camera.

[Dr. Harout]

Congratulations John. Make the best use of it. And remember to tune the EVF (Fn --> Creative Style --> Portrait --> Contrast -3)
You will love the EVF.

[Birma]

Congratulations John Looking forward to seeing some shots from it and further impressions.

[KevinBarrett]

Grats John! Now go use that 24 megapixel sensor to scrutinize your G lens!

[Juanito200]

Thanks guys- I have been putting it through its paces, and I will give a report after the football game Friday night. I think that will be the biggest test for me.
John

[Mark K]

Dear Bob
That is a very encouraging comment about A77, the camera accompanied me for the past 12 months. The Canon 7D's latest firmware upgraded unquestionably gives me hope for similar thing to happen on A77, with better buffer, faster fps, cleaner high iso images etc etc.

There is no such thing as a camera that is right for every job but as amateurs we cannot own them all. So we have to look for the best compromise and I think that the A77 is as near as can be achieved in APSC format. I have sold my medium format film kit as the 24MP of the A77 renders it superflous - and I needed the money to buy the A77. The trouble with the NEX7 is that it has relatively slow focusing and so is not suitable for action shots, it costs more, it cannot be used with studio flash and once you attach a lens it is not particularly compact either. Neither one thing or the other in my opinion. I do have a compact as well, for when the A77 is too big and heavy.

I have not run into the limited buffer problem yet. To be honest though I have not taken much action so far. The response of the camera is excellent. There is no noticeable shutter lag. The pellicle mirror and the electronic first curtain shutter mean that compared to a normal SLR it is near silent. This can be a great boon in certain situations and I am surprised that the reviews never seem to mention it. The weather sealing is very welcome, probably even essential - this is the UK. The lcd screen is a boon too for those low angle shots. The sweep panorama works well albeit in jpeg only. This camera is made for raw. You will get better results using raw and ACR via Photoshop or Lightroom. The autofocus seems to be better than the A700 and there is micro focus adjustment for those wayward lenses. There are many things that I have yet to try out. In fact it is a very complicated camera but thanks to the ergonomics can be used without worrying about the many advanced functions. If you want to dig deeper Gary Friedmans excellent ebook is essential. The Sony instruction book is frustrating to say the least.

That's it for now. I hope that if anyone is thinking of buying one of these my comments will help but you will need to experience the viewfinder first to make sure that it is for you.