Sony A77

[longvale]

I have my beady eyes on a heavily discounted A77 body and 16-50 lens, however I'm reading all about these so called mushy JPEG's due to heavy handed noise reduction, and the evf contrast blowing out hilites etc which cannot be corrected it seems. Anyone got any comments?

[peterottaway]

Well if you exclude the EVF haters and the other brand fanboizs hiccup!!

I have the A77 with both the CZ 16-80 and the Sony 16-50 lenses and I have been very satisfied. But bear in mind that I usually shoot RAW with ISO 50-400 except for casual snaps and most sports where I use JPEG between ISO 200-800 and fine or extra fine. And its Canon that has a deserved reputation for smothering detail at high ISO although in the past Sony was justly criticized for the poor quality of its JPEG engine as it seems to have ignored Minolta's know how in this area.

As to EFV, I find that once you have accepted that an EFV is not an OFV then on the A77 it works well. It has a similar magnification to a FF OFV, it doesn't have the smearing noticed on older EFV, you can adjust the relative brightness in the menu including boosting under dim lighting, you can display a histogram and check the effects of altering exposure etc. Remember with the EFV you are in Live View all the time because what you are seeing is a take directly from the sensor so it is getting close to WYSIWYG. With OFV you don't have any feedback from the sensor.

[bfitzgerald]

It's not WYSIWYG on the EVF that's for sure and I tire a bit of this old argument being used. Yes it gives you some idea of the final image, but the EVF is quite contrasty and not always that close to the final output.

The ONLY way to really find out if you get along with the SLT Models is to go down to a shop and try one. That is the best way to work things out. You can read pros and cons from users all day long, but you have to really see for yourself if you like it or not. Clearly I'm in the don't like EVF camp, some like them..some don't care. Really down to personal choice.

[Dr. Harout]

This is from a RAW image shot @ ISO 6400 with the 70-300 G

[Juanito200]

That is incredible Doc! I want one!! It would help with my forthcoming marching band work... Now if I can just sell it to the missus!

[Almazar80]

Love the picture, Doc! A good illustration on what someone who knows what they are doing can do with the A77. My take on the A77 is that I actually like the EVF. I don't find the JPEGs mushy but then again I shoot RAW+JPEG. The A77, 16-50 combo is a good one. Though I also like the A57, 18-135 combo.