27.01.09
Sony Alpha 700 Review
Apparently there are 300 engineers beavering away on DSLR development at Sony HQ. Many from Konica Minolta’s high-tech camera basement after it folded in early 2006. This explains why the A700 looks so much like the Konica Minolta Dynax 7D, a six-megapixel machine from 2004.
Sony’s added a large dose of its own considerable expertise, especially with its new CMOS sensor, christened Exmor. The Alpha lens mount also comes from Konica Minolta, and both companies' relevant divisions combined into one group known as the Alpha Mount Camera division. That means you can use older Minolta optics compatible with the Minolta A-type bayonet mount, as well as Konica Minolta Dynax lenses.
On to Sony's new 12.2 megapixel Exmor sensor for a minute. Noise is problematic with high megapixel cameras that use smaller sensors because the pixels have to be smaller to fit and are thus less sensitive to light, so 12-odd megapixels is a lot to pack on.
The interesting thing about the Exmor is that it has lots of A/D processors built into the sensor itself. A/D – analogue/digital – conversion is the turning of the analogue output of the sensor into the digital zeros and ones that are fed on to the camera’s new Bionz processor, which turns them into a Raw or JPEG file. Sony claims that this results in lower noise, and there’s also less of a journey for the signal to travel. In fact, noise is low over the full seven ISO range.
I found ISO 200 the best speed to use for optimal image quality; it appears sharper than ISO 100, but only when viewing very closely. I also found ISO 100 to be more like ISO 80 in terms of exposure latitude.
The apparent sharpness at ISO 200 may be a result of a mid-range contrast boost, and while higher contrast often brings artefacts, pictures straight from camera are pleasing to the eye and punchy.
Noise is impressive up to ISO 1600, but it kicks in visibly at that speed and is especially noticeable at ISO 3200 and 6400, especially in shadow areas. ISO 6400 is an equivalent ISO speed that’s the result of a contrast and brightness boost at the processor stage.
To counter this, noise reduction is automatically activated at ISO 1600 and above, offering you the choice of Low, Normal, or High settings. Normal provides the best overall results as High softens edge contrast. An alternative is to apply Low noise reduction and use a more sophisticated program like Noise Ninja later.
There’s also noise reduction on exposures of one second and longer, which can be deactivated. I didn’t see much difference between it on or off, and the effects are virtually unnoticeable up to ISO 800, and then only on very close examination. On an exposure of 30 seconds, it took as long again for the camera to apply the noise reduction, which is irritating. There’s no noise reduction or sharpening with Raw files by the way.
The A700 also comes with seven Creative Styles, named presets for combinations of contrast, saturation, sharpness and brightness – Standard, Vivid, Neutral, AdobeRGB, Portrait, Landscape, and Black & White. Greens were warmest in Landscape and Vivid, and pleasant in AdobeRGB. I found Neutral gave a flat, blue result to greens. Three of these add a Zone setting option, available with Raw and JPEGs, which is another manipulation of the tonal range of a JPEG.
For example, a shot of a bride dressed in bright white might blow highlights, so shoot on Zone -1 and the high end of the tone curve is adjusted to bring out detail. Likewise, with low-key shots, shoot on Zone +1 or Zone +2. This lightens the shadows by widening the low end of the tone curve. I found I could simulate the effect of Zone -1 in Photoshop’s Adobe Camera Raw by boosting the Recovery slider to +20.
I could also mimic the effect of the Dynamic Range Optimizer Level 5 (DRO Lv5) in Photoshop’s Shadows/ Highlights window by boosting the Shadows slider to around +50. Setting Zone to +2 boosted image shadows in a similar way, but also increased the exposure of the sky. I found that setting Zone to -1 reduced the exposure of the sky by half a stop without affecting shadows, so combined with DRO Lv5, you are in effect compressing the tonal range of an image – the appropriate curve in Photoshop would be S-shaped, with shadows lightened and highlights darkened.
While on the subject of viewing, the A700 is HD ready. If you want to display your pictures on an HD television, the A700 has an HDMI output and outputs images at 1920x1080 pixels (1080i). An A700 picture on a Sony Bravia HD flatscreen looked impressive when compared with the same picture on a standard monitor.
The autofocus system is activated by Eye-Start AF, thanks to two small windows situated underneath the viewfinder eyepiece that sense when your face is near. The A700 also uses a grip sensor to minimize false starts, but I found it didn’t work so well and turned the whole thing off.
AF performance is very fast and responsive, even focusing on low contrast, white Venetian blinds through glass at 10 metres, both horizontally and vertically. The metering system works well, and the 40 honeycomb segments can be relied upon to produce stunning pictures, including strong backlighting. I found the spot-metering option, as always, a blessed inclusion to allow me to choose my own exposure and thankfully it’s selectable via a switch on the rear rather than in-menu.
Auto white-balance performance is good, though in the mixed lighting interior of a London pub I achieved better results with a white-balance aid such as ExpoImaging’s ExpoDisc and a worthwhile inclusion in anyone’s gadget bag.
Pictures are stored to CompactFlash or Sony's proprietary Memory Stick PRO-HG format. Raw files take up around 18MB of space, while finest quality JPEGs occupy 5MB. cRaw files are compressed losslessly to around 13MB and I couldn’t detect any loss in resolution or colour rendition and the files will print just as large as full Raw too.
In burst mode, the A700 captures five frames-per-second thanks to a double-stopper anti-bounce mirror mechanism. I don't know what that is either, but it sounds like fun. If you shoot Raw and JPEG together, the camera records the JPEGs at Fine quality rather than Extra Fine, and there is a small difference in resolution when viewed very closely.
You can fit 40 Raw+JPEGs on one 1GB CF card, or 52 Raws, 77 cRaws, 94 Extra Fine JPEGs or 176 Fine JPEGs, which gives a rough indicator for higher capacity cards. Convert the Raws to TIFFs in Photoshop and in 8-bit you’ll be working with a 35MB file, which at 300dpi prints at 14x9.5in. You get about 12 shots in Raw before the buffer’s full, which takes 16 seconds to clear, and 30 shots in JPEG Extra Fine mode, which takes 16 seconds for the buffer to clear.
That’s fast for a mid-range DSLR. We used a SanDisk Extreme III card but there are benefits to using a super fast card like Lexar’s 300x UDMA, one of the fastest currently available. We shot 16 images in Raw before the buffer filled and it cleared in eight seconds. Still using this card, I shot 123 Extra Fine JPEGs and it took just five seconds before the buffer cleared. That’s really fast.
Sony has added some stunning Carl Zeiss optics to its Alpha range, made in Japan. The top-quality Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* DT 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 ZA optic is capable of truly stunning images with great resolving power, but costs a hefty £465. The standard kit lens is also capable of crisp results, and should not be overlooked, though it’s let down by lower edge quality at wide apertures.
Purchase the A700 with the kit lens, and you’ll be able to get some superb results; it all adds up to a very capable camera.
DYNAMIC RANGE OPTIMIZER ON
The Dynamic Range Optimizer rescues shadow detail, though it’s limited to JPEGs. There’s a choice of two auto modes and five levels in Advanced, which analyses 1200 segments in the frame, boosting shadows without changing lighter tones. I found Level 5 best, simulating a stop increase in exposure in shadows. You can’t change it once shot, but shoot a Raw file and it will contain the same detail.
SPECIFICATION
Manufacturer: Sony
Model: Alpha 700
Price: £1100 with DT 18-70mm
Distributor: sony.co.uk
Resolution: 12.25-megapixels
Lens mount: Sony Alpha (Minolta A-type)
Magnification: 1.5x
Sensor: 23.5 x 15.6 mm CMOS
Autofocus: 11-point auto metering 40 segment, CW, spot (2.2%)
ISO range: ISO 100-6400 , 1/3 EV steps
Shutter Speed: 30-1/8000sec, in 1/3EV steps, plus B
White-balance: Auto, six presets, custom
Viewfinder: Optical glass, 95%
Monitor: 3in TFT, 921,600 dots
Flash: Built-in flash, manual popup GN 12 (in metres at ISO 100)
Image formats: Raw, JPEG (three levels), cRaw, Raw+JPEG
Image size: 4288x2856 pixels; 4272x2400 in16:9 format
Storage media: CF I,II (UDMA/Microdrive) Memory Stick Duo/PRO/PRO-HG;
Shooting Speed: 5fps at H, 3fps at L. Up to 12 frames in Raw+JPEG, 16 frames in JPEG Extra fine
Self-timer: 10 sec. / 2 sec. delay, with mirror-up function
Depth-of-field preview: Yes
Battery: NP-FM500H (7.2 V); good for approx. 650 shots
Dimensions: Approx. 142x105x80mm (WxHxD)
Weight: 1090g (with battery, memory card, lens, body accessories)
PROS AND CONS
LCD monitor screen, top class resolution, solid build, three Zeiss optics, Super SteadyShot, anti-dust sensor shake, D-Range Optimizer
No Live View, obvious noise at ISO 3200, top fascia buttons awkward, no top-plate LCD
THE VERDICT
The A700 seems targeted at the middle DSLR bracket. But with a £1000 body only price, it’s pitted against the £1100 Olympus E-3, and the £1300 Nikon D300 and EOS 5D. The A700 is precariously priced as I feel it’s a rival to the EOS 40D, which costs £250 less, while other rivals are more pro-spec.
Nonetheless, there’s very little to moan about. It has some nice touches like the superb LCD screen and Dynamic Range Optimizer. And importantly, it delivers on its promise in terms of picture quality. If you can afford it, add a Carl Zeiss optic, and you’re really talking. But you’re also looking at £1500 for the kit. For close to that you could buy the Canon EOS 40D twins lens kit, with the EF-S 17-85mm and EF 70-300mm IS USM.
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