Sony A700 User Review

By magic lighthouse

Cameras

11 May 2008 00:25

The Sony was purchased as a replacement for my trusty Minolta Dynax 5D. The start was not good as after a few weeks I noticed certain shots that contained bright highlights had a diffuse glow around them. Having experienced this with CCTV cameras that had not had the protective film removed from the sensor prior to assembly, the A700 was returned to Sony and was quickly repaired (but with no real details of the fault!!). The Sony is a pleasure to use and produces excellent results (now!). Some reviewers have criticised the menu system and operation of the camera but I find it fast and intuative. The things that are used more frequently like ISO, meter mode and drive settings are all seperate buttons so can be changed quickly. The 2 second delay acts as a mirror lock up so means this can be activated without delving into the menu. The joystick is also a good feature that speeds up operation in a number of ways including menu scrolling and quick navigation of the functions. My only minor gripe is that in hot weather when fingers are a bit clammy it becomes a bit slippy. This is not a major concern as the two control wheels can be used instead. The camera seems to be aimed at the semi pro and can be customised to your preferences. There are three preset memories that can accept a mutitude of settings as well as more white balance settings than you could shake a stick at. The three inch rear LCD is superb for checking the camera settings and reviewing images later but I wish it was not so attracted to greasy skin, its the anti-glare coating I am told. The viewfinder eye sensor that initiates the focus as the camera is brought up to the eye is one thing I would sorely miss if absent. The Minolta had it and I just got used to it but missed it when I borrowed a friends DSLR. The hand grip is secure and comfy and the steady shot appears to work well. The lens mostly used is a Sigma 18-200mm non stabilised zoom handed down from the Minolta but the higher quality of the Sony is showing up the slight fringing of the lens to a greater degree. All in all I am quite happy with the camera and will probably keep it for a while but think a better lens may be the next purchase.