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The EVF Will Change The Way You Use Your Camera (For The Better),
My rating reflects the camera as a whole. I bought it, use it and love it, but I’m going to take a different approach here and review one aspect of this camera: the viewfinder.
Most of the professional reviews I’ve found for the Sony a77 (dpreview, etc) are entirely missing the point. The electronic viewfinder alone is reason enough to consider this camera a step up from a traditional DSLR, even if the DSLR you were comparing an a77 with had identical specs. I’d say the a77’s viewfinder is a pleasure to use (and it is), but even that is missing the point.
This viewfinder will change the way you use your camera. It’ll change it for the better because it gives you greater control over the camera than you’ve ever had before.
Because the viewfinder is an OLED video screen in the eyepiece instead of being a typical piece of glass, you’re seeing something entirely different. Something more useful.
An optical viewfinder shows you what the lens is seeing. An electronic viewfinder shows you what the sensor is doing. Think about that for a moment. Let’s say you own a Nikon D7000 and you boost exposure compensation. Do you see any change in the viewfinder? Of course not. You’ll see that change in the photo you take. That’s how SLRs have always worked, even back in the days before digital. Ah, but with the electronic viewfinder in a Sony a77, when you boost exposure compensation, you’ll see the image in the viewfinder become brighter, just as the shot you take will be brighter.
An even simpler example: Look through the viewfinder of a DSLR and choose an exposure point. Pick a dark spot. Nothing changes in your viewfinder, right? Pick a bright spot. Do you see any change in the viewfinder? Of course not. But, in the a77 viewfinder, you see the exposure change because the viewfinder is showing you what the camera is doing rather than only showing you what the lens is seeing.
Here’s how most of us probably used our DSLRs: You pick the camera up to your eye. You look through the viewfinder to frame your shot, etc. You take the shot and then pull the camera away from your eye so you can review the shot you just took, using the LCD screen on the back of your camera “Ah, shoot. Blown highlights.” You lower exposure compensation, put the camera viewfinder to your eye, frame up the shot again and take it again. Then check it again on the LCD screen on the back of the camera.
In other words, it’s a game of switching from viewfinder to LCD, LCD to viewfinder, etc etc etc. Back and forth.
With the electronic viewfinder in the Sony a77, you don’t have to do that anymore. You can literally see the changes you’re making in the viewfinder. And, better still, you can set up your viewfinder to review the shot you just took for 2 seconds (or 5, though I find 2 to be enough). So, you take the shot and immediately see the shot you just took without moving the camera.
This electronic viewfinder is an absolute pleasure to view, and it can do some amazing things.
Want a level laid over the shot you’re about to take? Put it in your viewfinder.
There’s an excellent tele/crop feature in the a77 that drops the 24 megapixel sensor down to 12 and doubles the length of your lens’ reach. Thus, a 50mm lens becomes a 100mm lens, and you’re seeing this change perfectly in the electronic viewfinder.
There’s also an option to check your focus. Click a button and the viewfinder will show you a super-zoomed in view so you can check the precision of your focus. There is absolutely no way this sort of thing can be done with an optical viewfinder.
I’ve seen so many reviews talking about the weaknesses of electronic viewfinders in comparison to optical viewfinders, but they fail to mention the weaknesses of optical viewfinders. Now that I’ve made the switch to an EVF, I’d really hate to have to switch back. After using the viewfinder in this Sony a77 for a day or two, you’ll realize just how limiting an old fashioned optical viewfinder really is.
Specs only tell you what a camera is capable of, but as we all know, photography isn’t about the camera. It’s about the photographer and the photo taken. The viewfinder in this camera will give you, as a photographer, more control over your camera than you’ve ever known. The buttons and dials give you control over the camera, but the EVF literally puts you inside the camera. It’s an awesome experience. I suspect that, ten years from now, most DSLRs will have electronic viewfinders.
I certainly wouldn’t want to go back to an optical viewfinder after using this thing. No way.
UPDATE: Two years later, and I love shooting with my a77 more than I did when I wrote this review. I also realize how much I didn’t even mention, such as Focus Peaking, just to give one example. Again, that sort of thing simply…
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|A worthy successor to the A700,
The Camera Fairy blessed my porch last Friday and handed me an Amazon box which upon opening, disgorged a familiar black and orange Alpha box with my A77 body inside, safely cushioned in bubble-wrap. In addition to the charger, manuals and ads, software CD, neck strap and USB cable, there was an empty space (sadly) for the kit lens. Since I already own a very nice Minolta 28-75 f/2.8 standard zoom, I passed on ordering the A77 with the new 16-50 f/2.8 SSM “kit” lens. I put quotes around “kit” because the new 16-50 is anything but a standard starter lens. It has a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture, solid build and is weather-sealed to match the A77. Though not designated as a “G” or “CZ” lens, in tests it approaches the performance of Sony’s excellent 24-70 f/2.8 Zeiss and is actually designed to fill the same effective focal length range on the APS-C cameras that the 24-70 does on full-frame. I planned on replacing my Minolta lens with the Zeiss next year but this new “kit” entry seems to be a serious alternative and since it is designed for the smaller APS-C sensor, manufacturing cost savings make it a heck of a bargain at half the price.
Look and Feel
If you have never handled a pro or semi-pro camera body, the tactile difference between a polycarbonate and magnesium alloy shell is immediately noticeable. Even though the body only weighs a little over 1½ lbs (without lens), it feels solid. It has a rubber grip that extends around the back on the right to cover the thumb rest area. The grip itself is deep and fits my medium-wide hands comfortably with a secure feel when holding it one-handed. The body is a little taller than the A700 but more rounded with a matte finish that gives it a no-nonsense appearance. I wouldn’t base a camera purchase on how pretty it was, but I appreciate the look of a well-made tool whether it is a Kitchen-Ad mixer, a drill press or a tripod. The A77 is a well-made tool and that makes it pretty to me!
It’s What’s Outside That Counts
The control layout is a bit different than the A700 but the main controls are similar enough that I was comfortable with it after only a few minutes of fiddling with them. Sony’s Quick-Navi menu system from the A700 is gone but the replacement is not a step backward. All of the main functions except stabilization on/off can be accessed either with a dedicated button or on the LCD with a press of the function button. the The stabilization on/off being relegated to the menu instead of having a dedicated button was surprising at first, but after thinking it over, I decided that I really never switched it off unless it was for one of the rare times I was using a tripod (or by accident) and all too often I forgot to turn It back on. Having it on by default and being able to set the menu to come on in the same position that you left it is a workable alternative to having a dedicated switch. One addition is the movie button. Yes, movie. The A77 is the first DSLR I’ve owned that can do movies and in addition to a full movie mode on the mode dial, there is a record-it-now movie button that lets you start a recording of that unexpected UFO encounter with your default settings at a moment’s notice. Now I just have to remember that my DSLR takes movies!
The LCD screen is the same size as the one on the A700 and has the same extremely high resolution but with improved brightness and contrast making it easier to see in bright light. Unlike the A700 the A77’s LCD is articulated. Very articulated! The mechanism is very sturdy and can be tilted or swiveled into almost any forward, rearward or sideward position. It even allows you to flip the screen inward in the collapsed position for protection.
The top of the body includes the aforementioned dedicated function buttons plus a monochrome LCD with it own dedicated backlight button that displays the basic camera settings at a glance. The selection on the mode dial is a little different from the ones on the A700. The multiple scene modes are replaced with a single scene mode position and the various modes are now chosen on the rear screen using the joystick control. The additional scene modes have been replaced with settings for Movie mode, 12 fps shooting mode, Sweep Panorama and 3D Sweep Panorama.
The pop-up flash has a new mechanism that slides the flash forward and up to reduce the chance of the lens/shade blocking it. There is also a button to pop the flash up rather than the manual flip-up on earlier 7-series models. On top of the flash is another new thing for me…there’s a microphone on my camera! Maybe I’ll have to try this movie thing after all. The autofocus mode switch near the lens hasn’t changed but the depth-of-field preview can now be programmed to show either depth of field or a preview of scene settings.
Inside counts too
The first “inside” part that I checked out was the viewfinder. After reading all…
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|REVIEW of the new SONY SLT-A77|SONY 16-50 2.8 LENS,
Update 4-23-14
Haven’t updated in a while so here we go!
We are now on bodies number 15 and 16 of these fabulous cameras. We shoot a lot of photos so we change out bodies every 3-4 months so we don’t run the shutter count too high and ruin the resale. We shoot 250,000-300,000 photos a year currently. Sony has fixed the bug that made me have to keep rebooting my first camera, as a matter of fact we’ve had zero camera problems since the first 3-4 bodies. We believe that this is the perfect camera for what we do and will continue to use them until they are no longer available. After trying several point and shoot zoom cameras we also settled in on a Sony HX-50. It is an excellent 24-1200MM 20MP camera with excellent video. I use ours for all of our video needs exclusively 😀
UPDATE 12-11-11
Last week we put our 2 SONY SLT-A77s through the ultimate test.
We were the official photographers on the Rock Legends Cruise and shot over 9,000 excellent photos over 3 days. I had to only reboot my A77 3 times but my wife did not have to reboot hers at all.
We shot about 65% of the concert photos with no flash in low natural stage light and got amazing results with very little ISO noise problems.
We also shot our 1st and 2nd rock videos with the A77 and were amazed at the results. I was set up about 15 feet from the main PA system right stack and the sound was not blown out even though I only used the on-board microphone. The stereo sound is crystal clear and other than some faint wind that was picked up the audio was perfect!
We’ve received hundreds of compliments on our concert photos and many are from Canon and Nikon users 😀 They have already been published on several online rock magazines and there are a lot more to come 😀
ORIGINAL POST:
We were going to preorder one of these SONY A77s here on Amazon but my wife and I don’t have enough patience … plus we didn’t want to risk the initial shipment from Sony being sold out before it arrives in the US… so we ordered 1 from a Hong Kong E seller Sunday night and received it this morning (Wednesday). (only $1329 delivered!)Wooohooo!
It’s quite a bit bigger (than our A55s) but it’s not too big for my wife’s normal sized female hands. It’s a lot heavier (than our A55s) but not too heavy for her to use(she’s our top WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER). She’s been shooting 5 straight hours with it now with 3 different lenses.
The new SONY A77 looks absolutely awesome! Sony has put all the buttons for everything nicely placed right on the body. There is very little need to go to the menu. The manual seems very comprehensive and since we already had 3 A55s it was very easy for us to breeze through and just highlight the new stuff.
As far as photo quality if you are upgrading from an A55 we didn’t expect too much more than the size/definition you gain with a 50% increase in MPs. We were wrong, the photos are phenomenal! If you are upgrading from another camera brand you will be stunned! My recommendation to all you Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus, and Fuji users… If you are thinking about upgrading your outfit, DO IT! Sell everything you have and grab one of these revolutionary new cameras and some legendary MINOLTA LENSES, or the SONY 16-50, “G” Lenses, or Carl Zeiss lenses. You will be opening up a whole new world of photography excellence!
The 1st 25 quick photos we shot with an APO Minny 100-300 look excellent on our 42″ TV!
Update 10-14-11
We have now shot almost 5,000 great photos including 2 weddings. The 2nd wedding we shot was outdoors on a dreary, gray, rainy day and the photos came out fantastic. As a matter of fact they were so good that we sold our last 2 SONY A55s and ordered another SONY A77 with the 16-50 2.8 LENS which will arrive Wednesday-Thursday next week.
We shot the 1st 5,000 shots with version 1.02 and experienced none of the issues that others have seen. We updated to version 1.03 yesterday, but since we had no issues we really don’t have a comparison.
Update 10-24-11
We now are the proud owners of 2 of these beauties plus the new SONY 16-50 2.8 lens. The camera and lens go together like peanut butter and jelly! They are so fast together that the finished photo has appeared on the screen before the subject has finished saying “cheese”!
We have shot our 3rd wedding, our 1st with good lighting. The photos that we took were nothing less than stunning. We are off today to shoot our 2nd engagement session and we are both like kids on Christmas Eve with every new opportunity to shoot. This camera grows on you every day and even though we have had the 1st one almost a month it is still exciting to use.
UPDATE 10-31-11
We have now taken over 6,000 excellent photos with our 2 SONY SLT-A77s. So far zero problems with either camera. We went out yesterday and shot with a…
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