Sony Alpha 700

Many of the manufacturers previously content with sitting at the more beginner end of the DSLR scale seem to be ascending the ladder, with Olympus recently announcing the E3 and now Sony bringing the a700 to the fore. Where aspiring photographers can be wowed by the extra controls and versatility by stepping up from a compact, the majority of users in the market for a D80 or Eos 40D is well versed in utilising a camera. Because of this the a700 has to be a vast improvement on a slightly underwhelming a100, as the needs of the more advanced photographer are different from those starting out.

The first box to be ticked is the build, as making a plastic body that won’t stand the rigours of constant use will soon be found out. The a700 is at the very least robust, having plenty of weight and bulk on the first pickup.  In a similar move to many of its peers, Sony has opted for a magnesium body, adding the kind of strength required for long journeys at the bottom of a camera bag. The whole body is tightly constructed and there are no deficiencies in the seams or covering flaps. Sony has opted for rubberized socket covers rather than solid flaps, which are far easier to reattach. As with most DSLRs the body is more about functionality than looks, making elements such as the button placement all the more important. Each control needs to be simple to get to without having to spend too much time away from the viewfinder.

The back of the camera is reasonably standard, offering the usual slew of post-shooting controls to the left of the screen. To the right are some slightly more useful buttons, including a rather hand function, or FN control. This allows the display to become interactive via the joystick, so each of the on screen values can be selected and altered as required. For the sake of speed and simplicity for newcomers to the camera type being able to spot a value and alter it quickly will be extremely useful until the shortcuts are located. The thumbstick is also one of the more useful variations on the D-pad, as each direction is definite enough not to be confused and even the push-down feels solid. This is all the more important as pressing the thumbstick like a button acts as a half press on the shutter release, making it handy for portrait shots. Above is the slightly over cramped and awkward to use metering switch, which is both far too stiff and small to be used quickly. The presence of a metering shortcut makes the absence of a similar focus switch to change between spot and multi-zone all the more confusing. Employing the FN button and using the thumbstick may not be particularly taxing, but the lack of a quicker option is a little annoying for a high-end camera.           

Button bashing

In a departure from even its own previous model, the a100, Sony only uses a single mode dial. Sitting to the left of the viewfinder rather than the more common right, it fills itself with a rather confusing amount of scene modes instead of giving the Memory Recall, or MR function more space. As a result whenever MR is selected on the dial the user then has to pick between the three profiles using the thumbstick. With the extra space dedicated to modes unlikely to be used at this level of camera it would be far more logical to give each MR mode a slot instead. With space on the mode dial clearly in such high demand, it’s perplexing as to why so much space is free on the opposite side, especially when a top LCD isn’t present. With only the Drive, ISO and White Balance controls taking up any significant space a small screen could easily have been placed in, or even some other shortcut controls.

Fortunately the smaller annoyances fade away after using the camera for a short while. Clever touches such as the rear display switching depending on the orientation of the camera and the speed of response in most situations act as a reminder as to why more is being paid over a lower end SLR. The screen is easy to read at a glance, and the information contained can be spotted quickly without the need for text. Changing a setting is reasonably simple as a result, with the values kept straightforward and the thumbstick perfect for the task in hand. Sony’s battery system keeps an accurate eye on the battery life remaining as well, making it far more useful than the three segment indicator normally employed that gives the user little idea of the remaining time. As clever as these small touches are, as well as the home cinema friendly HDMI lead, they don’t quite explain the extra cash needed to purchase the a700 against the Nikon and Canon equivalents. Depending on the store around £150 of difference between similar single lens kits of the Eos40D and a700 can be found, with only the 2MP quality gap acting as an indicator. Any new DSLR will have to compete with the twenty plus years worth of lenses compiled by the established manufacturers, so asking for more money in exchange for a comparatively limited system seems crazy. Even if the mount is the same as Minolta’s AF system used for the Dynax SLR series the choice is fairly limited compared to the big hitters, and the variety isn’t massively impressive either. Only the image quality can really act as a justification for the price difference, as the level of versatility in the system is dependent on a mount that hasn’t had the time or opportunity to build up the kind of lens portfolio that will attract users of more established variations.

Quality control

One of the more annoying issues with the a100 was the tendency to stick to the bluer end of the colour scale, knocking much of the punch out of red-dominant images. The a700 seems to suffer from much the same problem, which is especially apparent in the studio. Although the levels of detail are high and every blemish picked out with ease, the lack of red doesn’t massive favour human subjects. Outside of the studio colour performance is generally passable, but still lacks the punch of many of the cameras rivals. Some of the blame can be levelled at the CMOS chip, which are less proficient at reproducing the depth in high frequency colours, such as red, than CCD. Canon’s Eos 40D employs the same technology and doesn’t seem to suffer at all, so the execution, rather than the technology itself, may be the culprit. A higher level of saturation may be indicative of a loss in detail, but a subtler approach can keep something of a balance between the two.  Similarly the focus is decent rather than stunning, which may again be down to the makeup of the camera rather than the hardware. The focus indicator works perfectly in darker environments, but once outside and locked onto lighter subjects it has an annoying tendency to disappear. Although the issue may not be as imperative when the relevant area has been locked down to the centre, when multi-zone is employed it can become quickly frustrating to guess which area will come out sharp. Landscape images are reasonably well dealt with, and a few of the later shots appeared without much in the way of noise. Technically the images can rarely be faulted, but little stands out to make the a700 seem like anything more than a half step-up from the models below.

Sony’s initial attempt at a DSLR had elements of a winning camera, but seemed too much like an old body with new technology, and had issues with colour balance undermining the impressive levels of detail. Although the a700 tempers a few of these issues it seems the same fate befalls it anyway, with an overly blue cast making many of the images seem far too cold. Detail is excellent though, and actually using the camera is relatively simple, as there are plenty of intelligent touches to make the entire experience easier on the user. Most of the internal electronics work fine, the screen is easy to read and actually comes in handy on more than one occasion, and the body is robust enough to feel as if it could take a hammering. Even though all of the attributes make up a decent, if not stunning, camera the competition is fierce enough to make the average seem poor. Add to this the comparatively limited selection of lenses and accessories as well as the extra expense in purchasing an a700 and there isn’t a particularly huge amount to recommend it over the rival models. Hopefully the future will bring the fight a little closer, but at this level mediocrity won’t win Sony too many plaudits.