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For some years now, Sony has watched from the sidelines as Canon and Nikon have duked it out in the high-end APS-C market with the 7D and D7000 respectively. Now, Sony re-enters the ring with a new contender, the Sony Alpha SLT-A77. The only SLT in the high-end APS-C market, it uses an electronic rather than optical viewfinder, and brings to the table a new 24MP sensor, an extremely high-resolution (2.4M dot OLED) viewfinder, a new 19-point AF sensor and, most impressively, 12fps full-resolution shooting. Are all these features enough to net the A77 the APS-C crown?
Key Features and Specifications
- 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor
- 12fps continuous shooting with autofocus
- 1080p 60fps movies with autofocus
- 2.4M dot OLED viewfinder
- ISO 100 - 16,000 (25,600 with multi-image combination and downward expansion to ISO 50)
- Auto ISO with customisable lower- and upper-limits
- Three-hinge tilt/swivel 920k dot LCD screen
- Built-in GPS
- Built-in stereo microphones and external mic socket
- AF micro-adjustment
- Dust-shake sensor cleaning
| Specifications | SONY SLT-A77 |
|---|---|
| Body Material |
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| Sensor |
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| Anti-Dust System |
|
| Image Sizes |
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| Sweep Panorama |
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| 3D Sweep Panorama |
|
| Video Sizes | NTSC:
PAL:
|
| Aspect Ratios |
|
| File Formats (Stills) |
|
| File Formats (Video) |
|
| Lenses |
|
| Focus Modes |
|
| AF Modes |
|
| AF Assist Lamp |
|
| Image Stabilisation |
|
| Exposure Modes |
|
| Scene Modes |
|
| Picture Effects |
|
| Sensitivity |
|
| ISO Steps |
|
| Metering Range |
|
| Metering Modes |
|
| AE Lock |
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
| Exposure Compensation |
|
| Shutter Speed |
|
| White Balance |
|
| WB Fine Tuning |
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
| Colour Space |
|
| Image Parameters |
|
| Drive Modes |
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| Continuous Buffer |
|
| Self-Timer |
|
| Flash |
|
| Flash X-sync Speed |
|
| External Flash |
|
| Viewfinder |
|
| Live View |
|
| DOF Preview |
|
| Orientation Sensor |
|
| LCD Monitor |
|
| Playback Functions |
|
| Connectivity |
|
| Print Compliance |
|
| Storage |
|
| Power |
|
| Dimensions |
|
| Weight |
|
Build-Quality and Handling
With it's laundry list of features, few would argue that the A77 is targeted at higher-end consumers to professionals. It's build quality reflects this as well. It features a combination magnesium alloy and high-quality plastic body that feels extremely robust in-hand. The A77 is Sony's first weather- and dust-sealed camera body, as can be seen from the image above. The result is a solid camera body that feels like it could take anything that mother nature can throw at it.
As a high-end camera, the A77 is loaded with buttons that give direct access to its vast array of features. Additionally, several of these buttons are customisable, allowing users to tweak the operation of the camera to suit themselves. The AEL, AF/MF, and even ISO buttons can be customised to access 1 of 28 functions, which will delight those that enjoy deep customisation of their camera-operation.
A joystick is present where one's thumb would naturally fall, making operation and in-camera menu navigation comfortable and ergonomic. As can be seen from the image above, many additional buttons are a short thumb-reach away; familiarity with the camera will allow users to access functions without having to take their eye away from the viewfinder.
As highlighted earlier, the A77 has a three-hinge tilt/swivel 920k dot LCD screen. While it's not the highest-resolution LCD screen in the market today, we did not find it's slightly lower-resolution to be a problem in use. Sony's interface also layers a myriad of information along the sides of the LCD screen, making all sorts of shooting information available at a glance. The three-hinge tilt/swivel capability of the screen also allows users to shoot from all sorts of unusual angles. The screen is even able to swivel up above the camera and face the subject, as can be seen in the image below.
The electronic viewfinder is truly excellent; it is the highest resolution EVF in the camera market today. Its progressive updating means that it's essentially free from tearing, a problem that plagued the previous generation of EVFs. Add the fact that users are able to preview exposure compensation, white balance, and a myriad of other settings, and we have a recipe for success. The EVF also allows the relatively small APS-C sensor to have a bright and large 100% FOV viewfinder, something that optical viewfinders aren't able to do.
High-Speed Shooting
With a 12 frame-per-second burst rate, the A77 is touted as the fastest APS-C DSLR in the market today. The two GIFs below shows just how much you can capture in a one-second burst. Each GIF has 12 frames, and each frame displays for 0.2 seconds. Consider that each GIF represents 1 second of real-time action, and you have a great idea of just how fast this camera really is.
Unfortunately, high-speed shooting is limited by the A77's small buffer size. With a buffer size of only 13 images (extra fine JPEG or RAW) and up to only 18 images (JPEG standard), you quickly run into buffer issues. Typical usage with a Sandisk Extreme Class 10 30MB/s is as follows: a full 12 fps burst followed by a maxed out buffer and approximately 1 fps continuous shooting. The A77 does accept UHS-1 SD cards though, so those are likely to improve performance. However, don't expect to be able to shoot at 12 fps continuously for more than a second or two.
Noise Performance
The above scene was shot at increasing ISO levels, with only adjustments to shutter speed to ensure the same exposure across frames. Please click the thumbnail to view crops of the photos in order to compare noise at increasing ISO sensitivities.
Noise is a non-issue up till ISO 800. At ISO 1600 to ISO 3200, noise becomes noticeable at 100% crops, but still remains at a very useable-level; unless you specifically look for noise, you're not likely to notice it's there. At ISO 6400, sharpness starts to take a hit. ISO 12800 and ISO 16000 are nice to have when getting the shot takes precedence over image quality - a lot of details and sharpness are lost - but are not ISO sensitivities one would typically use.
Quirks
Unfortunately, our experience with the A77 wasn't all smooth sailing. Although the firmware on our camera was a full 1.0 release, navigation between menu items was noticeably laggy, with a slight delay when moviing between items. Loading the menu via the menu button sometimes took long enough that we wondered if we had pressed the button hard enough. Hopefully, this will be fixed in a future firmware update.
Another issue is the activation of the viewfinder when putting the camera up to the eye; we found that the sensor below the EVF wasn't as sensitive as we'd liked it to be, failing to activate the EVF almost half of the time. That said, this problem seemed to occur predominantly with the reviewers who wore spectacles. Something to note if you're considering this camera.
Conclusion
If you can get around the A77's quirks, the camera is great to shoot with. AF is snappy, and the shutter makes a rather futuristic 'swish' sound that grows on you. As mentioned, the A77 isn't a spray-and-pray camera: time it well, and the 12 fps burst is excellent for capturing action and sports. Abuse the 12 fps mode, and you'll quickly find yourself buffer-limited when you really need the speed.
What the A77 really offers the enthusiast is options: options for high-speed shooting, options for scene modes, options for excellent video capture, all wrapped up in an ergonomic, well-built, and highly customisable camera body. If you're already invested in Sony's SLT system, the A77, is a natural upgrade. Even if you're not, the A77 is a worthwhile look if you're in the market for a DSLR with high-speed shooting capability.
Sample Images
All images are JPEGs straight-out-of-camera. Only minor cropping and resizing have been done.
All images shot with the Sony DT 16-50mm f/2.8 SSM.
f/5.6, 1/60s, ISO 1250
f/2.8, 1/80s, ISO 1600
f/3.5, 1/1000s, ISO 640
f/2.8, 1/320s, ISO 100
f/2.8, 1/100s, ISO 800
f/2.8, 1/80s, ISO 1250, +0.7EV
f/2.8, 1/80s, ISO 800, +0.3EV
