SONY
SONY ALPHA SLT-A77
Being part of the Sony DI Challenge, we were
bestowed with their current semi-professional DSLT, the Sony Alpha A-77. I
previously mentioned in one of my challenge blog that I will make personal view
about it and let all of you know the experience that I had. Many of us photographers
always talks about the brands of Canon and Nikon, it is an endless debate that which
among them is superior.
I started my study of the craft way back summer
of 2009 and my first DSLR is a Canon and then made my crossover to Nikon after
3 years. So I can say that I had the feel of both system and I can at least
make my assessment and comparison this time with Sony. I’m sporting the Alpha
A-77 for a month now and most people who see me carrying it out around my neck
would ask me, is Sony a good brand?? I’ll tell you my unbiased review with it.
The
camera is powered by 24mp CMOS Sensor, currently the largest megapixel in the
semi-pro level on the market to date. It brags a 12fps continuous shooting with
19 autofocus that makes them on top of other models. There are other good
stuffs that you will find amusing like the 2.4M dot OLED viewfinder, Pull-out
three-hinge tilt/swivel 920k dot LCD screen and built-in GPS to name a few. If
you haven’t checked out the full specs of it, click here for more.
The
Pros.
Let
me begin with built of the A77, it has a chunky solid look but its exterior has
a plastic feel on it. The grip handle is pretty good providing nice ergonomic on
the unit that you will not feel it can slip out of your hand. The unit body looks
patterned on a Nikon body (no pun intended) where you have two wheel dials, on
the front and back where you can adjust your aperture and shutter speed
respectively. The placement of their buttons is a bit confusing, a lot to
toggle and familiarize, but getting the hang of it makes you realize that they
made it all to ease up the burden of going into the menu button.
The
pull-out three-hinge tilt/swivel 920k dot LCD screen is a gem because you can
preview your photo anytime in an open area even the sun is shining at its
brightest on the day. Unlike the conventional LCD screens where you need a dark
cloth and go underneath it just to preview your shots. The tilt and swivel
feature is a big help for the user to take top and bottom angle shots a breeze.
The built in GPS is a nifty feature where you can embed the location of the
photos you have taken, Thank you Sony for graciously including it and not
having it as an external accessory.
Now
I’ll talk about the image quality, having a 24mp sensor onboard its body does
raise a question, did they excel? All I can say is that it gave me goose bumps
when I took my first photo. The marriage of the 24mp CMOS sensor and the BIONZ
processor chip gives out outstanding richness in colors and details. I can say
that they even surpass their competitors at the semi-pro level in terms of
image output quality because you can feel the pixel per pixel details of it. Comparing
it with Canon where photos are having noticeable hue of redness and Nikon with
yellow, the Alpha A-77 have a nice balance of hues and tone.
The
technology of the translucent mirror made the focusing so accurate as if you’re
a sniper locking a target on every subject you take, so you won’t worry to miss
a shot. A dead-on tack sharp images on every click of the camera.
If
you do sports photography then you’ll go “loco” with the 12 fps feature of it. Immediately
you’ll notice the difference with a conventional DSLR were usual clunking
sounds that you hear in the shutter mechanism and while the A77 was built with
a translucent mirror make sounds so smoothly just like a .45 caliber pistol
with a silencer. The camera literally shoots fast and can track its subject
with accuracy thanks to its AF system. Imagine it as a high end mid level
camera at par to those pro cameras with its speed.
The
Cons.
I
am done with the good part, now let’s turn our attention on the flaws that I observed
while using it. During the presentation of Sony on our kick-off meeting, we
learned that the camera functions 100% electronically. That time I had a doubt
in my mind that it will consume the battery power faster. I was correct all along;
the battery gives out more power because of 2.4M dot OLED electronic viewfinder
unlike the conventional DSLR’s optical viewfinder which doesn’t need
electricity to run. So it means that if the camera is turned off you can’t peep
on the viewfinder because it will not work unless power is on.
The
firmware has lag on its wheel dials; it doesn’t respond precisely every time
you need to adjust things immediately, a delay of fraction of a second. If you’re
going to ask me, is it a big deal? The answer is yes, for moments or events
that you want to catch and you need to set a proper exposure, then probably you may miss it,
unless you are going to photograph a non-moving subject then the delay will not
matter. Photographers always looks for a responsiveness of their gears, they
are like dancing partners doing a Tango or Rumba act, so the camera must
correspond with its user accordingly. Sony I hope a firmware upgrade can give a
remedy for this.
I
am a confessed beauty and glamour photographer so most of my photos are being
shot in the studio. I know that Alpha A-77 was purposely made for people in
action (Sport photographers) but having a 24mp sensor I can’t resist trying it
for my forte. I felt downhearted when I saw that Sony doesn’t have the standard
ISO hot-shoe, that’s the bust of the deal
right there. Most of photographers nowadays like to recreate lights whether
indoor or outdoor shoots, without a chance to slide on a PW plus II transceiver
it gave me a hard time hanging it on my wrist while connecting it through the
sync port just to make it work on the studio light.
Lastly, OLED electronic viewfinder is counterproductive
for studio use. The viewfinder turns pitch black due to the use of high number
of apertures like, 8, 10 and 14 while compensating it with low level of ISO, an
ordinary settings for a studio shoot. It is contradicting to the saying “what
you see is what you get” you don’t see anything when you peek onto it, so you
need to put the camera in a tripod, dial down the shutter until you can
envision the subject, set your focus while dialing back to the set shutter
speed then click. It is an agonizing experience for a studio shoot.
Overall.
If you guys are an outgoing
person who loves the outdoors then this camera is for you. Landscapers would
love to have this on their arsenal because it really gives superb colors and
details without the help of colored filters. This camera plays along with the
ambient light very well and the GPS will be an advantage to embed the right coordinates of your shots.
Sports and nature enthusiast will
embrace it with its high 12 fps and accurate focusing if they want to freeze their
subject at its best. Pairing it up with a telephoto lens is a sure fire combo.
If you are a strobe person who likes to
play with artificial lights, I don’t recommend it even you buy the additional stuffs
you need to enable the trigger device of your lights. You’ll just have an
excruciating experience with it.
My final verdict.
It is not an all
around camera that you can use on every type of shoot but with it's performance it deserves to be on a high level along with its competitors. All cameras have their limitations
and by careful research and knowing the strength of it will be beneficial to your
advantage. This is still must have on the bag.
Don't forget to cast a vote, you may help me out to win the Sony DI Challenge by following the instructions below.
Great review :) Well said.. congrats!
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