At the beginning of 2006, Sony took over parts of the camera business of Konica Minolta Holding Inc. to present the Alpha 100 as the successor to Dynax 5D in the same year. Now comes the Alpha 700 with high-class equipment. With 1300 euros (without lens) it is priced at the level of the new Canon EOS 40D. Because of the unchanged bayonet, the Alpha 700 is fully compatible with the Minolta system. In the case, the designers mixed components made of plastic and magnesium, and an aluminum chassis stabilized the design. In addition, the body is sealed against dust and moisture.
The ergonomics are convincing, the haptics are not quite as good as with Nikon D300 and Canon EOS 40D. Apart from this rather subjective impression, the case underscores the semiprofessional claim. Optional is the battery handle VG-C70AM for high-resolution pictures. It has a magnesium housing and works with two NP-FM500H lithium-ion batteries as they are also used in the camera itself. In addition, the handle offers many buttons, which can also be found on the back of the case, with a further control dial and an additional joystick. This allows the camera to be operated optimally even in a vertical position. The engineers designed the battery handle so that it exactly matches the handle integrated into the housing. So you do not have to adapt to the encompassing. Disadvantage: In sum, there is a lot of chunks on the camera.
The program dial has changed from the right to the left side of the upper part of the housing, with the Alpha 700 in addition to the standard exposure programs (Auto, P, A, S, M). If you set the wheel to MR, you can choose between three previously saved setting profiles. On the free area at the top right of the housing, some direct selection buttons for the drive mode, for white balance and ISO setting, are floating. Behind the shutter, for the pointer finger, the exposure compensation button can be found, the shutter release button is located on the front. The second is located at the rear of the handle, optimally accessible for the thumb. The functions of the standard 4-way switch are replaced by a space-saving joystick with a pressure function at the rear to confirm the set values. The combination is initially a little habituation, but it does well.
On the back is a lot of buttons and switches with the goal of fast access to important settings. Example 1: The exposure memory button is surrounded by a triple-ratcheting adjustment ring, which allows you to select the exposure metering method (matrix, center-weighted-integral, spot) without dipping into the menu. No less convenient: The AF / MF button switches between automatic and manual focus. The C key is used in the playback mode to display histogram (RGB + brightness) and recording data, but in the recording mode it becomes the direct selection key for one of 15 menu items or functions that the user can assign himself. Using a sliding switch, you activate the built-in image stabilizer, which is called "SteadyShot" by Sony.
The 3-inch monitor has a very high resolution of more than 921 000 pixels and turns out to be more eye-catching, detailed and brilliant. A status LCD on the top of the camera has been omitted, but the monitor shows exposure values in the shooting mode. And this in a very intelligent way: on the one hand, a sensor is used to determine whether the photographer holds the camera in the transverse or portrait position, and the display is adapted accordingly - a helpful function which can also be switched off if necessary.
On the other hand, Sony has also the Olympus Fn-key made part of the operating concept. This means: After pressing the Fn key, the setting screen with all current parameters is displayed, use the joystick to change to the desired field, where you can directly make changes via one of the two setting wheels. If you press the joystick after selecting the field, the corresponding menu opens. This is also true for those functions that can be selected using direct-dial buttons, such as exposure compensation.
In this case, however, the path via the Fn key offers the possibility to access the exposure and lightning correction in parallel. The two bar counters lie directly above one another, which increases the clarity. In addition, you have much faster access to the flash exposure correction than the main menu, which unfortunately does not notice the last selected entry, so you have to search again and again when changing an entry several times. The total of 70 menu items are sorted by type of card-type riders, 13 in number.
The camera's playback functions benefit from the size and quality of the monitor. For example, in the single-image view, five thumbnails can be displayed above the current photo: You can see the selected image and the two images before and after that, which makes the overview easier.
With a trigger delay including an AF time of 0.32 seconds, the Sony achieved an average result. However, the soft pressure point of the trigger is absolutely exemplary. The autofocus operates with 11 measuring fields, of which, however, only the middle one is a cross sensor. Individual AF points can be easily and quickly selected using the joystick. The autofocus is supported in poor light by a built-in auxiliary light which according to the manufacturer extends up to seven meters. Thanks to "Eye-Start" the focus begins sensor-controlled already when the photographer leads the camera to the eye. However, since this can also be annoying when the camera dangles in front of your chest, this function can also be disabled.
The electronically controlled shutter allows exposure times between 1/8000 and 30 seconds, as well as a shortest flash sync time of 1/250 s, which extends to 1 / 200s with the image stabilizer activated. In the exposure programs, the synchronization time is extended to 1 / 60s, depending on the lighting situation, to give the existing light a chance. For consistent long-term synchronization, press the exposure button (AE) while the shutter is released, then illuminate with the time-aperture combination and fill-flash to match the ambient light.
The Konica Minolta flash control ADI incorporates the distance to the subject (if the lens supplies this data), alternatively pre-flash measurement is possible without distance measurement. With manual flash control, the power output can be controlled between 1/1 and 1/16, since in this case no pre-flashes are emitted, this mode is well suited for use with inexpensive servo-blitz devices from third-party manufacturers. Also possible is wireless system flashes with external flash devices like HVL-F56AM and HVL-F36AM. The CMOS of the Alpha 700 records images with a maximum resolution of 12.2 megapixels, whereby the resolution if necessary also to 6.4 or 3.0 Megapixels. The camera uses CompactFlash or "Memory Stick Duo" as storage media. The frame time is five frames per second, stored until the card is full, without the player having to take burdensome time outs. The measured resolution is 1335/1358 LP / BH at ISO 100/400 on the high level of the professional camera Nikon D2Xs. Very good values are achieved with noise. The price-comparable competitors Canon EOS 40D and Nikon D200 are a bit better in this discipline. From ISO 1600 an additional noise filter can be connected. Up to 6400 ISO are possible, but then grieselt's solid - in the concrete case, however, better than no image at all. The camera achieves outstanding values in the dynamic, especially when the "Dynamic Range Optimizer" (DRO). This function, which extends the dynamic range, was used in the measurements by default, which resulted in measurements of 9 screens per ISO 100/400. For example, the dynamic expansion with manual adjustment ("advanced: level"), stage 3, is more effective. The manual adjustment is a total of five stages, of which the first three are generally sufficient. In addition, there is an automatic function ("Advanced: Auto"), the effect of which was located in the test motif between the default setting and the manual setting, level 1.
The DRO function essentially brightens the shadows, so you should "expose to the lights" to bring a maximum of tonal values into the picture. Disadvantage: The visible noise increases at ISO 100 in the lightened shadow areas, but this will usually be the lesser evil compared to loss of tone. In the standard setting, the measured value VN is 0.8, the DRO level 3 is VN 1.2. Practically, the bracketing function can also be extended to the dynamics extension so that, in addition to exposure and white balance series, DRO series are also possible.
With the Alpha 700, Sony introduces a "filmimulation", which is also used by other manufacturers. In the so - called "creative mode" you find presets (picture styles) such as standard, vivid, neutral, portrait, landscape and black and white Different parameters. Most image styles are based on the color space sRGB, the alternative is AdobeRGB, which can also be found under the image styles.
Conclusion
With the Alpha 700, Sony becomes a strong competitor in the semiprofessional class over 1000 euros. With a price of 1300 euros, the new Alpha is located in the price range of the Canon EOS 40D and a distance from the Nikon D300 (not yet tested, estimated price around 1800 euros). For this purpose, it provides excellent equipment, good workmanship and a non-self-evident combination of sensible functions. With the picture quality, the camera reaches a top score of 62 / 61.5 points at ISO 100/400, which is currently only surpassed by the Canon EOS 1 DS Mark II. Overall, the Alpha 700 scores with the Nikon D2Xs and the Canon EOS 1D Mark III, which have proven their qualities as proven professional cameras - even more robust magnesium housings and (as in the case of the EOS) an extremely high image frequency of almost 10 B / s . The fact that Sony has renounced the alpha 700 on a live view function, may be different users evaluate differently. On the positive side, however, most of them would rate the built-in image stabilizer (SteadyShot). It can be seen that the Alpha 700 does not appear as a price breaker, but as a solid tool for ambitious digital photography wants to be taken seriously. The camera has undoubtedly achieved this goal.
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Sony Alpha 700
Enchants with 12 Megapixel a very good to good border resolution. The image stabilizer is due to the fact that it creates the Sony camera as a shopping tip. The picture quality is good, but does not approach the high values of some cameras in the category of semiprofessional devices. The strong picture noise with higher sensitivity pulls the values down, first the Sony is still neat, but at ISO 1600 it remains below expectations. With a brief trigger delay, she once again makes good ground, ends up in her category in the upper midfield.
Sony Alpha 700
