Sony Alpha DSLR A700 Camera - Performance and Image Quality
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Overall, the A700 is a very quick shooting camera that is capable of shooting five frames per second in continuous shooting mode. DPReview had this to say about the A700's performance: “in our continuous shooting test the A700 proved to have a good buffer and fast processor and was limited only by the performance of the storage card.”
Shot-to-shot times vary, but they average about .41 seconds between shots when shooting extra fine large JPEGs. To get the best performance, it is recommended that you use Compact Flash cards instead of Sony memory sticks. Sony memory sticks seem to create a longer buffer time between shots.
Downloading photos from the A700 to a computer is an exceptionally fast process. Here's what Imaging-Resource had to say about that: “download speed to a host PC was blazingly fast, easily among the very fastest (if not the fastest) we've seen on any camera to date, at over 10 megabytes/second.”
Battery life of the A700 is relatively good and you can expect to get about 650 shots before needing a charge. As I mentioned earlier, you can equip the A700 with an optional vertical grip accessory that will house an additional two batteries and give you a lot more battery power.
Image quality is excellent overall, but Imaging-Resource did notice a significant difference between JPEGs and RAW image files taken with the A700. They said, “in-camera JPEGs (even in Extra-Fine mode) lose significant detail, particularly in areas of subtle contrast...careful processing of its RAW files delivers really exceptional detail and tonal nuance.” They add, “You'll certainly still get acceptable snapshot-quality images from the JPEGs, but the RAW image quality is really of an entirely different level."
Steve's Digicams agrees that the shooting performance is excellent and overall image quality is good. They go on to say, “with 12 megapixels of resolution, impressive shooting performance, superb image quality and the combination of Super Steady Shot image stabilization and anti-dust technology, this camera is a very worthy contender.”
DPReview also thought the A700 was a great performer with very good image quality. One thing they didn't like, though, was how the A700 automatically applied noise reduction to RAW photos. This effectively eliminates the ability to apply your own noise reduction through third party sources. With that minor gripe aside, they very much liked the A700 and they especially liked that it was priced lower than most of the competition, such as the Nikon D300 ($400 more) and Olympus E-3 ($300 more).
Ratings
DP Review: 8.7 out of 10, “Highly Recommended”
Steve's-Digicams: Good choice for people who want to upgrade from a Minolta camera, or for first-time DSLR users.
Lets Go Digital: 82 out of 100, “Excellent”
Trusted Reviews: 9 out of 10
Camera Labs: 87 out of 100, “Highly Recommended”
Cumulative Rating: 8.4 out of 10, “DevHardware Recommended”
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