Sony Alpha SLT A77 Hands On

 The Sony Alpha SLT-A77 is Sony's flagship SLT camera. Announced in August 2011 alongside the simpler A65 it features a 24.3 Megapixel APS-C sensor, 12fps continuous shooting with AF, full 1080p HD video at 50 or 60 frames per second and a 2.4 million pixel ultra high resolution OLED electronic viewfinder.
Like all SLT models, the A77 has a fixed semi-transparent mirror which diverts some of the light entering the lens to a new 19-point phase-detect AF array. Unlike traditional DSLRs where the phase-detect AF system is bypassed during live view and movies, it uniquely remains active on the SLT at all times, allowing fast and continuous auto-focusing whatever you're shooting.

There's also a cantilevered 3 inch LCD screen that's more versatile than conventional hinged screens and a backlit LCD top panel. Sony has also introduced a classy new kit lens for the SLT-A77 which moves away from the ubiquitous 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 offerings, for a 16-50mm f2.8 model that's both wider and brighter.

A built-in GPS receiver, along with a variety of stacking modes and the inclusion of Picture Effects, Face recognition and other consumer-friendly features combine to make the SLT-A77 an attractive proposition for both serious photographers and gadget enthusiasts alike. But can its innovative technology, wealth of features and solid build quality persuade Canon and Nikon fans away from semi-pro and mid-range models like the EOS 7D and D7000? Or are the compromises inherent in the SLT design still too high a barrier for potential Nikon and Canon defectors to overcome? Read my full review to find out.

Design and controls
 

The Sony Alpha SLT-A77 measures 143x104x81mm and weighs 732g with the battery. This makes it noticeably larger and heavier than the SLT-A55 before it, which measured 124x92x85mm and weighed 492g with the battery. Much of this is due to the A77's tougher build, which includes magnesium alloy components and weather-sealing on what Sony describes as key controls.
 

For the record, the A77 is a little narrower and shorter than Canon's EOS 7D, which measures 148x111x74mm, and a comfortable 168g lighter. One of the closer matches for the A77's vital statistics is actually Nikon's D7000 which measures 132x105x77mm and weighs 780g with battery, making the Sony a little lighter, but a little wider and thicker too.

Side-by-side with the Canon EOS 7D fitted with the EF-S 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM, the SLT-A77 with the new 16-50mm SSM kit lens looks remarkably similar. It's just a little smaller all round and appreciably heavier in the hand - the two kit lenses weigh almost exactly the same.

 

Moving onto the A77 body itself, other than in very general terms it's hard to draw a continuous line from the styling of the A700 DSLR and given the three year gap that's not surprising. Neither does the A77 share much in common with the A35 announced earlier in the year.

Lens and Stabilisation

The SLT-A77's body features SteadyShot Inside sensor-shift image stabilisation providing stabilisation for any lens you attach, including the new 16-50mm f2.8 kit lens which sports a number of features that put it a notch above what you might expect from a kit lens in terms of build quality and performance.

 

First let's look at the specification. The 16-50mm lens provides an equivalent field of view of 24-75mm on the A77. I personally find that a much more useful range than the bog-standard 18-55 range widely deployed by Canon, Nikon and Sony itself on many models. At the wide-end, an equivalent of 24mm captures a wider view than most kit lenses, while the telephoto end is just about fine for portraiture and you're not sacrificing a great deal compared with the 88mm equivalent of an 18-55mm on a Canon APS-C body.

Arguably more importantly, the 16-50mm f2.8 is also a very bright lens, no bad thing given that a significant proportion of the light it transmits never reaches the sensor, but the other neat trick this lens has up its sleeve is that the maximum aperture remains constant throughout the zoom range. So at 50mm it's still wide open at f2.8, making it significantly faster than the f5.6 aperture of most other kit lenses when zoomed-in.



Sample Images

Hands on Video