Sony (briefly) reveals all about Alpha a700 DSLR

Yup, Sony's Advanced Amateur DSLR is definitely called the a700, and we've definitely got all the specs for you, courtesy of a just-posted Sony UK flash mini-site -- which suddenly went down, so these details are all from memory. We're talking about a 12.4 megapixel CMOS sensor backed by a BIONZ image processor, 3-inch, 921,000 pixel LCD, 3200 maximum ISO (with a ridiculous ISO 6400 "expanded mode"), 11 point autofocus, and wireless flash support. Furthermore, the Super SteadyShot and anti-dust features seem to have been given a boost over those found in the a100, MemorySticks now have their own dedicated slot next to their CF brethren, portrait grip is now possible, and while other metrics have also improved, you'll be paying for it in the form of almost 100 fewer shots on a full battery. No price or release date have been given, of course, but maybe we can get a little more info from Sony now that the cat's out of the bag. Check out the gallery below for a few more screen grabs...

Update: Looks like the UK mini-site is back up; hit the Read link for the full show.

Gallery: Sony (briefly) reveals all about Alpha a700 DSLR

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[itai @ Sep 5th 2007 12:08PM]

Not briefly!!!

http://www.sony.cz/staticcontent/flashprojects/dime/alpha_microsite_a700/index.html?xmlFile=/res/xml/xmlfile/53/1187079491053.xml&bandwidth=high

This site still works, with all the official info.

[Grodesh @ Sep 5th 2007 12:13PM]

I'm not impressed anymore by ISOs under 20000, thanks to the D3 and its ISO 25600 (or something like that).

[Preston @ Sep 5th 2007 12:17PM]

With an ISO that high, I would there would be too much noise. I guess I'd have to see and try it out first.

[Temple @ Sep 5th 2007 1:27PM]

Sony does build the Nikon sensors for their DSLRs as well; this sensor should be the exact same sensor as the Nikon D300. Also the D3 is a $5,000 camera, this alpha-700 is likely floating just above a $1,000.

[Richard Clafton @ Sep 5th 2007 12:15PM]

UK site now online!

http://www.sony.co.uk/staticcontent/flashprojects/dime/alpha_microsite_a700/index.html

[Preston @ Sep 5th 2007 12:15PM]

Wow, I really like the animation. It's a pretty site, haha. The specs on it look pretty good, but I don't understand the language the site is in. It should be interesting to see how the new Sonys compare to what Canon and Nikon just came out with.

[Erwos @ Sep 5th 2007 12:17PM]

ISO 6400? Sounds like a noise-fest to me, huge sensor or not.

[Dan @ Sep 6th 2007 3:43AM]

The old Konica Minolta 5D this has evolved from had a maximum ISO 6400 that was usable. It was streets ahead of any other high ISO mode at the time. It was using a 6mp sensor, which would naturally produce less noise than a 12mp one but, in theory, developments since should be able to handle excessive noise even on a 12mp sensor.

[DanGleesacks @ Sep 5th 2007 12:22PM]

Even more... does the fun ever stop... I hope not :)

[Squeamish @ Sep 5th 2007 12:23PM]

>(with a ridiculous ISO 6400 "boost mode")

IS it the same sensor as the Nikon D300? If so then the ISO 6400 shots are definitely not ridiculous.

[Bogdan @ Sep 5th 2007 12:34PM]

No Live View on LCD? Lame.

[Dan @ Sep 5th 2007 12:45PM]

This is for advanced users, and what advanced user actually uses their screen to take photos on a camera? I'll take the Super Steady Shot built into the Alpha over the gimmicky live view any day.

This camera sounds great from all the specs I have read thus far. If performance matches or exceeds the big boys from Nikon, Canon, and even the old KM5D, Sony has a big seller on their hands.

[Chris @ Sep 20th 2007 11:30PM]

Is there a DSLR that *does*?

[Bogdan @ Sep 5th 2007 2:43PM]

@Chris:
A lot of them actually do:
Nikon D3, D300; Canon 40D, Olympus E-510, E-330.

[Chris @ Sep 5th 2007 3:17PM]

Very cool. This seems like a new development. How long have they been making DSLRs with this? And I don't understand Dan's comment: "gimmicky"? This is the same functionality we would see on a point-and-shoot, no? How is that gimmicky? Indeed, SSS is nice though, especially for my not-so-steady hands.

[Shaocaholica @ Sep 5th 2007 3:08PM]

Live view is not gimmicky and not just for the average user. You can use a super zoomed in/cropped live view to fine focus for macro shots or anything else and get the focus dead on instead of shooting over and over. You can literally watch the output of the pixels on the sensor converge to the best attainable sharpness with live view. Something you can't do even with a split prism focusing screen or super fine matte screen.

[Gerald @ Sep 5th 2007 12:49PM]

Looks a lot like the DSLRA100K
http://www.pixideal.ca/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=2594&category_id=13&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=73

[Richard @ Sep 5th 2007 2:39PM]

All the new ones from Canon and Nikon? It might not be a selling feature, but it's still useful for that one in a millionth situation.

[Strack @ Sep 5th 2007 12:54PM]

...

[Genuis Bartender @ Sep 5th 2007 12:57PM]

920,000 DOTS not pixels. Looks like Sony pulling the same trick as Nikon. It's VGA resolution.

[Vincent @ Sep 5th 2007 1:33PM]

Yes, this is most likely correct. It should VGA like the Nikon, which is better than what the other manufacturers are using, but only a little better.

[Stuart @ Sep 5th 2007 5:24PM]

Previous dSLR displays have only had 230,000 dots (320x240xRGB), whereas the Nikon D300 and Sony A700 have 920,000 dots (640x480xRGB).

That is a four-fold increase!

Besides which; the Sony A700 is a hybrid LCD. That means that it is both reflective and transmissive, which will be a great benefit when you are in bright sunlight.

[Vincent @ Sep 5th 2007 9:00PM]

Sorry, but that's not quite correct. The new generation Canon's have 230,000 pixel displays (probably 480x360), while the upcoming Nikons and Sonys have 307,000 pixel displays (VGA, 640x480). PopPhoto has a bit of an explanation on this point, that might be worth checking out.

http://www.popphoto.com/popularphotographyfeatures/4555/mcnamara-report-confusion-over-dots-vs-pixels.html

[harry @ Sep 5th 2007 1:06PM]

That microsite's cool but creepy. It's like watching a trailer for Lord Of The Rings or something. A bit sinister somehow for a product launch.

[Acidtrash @ Sep 5th 2007 1:11PM]

This got me..

[WíZ @ Sep 5th 2007 1:25PM]

IT's GONE!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[vince @ Sep 5th 2007 1:32PM]

Well, maybe not ridiculous. No one has actually seen and tested the D300. Though, they are undoubtedly using the same sensor.

[Steve Fairbrother @ Sep 5th 2007 1:48PM]

Kodak please, yippy !!

[endless @ Sep 5th 2007 2:02PM]

its the D300s ugly ugly sister.

you might play with it if it was free and you were drunk, but you wouldnt claim it to your friends

[eddy_88_nite @ Sep 5th 2007 4:05PM]

aw i just bought the a100...whatever i love that camera anyways...This camera looks a bit too square.

[billy bob thorton @ Sep 5th 2007 11:46PM]

it's not the same sensor as the d300. sony makes a lot of sensors for different purposes. We should hear soon about their rumored "pro" version, but we'll see. S/N ratio should be excelent just based on common sense. It always improves with each new version and the previous model was close to pro spec. certainly usable by most casual shooters. Of course the 6400 iso is only there if you really need it. It's gained up and adds tons of noise. If you're thinking about getting into this system you should be happy. The lens selection is top notch. Glass makes the picture. Not the body and not so much the sensor anymore. But Zeiss glass is quite pricey compared to similar Nikon and Canon offerings but not as bad as the Leica line.

[inside the machine @ Sep 6th 2007 12:22AM]

"it's not the same sensor as the d300."

um... well... 'officially' they have different branding... after all Nikon is our customer...

;)

[TheLostSwede @ Sep 6th 2007 3:22AM]

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2888&Itemid=1

They have some more info as well as pricing, it looks like the body alone will be around $2,000

[Dan @ Sep 6th 2007 3:49AM]

Popphoto has an initial (fawning) review from a press preview:

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/4570/field-test-sony-alpha-dslr-a700.html

[Brendan Falkowski @ Sep 6th 2007 2:35PM]

922,000 dots / 3 = 307,000 RGB pixels. Nikon and Sony would pull such falsification tricks.
http://flickr.com/photos/brendanfalkowski/1270647267/

Finally, some people agree that the A700 is boxy and ugly. Who wants all those plastic panels overlapping each other everywhere? Not me.