Sony Alpha 77 first impression

Sony announced several new cameras last wednesday, among them the Alpha 77. The A-77 stands out from the crowd because of its speed. At 12 fps it’s the fastest camera in the world (not counting cameras that have even higher speeds, but at greatly reduced resolution). It will also retain autofocus at this speed, thanks to its translucent mirror system that diverts a small amount of light to the AF-sensor, even when shooting. At 24 Mpixel it also has the highest resolution for an APS-C sized sensor. Sony gave a number of photo-journalists a chance to use this camera during an event in sunny Greece, very welcome in this summer that never became a summer! Here are some first impressions:

The new high resolution electronic viewfinder is very detailed and bright. It may not be as good as an optical viewfinder, but it does get pretty close. And it has the advantage over an optical viewfinder at low light, because it can still show a clear (but noisy) picture. There is a lot more to like about the Sony Alpha 77. When the camera can shoot at low ISO, the image is very detailed, as expected because of the 24 Mpixel. I also like the built-in GPS and the built-in level-indicator. The 12 fps speed and the continuous autofocus are very impressive, making it one of the most responsive cameras I know.

There are some limitations however. First of all, the viewfinder needs a short time to start showing an image. When the camera hangs on its strap at your belly, and you want to quickly shoot some action, it does costs extra time before you can do so, compared to a real DSLR. Despite its impressive speed, you could still lose the shot because of this start-up delay. Secondly, the buffer is clearly inadequate. Even when shooting JPEG only, it filled in less than two seconds, after which the camera slows down to a crawl. Again, you could easily miss the decisive moment if you press that button too eagerly. That makes the A-77 less optimal for sport and wildlife than the specifications suggest.

My biggest disappointment is the image quality at higher ISO. Sony claims a big improvement in this area, but in the (pre-production?) sample I used I don’t see that at all. At 1600 ISO the image already falls apart completely. The noise reduction artifacts are clearly visible, and the image has lost a lot of detail. See the enlarged part of the model’s face. There are no details left in the hair and eyelashes, and the skin shows a lot of artifacts. My preliminary conclusion: There is a lot to like about the Sony Alpha 77, but I do think Sony would have done better if it had kept the megapixel count down to 16 Mpixel or so. Who needs 24 Mpixel anyway?