Sony Alpha A700 Digital SLR Camera Preview

Where the Sony Alpha A100 is an entry-level camera aimed at newcomers and those graduating from digital compacts, the A700 is a more serious proposition. It is designed to meet the needs of advanced hobbyists and semi-professional photographers, and to compete with high-performance models such as the Canon EOS 40D and Nikon D300. It joins the battle with an impressive armoury of features which Sony hope will help increase its market share even further.

Central to the new camera’s specification is a 12.24-megapixel CMOS sensor code-named “Exmor”, a radical departure from the 10MP CCD sensor of the A100, and similar (or even identical?) to the Sony-supplied sensor in the Nikon D300. The sensor features on-chip A/D conversion and dual noise reduction, directly linked to RAW data noise reduction in the new Bionz image processing engine, which Sony claims will provide superior noise reduction even at the A700’s maximum sensitivity setting of ISO 3200.

..All in all the A700 is an auspicious and impressive second camera in what is shaping up to be a very good system.

TrustedReviews