Throwback Thursday: Alpha A700, Sony's first high-end DSLR

I bought the Sony A700 and Sony 16-80mm zoom at 2016; simply because I was a user of Minolta 9xi with several good Minota lenses. The A700 is still usable today; although I have got Sony A77, A77Mk2 and A99Mk2.
I hope Sony will continue to develop the SLT system (cameras and lenses), but not only the mirrorless cameras!

Oh! If I can say that I truly loved one camera, the A700 would be it!

I was more or less an early adopter as well. Few months after its release my (by then) girlfriend's sister was in Japan and I couldn't lose the opportunity to ask her to get me the A700.
(if I was to wait it to be released in Brazil, it'd takes ages and cost me a hell lot more)

The fun thing is that Sony chose, for their domestic japanese market, offer a camera that had JAPANESE ONLY menus! No way to change it!

Yeah, I'm not Japanese myself, nor speak Japanese. I had to download the camera's manual in English and then learn where the basic settings were!

Right after I got the camera in my hands I rushed to buy a Minolta 'nifty-fifty' and the LEGENDARY Beercan!! (a lens that Sony stubbornly never released an updated version...)

It was a joy and fun camera to use!

Unfortunatelly it got stolen on a bus trip... :(

I miss it very much!

LOL- Oh boy. Do I remember this one or what. I was one of the very first consumers in the continental USA to get one, pre ordered immediately (It was $1,499.00 new). Did lots of posts about it.

My first camera review too. And haven't stopped since.

:)

Sony's first attempt at a real camera, and also one of the last.

lent my A700 to my GF at the time then we split up and she killed it and i never got it back sadly was an great first camera that Canon failed to produce back then and nikon wasn't doing anything better.

I still regret selling my A700 when i switched to an A99mkI
I still miss a real reflex....

Most of the best photos I've ever taken were on an A700. I really loved using that camera. The ergonomics were fantastic, the build quality was very good, it was very responsive, and the image quality up to about ISO 800 was easily good enough for great 20x30 prints. I also beat the hell out of mine. It went with me all around the world and dealt well with dust, dirt, sub zero temperatures, and all kinds of weather. Never gave me the slightest bit of trouble.

I still have mine although it is technically for sale. Lol. It was the first body I liked from Sony and thought good enough to upgrade from my KM 7D (Still have that too). Once I got an A99 I rarely used my A700 and since I've sold the A99 and gone mirrorless my poor A700 gets no love.

That means my daughter is approaching 10 as well...! I bought (and still have) the A700 with the excuse that I needed something faster than my A100 to capture my first child on (digital) film! I've always been Minolta/Sony, owning multiple Dynax film cameras (7xi, 700si, 800si), the Dynax 7D and now have the A77II. I think the user interface of Minolta/Sony is the best by far, I really struggle with Nikon or Canon's when asked to use them. Used the A700 and A77II for a wedding last year, the A700 is so LOUD in comparison - literally the whole congregation turned round and looked when I took a shot with it, no one noticed when I used the A77II...how times have changed!

I still have a pair of A700s and now a pair of A77s. I bought my First Sony after having been just too annoyed by my Nikons awful user interface.

Personally I find the Sony UI, which was partially lifted from Minolta as being the best. My Sony new camera open box process is; remove camera, install battery and throw out the instruction manual.

Hoping there is an A78 coming at some point,

I started out with the A100, added the A55 (never really liked this one) later, but always lusted for the A700... Ultimately, I found a very nice used one and was very happy with the level of improvement over A100/A55. I used the A700 for a few years and acquired quite a few full frame Minolta lenses along the way. My favorite APS-C lenses for the A700 were: Sony 11-18, Tamron 17-50 F2.8, Minolta 50 F1.4 (FF) and Sigma 50-150 F2.8. Then, a gently used A900 showed up and sadly, the A700 has been sitting idle and collecting dust ever since. Sony A900 has been my joy to use until I realized the size and weight benefits of Micro 4/3rd. My current main stream camera(s) are Olympus Micro 4/3rd (various bodies), but I will still grab the A900 for serious portraiture (w/ studio lights or flashes). Despite switching systems (Olympus), I will never part from my A100, A700 and A900 as, IMHO, they were true milestones in digital photography (and neither will I let go of any of my Minolta lenses).

I was never really interested in APS sensored cameras. When my trusty Kodak SLR/n was showing signs of impending failure in 2010, I started looking for a replacement. At the time all Nikon had was an aging D700, with no replacement in sight. I ended up buying a Sony A850 as a stop gap measure. The A850 was a fabulous camera designed for photographers. Very few bells and whistles. It was a good solid photographic instrument. I shot with the A850 until Nikon introduced the D800/E. I still have my A850 and use it as a backup.

For those who might be interested
I have a comparison here between the

Nikon D2x (2005) and the Sony Alpha 700 (2007)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/maoby/albums/72157668685379400

Sony Alpha 100 (2006) and the Sony Alpha 700 (2007)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/maoby/albums/72157674604031315

enjoy :)

I've just bought my 20D back then and my pal told me that Sony has entered the DSLR game. I remember he told me something like 'Well, it's a joke, but at least Sony is trying'. I replied with 'You know what? Maybe not now, but if Sony don't cock up it will actually change the market in 10-15 years or so, look how they've conquered the console space'.

But frankly, we've laughed and joked a lot about whole Sony DSLR nonsense with our mature Canon and Nikon cameras on our hands. Look who is laughing now, I guess.

Beautiful and solid machine. Mine still running great. A living fossil!

I'd argue that the A900 from 2008 and the A850 a year later were Sony's 'first' true, high end cameras and still a benchmark for the company.

Updated from A100 (still working perfect, even after forgotten outdoor a night in pouring rain) to the A700, and used this camere to earn for a living. Arctic climate, long cold nights, storms at the coast, this camera never failed (actually, no Sony camera have let me down yet), but tracking autofocus was a bit slow. Other that that, a great camera!

The reviews from back in the day were amazingly thorough pieces of work. Mr. Askey was seriously dedicated.

I will never understand why Sony abandoned this form factor. They should have made a similar but smaller one for their mirrorless. The ergonomics are pretty great.

Did it come with a rootkit lol

I owned an a700 (came to it from a KM 5D, and Minolta cameras earlier). February 2008 to May 2013. I've taken what I consider to be my personal best photograph with that body (and a borrowed 400 f/4.5).

The a700 was not without its faults (releasing with the baked-in NR on RAW, lack of MF adjust, so-so flash metering, high ISO not as good as the D300, average at best AF). It also came out right before Live View started being a thing. The A-mount community was very gripe-y about the loss of the KM 7D's oodles of knobs and dials, but I found quicknavi and its dial layout to be very easy to use and it never got in the way. Compared to the KM 5D, it was leaps ahead in performance in nearly every category.

My body shot several private jets of famous people, and the shots are still out there.

I sold it after I procured my a99 mark 1. I hope it's still chugging along. (cont)