Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 Review
Compared to...
Studio scene comparison (RAW)
For a (more) level playing field for comparison we also shot our studio scene in RAW mode with each camera and converted it using Adobe Camera RAW. Because Adobe Camera RAW applies different levels of sharpening to different cameras (this confirmed) we had to use the following workflow for these conversions:
- Load RAW file into Adobe Camera RAW (Auto mode disabled)
- Set Sharpness to 0 (all other settings default)
- Open file to Photoshop
- Apply a Unsharp mask: 80%, Radius 1.0, Threshold 0
- Save as a TIFF (for cropping) and as a JPEG quality 11 for download
Sony DSLR-A700 (RAW) vs. Canon EOS 40D (RAW)
Sony DSLR-A700 (RAW) |
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3.4 MB JPEG (4272 x 2848) |
3.1 MB JPEG (3888 x 2592) |
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Using our benchmark RAW converter (Adobe Camera RAW) means that the image processing pipeline becomes standardized between the two cameras and better allows us to see the true performance of the camera sensor. It's fair to say that the A700's image looks considerably more detailed and sharper from RAW and that its extra pixels are now beginning to demonstrate more detail (although in reality you'd have to be printing very large images to see this difference).
Gear in this story
Gear in this story
Highly Recommended
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Dec 18, 2010
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Dec 1, 2010
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Dec 19, 2007
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Feb 16, 2009
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Turning ten years old this week is the A700, Sony's first high-end DSLR after fully taking over Konica Minolta's camera business. With plenty of Minolta DNA, it debuted in September 2007 to take on the likes of Canon's 40D and Nikon's D300.
Nearly two years after Konica Minolta transferred its camera division over to Sony, and over a year after Sony's first DSLR (the A100), today is the day that the curtain is finally lifted on the long-awaited 'high end' Alpha digital SLR (in principle the replacement for the Konica Minolta 7D). The new model sports an impressive specification including magnesium alloy construction, 12MP CMOS sensor (with on-chip A/D conversion), 5fps shooting and a wealth of features and customization options, though interestingly (given the recent spate of announcements) no live view option. There's also a couple of new lenses and a new vertical shooting grip.
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