Sony Alpha A77 with 16-50mm lens review

The A77 is Sony’s new top-of-the-range enthusiast SLR. It uses the same APS-C sensor size as entry-level SLRs rather than the full-frame sensors found in professional SLRs, but while we can’t expect the absolute highest image quality money can buy, it’s hard to imagine a camera with a better range of features.

There’s 12fps shooting with continuous autofocus, AVCHD video capture up to 1080/50p, sensor-based stabilisation, HDMI, microphone and flash sync sockets, built-in GPS, a digital spirit level and Sony’s usual collection of advanced shooting modes for capturing 3D panoramas, HDR photos and so on. Typically at this price, it’s bulkier and heavier than entry-level SLRs, but it is comfortable to hold and the magnesium alloy body is tougher than cheaper plastic bodies. It’s littered with controls, including dual command dials, lots of single-function buttons, a mini joystick that replaces the usual navigation pad and a top-mounted passive LCD screen for displaying settings. The main 3in screen is hinged at three points and can be positioned above or below the camera and pointed in virtually any direction.

The controls are generally well laid out, although we prefer the way the Nikon D7000‘s are designed for two-handed operation. Unfortunately, apart from the shutter release, the A77 took half a second to respond to button presses and dial adjustments. This is a big disappointment, undermining the benefit of having so many physical controls that should deliver quick operation. On a more positive note, there’s ample scope to customise camera settings, and we’re delighted that you can adjust the Auto ISO mode’s upper and lower limits – an extremely useful feature that’s notably absent from other Sony cameras.

Reviewing shots was awkward because photos, AVCHD videos and MPEG-4 videos are stored in separate folders which have to be selected separately – there’s no option to browse them all chronologically. This also made copying files off the card a little cumbersome, although that’s true of any AVCHD camera. However, we really didn’t like how deleting individual ACVHD files on a PC caused a playback error on the camera because it couldn’t find the file, but wiping the card on a PC caused another error when it was reinserted into the camera without the expected folder structure. Restoring these folders took about 15 seconds – a ridiculous amount of time – and often meant we missed a photo opportunity. It’s a common problem with all recent Sony cameras, and frankly, it’s really beginning to get on our nerves.

The letters SLT in the name stand for single-lens translucent, which marks out the A77 as different from single-lens reflex cameras. Conventional SLRs have a mirror that directs light to the viewfinder and autofocus system, and flips out of the way to let light hit the sensor to capture a picture. The A77’s mirror is translucent, so light reaches the autofocus and imaging sensors simultaneously. We explored the pros and cons of this approach in our review of the Sony Alpha SLT-A33L, but to summarise, it means that phase-detect autofocus works at the same time as live view, burst shooting and video capture. The downside is that it reduces the amount of light hitting the sensor. The A77’s ISO speed values are calibrated to compensate, but it does push up noise levels compared to the same sensor in another type of camera.

It also means that the viewfinder is electronic rather than optical, but in the A77’s case it’s hard to see this as a drawback. This electronic viewfinder’s generous size and 2.4-megapixel resolution give a clearer view than any optical viewfinder we’ve used, and it’s useful that white balance and exposure settings are reflected in the image. One hitch with previous Sony SLT cameras was that this made shooting with manual exposure and our wireless flash rig impossible, as the live view image was virtually pitch black. Thankfully, the A77 includes an option for the live view image to ignore exposure settings.

Putting the button lag issue to one side, this is a quick camera, taking one second to power up and shoot, and just 0.4 seconds between shots, although this slowed to 1.5 seconds after six frames when shooting in raw mode.

Because the autofocus and imaging sensors work concurrently, the top 12fps burst mode comes with continuous autofocus – an astounding feat, although the much cheaper Sony Alpha SLT-A55 isn’t far behind at 10fps. Sadly, this performance only lasted for 13 shots before slowing to 0.8fps for JPEGs or 0.7fps for raw (we tested with a Panasonic UHS-1 SDHC card). This 12fps speed is available via a dedicated mode on the dial, which prohibits aperture and shutter speed control. However, unlike on the A55’s similar mode, there is still access to ISO speed. The screen and viewfinder show captured shots rather than a live view while capturing, so tracking fast-moving subjects was tricky.

Burst shooting in priority and manual exposure modes is either at 8fps or 3fps, but live view is only available at 3fps. Both modes only lasted for around a dozen shots before slowing down to around 1fps. That’s the downside of the huge 24-megapixel resolution; JPEGs weigh in at around 14MB, which is a lot of data to shift around.

Videos are recorded in AVCHD format at 1920×1080 at 25p, 50i or 50p, with bit rates up to 24Mbit/s (28Mbit/s for 50p) for artefact-free motion. Phase detect autofocus was available while recording, and the kit lens’s so-called Super Sonic Wave Motor made a minimal impact on the high-quality stereo soundtrack.

The same can’t be said for aperture adjustments while recording, though. Fortunately, the camera kept the aperture wide open while recording and adjusted video exposures via the shutter speed. However, this resulted in shutter speeds up to 1/8,000s in bright light, eliminating any chance of motion blur and giving motion a staccato effect that’s not to our taste. Priority and full manual exposure modes are available for video capture, but strangely, not at the same time as autofocus. Those who want manual exposure will probably want to focus manually too, but it seems a little curmudgeonly not to let users pick which features they want to use.

The maximum sensitivity for video capture is a relatively modest ISO 1600, and videos at this setting were a little noisier than from the Sony NEX-5N We couldn’t coax the sensor to overheat while recording, though, with no ominous thermometer icon appearing on screen after an hour’s continuous recording – albeit in 30-minute chunks for models sold in the EU.

There’s not much wrong with picture quality at ISO 100, and the huge resolution allows photos to be heavily cropped while still maintaining plenty of detail – click enlarge

Another downside of the huge resolution is image noise. 24 million pixels is a new high for an APS-C sensor, and while the A77 captured the most detail we’ve ever seen in our studio tests, it also exhibited much more noise than we expect from an SLR. JPEGs at ISO 100 were sharp and smooth, but even by ISO 160 there was some smearing of fine details due to noise reduction. By ISO 800, noise reduction artefacts made photos resemble a high quality compact rather than an upmarket SLR. The ISO speed goes up to 16,000 but we’d recommend limiting it to 1,600, and much lower for critical shots. The A77’s high resolution isn’t the only culprit, though – some of the blame must go to the translucent mirror, which means that not all the light entering the lens reaches the sensor.

Raw output at ISO 6400 reveals the full extent of the A77’s noise problems

The Multi-frame Noise Reduction shooting mode helped in low light, capturing six frames and superimposing them to average out noise, but it’s only effective for static areas of the frame. These shots took eight seconds to process, during which time the camera was inoperable.

Otherwise, the A77’s image quality was hard to fault. Switching the Creative Style preset to Natural gave colours that were exactly that. Automatic exposures were impeccably judged and the 19-point autofocus system rarely put a foot wrong. Detail levels were spectacular with the kit lens, especially when shooting raw and developing in Adobe Lightroom.

This newly launched kit lens is a serious piece of kit. It retails for around £560, and that’s a highly competitive price for such a sharp lens that maintains a bright f/2.8 aperture throughout its zoom range – that’s four times brighter than most kit lenses’ f/5.6 aperture at their longest focal length. This goes some way to compensating for the noisy sensor, as it makes fast ISO speeds a less frequent necessity. However, for this money you could pick up a Canon EOS 60D and Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens to get the best of both worlds.

The A77 is available body-only for £1,149 inc VAT at Jessops. For those who don’t have a four-figure budget, the A65 is a stripped down version of the A77, with the same sensor, screen and viewfinder but a plastic body, single control dial, simpler screen articulation, no top-mounted screen and a navigation pad rather than a joystick. Continuous shooting is a little slower at 10fps and there are 15 autofocus points. This all seems fair and sensible, but we’re disappointed that Sony has also removed the customisable ISO function – in the A65, it’s fixed at 100 to 1600. It’s available body-only for £800, or for £880 with Sony’s basic 18-55mm kit lens. That’s a much more palatable price, but when we tried a 18-55mm lens on the A77, it failed to do the 24-megapixel sensor justice.

The A77 was a pleasure to test, and its unique strengths – massive resolution, gorgeous electronic viewfinder, innovative shooting modes – are very much apparent in everyday use. However, so too are its sluggish controls and noisy output at fast ISO speeds. Comparing body-only prices, it’s about £200 more expensive than the Nikon D7000 and the same as the Canon EOS 7D. We haven’t tested the 7D, but between the Nikon and the Sony, it’s the Nikon that gets our vote with its unwaveringly high-quality results.