Sony A77 24.3 MP Translucent Mirror Digital SLR With 16-50mm F2.8 lens

Although the A77 terrific and innovative in many ways and on many levels, this note concerns itself with some of the things that it does poorly.In less than optimal light or when photographing moving subjects, I prefer to shoot in Shutter Priority with Auto-ISO. This allows me to absolutely control my shutter speed while compensating for low light by increasing aperture and when the lens runs out of F-stop pick up the remaining exposure compensation with an increase in ISO. This will give the best exposure (as long as depth of field is not a consideration), by eliminating camera shake, freezing subject movement and adding only the absolutely necessary amount of induced ISO noise. When shooting with the 16-50mm F2.8 lens in Shutter Priority and Auto ISO (or Multi-Frame Auto ISO) the software will NOT allow the lens to go below F4.0. This means that as the light is decreased the camera will begin to increase the ISO at F4.0 and never go to F2.8. So you've paid big bucks for a lens that opens to F2.8, carried its extra weight around and then can't open the lens more than F4.0(When shooting in shutter priority).The HDR and "Multi-Frame-Iso Noise Reduction" give excellent results. However, when used, there is a significant post shooting processing time during which the camera is non-responsive. The camera will not allow you shoot for about 7 seconds after HDR processing and 9 seconds after using Multi-Frame-Iso Noise Reduction. Just hold your breath and count to 9 as that lion opens wide and roars at the setting sun.With previous cameras, I preferred to show a 2 sec "after review" on the monitor screen. I didn't always refer to it, but it was there if I needed it. If you set the A77 to "after review" and you are looking through the viewfinder, you are blind for about 3 seconds. (About a 1 second "processing" message and then 2 seconds of the past). You can clear this with a tap on the shutter, but this is an extra step and if you are taking multiple images of the same scene, it is easy to become confused if you are looking at the past or present. It would seem like a simple programming task to show the "after review" only on the monitor, and not in the viewfinder.Am I going to keep it? Yes. I decided that the good outweigh these negatives and hopefully the clever people at Sony will be able to make these problems disappear with a software revision.

I previously had the a65, which in its own right was a great camera but i wanted to upgrade from the kit 18-55 to the 16-50 f 2.8 lens. Note, for the owners of the a65 i recommend putting it up for sale because if you purchase the 16-50 you'll be at the price point of the A77 kit. Only makes sense then right? There is a significant difference with the autofocus engine that the A77 uses versus the A65. Picture quality and overall focus in all modes on the A77 is leaps and bounds above the A65 and its quite staggering putting pictures up side by side. I guess if you were to manual focus both bodies on the same lens you'd have the exact result since they technically have the same sensor but that can also mean a missed shot or opportunity. The A77 features are great, right out of the box without much tweaks the pics are crisp and with the 16-50(FRIGGIN AMAZING LENS!!) its just the perfect combo. The 16-50 is a HEAVY lens but its quality thru many reviews rival that of the 16-80CZ lens and person experience echos that as well. I'd recommend this to anyone that take their hobby serious, im by no means a pro or would ever tout myself to be but i love to take photos. The A77 does almost everything for you in body and saves you money all while doing it. The ability to use quality minolta lenses is a huge plus! I've taken about 80 photos with the A77 and versus the A65 i tend to have more keepers out of each group so this thing is making me feel like a pro because it's just so good.Pros:Build quality, magnesium body16-50 f2.8 kit lens is AMAZINGLY SHARP!Articulating LCDCamera features are worth the upgrade, lens correction being my favoriteAble to use Minolta lenses. Fyi, sony has repurposes many of these older lenses and rebranded themCons:The 16-50 is HEAVYI already had two extra extended batteries from the A65 but the A77 consumes more battery especially with the lcd in useI think that's about it. I've own Nikon cameras and use to be devoued but i don't think i'll ever turn back. The features you get in a sony body is leaps and bounds over what Nikon (old d5200 & p510 owner). I think to be fair, the A77 is more comparable to the new d7000 but i've never own it so i cant say much. I know this review wasn't very objective but buy the camera, if you dont like it, return it but I'm sure you will love it. The camera will blow your mind with the 16-50 lens and will make you feel like a pro with the quality of pics it takes. I also recommend the amazon book, The unofficial quintessential guide to the Sony A77. It makes for a good read before bed and it's objective and to the point to get you started taking photos.

I bought my a77 14 months ago. It is a good camera and the video function is a nice touch. I have owned both Nikon and Canon DSLRs which have all lasted over the years with much more abuse. My a77 was nice enough to degrade during the end of the 1 year warranty period but I didn't send back to Sony until month 13. There is a problem with the camera's autofocus and I received a quote to repair from the authorized Sony camer repair center for a little over $500. I contacted Sony directly and they are sticking by their 1 year warranty which they are completely in their right to do. I expect more from a camera with one of the buying decisions being a more rugged body. I cannot recommend this camera based on poor quality and typical Sony customer support.If you do purchase one anyway, make sure you contact Sony immediately if it starts to act strange. I thought it might be solved by a firmware upgrade but turns out my faith in a camera that lasts longer than a year will likley cost me 1/3 of the original purchase price.I also echo some of the other reviews:-EVF is nice, but takes some getting used to. It also has a considerable lag if you move from eye piece to display on the back of the body which causes irritating delays.-Lenses are very expensive and I am struggling to find the right combination of quality and range, especially at a reasonable price compared with Canon and Nikon.-This camera simply performs horribly in low light. It is great in well lit situations, but if you move indoors at night then you better bring a flash or turn on all the lights. This is drastically different than the high end Nikons which practically have night vision.Overall I do not recommend this product. Stick with the more established players.