Verdict
Despite being Sony ’s first new APS - C flagship in four years , the Sony A6700 does n’t make any grand attempt to founder the mould . However , a dearth of dramatic design or feature film changes does n’t take away from the fact that this is a very stiff intercrossed mirrorless tv camera with first - grade autofocus implementation , a wide regalia of video options and a mellow - quality sensor that perform well in most position .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Sony ’s full - frame models are the stars of its mirrorless camera offer , involve little foundation among lensman and videographers – but the ship’s company also makes an oftentimes - look out over selection of mirrorless models with minuscule APS - C sensor .
That pick just got a little wider with the comer of the Sony A6700 , the brand ’s first new flagship APS - C exemplar in around four years .
low-cal and more summary than a full - soma photographic camera , the A6700 is a intercrossed example with plenty to offer on both the video and photo fronts . It pack a raw 26 - megapixel sensor , a muscular BIONZ XR central processing unit , freestanding AI processor and a ( relatively ) reasonable price tag .
Has Sony eventually delivered an APS - C theoretical account able-bodied to entice the spotlight away from its beloved full - systema skeletale stove ? I ’ve put the A6700 through its paces , and here ’s what I ’ve find .
Design and handling
Sony ’s APS - C model have attracted criticism in the past tense for their somewhat idiosyncratic design , but very little has changed in this wish . The A6700 ’s organic structure is still boxy and compendious , and users with enceinte men might find it quite uncomfortable to hold – at least compare to a DSLR - style body .
That tell , the A6700 ’s bridge player grip has been somewhat bulge up compared to theA6600 , and I ( with my medium - sized paw ) had few take with treatment , particularly with a large crystalline lens attached .
With a little lens bolted on , however , the setup is attractively compact and lightweight even by mirrorless camera standards . Ergonomically mouth , I still favour the Hellenic DSLR bod over this , but it ’s not even tightlipped to the deal - breaker some vocal critic have suggested it is . It ’s also nicely built ; there ’s no IP rating or anything , but it ’s rain and splash - resistant and its magnesium admixture eggshell feels solid .
The OLED view finder is locate far to the remaining side of the A6700 ’s rearward board , which take a bit of getting used to if you ’re accustomed to the more central EVFs employed by more traditional camera bodies , but again there ’s nothing peculiarly egregious about it ; it even has a decent - sized safety eye cup to roost your face against .
The 3 - column inch screen now flip out out to the side rather than directly upward , which is a major upgrade on the A6600 . When facing forrard , it ’s no longer completely obliterate by anything you ’ve mounted on the red-hot skid – but your view could still be slightly forget by anyUSB - C , mike or phone transmission line you ’re using .
Connectivity is as you ’d expect : in addition to the aforementioned physical ports , you get a micro HDMI socket as well as Bluetooth 4.2 and double - ring Wi - Fi for wireless networking . There ’s a single SD card one-armed bandit , which feels a spot uninspiring on a purportedly premium good example – but I do sympathize that infinite is limited on such a stocky body .
There are further positive tweaks made when it comes to controls , in peculiar the fresh switch that instantly shifts the shooting mode between photo , video and S&Q ( slow and straightaway ) ; above it , you still get the received PASM telephone dial too . The video record button is now situated on top of the camera too , in a much easier to reach office than the A6600 ’s which is awkwardly placed on the corner of the back .
Features and performance
Like the A6600 before it , the Sony A6700 add up with 5 - axis in - physical structure stabilisation , and it ’s been slightly improved with the addition of a new Active mode designed for television . This does decrease photographic camera shake a small , but crop out quite a bit of the sensor surface which entail you ’ll conform to observably less in the frame . Stabilisation is solid here – you get about five stops of compensation according to Sony – but it ’s not specially effective when compared to rival example like thePanasonic GH6 .
One thing that Sony arguably does good than anyone else , however , is autofocus , and the A6700 benefits from a very strong program of the brand ’s hybrid phase and contrast detection system .
Not only are there 759 sensing gunpoint spread across the sensor ’s surface , but AI aid lends a hand when it come to capable acknowledgement . The tv camera can now recognise not only human aspect and eyes , but human body shapes – not to bring up other depicted object like bird , animals , insects , cars , trains , airplane and bike .
You just gear up AF to look for your chosen subject case and it ’ll locate it when it ’s in frame , sticking to it like glue once you have a lock . It ’s a hugely impressive organisation both in terms of accuracy and velocity , and works well with both television and photos .
The tv camera can spud still photos incessantly at 11fps , which is respectable but no quicker than the A6600 . What it can do is store more photos when shooting this way , thanks to a big buffer zone that supports up to 1000 JPEGs or around 60 lossless RAW file cabinet . you could also now fool away HEIF format photos ( a first on a Sony APS - C camera ) in improver to JPEG and RAW format shots .
In terms of electric battery performance , the A6700 uses the tested and tested NP - FZ100 stamp battery , and has a CIPA rating of 550 photos or 95 minutes of picture recording on a full charge . You ’ll likely get more than that out of it , so overall I ’m impressed with its stamen .
Unlike some Sony models , there ’s no chill scheme here ( again , belike due to the compendious organic structure sizing ) . That think that you ’ll hazard overheating the television camera when recording long picture clips , particularly at 4 honey oil caliber and higher bod rates . You should still get around 30 minute of footage before it shuts itself down to cool down off .
Photo and video quality
The Sony A6700 is base around the same 26 - megapixel APS - C sensing element previously catch on the Sony FX30 Cinema Line video camera , but being a intercrossed camera is understandably more balanced in its approach . The FX30 did n’t have a viewfinder or a mechanical shutter , for instance , but you ’ll find both here .
It ’s a fine sensing element , and despite its relatively small sizing compared to Sony ’s array of full - bod sensors it redeem very telling trope lineament in most situations . Dynamic range , color procreation and detail are all strong , and stay on pretty punchy even in lower scant situation .
Your selection of lens will play a full-grown part of course ( the majority of the shots you ’ll see in our examples here were taken with Sony ’s new high - end 70 - 200 mm F4 zoom lens ) , but in world-wide we have few complaint about image quality for either photos or TV . You ’ll get practiced dynamical range and abject - light performance with a full - underframe camera , trusted – but you ’ll also be paying more and lugging around a enceinte payload .
The A6700 also yield exploiter a heap of ikon options to play with . I ’ve already mentioned that photos can be buck in the space - pull through HEIF formatting used by iPhones , but picture can be memorialise with 10 - bit 4:2:2 colour depth and in a variety of colour profiles including Hybrid Log Gamma and Sony ’s pop southward - Log2 and S - Cinetone , boosting the camera ’s prayer for serious videographers .
It can record veritable 4 K clips at human body charge per unit up to 60fps , and 4 cat valium slow motion footage at up to 120fps for placid frame - by - skeletal frame playback .
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Should you buy it?
The Sony A6700 is a strong all - rounder in a succinct body – and still finds room for a viewfinder .
With its micro HDMI and lack of cooling , the A6700 is n’t as well equipped as some other Sony models .
Final Thoughts
While the Sony A6700 may not be the most exciting tv camera in Sony ’s dividing line - up , it smartly builds upon late APS - C models with a raft of valuable improvements and additions – including autofocus that is truly class - leading .
The compendious , solidly built eubstance wo n’t be to everyone ’s tastes but there ’s room for an impressively poseable touchscreen and a decent finder . For Sony , there ’s clearly life in APS - C yet . Check out ourBest Cameraguide for even more choice .
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How we test
We test every tv camera we brush up thoroughly . We use set test to liken features properly and we apply it as our master equipment over the review period . We ’ll always state you what we find and we never , ever , accept money to review a product .
FAQs
The Sony A6700 plunge in 2023 , so is still a comparatively new photographic camera .
The Sony A6700 come with 5 - axis in - eubstance stabilization .