Sony Alpha A700 Digital SLR Camera Body

The Sony Alpha 700 is aimed at serious photo enthusiasts and semi-professionals, matching unfailing performance and responsiveness with unbeatable HD image quality, both in shooting and viewing. The a700 brings new meaning to ease-of-use in a digital SLR with such a high specification, as its instinctive navigation system means camera settings can be altered in seconds, no matter the shooting ...

• Wonderful picture quality from 12.24 effective megapixel Exmor™ CMOS sensor
• Particularly responsive operation with quick and accurate 11-point autofocus and 5fps continuous shooting
• ‘Quick Navigation’ function giving instant access to camera settings
• Enduring magnesium body with dust and moisture resistant seals
• ‘PhotoTV HD’ – Full HD image display on Bravia televisions
• Photo-quality 3” LCD screen and clear and bright high magnification viewfinder

Sony A700 – Next-generation imaging
The 12.24 effective megapixel Exmor™ CMOS sensor is integral to the Sony Alpha 700’s unmatched performance. The sensor makes use of sophisticated CCD imaging and original Column A/D conversion technologies to deliver high-speed and high picture quality. The Sony Alpha 700 achieves a high standard of precision, sharpness and detailing, plus deep, realistic colours, tones and textures, through the latest generation Sony semiconductors and advanced signal processing techniques.

Almost a first in digital SLR cameras, A/D conversion is conducted by means of special converters found close to each element array on the sensor itself, using the advanced Exmor™ CMOS sensor. On-chip noise reduction once signals have been digitised complements analogue noise cancellation prior to A/D conversion, resulting in digital signals that are immune to external noise. Digital signals with reduced noise are then fed from the Exmor™ sensor to the newly developed BIONZ™ processing engine where they are subject to a further RAW noise reduction stage prior to compression and encoding.

The Sony Alpha 700 also features Super SteadyShot optical image stabilisation inside the camera body, which is compatible with the entire range of a-mount lenses. Anti-shake has been improved across the complete focal length range, by up to half a stop.

Sony A700 – Responsive autofocus
The Sony Alpha 700 features a fast and reactive autofocus. The new centre dual cross sensor has 11 focus points and 11 lines, providing a considerable improvement in AF performance right across the broad spectrum of shooting conditions. Not only can high precision AF be achieved at open aperture with lenses brighter than F2.8, but lens drive control time has also been shortened for object distance calculation and focus position. The a700 also features an AF illuminator which assists with quick and precise autofocus in low light or with low contrast subjects.

Sony A700 – Built to last
The a700’s enduring magnesium alloy body is reinforced by an aluminium alloy chassis and weather resistant seals protect the buttons and slots from dust and moisture, ensuring it keeps performing no matter the conditions. The shutter unit of the Sony Alpha 700 bears up against 100,000 cycles, with a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000 seconds.

Sony A700 – Be creative
The Sony Alpha 700 features 14 ‘image styles’ giving you the opportunity to create whatever feel to your photos you desire. Parameters such as contrast, sharpness and zone matching can be customised to your preference and a simple yet effective ‘Quick Navi’ interface enables you to access the settings you want easily without fuss. To add to your convenience, a global ‘snapshot’ of 28 camera settings can be stored in one of three user memories for instant recall. The a700 presents a plethora of image storage choices, from Memory Stick to CompactFlash media, with a Memory Stick Duo Slot that accepts Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO Duo, as well as Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo for high transfer speeds. The CompactFlash slot conforms to the high-speed 300x UDMA (Ultra Direct Memory Access) standard, allowing continuous image capture up to the limit of flash memory card in JPEG fine mode and standard mode.

Sony A700 – ‘PhotoTV HD’
The Sony Alpha 700 has a built-in HDMI output which when connected to any HD-ready TV or display, will optimise and display your images to give them more natural colouring. Sony’s latest generation of full HD Bravia televisions support ‘PhotoTV HD’, producing a noticeable improvement when compared to viewing still images on conventional TV sets. PhotoTV HD also controls image browsing, zoom, HD slideshows and other functions when the a700 is linked to a HD television, which can all be controlled by the IR remote commander that doubles as a remote shutter release. The IR remote commander is supplied with the Sony Alpha 700.

Sony A700 – Software
Image Data Lightbox SR software comes with the Sony Alpha 700 DSLR, simplifying the management process of the photo library. Through Image Data Lightbox SR, images can be browsed, selected, enlarged, compared and rated whilst in RAW format, simplifying the maintenance of image collections for special projects, batch printing and JPEG/TIFF file conversion.

Image Data Converter SR Ver2 is an easy-to use application for viewing and editing RAW files. The more powerful engine practically doubles the processing speed and custom adjustment profiles can be saved and applied to multiple images.

Lastly, the Sony Alpha 700 comes with Remote Camera Control application (PC/Mac), particularly useful for studio working, which enables the a700 to be ‘driven’ via USB from a connected computer. The a700 can be controlled remotely and images can be stored directly to the computer’s hard drive.