Sony A77 release very soon - is this the 5D/7D/GH2 killer?

Apparently when Sony released the A700 there was NR on RAW then they brought out a firmware update without NR on RAW. Sony should be showing people nice sharp RAW files not muddy JPEGs. It also appears that the NEX-5N has better high ISO performance which makes sense, 16 megapixels vs 24, bigger pixels let in more light.
 
I have high hopes for the NEX-7. The lack of the light cutting mirror, plus a more adaptable mount and manual controls. I am actually mostly interested in using it as a still cam with my old FD and Nikkor lenses, but having a decent crash cam would be nice too.
 
squig said:
Apparently when Sony released the A700 there was NR on RAW then they brought out a firmware update without NR on RAW. Sony should be showing people nice sharp RAW files not muddy JPEGs. It also appears that the NEX-5N has better high ISO performance which makes sense, 16 megapixels vs 24, bigger pixels let in more light.
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Hey squig! I'll let you know exactly how that works out. I'm 99% sure that my next camera will be a NEX-5N. It's either that or or the NEX-7. It's PRETTY close. The NEX-7 looks SICK....but I'm not too sure about the lowlight (due to sensor size/pixel density)...and the cost....uh 2 NEX-5Ns for the cost of 1 NEX-7. Uh....we'll see. Like I say....I'm pretty sure it's going to be the NEX-5N. :)
 
It's pointless to talk about image quality at this stage, which in the end is obviously a pretty important factor.

To me, the really encouraging thing about these announcements is that it signals an adequate baseline in terms of framerates, codec and manual controls for the coming generation of DSLRs. That even the NEX-5n gets progressive framerates and manual control tells you that Sony isn't trying to differentiate its cameras by leaving out such fundamental elements from the lower-end models, and likely means that none of the other companies will either.

I'm not sure any of the Sony's put together features in a way that's compelling enough for me to jump the gun, and we don't know about image quality, but if all the camera companies work off or above this baseline, in about six months we should really be spoilt for choice.
 
HHL said:
Hey squig! I'll let you know exactly how that works out. I'm 99% sure that my next camera will be a NEX-5N. It's either that or or the NEX-7. It's PRETTY close. The NEX-7 looks SICK....but I'm not too sure about the lowlight (due to sensor size/pixel density)...and the cost....uh 2 NEX-5Ns for the cost of 1 NEX-7. Uh....we'll see. Like I say....I'm pretty sure it's going to be the NEX-5N. :)
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You gonna go with the kit lens?
 
I think the one to watch will be Canon with their announcement in October. They are the one to watch. They have consistently produced great (yet not perfect) hdslrs for the past 2 years.
No one has their level of experience with the format.
 
AlexMacP said:
I think the one to watch will be Canon with their announcement in October. They are the one to watch. They have consistently produced great (yet not perfect) hdslrs for the past 2 years.
No one has their level of experience with the format.
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True.
 
Moire, aliasing and rolling shutter are the criteria which will determine whichever camera comes out on top. An argument has been made for the gh2 as best in it's league, however I still see banding in low light in many examples from this camera and I am not sure that the hack in its current incarnation entirely rids us of this. This might just be the samples we have though. I have seen photogs buy 5 or 6 bodies of the same camera with different series numbers with the intention of returning most of them just to get a good sample for instance.
In the end only generational advances on processing technology will make a signifigant difference beyond sample variation.
It remains to be seen if Sony DSLR's really are a generational leap or not.
 
damn new system that breaks my posts and doesn't allow me to edit tr delete them... anyway, here I go again: dpreview has updated some info, in particular adding a 1080p60 sample from the A77 (direct download of the camera video file, I think) and a further explanation of what the swivel screen can do: http://www.dpreview.com/previews/sonyslta77/page8.asp - not the best sample I could imagine, but quite useful; in particular, I don't see any aliasing/moire
 
I've been checking out still samples and video samples from the A77. It's a bit early yet because the proviso is that they are pre-production cameras and there's no dedicated RAW converter support for the A77. So I'll reserve my judgement until things are a bit more final. However, what I've seen so far doesn't seem that impressive as regards image quality. On Imaging Resource they have a good "comparometer" where you can compare JPEG stills from all cameras on their database, with standard scenes. The link is below. I've haven't been throught them all and just checked a few at random. I was quite surprised when I compared the studio sample at ISO 800 to the NEX-5n, to find that the NEX had much better image quality. It's not just detail smearing, but visible noise artefacts, along with a general softness. It's not lack of sharpening softeness. Also the JPEG stills didn't hold up that well to the Canon 60D. Of course final firmware might improve the still image quality, but my impression is that even resized, the 24.3mp is noisier than the Sony 16mp sensor. Most of the sample images I've looked at seemed a bit soft. Although a lot are taken in bright sunlight, and it's difficult to judge image potential with harsh light and high contrast, as it creates a type of sharpening effect. There's a limit as to how much you can judge image potential from JPEGs, and anyway I nearly always use RAW for stills. Nevertheless I was expecting the image quality to be a bit more impressive because Sony have been producing some good sensors recently.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM

On Photography Blog there are a quite a few sample still images, and a 1080 25p video clip you can download. It appears to be out of camera AVCHD. Judging video samples isn't something I'd claim to be too good at yet. But I was surprised to quickly see noticeable aliasing even with my untrained eye. There's a girl's t-shirt shimmering through the whole clip near the centre, and I noticed some other similar effects. It would be interesting for other opinions on this from those a bit more experienced than me. I confident about quickly assessing still image potential, but video is still something I'm still learning about.
http://www.photographyblog.com/previews/sony_a77_photos

Hopefully it will be improved with final firmware. Even if I don't go for one of the Sony's, I'd still like to see them as competitive as possible, because the competition is a good thing.
 
Cory Braun said:
You gonna go with the kit lens?
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I'm probably going to go the 5N with the 16mm lens and the wide angle adapter to use for helmet mounting to get pov shots. I'm using a 17mm tokina on the 5D now on a blackbird for those kinda shots but I need 60p.

really looking forward to seeing the specs on the MKIII and the D800.
 
@SteB: I think that photographyblog.com sample is interlaced, that's why it looks so bad (and no, I won't forgive you for making me look at it)
 
SteB said:
On Photography Blog there are a quite a few sample still images, and a 1080 25p video clip you can download. It appears to be out of camera AVCHD. Judging video samples isn't something I'd claim to be too good at yet. But I was surprised to quickly see noticeable aliasing even with my untrained eye. There's a girl's t-shirt shimmering through the whole clip near the centre, and I noticed some other similar effects.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... Bringing this MTS file in to Sony Vegas Pro 10 the file is recognized as 25P progressive video. ( definitely not interlaced ) The video looks over-exposed and has a general lack of overall sharpness which I think was caused by shooting with the lens stopped down all the way to either f/16.0 or f/22.0. Moire appears to be well controlled ( virtually none visible in this sample ), and there is a little aliasing visible when either the camera or subject moves in the image area. I would love to see what this camera can do with a sharp wide aperture lens and proper ND filtration to control exposure. ( this sample is nothing like a properly shot cinematography example )
 
just giving my opinion based on the pure technical resolution aspect of the videos:

From the first original file samples I'm watching the a77 videos are like canons if not worse. The interlaced ones are FULL of moiré.
The progressive ones are soft and with moiré too.
The VG20 that has less MP to work with does look more sharp compared to the a77 but still nothing extraordinary and shows moiré too. At least this is what I GOT watching the samples available.
A revolution my ass.

I fear Canon will do the same with new DIGIC 5 considering they will follow the MP war
 
Like I said before, it is just funny. Is like deja-vu all over again! Downloading files to check for aliasing and moire, sharpness, color. Stating that Canon is coming to the rescue. All the usual fuss while looking at the first awfully shot footage. By now we should have all learned how it works. I forgot exactly Barry Green's explanation on how the introduction of a new camera plays out but it was right on the spot and repeating itself as we speak. If you are a professional in this business you should know by now how it works. It is absolutely a waste of time to analyse and make a final judgement with what is out there at the moment. It is time to continue shooting with what we have at hand and wait till this little puppies hit the market. Then when they get put thru a few proper tests by real pros decide if it is for you or not. Just like every other camera out there up to now.
 
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