Sony a77 or Canon 650D or wait?

GodAtum

GodAtum

GodAtum

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I'm thinking about upgrading my Sony a300 as I need to do video shooting. A logical upgrade would be the a77 as I can keep all my current accessories. But the 650D looks good as the screen is slightly better in terms of how it tilts plus a touchscreen. Also it has quite good AF for video apparently.

Should I even waitfor something like the 70D to come out which would hopefully inc all the 650D features.
 
I'd go for the A65 / A77 if you are already invested in the Alpha format.

I have an A77 and an A580 and the video on the A77 is superb. It has full time phase detection AF while shooting video which no other DSLR can offer although the AF motor can be heard slightly.

Looking at the 650D it looks like some of the new video options like totally silent AF while shooting will only be available on the Canon's new STM lenses.

One thing I will mention though is I'm finding the EVF on the A77 very very marmite.

It does have its benefits for sure but I was struggling to find them yesterday in bright sunlight, the view of any subject was totally destroyed because the dynamic range of the EVF was simply not up to the task.
 
Thanks for the reply. How do you find the tilting screen? It seems a side one like the 650D is better for self-capture shots as the flash would block the a77 screen?

Also does the a77 include anything equvilant to the new scene modes of Handheld Night Scene and HDR Backlight Control?
 
GodAtum said:
Thanks for the reply. How do you find the tilting screen? It seems a side one like the 650D is better for self-capture shots as the flash would block the a77 screen?

Also does the a77 include anything equvilant to the new scene modes of Handheld Night Scene and HDR Backlight Control?
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The screen is superb, probably the best I've used on an camera although I've never seen fit to take a picture of myself so from that perspective its not an issue for me.

Yes it does include a load of features such as Auto HDR which is customisable, Sweep Panorama which is both horizontally and vertically selectable and Multi Frame Low Noise mode for low light / high ISO shots.

I've only used Sweep Panorama in anger though and simply tested the others but they seemed to work as described.
 
Thanks for the info. I only really need a new camera by September (that's my yearly holiday). Is it likely that Sony or Canon might bring out new models before then (like the 70D)?
 
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GodAtum said:
Thanks for the info. I only really need a new camera by September (that's my yearly holiday). Is it likely that Sony or Canon might bring out new models before then?
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Well the only new Canon confirmed is the 650D, while I don't see Sony releasing a new crop body this year now the A57 & A37 have been released.

There's some rumblings of a full frame A99 SLT but nothing firm yet and that will be a £2k investment at a guess.

I would expect the A77 / A65 to be Sony's leading crop bodies for at least the coming year.
 
GodAtum said:
I'm thinking about upgrading my Sony a300 as I need to do video shooting. A logical upgrade would be the a77 as I can keep all my current accessories. But the 650D looks good as the screen is slightly better in terms of how it tilts plus a touchscreen. Also it has quite good AF for video apparently.

Should I even waitfor something like the 70D to come out which would hopefully inc all the 650D features.
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I also have an A77 (bought one 3 months ago)..

The triple articulated screen on the A77 is definitely a step up from the side hinge/swivel (which the cheaper A65 has), it can be used in far more flexible ways, I have started using mine a lot recently, especially holding the camera at a more comfortable waist height and having the LCD articulated to be on top of the camera.. I guess the self portrait is one use case that a side hinge is useful, but really for everything else, triple articulation is more flexible.

The Video AF is much of a muchness, the A77 (and all SLT) has full time phase detect AF (to the same standard as using the camera normally), the Hybrid AF I am sure will also be good and should have it's own strengths/weaknesses, but the AF on the SLT range is still fast and works well with normal lenses.. (And it's 1080p60 to boot).

The EVF is the other biggie, and 90% of the time it's awesome, it's the size of an FF camera, and offers instant feedback on the shot, settings, you can even review instantly in the VF.. As pointed out, there are a couple of issues with not sealing your eye to the cup and having stray sunlight enter the VF, but I just adjusted how I seal the camera to the eye (slightly changed my eye position) and have used it at a few airfields in midday sun with no issues.. And for the rest of the time, it's quite a revelation to me having all the information in the VF.. but some people just don't get on with such things (hence why I'd always recommend trying one out).

Regarding the 70D, that's always a dilema.. there will always be newer stuff coming out periodically, I think the A77 has enough 'other' unique/fun stuff about it (all the Multi-frame stuff/panorama/high fps etc) that it's got plenty to keep it competitive for the immediate future.

But it's all horses for courses, I was hell bent on a Nikon D7000, but just handled and messed around with the A77 in-store and loved the whole EVF/feature list..
 
I do like the Sony EVF as it comes with a level gauge which is really useful in handheld shooting. Does the 650D have anything like that? I remember reading something about it but cannot confirm it.
 
I'd go with the a77 or a65. To be honest either Canon will wait a good while after the 650D to release the 70D and 7D replacements with a new non 18MP sensor or they'll release at least one with the 18MP sensor. Either way they're getting outdated for the short term and if you're getting a camera soon I'd be surprised if Canon will have caught up in the crop market by that time.

For casual video, nobody's matching Sony for the moment as nobody is making SLTs so nobody else has usable AF during video. If that's not a problem, and you do want to swap systems, I'd look at a Nikon D7000
 
GodAtum said:
I do like the Sony EVF as it comes with a level gauge which is really useful in handheld shooting. Does the 650D have anything like that? I remember reading something about it but cannot confirm it.
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I don't think the 650D does, it's certainly not mentioned in the previews I've seen, and it's a little harder to get a meaningful level working in an optical viewfinder (overlays are expensive, and using metering bars etc aren't the best 'interface' for that kind of info).

But saying that, I actually played with the level, but found just switching on a grid helped more then anything, and the A77 has the flexibility to offer different grid types, but the old rule of thirds seemed sufficient, I use the grid lines to line things up, which I find more practical then the dedicated level (which is very good, it's very precise and is displayed well in the EVF)..

Aside from a couple of quirks (lets face it nothing is perfect), the A65/A77 OLED EVFs are amazingly flexible, but then that's only if you respond to flexibility, it's nice to record video sometimes using the VF, or even review images using the EVF, or focus magnification + focus peaking, or display the histogram, etc, etc, etc..
 
Ah OK, thats cool. I did try the a77 in Jessops but obviously the lighting is good. How is the EVF in a dark indoor environment?

Unfortunately even though the D7000 is a great camera there is no swivel screen.
 
GodAtum said:
Ah OK, thats cool. I did try the a77 in Jessops but obviously the lighting is good. How is the EVF in a dark indoor environment?

Unfortunately even though the D7000 is a great camera there is no swivel screen.
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Thats where it can excel as it can potentially display more than what you could through an OVF.

The image you see in the EVF is grainy in low light but its boosted and details are very visible where in an OVF you wouldn't see as much.
 
Thats good to know. My main shots are taken at indoors parties and events (including fast action such as Top Gear Live) and outdoor landscapes.

I've always had an issue with Top Gear Live at Excel as I can never capture the fast moving cars plus it's really dark! Not sure what to do without buying a £1000 lens!

Quite a few reviews recommend looking at the NEX7, it it really as good as the a77?

My next holiday is in vegas so I'm a bit worried about the EVF during the bright daylight sun.
 
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