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10/14/2014

Sony A77 M2 DSLR Review: Fast Shooter Great for Low Light

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Pros: Tilt-and-swivel LCD; Evenly exposed pictures with accurate color and sharp detail; Wide ISO range for low-light photography; Continuous shooting of 12 fps for up to 25 photos

Cons: Eye sensor too sensitive ; Overly aggressive noise reduction at high ISOs ; Poor smartphone Wi-Fi connectivity

Verdict : Sony's Alpha 77 Mark 2 DSLR is a solid, fast-shooting camera that can do it all, but it especially shines in low-light settings.

A variation on the conventional DSLR, Sony's Alpha 77 M2 camera is an upgrade of its popular Alpha 77 SLT (single-lens translucent) camera. This system lets a portion of the light through to a dedicated autofocus sensor while sending most light to the image sensor, providing a full-time live view as found on mirrorless cameras for shooting stills and videos. The $1,050 (body only) A77 M2 features a speedy new 79-point phase-detection autofocus system and a large ISO range to capture more detail in extreme low-light situations. With these improvements, can the new Alpha continue to impress, and take on competitors like Canon's $1,200 (body only) EOS 70D?

Image Quality


In general, pictures shot with the A77 M2 turned out bright, sharp and beautifully colored. Sony provided us with an f/2.8, 16-50mm SSM zoom lens ($800) to test the camera. We evaluated the camera's ability to set the right aperture, shutter speed and ISO light-sensitivity levels for even exposure by shooting on shutter- and aperture-priority modes. The A77 M2 performed well at these tasks, for the most part.

Bright-Light Results: Vivid Colors and Sharp Detail

In bright settings, the A77 M2 performed very well. My pictures of Central Park's Sheep Meadow on a sunny Sunday afternoon showed vibrant green blades of grass and a deep blue sky. The camera also retained the fine detail of wispy clouds in the sky.

The A77 M2 accurately captured the pink and red strands in her hair, and kept the overall picture evenly exposed despite her bright white blouse. The flowers on her metallic necklace also rendered clearly. I did notice some distortion in this picture though, where people and trees in the background appear to be stretched diagonally toward the corners.

This photo was shot at the lens's widest focal length (16mm), which results in some distortion on most systems. So if you're getting this lens (which the A77 M2 is frequently bundled with), make sure to set the focal length a little narrower (20mm and up removes the distortion).

The Sony's color reproduction is as good as the quality from Canon's $1,200 EOS 70D DSLR, albeit with subtle differences. A colorful installation at the High Line park taken with both cameras showed similarly rich hues, with the Sony image showing a slightly blue cast while the Canon picture displayed warmer tones.

Low-Light Results: High ISO Range Captures More Detail


With a light-sensitivity range of ISO 100 to 25,600, the A77 M2 is capable of capturing brighter and sharper images in darker situations than competitors such as the Canon 70D (which can achieve ISO 25,600, though Canon recommends staying at 12,800).

At a night game during the US Open, my picture of the Arthur Ashe stadium lit by floodlights is so clear you can see individual people in their seats if you zoom to 100 percent.

In even more challenging light situations, such as the nighttime view from my 36th-floor Hell's Kitchen apartment, the A77 M2 delivered pictures with crisp detail. With a top limit of ISO 25,600, the A77 M2 was able to snap photos of the Manhattan skyline at shutter speeds of 1/60, which is fast enough for handheld shots. (Shooting in aperture-priority mode, I set the aperture to f/2.8 to enable that shutter speed.)

However, Sony's JPEG processor was a bit overzealous. The JPEGs of my nighttime cityscapes appeared muddy in parts, as if someone had finger painted the black sky. In comparison, the unprocessed RAW version of the same shot showed crisp detail, but naturally also plenty of chroma noise (sharp, colored dots). Using Adobe Photoshop CC, I easily reduced the amount of noise to output a crisp JPEG without that finger painted look.

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With the A77 M2, you should be able to rely on the camera's JPEG processor up to ISO 6400 to deliver pictures that are relatively noise- and smudge-free. If you start seeing the smudged texture on your images, you're better off processing the RAW version yourself. To be safe, make sure you're shooting in RAW+JPEG (at least in low light) so you have a chance to rescue images in editing.

Video: Good Image Quality, Slight Stuttering


Thanks to its translucent mirror technology with full-time phase-detection autofocus, the A77 M2 deftly kept moving targets sharp even as I panned from a close-up object to one in the distance. All the videos for this review were shot at 1080p and 30 and 60 frames per second, and recorded in AVCHD format. The M2 also shoots in MP4, but not at the Full HD resolution that you get with AVCHD.

On a sunny day in Central Park, I recorded the busy road full of cyclists, horse carriages and people milling around at 1080p 30fps. The video displayed little to no shutter roll – a distortion that happens when the camera is unable to keep up with a moving object, resulting in stretched images. The Sony's footage did show some stutter as I panned slowly across the scene, though.

In darker environments, such as the streets of the Las Vegas strip at night, the A77 M2 showed some shutter roll (also at 30fps) in the fast-moving limbs of a street performer as he cartwheeled in front of an amused audience. The overall exposure in the video was somewhat even. Bright lights in the background were not blown out, but the features of a darker-skinned performer were a bit lost in the shadow and hard to see. More impressively, though, the cartwheeling man was sharp throughout the clip, without significant shutter roll.

I then shot 1080p video at 60 fps, but noticed even more stuttering in the clips when panning across a scene. Stuttering was also somewhat noticeable when subjects in the frame were moving. You won’t notice this effect when playing back the clips in the camera, but you likely will on a computer. We asked Sony's experts about the issue, and they suggested it could be that the computers were not up to the task of playback. But we were using several high-end laptops, including a Dell Latitude 6430u and an Apple MacBook Pro Retina Display. Clips uploaded to YouTube also exhibited the stuttering.

It may be that the AVCHD files are so large that they would require some processing and compression to play smoothly on typical computers and online. Exporting 1080p files in the MP4 format might be better for most users, but the A77 M2 isn't currently able to do this. (Sony first introduced this capability in its new entry-level a5100 mirrorless camera.) For now, the best advice, if you are not shooting professional video, is to shoot in AVCHD but at 30fps.

The A77 M2’s onboard stereo mics picked up sound very well. In the Central Park video, not only was the clopping of horses' hooves distinct, but the chatter of the carriage passengers was also crisp. I could hear birds chirping and kids laughing in the background.

Sony vs Canon EOS 70D Video


Canon’s EOS 70D packs its own system, called dual-pixel autofocus, for tracking a moving subject while recording video. Canon’s technology has 80 percent of its image-sensor pixels run double duty, capturing images and acting as autofocus sensors at the same time. I tested this out at Madison Square Park, filming parkgoers going about their business.

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For the most part, there wasn’t a significant difference in the focusing ability of the two cameras. However, the Canon definitely outperformed the Sony, as it was able to shift focus quickly from a set of bars in the foreground to blades of grass behind the bars within a fraction of a second. The Sony focused on the bars but struggled to shift to the new subject.

Also, while you can tap on the LCD monitor to designate a subject on the Canon 70D, the Sony just decides what to focus on. You can half-depress the shutter while recording to force the camera to refocus, but during my testing this was often cumbersome and I could not get the result I wanted.

The Canon shifted focus with ease, creating a pleasingly artistic look, while the Sony held focus on the leaves for a second, then struggled between keeping the leaves and the bar sharp.

Autofocus and Speed


With a shooting speed of 12 frames per second (with autoexposure and autofocus adjustment for each shot) up to 25 images on RAW+JPEG mode, and a top shutter speed of 1/8,000 second, the A77 M2 is quite the speed demon. In comparison, the Canon 70D can shoot only 7 fps up to eight shots on RAW+JPEG mode.

Thanks to the Sony's swift performance, I was able to snap several shots of my friend frolicking on Sheep Meadow in Central Park – and each shot was tack sharp.

Carrying a 79-point phase-detection autofocus system, the A77 M2 latched on to subjects quickly. During video recording though, the camera had a tendency to shift focus midway through filming, blurring the subject.

Design and Handling: Solid, User-Friendly Build


At 5.62 x 4.12 x 3.25 inches in size and 1.42 pounds (body only), the A77 M2 is a hair lighter than the Canon EOS 70D (1.48 pounds, body only). A rubberized grip on the right of its magnesium alloy body has contours to rest your middle and ring fingers on, while your index finger sits comfortably on the shutter button.

The majority of the A77 M2's controls lie on the right side of its body. I especially liked the 3-inch tilting LCD display on the camera, which you can flip out, rotate and twist around to let you easily compose shots at a wide variety of odd angles — even selfies.

One little annoyance with the A77 M2 is the sensor that detects if you put the viewfinder up to your face. Meant to automatically switch the active display between the viewfinder and the 3-inch LCD monitor, it also turned the LCD black anytime my finger hovered within 2 inches of the viewfinder. Thankfully, you can disable the sensor and use a switch on top of the camera instead to switch between viewfinder and screen.
Battery Life

The A77 M2's battery is supposed to last for 410 images, using the viewfinder, or 480 images with LCD monitor, based on CIPA testing standards. I took the M2 with me to a three-day tech convention in Las Vegas and shot 474 pictures and 10 videos (about 45 minutes in total) on one charge with a mix of viewfinder and monitor use. That's better than the touted ability.
Wireless: Useless

The A77 M2 has Wi-Fi built in for sending pictures from your camera to your smartphone or to remotely control the camera. During my time with the Sony, though, the Wi-Fi sharing function did not work at all, whether I used iOS or Android devices. I connected the phones to the camera's built-in Wi-Fi hotspot, entered the password and waited an eternity for the two devices to link, but it never happened. Canon's 70D has better built-in Wi-Fi capability (though that's not saying much, as it's still rather clunky to set up).

For better wireless connectivity, consider using an Eye-Fi memory card, which gives almost any camera a Wi-Fi connection to your smartphone, tablet or computer. In tests, I've found Eye-Fi very easy to use.

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Controls: Plenty of Knobs and Dials for Easy Use


It might sound intimidating, but the total of 17 buttons, three wheels, a switch and a joystick make the A77 M2 easy to use. If you've already picked the mode you want to shoot in with the Mode dial on the left, you'll find everything else (such as ISO, White Balance and exposure compensation) easily accessible with your right hand.

Thanks to the Fn button on the right of the LCD monitor, top-level controls were easy to access. These include exposure compensation, metering mode, ISO light sensitivity, white balance and drive mode. Just press the button and a 6 x 2 grid appears on the LCD or in the viewfinder. You can go through it with the joystick to adjust each box's setting with either wheel on the camera. You can customize this menu to show your preferred options.

A Menu button on the top left of the LCD offers more in-depth and less commonly used settings. Since there isn't a touch screen, you're dependent on the joystick next to the screen to navigate the multiple pages under each of the five major menu tabs.

When you press the Fn button while looking at a playback of a picture or video, you'll bring up options to send that file to your smartphone or computer via Wi-Fi.

The A77 M2 scored well on our test of how easy it is to reach key settings, thanks to a wide array of dedicated buttons. (Settings that have a dedicated button or knob, such as shutter speed, require 0 steps to access.)

Lenses


The Sony A77 M2 is compatible with 12 Sony A-mount lenses. The f/2.8 16-50mm zoom lens we tested provided good color and image detail with some distortion at its widest setting. The amount of stretching was reasonable though, and expected. You can reduce or get rid of the distortion by pulling back a little from 16mm to 20mm.

Sony also offers a f/1.8 35mm prime (nonzooming) lens for a low $218, which should be great for food and portrait photography. Both Sony and third-party lens maker Sigma offer a 50mm prime lens in the $400 to $500 price range, and sample pictures taken with the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM setup show that this lens delivers good clarity and color.

The M2 is also compatible with a wide array of A-mount lenses from other third-party manufacturers, such as Tamron and Tokina.
Bottom Line

All in all, Sony's Alpha 77 M2 is a great camera that performs well in everyday situations. A large ISO range also makes it ideal for extreme low-light photography, while the translucent mirror system enables decent autofocus while you're shooting video. The camera is also easy to use, and I especially loved the tilting LCD for selfies or a variety of odd-angled shots. Plus, the Alpha 77 M2 boasts an impressively fast still shooting speed (12 fps) that puts rivals to shame.

Those who want a rig for video recording may prefer Canon's EOS 70D, which has a superb dual-pixel autofocus system that effectively latches on to and tracks moving subjects. But the 70D only shoots up to 30 fps, while the Sony gets up to 60 fps. So each camera has its strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, if action photography is a higher priority for you than video, the $1,050 Sony Alpha 77 M2 is an excellent choice.

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10/03/2014

Pentax’s the 645Z Review | best lowest Prices

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During the days of film photography, medium-format cameras weren’t just the preserve of professional photographers: many enthusiasts used them as well. Just as with digital photography, the larger frame brought better-quality images that could be blown up to bigger sizes. At around £7,700 / $9,700 for a camera body and a 55mm lens, the Pentax 645Z is beyond the reach of most enthusiast photographers – but it costs just a fraction of what a comparable Hasselblad kit would set you back, so there is lots of interest among experienced photographers.

FEATURES
Like the Pentax 645D that it replaces, the 645Z has a sensor that measures 43.8 x 32.8mm (168% the size of a 35mm frame). Sony has provided the sensor rather than Kodak this time, and the pixel count has been boosted from 40 million to 51 million. The anti-aliasing filter is also omitted to boost detail resolution.

Pentax has coupled the sensor with its Prime III image engine, first seen in the Pentax K-3 APS-C-format SLR. This enables up to 10 raw images (or 30 large highest-quality JPEGs) to be shot at up to three frames per second. In addition, the maximum sensitivity setting is ISO 204,800, significantly higher than the ISO 6,400 maximum offered by other medium-format cameras. There’s also a tilting 3.2-inch 1,037k-dot LCD, which is capable of showing a Live View image, and Full HD movies may be recorded. Pentax has also given the 645Z the Safox 11 phase-detection autofocus (AF) system found in the K-3. This has 27 AF points, 25 of which are the more sensitive cross-type.

BUILD AND HANDLING
Pentax has used the same design and control layout for the 645Z as it did for the 645D. The body is covered liberally with controls that give a quick route to key features such as sensitivity, white balance and exposure compensation. However, there’s only fairly limited scope to customise the use of these buttons. The new camera has the same deep grip and, despite its large size and relatively heavy weight, it feels comfortable in the hand.

As the user interface is fairly similar to that of Pentax’s K-series cameras, it’s easy to get to grips with the 645Z. Even those who have never used a medium-format camera before will soon feel comfortable using it. That said, the menu looks dated. As an SLR, the 645Z has a reflex mirror that lifts to allow an exposure to be made. Naturally this is quite a large unit and, while it’s not quite the door-slam of some medium-format models, you are certainly aware of its movements.

The LCD screen is clear and provides a detailed view, whether you’re composing using Live View mode or reviewing images. The fact that the screen tilts is especially useful when composing images on a tripod in the studio or when out shooting landscapes. It’s also helpful that the screen’s display can be set to rotate, to make it easier to read when you’re shooting in upright format.

PERFORMANCE
The key advantage of having 51 million effective pixels on a medium-format sensor is that it’s possible to record lots of detail. Also, because those pixels are relatively large, they generate a strong signal, which means noise levels can be kept down. This is immediately apparent in the images from the 645Z – they have a huge amount of sharp detail and little noise at the low to mid-range sensitivity settings. Even at the highest sensitivity setting of ISO 204,800, noise is controlled comparatively well. There is some coloured speckling visible, but detail appears to be better retained than in images from small-format SLRs with such settings. Stepping down to ISO 6,400 results in images that look significantly better, with plenty of detail, so using this setting is perfectly realistic.

As we have found with other Pentax SLRs, the 645Z’s Multi-segment metering system generally behaves well, but it is prone to underexposing when faced with bright subjects or when there are large bright areas in the scene. The automatic white balance system also does a good job in a range of natural lighting conditions but, as is often the case, a custom white balance setting is a better bet in artificial light. In the Natural Custom Image setting, the 645Z generally delivers pleasant-looking images with natural colours.

While the 645Z’s AF system can’t compete with a high-end small-format SLR’s, it is pretty impressive considering the size and weight of the elements inside the compatible lenses. Even in quite low light, it homed in on its target decisively with little hunting, although it starts to struggle when subjects get close to the minimum distance.

VERDICT
The Pentax 645Z is a solidly built camera, yet it’s pleasant to use hand-held. It’s not far off being a ‘point and shoot’ medium-format camera if you want it to behave in such a way.

The main aim of using a medium-format camera is to produce higher-quality images than is possible with a small-format camera, and the Pentax 645Z certainly delivers in this respect. Images have a superb amount of detail, and colours are generally natural yet vibrant straight from the camera. Depth of field can also be very limited, which is a potential shortcoming for landscape and macro photography.

OVERALL
We saY: despite being at the more ‘affordable’ end of the medium-format market, the 645Z is solid and weatherproof. it’s also easy to use, and produces superb images with huge amounts of detail.

9/08/2014

SONY ALPHA 6000 Review - what do you get if you cross the A7R with the NeX-6?

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With the launch of the Alpha 6000, Sony has introduced what amounts to an APS-C version of the full-frame Alpha 7. At the same time, two old NEX lines, the NEX-7 and the NEX-6, have been discontinued. Sony expects the NEX-7 owner to upgrade to the A7 range, while the A6000 is designed to meet the needs of the NEX-6 owner, sitting at the top of the company’s APS-C enthusiast line.

Small and sleek, the A6000 has a similar look and feel to the A7. It features a newly designed 24.3-million-pixel APS-C CMOS sensor. It competes pretty closely with the likes of the Fujifilm X-E2, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the Panasonic Lumix G6.

features
Along with the new sensor, the A6000 is equipped with the Bionz X, Sony’s latest processor, which is also found in the newest full-frames like the A7, the A7R and the A7S. Sony claims that the Bionz X is three times faster than the previous generation. The image sensor has 179 phase-detection autofocus points. There are also 25 contrast-detection AF points for the hybrid autofocussing system. At the time of launch, Sony claimed that the camera had the fastest AF in the world among cameras with an APS-C sized sensor.

On the back of the A6000 is a tiltable LCD screen, which is joined by an electronic viewfinder: the same 0.39-inch, 1.4-million dot device found on the RX10 premium bridge camera. Reflecting the broader trend, the A6000 comes complete with built-in Wi-Fi and NFC. Like several other Sony cameras, it is customisable with apps downloadable from Sony’s cloud-based photo storage service PlayMemories.

As its standard kit lens choice, the A6000 comes with a 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 power zoom – the same lens that is packaged with the A5000. You can also buy it body only, giving yourself the freedom to choose from the large range of different E-mount lenses now available. Perhaps the perfect all-round lens for this camera is the Zeiss 16-70mm f/4 optic, but that comes with a £799 price tag – quite a bit more than the camera itself.

Building And Handling
Those who appreciate lots of dials and buttons will enjoy the A6000. It has plenty of controls available, and, like other Sony cameras, pretty much all of them are customisable to help you adjust the camera to suit the way you take photos.



The grip of the A6000 is ever so slightly more pronounced than on the NEX-6, making it easier to hold. There’s also a nice texture covering the camera. On top of the camera are two dials: one for controlling the shooting mode (such as automatic, semi-automatic or manual), and another for altering the shutter speed or aperture, depending on the mode you’re shooting in.

Setting the autofocus point on this camera is a task that would be speedier with a touchscreen, but it’s not too bad if you set the right custom buttons. To make things quicker, set Focus Area to Flexible Spot. From here, you simply need to press the button in the centre of the scrolling dial on the back of the camera to bring up the focus point selection option. You can then use the directional keys to move around the screen. It’s worth noting that this is the default option for the central button when Flexible Spot is selected: if you’ve got it set to anything else, it won’t work in the same way.

Although it’s not a touchscreen, the screen tilts, which is useful for shooting from some awkward angles, or for shielding the screen from glare. The viewfinder is bright and clear, and doesn’t seem to suffer from any noticeable lag. Setting up Wi-Fi is quick and easy, and makes the A6000 convenient for quickly sharing photos to your smartphone or tablet.

“Those who appreciate dials and buttons will enjoy the A6000. It has plenty of controls available”

Performance
Sony is producing some of the most interesting compact system cameras currently on the market and, pleasingly, the A6000 is another great performer to add to the line-up. Its images are great, with beautifully saturated colours. You can experiment with how JPEGs look straight from the camera by adjusting Creative Styles – a number of which are available as pre-stored settings. Detail is rendered very well b
y the A6000. Generally, image smoothing only starts to become problematic for normal printing sizes in shots taken at around ISO 3,200 upwards. Examining images at 100% from around ISO 1,600 upwards, you will find areas of the image that have a painterly effect, but the overall effect is good.



“Sony has come within touching distance of creating the perfect compact system camera”

The camera’s metering system does a good job with exposure, although it sometimes struggles in high-contrast situations, when you’ll need to dial in some exposure compensation. Similarly, the automatic white balance system is a good performer, although it can be slightly confused by some artificial light sources.

In good light, autofocussing speeds are very quick, dropping as the light levels drop, but only struggling to lock on at all in very dark conditions. The 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens is a good all-rounder to get started with, but this is the kind of camera you’ll want to buy additional lenses for. Luckily there are some great ones for the E-mount.

Battery life is better than in the A7, probably due to the smaller sensor, but it’s still worth buying a spare battery if you travel.

Overall
Sony has come within touching distance of creating the perfect CSC. Fantastic image quality and customisable buttons are great to have, but a couple of niggles keep it from greatness.