Camera Labs

To be honest, I can see many professional uses from a live view system. If macro work is being done, and the camera is positioned on a tripod fairly low to the ground, a live view system can prove very helpful in both the comfort and posture of the photographer. Same with the camera being positioned higher up. Of course the angle of view is a bit limited, at least you still have some view...

Really, if one hates live view, and/or thinks it's unprofessional or whatever, then he or she doesn't have to use it. It's there and available. I've never used a live view DSLR outside of a store, so I can't really say how exactly helpful it is in daily work, but I know from point-and-shoots that there is no real disadvantage to having live view. Only perhaps a price increase. But with the advancement on technology, almost all new cameras these days in the semi-pro/pro market have live view. So it's nothing new that will boost the price up that much.

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In the Netherlands, an A700 body is 750 euro approx (after cashback). That's not on the same level as the Canon 40D, but it sure is way cheaper than a D300 for instance. So I assume that price will not be cut down dramatically for the A700. This relatively low pricing (compared to the introduction price) can be a sign that the product is near the end of its lifecycle and that a new model will be introduced either on the kina (imho unlikely) or at PMA2009. We will see

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Fujifilm X-E1 - XF 18-55mm - XF 14mm - Lowepro Rover AW II - Think Tank Retrospective 5

The £100 cashback offer (on the body only) offer finishes at the end of september.... What do you think this means?

Im tempted to snap an a700 body up before this cash back offer ends... but at the same time I would like to wait and see what happens with the new line of DSLR's and if the price of the a700 drops... but then I wont have the cashback offer.

How long do you guys generaly keep a camera body?

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Tobywuk personal website || My Flickr
Gear: Sony a700! || CZ 16-80mm! || Sony 75-300 || bag: Crumpler PB xxxl / Lowepro slingshot 200

That shall be PhotoKina, in Cologne, Germany. The event starts on the 23rd and lasts till the 28th of September! But we may well get news earlier. Tomorrow, Sony organises a press day announcing, what's said to be the launch of an exciting digital camera. However, that's most likely to be two new Cybershot models.
Important though: there will be a two day press event on the 9/10th of September, which is probably when the A900 will be announced, likely accompanied by some new lenses like the Zeiss 16-35mm and 80-400mm and perhaps the 24-105mm F4 as well.
David Kilpatrick, editor of photoclubalpha.com, expects the camera to go on sale on the 30th of September. However, the first store to have the camera available for orders will be Foto Gregor (Cologne), which often has the newest camera announced at PhotoKina from the first day of the event (so from the 23rd). Read David's full article on the Alpha 900 launch.
You might want to watch David's site closely the coming weeks, there might well be some interesting news...

About Live View: I think it's a useful feature for some occassions, I prefer using the viewfinder, and I do think it will be implemented in all future Alpha DSLRs (including the A900).

- Bjorn -

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Leica M9-P (my article on Camera Labs) | Leica D-Lux 5 | 50mm Summilux

Ok.
after reading on several occasions, and coming past this thread, I just had to register and reply as this has definetely got me thinking. I'm from Australia, but I just came back from two weeks in Japan.

I had read about the A700 prior to going overseas, and was very interested in the Camera. One of the first places I visited was the Sony Flagship showroom in Ginza, Tokyo.

Here I was given the chance to demo/use the Sony "a700". The camera was great, they had attached a Sony lens for demo purposes. The Salesman spoke of the Liveview feature and demonstrated this on the camera, advising the A700 was the best model in the lineup thus far etc etc..

Now...I like the Liveview feature. Several days later I was in Akhiabara and an array of other electronics/camera shops in Tokyo, and everytime I inspected an A700, they never had live view...which literally managed to confuse the hell out of me sufficiently enough for me to not purchase a camera on this trip as I was a bit taken back why the same model would have different features.

In the end, I thought I may have been mixed up and perhaps he was selling me the A350, as this is the only likely explination. But I have run over this several times, and the Camera I viewed - the one I played with at the shop, was introduced as the A700 and It was on the correct shelp/position where the unit was located/price tagged. This camera, was approxiamately 1999 AUD including lens plus a few extra sony accessories they "bundled" in at that price. accessories such as bag and so forth, nothing like a Ziess lens etc.. just minor stuff. So the price could not have been for a A350 as this would mean almost $1300 worth of accessories, which is definetely not what was included here...

I found this thread interesting because if it indeed was a facelifted model, it would help explain why there was a discrepency between the model I demo'd at the Sony Store and the models floating around at the resellers..

Cheers guys. This is a great forum. Hope to post and learn alot here

Welcome REminx to the Camera Labs forum.
I'm pretty sure Sony wouldn't expose a unannounced model in their showroom. Are you sure that it was the A700? Not an A300 or A350, perhaps even the A900? Did the camera you used in the Sony showroom have a joystick on the back? That would mean it's an A700 or A900, because other models, including those with Live View, do not have a joystick.

- Bjorn -

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Street and documentary photographer | Google+ | Twitter | Tumblr

Leica M9-P (my article on Camera Labs) | Leica D-Lux 5 | 50mm Summilux

Well.. I was dead certain it was an A700, but as you do you begin to doubt yourself .... your own credibility shatters and then your confused.

I asked for the A700. It was the only camera I was interested in getting. It was what was handed to me from the A700 stand. I mean the price is in line with an A700. It's too expensive to be a A350 even with the A350 + basic Ziess Lens and Alpha carry bag, this shouldnt = 2000 AUD.

It WASNT A Ziess Lens. I remember checking atleast that much.
From memory it was a Sony Lens... . The salesman was convinced it was an "excellent" lens

I am positive it was a A700 because we had this conversation where I wanted him to tell me why it was superior over the A350 and he went through the whole process of explaining that the 350 was CCD as opposed to the CMOS sensor in the A700 etc etc....

So I wasn't on crack, nor were we discussing a different model. But it just doesn't add up obviously, because I don't understand why the Japanese Showroom model would be different, compared to the shops in the same city, let alone the rest of the world/other countries!

I'd love to believe your story, but I just can't imagine Sony exposing an A700 with live view to the public, because it's not announced yet.
Sony, what's going on???

- Bjorn -

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Street and documentary photographer | Google+ | Twitter | Tumblr

Leica M9-P (my article on Camera Labs) | Leica D-Lux 5 | 50mm Summilux

Hmm... I know people in Japan but I don't think any of them would be interested enough to go and check it out XD

On the outside chance, it's not unknown for any big company to have parts doing things they shouldn't be.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

My upgrade route has been via Minolta film cameras ( 9000 - 9xi - Dynax 7 ), then entering digital via Nikon D50, but converted back to Sony ( a100, then upgraded to the wonderful a700 ).

The a700 is fantastic but I want an improved spec. The a900 and a850 would give me stronger bodies, more pixels and more pro features, but I don't want the weight or the huge files, so I hope Sony will upgrade the a700 to an "a750".

I'm not interested in live view, scene modes or other such amateur gimmicks that in my opinion have no place on a "serious" camera.

I want is an upgraded a700 with, in order of importance :

MUCH longer battery life ( or the option to accept AA lithium batteries which can be bought anywhere )

a sync speed of 1/500 that will work with my Sony HVL-MV24AM twin macro flash

a 3.5 inch hi-res fixed screen

reduced noise levels in the ISO 400-800 range

.... and hopefully :

a bigger and brighter optical viewfinder

3 custom modes that can be accessed directly by a dial rather than via menus

user-refined auto white-balance

a quieter shutter


Pixels ? 15mp is more than enough for me.

Sony, are you listening ??

Why is this an issue given that you can enable HSS and get flash syncs of up to 1/4000s (maybe higher on the A700?) which is what I had on my A200.

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PhilipGoh.com

Battery life - was it ever bad? The A350 feels like it lasts forever. Don't think I ever emptied a full one in a day other than by bulb shooting. With a spare that should be no problem at all. Does the grip take AAs? Certainly they have no place whatsoever in the main body.

Noise - I could hazard a guess they will use the same sensor from the A550.

They really should put in "MF check" live view though.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

The high-speed sync ( HSS ) feature only works if the camera is used with specific flash units. It doesn't work with the HVL-MV24AM twin macro flash / a700 combo. One answer would be for Sony to bring out a HSS version of their twin-macro flash, a unit that ( for insect photography ) gives far better lighting control and quality than a "normal" type flash, or a ring flash. A much better solution ( and much cheaper ) would be to increase the sync speed in-camera, rather than in-flash. I only need a max of 1/500. Nikon managed 1/500 sync ( with ANY Nikon-dedicated flash unit ) on their D50 camera, so why can't Sony and Canon match it ? Strangely even Nikon dropped the sync speed to 1/250 on their other models, so maybe it's a question of reliability ?

Battery life is a major issue of you shoot in the remote areas I visit ( Amazonia, the Andes, Africa ), where it is often impossible to recharge batteries as many places have no mains electricity. I'm often away from recharging facilities for several days at a time. I take 5 spare fully charged batteries with me, but when you shoot 500+ images per day and the camera is permanently switched on for several hours, a fully charged battery will only last for one days shooting ( even with the display switched off, and all other energy saving facilities on the a700 enabled ). AA batteries are available in the remotest places on Earth. You can find them easily in the tiniest villages in the middle of nowhere. Pentax DSLRs have the option of using AA batteries, and it would be a big selling point for me if Sony offered this option ( or alternatively a cord and adaptor so that the camera could run from a set of AAs kept in your pocket ).

The above might seem to be a "professional" feature only needed by a minority of users, but consider how many people go on safaris in Africa, trekking in Nepal, camping tours in wilderness areas etc, and the need for improved battery life and/or an AA facility becomes apparent.
.

it better be good cause the a700 can really shine if you know how to use it

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sostand/

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SgtUSMC

The major DSLR manufacturers apart from Sony produce battery grips that accept AA batteries. There might be some 3rd party hand grips that allow you to use AA batteries. This is such an important feature, I do not understand why the A700 battery grip doesn't support it.

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PhilipGoh.com