Sony has kept its promise to introduce something new with the new Sony a6700 APS-C mirrorless camera , which boasts AI features for object recognition when shooting photos and videos . The predecessor – a6600 – was released 4 years ago, during this time new interesting technologies appeared in Sony cameras, and it’s time to upgrade the mirrorless 6000 series. The price is $1398 for the body only, $1498 for the kit with the 16-50mm lens and $1798 for the 18-135mm lens.
Sony today has 21 lenses specifically for cameras with an APS-C sensor, that is, with a crop factor of 1.5, but thanks to the Sony E mount, all full-frame lenses from both Sony and third-party manufacturers can be used, and many companies, such as Sigma, produce cool optics specifically for the Sony E APS-C. Thus, there are no problems with compatible lenses today, on the contrary, the choice for any budget and for any task. However, today we are talking about the camera!
Sony Alpha a6700
The a6700 features a 26MP back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS BSI sensor that works in conjunction with the BIONZ XR processor we’ve already seen in the Sony a7R V, promising AI features for object detection and intelligent autofocus performance.
The camera has 5-axis stabilization on an IBIS sensor with 5 stops of exposure compensation, the buffer size has been increased for continuous shooting at 11 fps in RAW + JPEG format, 59 photos in RAW format are placed in the buffer.
The camera shoots 4K 60p video with oversampling from the entire area of the 6K sensor without 4:2:2 10-bit pixel binning. In 4K 100 or 120 fps mode, crop 1.6 is used. There is also an HD 240 fps mode with a crop of 1.5. For shooting video, interfaces for connecting an external microphone, a headphone output, a USB-C charging port and a microHDMI port will be useful.
Like many modern Sony cameras, there is an S-Log 3 gamma with LUT support, S-Cinetone and HLG color modes. Video is shot in XAVC S, XAVC SI and XAVC HS codecs. Shooting is carried out on one SD UHS-I or II card. Power – NP-FZ100 battery, same as my ZV-E1, USB-PD charging works.
By the way, the same automatic functions work in the a6700 camera as in the ZV-E1: automatic framing, autofocus on the eyes while the Clear Image function is working. The a6700 offers 759 phase detection AF points and supports human, animal/bird, insect, car, train and aircraft detection. The camera provides an estimate of the person’s posture in addition to recognizing the eyes and faces of people. Autofocus works in low light down to -3.0 EV, you can switch to manual focusing at any time.
Sony Alpha a6700 powered by NP-FZ100 battery
As has become tradition for the 6000 series, the camera features a 2.36 million-dot OLED electronic viewfinder with 1.07x magnification and a refresh rate of 60 or 120 fps. 1.03 million-dot vari-angle LCD main screen that flips and pivots like most modern Sony cameras. Touch control, the menu also works in touch mode. I wonder if Sony can release any update for my ZV-E10 to make the touch menu work there? It is very inconvenient to have two almost identical cameras, in one of which the touch menu works, in the other it does not, and despite the fact that both screens are touch-sensitive. Sony promises that everything is in order in the a6700 with touch input when working in the menu.
Expansion ports, including an SD slot, are located on the side of the camera on the a6700, as in the ZV-E1
Other useful features include the “Focus Map”, which displays how close or far objects are from the camera using different colors, it is possible to adjust the focus gain and other useful little things. The camera is lightweight – the body weighs 409 g.
An important fact is that the a6700 has both an electronic and a mechanical shutter, so you can expect the camera to work properly with studio lighting, unlike some . Today I would choose a full-frame ZV-E1, which I can’t fully use in the studio, or a6700 with the same set of functions for video, but with an APS-C sensor, but without problems with studio lighting, besides with a viewfinder.
The mode dial is very handy. In general, the upper edge hints at how convenient the rig will be for this camera.
Video shot on Sony a6700:
What about the prices?
- Sony a6700 – $1398 body only
- Kit with 16-50mm lens – $1498
- Kit with 18-135mm lens – $1798
