Used Sony DSLR-A700 alpha Digital SLR Camera Body, 12.24 MP, Interchangeable Lens.

2013-06-01T20:00:00

I could go on all day about how amazing this camera is. It has survived a difficult life effortlessly. I mean this camera has traveled and seen all sorts of things and has never let me down. Really a proud successor to the magnificent Minolta brand of quality and innovation. Even with it's age it puts many of today's pro Nikons & definitely Canons to shame.

SonyMinoltaLove

Originally posted at

2013-02-04T19:00:00

I have worked my way up the Alpha line up, the last upgrade was the alpha 350, this is still a great camera and I expect to keep it. But now my 700 is amazing, some of my buddies who have the other cameras that I won't mention the names said they love the controls on my camera, and we did a side by side comparison of photo quality, I spend about $1,500.00 less than they all did. Great purchase, can't wait to get the 900 next.

JVC S.

2012-05-06T21:00:00

Good camera to learn digital photography for Minolta owners...last of a generation of Sony/Minolta products

BILLY S.

2012-04-29T20:00:00

Purchase the best lens you can afford and then the camera. I learned this premise during my 45 years of taking photographs. I've used large, medium and small format cameras consistently, whether it's film or digital; it always came down to the lens. When I was younger purchasing the newest and best camera is what I and all my friends did. Today I limit myself to spending no more than $2,000 on a lens (new or used# and then the camera. For this format, which is half the size of a 35mm, I chose the G & Zeiss lens group for their superior performance over Nikon and equal to the Canon L series of lenses. The G lenses have great color, contrast and sharpness. Zeiss lenses are not superior but are as brilliant as the G's. Getting to the review of the a700 camera; it is my workhorse camera for family gatherings, vacations and hobby photography up to 20x30 inches. It is rugged, straightforward and only lacks better weatherproofing (use a plastic bag if it's drizzling or there's moisture in the air; be creative.) Recently I've used the Nikon D200 f/1.4; the Canon 40D f/1.4 and discarded both in favor of the Sony a700 f/1.4 and it's lenses. I own one zoom lens, the Zeiss 16-80mm. I hope reading this will help you understand to find a camera body you prefer based on the lenses you love for their color, contrast and sharpness. I would rather have a $2,000 lens attached to a $200 camera than vice versa. Buy it used!

BTJE

Originally posted at

2011-03-16T20:00:00

After three years of heavy use, my A700 still amazes me. I have traveled widely with it and have captured many great, beautiful shots. My original decision to buy the A700 over Canon or Nikon was heavily influenced by previous purchase and continual use since 1985 of a Minolta 7000 and the need to carry over the large inventory of Minolta lens into the digital relm. Great move Sony to continue the lens compatibilty. I have never looked back. My two most favorite features are the built-in image stabilization (I only had to pay once for this feature unlike other brands that force you to pay for it in each lens) and the D-Range Optimzer. As far as the lack of live view goes, I have never missed it or regretted the purchase for lack of it. So many live view screens are useless in direct sunlight anyway and having never had it on a camera, it wasn't ingrained into my operating needs. Most people use live view with arms outstretched which to me just reduces the camera stablility anyway. I look forward to many more years of service from my A700.

Mick9q

Originally posted at

2010-12-09T19:00:00

I have the A350 and the A700. The A700 is a wonderful camera, The speed, the color is dead on, the weight. Everything is wonderful.

ConnieE

Originally posted at

2010-04-03T21:00:00

I returned to SLR purchasing the A700 as my first digital SLR and have been thoroughly impressed. Many advanced features seen in more expensive DSLRs. intuitive, easy to navigate menus. Takes fabulous pictures in a variety of settings. I have used it primarily with with the Sony 18-200mm telephoto lens. Recently shot a wedding of a relative with excellent results indoors an out.

LMG

2010-03-18T20:00:00

I have had my camera for about a month now and I am continuously amazed by this camera. I bought my first SLR in 1973 and have had several brands. I bought my Minolta Maxxum 7000i in 1991 and it has been a workhorse since then, I also have a Maxxum 9000 and 9XI and have loved them for several years. The Sony A700, though not a professional body, is perfect for 99% of my shooting and as I had the 9XI, I am very comfortable with the dual adjustment wheels though the A700 feels a little small in my hand due to the larger body on the 9XI but it is quickly becoming very comfortable to me. I had to upgrade my firmware from V1 to V4, thank you Sony for making this process easy and quick. I am thankful for the features and noise reduction adjustments that V4 added. I have shot this camera with both my old Minolta lenses and the 18-70 kit lens that came with my camera. I find that I am more comfortable with my Minolta lenses as I like the weight they have over the digital kit lens but as there is an adjustment factor of 1.5 due to the smaller sensor, I am glad to have the kit lens in my bag to take advantage of the wider angle it provides though it does loose a stop when compared to my Minolta 28-80 lens. I have shot side by side with the two lenses and the image quality is pretty good for a kit lens, while I can see a difference, many, perhaps most would not and it would serve a new shooter well for quite a long time indeed. I have shot this camera in some VERY dark situations, hand held and was amazed at how well the stabilization system works, KUDOS SONY! It is also nice to be able to have 2 memory cards installed in the camera (Memory stick and CF) at the same time, this gives the insurance of not running out of space without the hassle of switching cards. Coming from a solid film background, I don’t miss the live view at all. I find that for the most part, it would be a useless feature to me though I can see how someone just starting out or coming from a point and shoot could be disappointed with the lack of it, then there is the whole keeping up with the Jones’s thing as Canon and Nikon both have it (though any serious photographer does not need it). This is a solid camera that I look forward to many years of service from. I was waiting for Sony to work the bugs out of the buyout of Minolta before buying a new digital body and with this body, Sony did an excellent job of upgrading everything I liked about Minolta into the digital age. Thanks again Sony! One thing I wish Sony would NOT have done is put that orange ring around the lens, I find it looks hokey and the looks of the camera body would improve 200% without it.

CalBlacksmith

Originally posted at

2010-03-16T20:00:00

I was used this machine only one night and was amazed how fast is the focus (compared to my a200), have a great handling and clear viewfinder, i hope Sony makes a new model (ex. a750 something) and keep this “retro” design like a700 have, because I did not like the design of the new alpha line.

Brvilela

Originally posted at

2010-03-06T19:00:00

Good camera, especially if you have minolta lenses. I bought a Minolta 20 years ago, and my lenses on this camera work great, though a little experimenting with the aperture is required since the sony does not read the aperture exactly the same as the minolta. The big negative is that you cannot take a picture through the lcd screen as most cameras have. Can't understand why an outstanding camera would lack this feature.

helloeveryone

Originally posted at

2010-01-17T19:00:00

I have now owned this camera for a year. It replaced my 7D which was a gem in it's day. I have a collection of superb Minolta lenses that made going to Sony a no brainer. This was top of the line at time of purchase and honestly does the job in a more than adequate fashion. I simply love this camera and plan to own it at least until the a700 MkII surfaces. Thank You Sony for giving us old Minolta glass users a gem of a camera to mount then on.

AudioBillo

Originally posted at

2009-09-17T20:00:00

i was using my brothers A100 for a while and was looking to purchased one of my own. i then got a hold on my mothers A700 and had to have one. with a better spread of controls and two scroll wheels (front & back), no lag when ripping through frames either (RAW). very responsive when going through the menu too and easy to learn. Quality & performance :)

skylar237

Originally posted at

2009-09-05T20:00:00

After owning this (Alpha 700K) expensive camera for three weeks i want to trade it in for another brand of camera. Consumers like me would want to have Live View features on their camera to be able to view the shots as they take it. Instead of letting the best shot get away.

QHoang

Originally posted at

2009-08-27T20:00:00

Feature for feature, the A700 excells. My former A100 had better colors at ISO 100 with the CCD imager, but higher ISO was simply avoided. With the A700 and the Exmor sensor, ISO 3200 can be made passable and ISO 6400 in certain situations, with the proper tweaks made to the BIONZ parameters, look just as good as my Canon 5D at ISO 3200! It turns out, and many owners do not know this, the A700 simply needs manual adjustment – almost as if the factory defaults were left at their base values instead of being calibrated. Not all situations at ISO 6400 can use the same settings, however, dark areas are still noisy as any camera’s is so as it is with any camera, high ISO use remains limited. Regardless, Sony with minor firmware tweaks was able to silence the high ISO critics – the user can go a step beyond and banish them! The Canon 5D MkII, for example, obtains its sensitivity not by sensor quality, but by thinning the color filters – as a result, the image quality of the A700 at low ISO easily surpasses the Canon’s (5D MkII), however, the high ISO capability of the Canon is something to behold. On another hand, both the A700 the Canon’s (5DMkII) AF doesn’t hold a candle to the Nikon AF system. 9 points is adequate, but 52 is better. And much more expensive. For $1000 (and cheaper, elsewhere), there isn’t a better option. 5fps; UDMA Mode 4,5 CompactFlash; adequate ISO coverage (100-6400); bright Pentaprism; better than competition image quality. Forget Live View which serves only to darken your optical viewfinder, and use what I consider a real man’s camera. Did you know that the A700, of all the APS-C cameras available today, writes pictures taken to the CompactFlash faster than any other?

LeatherLobster

Originally posted at

2009-07-16T20:00:00

this is by far the best i've ever used I still have a minotla 7D but will most likely never use it again

npant

Originally posted at

2009-04-10T21:00:00

Solidly built. I use this camera for magazine ads and architectural photography.

George T.

2009-04-09T21:00:00

Awesome A700 used mostly with the 70-200 G lense for action great upper midlevel camera.. SONY

masms

2009-02-19T19:00:00

I purchased this item and found it to be quite reliable and very fast. It feels very good in your hand and has many features that put it in a class by its self.

rquast

Originally posted at

2009-02-11T19:00:00

I purchased the camera about a year ago and it has been my primary body from day 1. Easy to use (I used canon for 6 years) and the biggest selling point for me was body stab as getting all the stab lenses was getting expensive. I have taken approx 5,000 images with it and the camera exceeded my expectations. I have used the camera in harsh climates and conditions with zero problems other than dust control (clean every night) which is simple compared to the others out there. Battery life is considerably longer with out having to spin the lens stab constantly. In short a quantum leap ahead of the competition!

snowtiger

Originally posted at

2008-11-19T19:00:00

Since my purchase of the A700 I have been very pleased with its performance and various settings which makes possible the production of great imaging. Sony did a great job with this camera and showed how serious they were about being in the DSLR game with canon and nikon. The A700 will allow your creativity to shine with its multiple settings and features and comfortable grip. With the right lenses the possiblilities of your photographic creations are endless this is just a ...great camera

Muzics

Originally posted at

2008-11-12T19:00:00

As a baby boomer, I owned a Minolta SRT-101 and three Minolta lenses in college. This is my third SONY digital camera following the Mavica 5.0 CD and the DCS-R1. After much research I added the SAL-1680Z and the SAL-70300G premium lenses. I use my camera gear primarily to cover youth sporting events. The daytime results, especially after the last firmware update, are awesome. The ISO 6400 capability has allowed me to shoot under the available artificial lighting at sporting events and "bring home the story" on a team website. The near 5 frame per second shooting capability has taken my hobby to a new level of possibilities. That being said, this is not a camera for folks who prefer to leave their cameras perennially on automatic settings. It may be used that way wonderfully well, but one would be missing out on the camera's greater capabilities. In other words, a learning curve, which I personally find to be quite pleasurable, is definitely involved with the A700.

Oldmanriver

Originally posted at

2008-10-28T21:00:00

A700 provides a lot of bang for the buck. I've had the camera 10 months now and I'm pleased. It has handled well in difficult, low light situations. I've shot an event (approx 5 hr event) with a little over 800 photos on one battery and had some life remaining. There is a noticable weight difference between consumer DSLR's and this DSLR's which has more pro features. This is a heavier camera than my prior camera but I adjusted to it without too much trouble. If you are an enthusiast wanting a camera that will grow with your skill, this is a solid starter camera. Because of the cost investment, I would not recommend this camera to the casual photographer.

ANN E.

2008-09-18T21:00:00

Combined with the good (not excellent though) 16-105 lens, it is by far the best all-around travel camera. Great viewfinder, precise colors, very good image quality from 17 to 70mm, good noise control with latest firmware (V4). In-camera stabilisation wonderful.

António p.