What have I done!!!

[michaelb104]

I'll tell you what I've done, I nipped into London Camera Exchange today to have a look at the Sony A77 and see what it was like. 
Well after checking out the EVF and other stuff I asked the bloke behind the counter 'how much?', he quoted a figure, I asked if he could do a deal, he then asked me what would I pay, so I asked for £200 off (thinking not likely), anyway he came back to me and said if I buy it now he would do it with that discount.

So I am the now the proud owner of a camera with an EVF and a fixed translucent mirror and a battery that is currently charging.

I am also making the assumption that having a new camera will make me a fantastic photographer It is all about the equipment isn't it??? 

[Beaux Reflets]

Nice one Michael, but you should have asked for more off  - When folk agree to drop the price, I always try to barter for more  Looking forward to seeing some shots. Off to Google the model you bought 

[Oldboy]

Well done Mike for asking for the discount. 

Just had a read of What Digital Camera review of the A77 and they give it 92% and reckon it's a fantastic camera. The only downside it's  a bit heavy on batteries, so hope you've got a spare. Now all you need to do is go out and have fun, and buy a couple of big hard disks to store those 68mp Raws. 

Review: http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/equipment/reviews/digitalslr/129198/1/sony-alpha-a77-review.html

[greypoint]

Interesting to see if that evf can cope with fast action.

[Reinardina]

Well done Michael! Now you only ave to make sure you enter the competitions regularly to prove your point!

[Graham]

I am also making the assumption that having a new camera will make me a fantastic photographer It is all about the equipment isn't it??? 

  Absobleedinglutley! Of course it will.  Have fun. 

[Hinfrance]

Sounds brilliant.

I had a look through the specification and couldn't see if it is weather sealed - I presume that at such a price it is?

The frame rate and continuous focus will make you a god

[greypoint]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al1BI82nV9A    DigitalRevs usual quirky review proves it is indeed weather sealed

[Oldboy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al1BI82nV9A    DigitalRevs usual quirky review proves it is indeed weather sealed

In the reviews I've read it say it's dust protected, nothing about weather seals. 

[krennon]

Michael you jammy Barsteward you!!!£200.00 quid off the A77 you absolute b*/&*y lucky git.....

Yes I am JEALOUS!!!! Extremely.....I had a play for about 30 seconds with one the other week in my local Jacobs and I really liked it and I reckon that that x2 convertor with a 75-300mm lens on it would negate the necessity for a super telephoto/zoom lens such as the 70-400 (althought that would be AWESOME ok it reduces the file size using the convertor but when you've got 24mp to play with you can afford to lose some)
I'm just intrigued as to how good that EVF really is because my old Fuji S6500 had a evf and after a days shooting I ended up with a bit of a headache and sort of "eye strain"...I know this is supposed to be an absolute super EVF though.
The review in AP (last week or the week before) did say that there is a slight loss in IQ in lower light images due to some of the light coming through the lens being diverted onto the pellicle mirror but at least the iso starts at 50 which is great for the Sunshine (fuji velvia anybody  )

fwiw the reviews I've read do say that the seals are supposed to be weather and dust resistant on the A77 as they've bought out the 16-50mm lens to go with it, whether they are as good as those found on the Pentax remains to be seen of course....

I'm saving for the A65 as the A77 is WELL out of my price league but the A65 does have the same sensor as the A77 but loses the top plate lcd, the weather seals and the gps function the only one of those I'd be really keen to have is the weather sealing tbh.

But well done Michael that is a superb buy....right i'm off to sulk and cry and then google the going price for human organs, sure I've got something in me that can be sold.....

[Carlj]

Remember to switch auto-review off - seems the "pros" on magazines fail to do this, and report the slideshow in evf mode. I've turned if off on the A55 and have no problems with the EVF keeping up with 10fps - the person holding the camera, however, isn't as fast to react! 

[michaelb104]

Got to admit I still haven't used it in anger yet, as busy when I got it and being away all last week with work, so when I get home it's time for house, family stuff but hopefully this afternoon I'll take it out for a walk and see if I cannot get a Halloween image for this week's comp.

As for the EVF, I've got to say I'm impressed, it's big it's bright and in low light it compensates so you can see more than with an OVF.  At the moment I think it is way better than an OVF in both bright light and low light, though when it is low light you can tell it's not an OVF as it seems more like watching a TV screen (which I guess it is).  When panning the EVF image does not break up so you can see what you are panning with and the upside is that when you finally press the shutter it does not go black because of the fixed mirror.  The caveat to this is that I am comparing it to the OVF in my Sony A350 which I never had an issue with and did its job absolutely fine.

[krennon]

Michael I to use the Sony A350 and love it the only thing that lets it down imo is the frame rate for those fast action shots (went to a bird of prey shoot a few weeks ago and seriously hard to keep up with them) but if you reckon the evf on the A77 is as good as the ovf on the A350 I will seriously consider saving for the A65 as it's the same evf on both the A65 & A77...let us know how you get on with it...

[mondmagu]

Nice purchase Michael, enjoy! I used to have a Sony bridge camera(DSC H5) a few years back and never could fault it.

Des

[Carlj]

Michael I to use the Sony A350 and love it the only thing that lets it down imo is the frame rate for those fast action shots (went to a bird of prey shoot a few weeks ago and seriously hard to keep up with them) but if you reckon the evf on the A77 is as good as the ovf on the A350 I will seriously consider saving for the A65 as it's the same evf on both the A65 & A77...let us know how you get on with it...

I used to have the A300 with A200 - the A300 was the worse viewfinder I owned, so I ended up buying a magnifier eyepiece to enable me to see clearly where the focus lay. The A55 is a mighty step forward from them, the A65/77 a similar step from my A55. Basically it blows away the entry level ovf. And I love the live histogram too.
Carl