Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

The Sony a77ii body just dropped to $898 from Sony or any authorized dealer, and direct from Sony even comes with a few gadgets (though as of today it's on backorder). That's a whole lot of camera for very little money. I am considering upgrading from my a77, but there are rumors of an a99 upgrade forthcoming, rumors fueled by the substantial drop in its price.

Does anybody know if this (the a77ii) is a permanent drop or a special?

I am familiar with the a77ii's changes, like much improved focusing, better low-light performance, and bigger buffer, primarily. I would like to hear opinions from anyone shooting with this camera. Worth the upgrade? Or pick up a used a99, or hold out for a probable a99 update? How high can you really push the ISO on the new body (I don't like even 800 and won't go over 1600 on the old one)?

azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.

My suspicion is that Sony saw a discrepancy in their line due to the selling price of the A6000, which has the same sensor. This widens the gap between all of the aps-c and FF sensors, regardless of mirror. They are drawing a line in the sand, i.e.., if you want Full Frame, you will pay dearly!

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

Sony dropped the price of the A77II to keep pace with Nikon which dropped the price of their D7100 to battle the New 7DII.

The A77II is STILL less expensive than the Nikon, and is a MUCH BETTER CAMERA THAN THE D7100 AND THE 7DII!!

The A77II has BETTER video and equal image quality to the Nikon, and out shoots it in terms of color depth, frames per second, and buffer size. The Nikon has better low light performance, but this advantage is negated when you use the Sony's Multi-frame Noise Reduction feature on the SAME subject.

Both the Sony AND the Nikon trounce the Canon in terms of image quality.

$898.00 for the A77II is an absolute STEAL!! This is a "prosumer" camera with professional camera specifications and performance. Sony DELIBERATELY incorporate many of the most advanced features of the A99 into it and they improved operations and functions that were not found on the A99 but only on the A77. In other words, you can shoot 12 frames per second with autofocus for up to 63 frames!

You also get 79 phase detect autofocus points that cover almost ALL of the screen... and autofocus with (Sony/Zeiss lenses) is among the fastest of any camera regardless of format or price.

I was planning to buy one in the spring... but that date just got pushed up to December, maybe earlier because of this price reduction. ;)

Look, the A77 is the BEST camera I have ever owned and used. But the A77II took all the strengths of the original and built on them to create a MONSTER!! A SERIOUSLY good camera with EXTREMELY good performance and a price to match! :thumbup:

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

Thanks, Cholly. I am indeed tempted. If only it did better with low noise ISO I wouldn't hesitate (I understand it improved by about a third stop with the mark ii.) The multi-frame NR I guess should be okay, but I've just started shooting in RAW and would prefer to go that way (though so far I'm usually not processing better than Sony's jpeg rendering).

Still, even if I go full frame I'd like to keep a crop body for some of my lenses, and for the added reach of others, so perhaps I will just do it and worry about an a99 later.

Anyone interested in a pristine a77 body with only about 3,200 shutter clicks? lol

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

^^^That's the thing; the new JPEG engine in the A77II is MUCH better than the old one in the A77, as are the algorithms that control the Steady Shot image stabilization system. The end result means the low light ability is much MUCH better than people suspect, and on par with both the D7100 AND the new 7DmkII.

The performance of the new A77II is much MUCH better than the original, and THAT camera lead the pack in the pro-sumer category when it was released.

This is a REALLY good camera. :thumbup:

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

BTW...
I shot these with M.F.N.R. last night with just a few weak street lights and a full moon with my 1st generation A77:

Handheld with the 16-50mm f/2.8 "kit" lens.

SR-71 Blackbird "Big Tail"

(Download)

AC-130 Spectre Gunship "The First Lady"

(Download)

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

^^^Multi-Frame Noise Reduction is no gimmick. It really works... and works WELL. :thumbup:

azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.

Cholly, since you are the Sony expert, how much difference in IQ is there between the Nex 7 and the A6000?

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

Ever so slight. :thumbup:

As you know, Sony has phased out it's NEX line and has replaced the NEX 7 with the A6000.

The A6000 scores an 82 on the composite test, while the NEX 7 scores an 81 and if you look at the individual test results, they are VERY close.

There are some features that were left off the A6000 from the NEX 7, but the A6000 also has a number of features that were not included on the NEX. Additionally, the 179 phase detection autofocus points make the A6000 and EXTREMELY fast focusing and flexible camera, and the new BIONZ X processor really pumps out superior quality images.

All in all, the A6000 is considered a successor to the top of the line NEX, even though it is priced BELOW where the 7 was. ;)

azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.

I like the features of the Nex-7, all the dials, etc. I also have an RX-10. Do you think that there is going to be an upgrade for the A6000, or do I set my sights on an A7?

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

^^^Sony is definitely keeping the E mount going.

The A7/A7R/A7S FE mount range is also here to stay.

I wouldn't be surprised if Sony sticks with it's 3 year update cycle with the FE mounts, meaning the A7II/A7RII are due sometime next year.

The A6000 is relatively new as is the A7S so their updates are still a couple years off. ;)

cannoneer35 Loc: Rhode Island

I joined a group who went on a Sony walk with a Sony rep. Perfect crisp sunny day. I have the a77v and wanted to upgrade to the a77v ii. I tried the the a77v ii and the a99v and traded lens (Sony supplied the lens and cameras)with other people as we walked and snapped shots while walking through a very upscale neighborhood. Great architecture. Of course I could not put the cameras through all the test for their features. I found the difference in the a77s very slight and didn't feel the amount of cash I had to lay out was worth the upgrade. I was so impressed with the a99v that I bought one from B&H the next day. Major difference in the use of higher ISOs and incredible detail to mention a few bonuses. I heard of a possible upgrade in the a99 but felt the current a99v was sufficient for my needs. I am also able to use a Minolta flash without an adapter. That flash was $250.00 back in the 80's. The flash shots were absolutly great.

gsc1943 Loc: Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Charleston, SC

I did buy the A77ii from Amazon for $898 WITH A VERTICAL GRIP included! Was shocked and got them both for the same price.

Used an a65 for about a year and half and loved it, but this camera is a huge leap forward, and worth the $, especially if you can get it at that price. Focusing is a dream, and video is noticeably better, as is flexibility of settings. Better feel to the body, too, as it is all magnesium and weather sealed.

ONE IMPORTANT issue: the recent Firmware upgrade to 2.0 should NOT be attempted with a MAC using an Intel core 2 duo processor. I just talked to a Sony technician about this and he said flat out to use a Windows machine for the upgrade. Almost used my Mac and would have had to send the camera in. Whew.

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

:thumbup:

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

Me too, Cholly. I just wish I had waited a couple months ago I could have gotten the grip. The extra battery life will come in handy when I start doing time-lapse. Still, no regrets for having upgraded from the excellent a77 to this near-perfect beast!