The Sony a6700 is the latest enthusiast-level APS-C mirrorless camera from Sony. It uses a 26MP BSI CMOS sensor with image stabilization, with a comprehensive set of stills and video features.
Key specifications
26MP BSI CMOS APS-C sensor
Bionz XR processor and dedicated 'AI Processing Engine'
AF tracking with subject recognition, 759 AF points with 93% coverage
11 fps shooting with mech or electronic shuter
Lossless Raw compression option
HEIF and HLG Still Image modes
4K up to 60p from 6K capture
4K/120 from 1.58x crop
10-bit video with 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 color
S-Cinetone, S-Log3, and HLG profiles
Uploadable LUTs
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) output
2x2 MIMO Wi-Fi
UVC/UAC streaming up to 4K/30
The Sony a6700 is available now with a list price of $1399, body only, $1499 with the 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS power zoom or $1799 with the 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS.
What's new
Front dial
For all the technological updates in the camera, perhaps the most significant change in the a6700 is the adoption of a second command dial on the front of the camera. This makes it Sony's first a6x00 series camera to allow control with forefinger and thumb, rather than having only thumb-controlled dials. This brings the camera into line with the Sony a7 series and, for that matter, most other cameras costing more than about $1000.
26MP BSI CMOS sensor
The a6700 uses a BSI CMOS APS-C sensor, which we have to assume is the same one used in Sony's FX30 cinema camera. What will be interesting to see is how the performance of this chip compares with that of the 26MP BSI sensors used in Fujifilm's X-T4 and X-S20, and Ricoh's Pentax K-3 III.
The sensor has AF points scattered across most of its area, giving an AF system that covers 93% of the image area, up from 84% on the previous generation of Sony APS-C cameras.
The new sensor shoots at the same 11fps as the previous generation of cameras, but now has the option to shoot at 11fps with electronic shutter, if you want 1/8000 sec shutter speeds, for instance. We found the rolling shutter to be fairly significant if you shoot Raw (around 64ms / 1/16 sec), but significantly faster in JPEG-only mode at around 25ms (1/40 sec), which is likely to mean a drop to 12-bit readout.
Updated processor
The other most significant hardware change is the use of the latest ('Bionz XR') processor along with a dedicated processor for handling the complex 'AI' algorithms created by machine learning. This processor combination is one we saw in the company's ZV-E1 full-frame vlogging camera, and it represents a big step forward for the APS-C series.
As well as bringing the power to deliver the camera's subject recognition AF modes, it also allows the a6700 to offer the ZV-E1's vlogging functions that can recognize a subject, crop in on it and interpolate the video back up to your chosen output resolution, in real time.
But beyond the performance improvement that comes with greater processing power, the move to a newer generation of processor brings all the other features and advances Sony has made since the a6600. This means a significantly revised and improved menu system, the option to record losslessly compressed Raw files and the ability to capture 10-bit video, which delivers much more flexible Log footage and full HLG HDR video.
As well as HLG HDR video, the a6700 can shoot 10-bit HLG stills in the HEIF format. It can also shoot non-HDR HEIFs in your choice of profile (including HLG, oddly). You'll need to shoot HEIF only (no Raw) and select the HLG Still option if you want your images to be recognized as being HDR, though.
Video
The a6700 becomes the first in the series to utilize a full-articulated rear LCP panel, supporting its enhanced video capabilities.
The a6700 is built around what's almost certainly the same 26MP BSI CMOS sensor as the FX30 from the company's Cinema line. And, correspondingly, the a6700's video capabilities are pretty impressive.
The a6700 will shoot up to 4K/60p from its full sensor width or up to 120p from a 1.58x cropped region. Notably, it'll do this while capturing 10-bit precision and up to 4:2:2 color.
As with recent Sony models, you get the choice of XAVC HS (H.265), XAVC-I (All-I H.264) or basic XAVC-S (Long GOP H.264), depending on your needs. The All-I options creep up to 600Mbps (75MB/s), which demand the use of an SD card with the fastest V90 rating, but most modes will happily save to slower cards.
From the recent ZV-E1, the a6700 gets the vlog-friendly modes, with a series of large on-screen buttons, and the 'Auto Framing' modes that punch-in on recognized subject types and follow them around. This is designed for use with a wide-angle composition and the camera mounted on a tripod. The a6700 doesn't have the 'Dynamic Active Steady Shot' mode that can keep you framed in the same composition, using cropped-in image stabilization.
LUTs
The a6700 lets you upload Look Up Tables (LUTs) that map log capture values back to output-ready color and lightness values. These can be used in two ways: they can be directly applied to the footage (essentially making them an uploaded color mode), or used just used to preview the impact they would have if applied, so that the on-screen preview is comprehensible. If used for previewing, the LUTs can be embedded alongside the video file, so that they're available for post-production.
Comments4