It’s been little under 4 years since the last a6000 series camera, the a6600, was launched, (an eternity in the camera world), but after looking at the specs for the just announced Sony a6700, it’s been well worth the wait.
Like it’s predecessors, the a6700 is designed for enthusiast-level photographers and videographers, and boasts high-end features, packed into in a compact, APS-C sensor sized camera body.
The 26-megapixel, back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor, is (most likely) the same one found on the FX30 Cinema Camera, and is paired with the latest Bionz XR image processing engine, to provide a big boost in performance and image quality over the a6600.
In a first for the a6000 series, the a6700 features machine learning AI technology, in the form of a dedicated AI Processing Unit, similar to the one found on the pro-level a7R V to provide enhanced image processing and autofocus performance.
View Sony a6700 Pricing and Availability at Vistek
The 759-point phase-detection AF system delivers dramatically enhanced overall performance, covering approximately 93% of the total image area.
New subject detection modes, including Insects, Cars, Trains, and Planes have been also been added, and the existing Human, Animal and Bird. autofocus modes have also improved, with Sony claiming a 60% improvement with Eye AF, and a more than 40% improvement with Animal and Birds AF performance.
Thanks to the boost in performance, the A6700 can also record stills at up to 11 fps with both the mechanical or electronic shutter with full AF/AE tracking.
The a6700 features a focus bracketing feature that automatically records up to 299 images with sequentially shifted focus points based on user specified intervals and sequences.
The camera’s 5-axis in-body optical image stabilization system delivers up to 5-steps of shake compensation.
For video, the a6700 can record up to 4K/60p (6K oversampled) with full-pixel readout in 4:2:2 10-bit with Long GOP or All Intra formats as well as up to 4K/120p with a 1.58x crop.
Sony’s S-Cinetone picture profile is available as a preset option in addition to S-Log3 gamma curve, which allows for 14+ stops of latitude when colour grading in post.
It also boasts a new video feature called Auto Framing which automatically centers, repositions, and crops the frame to keep the subject in prominent positions within the scene.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because it also a feature found on the ZV-E1 blogging camera.
Sony’s Active Mode image stabilization for handheld movie shooting will accurately measure camera shake which is then precisely compensated for optically, even when shooting 4K.
In terms of build, the a6700 looks pretty similar to its predecessor the a6600.
It weighs approximate 500 grams with its battery and memory card included and measures 122(W) x 69(H) x 63.6(D) millimeters.
The a6700 boasts a bright vari-angle 3.0-inch touchscreen with 1.03 million dots, and a 2.36-million dot OLED EVF with 1.07x magnification.
It offers a single UHS-II SD card slot for which to record to, a micro-HDMI port, multi-Interface shoe, external microphone and head phone jacks, USB-C port and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support.
Other features include an assignable front dial, larger front grip, and larger Z-battery offering improved battery life for both photography and video applications.