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Sony A6700 Review With A6600 Comparison

As Sony unveils the highly anticipated release of a new flagship A 6000 series APS-C mirrorless camera, we provide a comprehensive Sony A6700 review, which highlights key new features and technology. Discover how some of the exciting upgrades in this generation hybrid Sony A6700 camera can help your content creation, and find out the key differences between models in our A6700 vs A6600 specs comparison.

We’ll help you help determine if this is the perfect hybrid camera to meet your creative needs as we explore the latest innovations, which this portable Sony mirrorless camera brings. So let’s get on and discover how the Sony A6700 can elevate your photography and video content.

When did the Sony A6700 come out?

On July 12, 2023, Sony launched its flagship APS-C format camera, the Sony A6700, marking a significant upgrade from its predecessor the A6600, which was released back in September 2019.

In the span of those few years, the technology landscape has transformed, with the widespread integration of AI, the advent of lightning-fast processors, and increased availability of faster backside-illuminated (BSI) sensors.

All of these new technologies have been adopted in the Sony A6700, having been adapted from professional Sony cameras across their mirrorless and pro video range. This provides users with a compact-sized APS-C format camera, which is small enough to bring on all your adventures, but doesn’t compromise on capabilities.

How much does the Sony A6700 cost?

At launch the Sony A6700 costs £1,450.00, while the previous generation is priced at £1,249.00. The newer A6700 includes plenty of professional features, yet compares favourably with pro bodies, with the a7R V priced at £3,999.00, the FX30 video camera at £2,099.00 and the Sony ZV-E1 costing £2,349.00.

With its extensive array of upgrades and competitive price point, the Sony A6700 presents an enticing proposition to newcomers and existing users, which is sure to tempt many creators to part exchange a camera and capitalise on these new features.

Two lens kits launched alongside the body, which are aimed at creators who may be new to the Sony E system and want access to a versatile zoom lens from day one:

1. Sony A6700 with 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens Kit (£1,550.00)
2. Sony A6700 with 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens Kit (£1,800.00)

What are the new A6700 key features?

The technology concealed under the A6700’s hood represents some of the most notable upgrades and include a new 26 megapixel backside-illuminated APS-C Exmor R sensor, which is the highest APS-C resolution ever from Sony. A BIONZ XR processor with up to 8x processing power and a dedicated AI autofocus processor.

Between these three key components you can expect significant improvements to speed and responsiveness, improved stills and video image quality and far better AF performance. On top of these Sony has added a host of new features to make your content creation easier, and with better results.

Sample image showing high-speed AF with running  dog - with Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS II Lens @135mm. Camera settings: 1/1000 sec. f/4.0. ISO 2000

A6700 Autofocus improvements

Following the successful implementation of similar hardware in the formidable Sony A7R V, the A6700 employs an additional dedicated AF processor, which uses AI to identify and track subjects. This allows the camera to recognise a greater variety of subjects more accurately, and gain a refined understanding of human poses.

For the first time in an A6000 series-camera you can lock onto airplanes, with deeper subject recognition for Humans, Animals and Birds, Insects and Cars / Trains as highlighted below.

Realtime tracking is incredibly ‘sticky’ and follows your subject tenaciously as it moves around the frame, even when they look away from camera. When combined with the new user interface you can quickly change tracking between multiple subjects, while also benefiting from more reliable AE with improved skin tones, even in backlit situations.

Tracking can be extensively fine-tuned, with user-selectable resistance, sensitivity, priority and more, all with wider sensor coverage of up to 93% for stills, as well as being more accurate in low light (-3 EV).

A significant focusing benefit is the addition of full-time DMF in both AF-C and AF-S, enabling you to manually override AF instantly if required. This is useful when photographing a bird, which goes behind foliage for example. Simply turn the lens focus ring to roughly gain focus and press the shutter half down and it re-acquires AF on the subject.

Sony A6700 video capabilities

With a new higher resolution fast readout BSI sensor and faster processing the Sony A6700 is capable of recording in-camera 4K at 60p and 120p as well as Full HD in 240fps. There are a range of compression formats as well as Logs and colour encoding to suit every production and skill level.

Sony has also added numerous features to help raise your movie production values, including Eye AF during Clear Image Zoom and Auto-framing, based on subject recognition. Metadata can be used for more efficient workflows with image stabilisation, breathing compensation and shot marking.

Other video tools include in-camera timelapse, AF assist, focus mapping, peaking, wind noise reduction and more. You can also add an external video microphone for more professional audio quality, including the brand new Sony ECM-M1 Shotgun Microphone, which was released simultaneously.

These comprehensive updates to video performance cement the A6700 as a thoroughbred hybrid APS-C camera, which captures flagship quality movies in a versatile range of formats.

Great AF, resolution and AE - sample with Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS II Lens @200mm. Camera settings: 1/160 sec. f/4.0. ISO 640

How user-friendly is the Sony A6700?

Whether you’re new to Sony mirrorless cameras or a seasoned user the A6700 is instantly gratifying and easy to operate after some experimentation with settings. A high magnification XGA OLED viewfinder is crystal clear and offers brightness not far off the A7R V’s incredible EVF.

The 3-inch vari-angle LCD monitor provides touch control over Sony’s new menu layout, while the grip is enhanced with deeper purchase for longer and heavier lenses. Navigating overall is far easier, with a new UI providing a more familiar phone-type experience, with swiping and zooming.

New camera body controls and a programmable dial offers extensive customisation with quick access to your most frequently used settings, enabling a seamless workflow for those who want to delve deeper. Menu icons can be controlled directly from the LCD and you can swipe-away settings while recording movies for a cleaner preview.

Sony A6600 vs A6700 specs comparison

The table below compares key specifications between the new Sony A6700 Vs A6600 camera.

Huge variety of compact Sony E lenses

One of the prime benefits of joining the Sony system is the availability of compact and portable Sony mirrorless lenses, with around 20 native prime and zoom E-mount options. There are also many more from third party manufacturers such as Sigma and Samyang. Aside from the two lens kits you can choose from anything such as the brilliant wide angle Sony E 10-20mm F4 G lens to a Sony E 55-210mm F/4.5-6.3 OSS telephoto zoom.

Crop format Sony cameras also accept full-frame lenses (FE), where you benefit from the 1.5x extended reach. So the newly released second generation Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS II Lens for example, offers an effective range of 105-300mm, which is great news for photographers who capture more distant subjects such as wildlife, sports and action. You can learn more about the new telephoto lens in our Sony 70-200 mark II lens review here.

Macro type image of a bee, highlighting the 0.5x magnification - sample with Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS II Lens @174mm. Camera settings: 1/400 sec. f/4.0. ISO 500

Best Sony A6700 accessories

Adding camera accessories contributes to the fun of owning a camera and there are plenty of useful accessories for the A6700. A spare Sony NP-FZ100 battery is always warranted, and you can capitalise on the faster UHS-II compatibility if you intend to capture high-speed 4K movies with a Sony memory card or pick any of the many alternative SD cards.

Choose anything from a Lexar 64GB UHS-II SDXC 250MB/S 1667x Pro or Sandisk 64GB Extreme Pro SDHC 300MB/S UHS-II and you have the speed and capacity to get started on your creative journey.

Who is the A6700 for?

While the cost of the Sony A6700 is not to be sniffed at, it represents excellent value when you take into account the technology it provides. It’s particularly suited to enthusiast and professional users who prefer the smaller form factor of an APS-C camera, along with its extended reach.

A crop sensor camera of this calibre is especially suitable for subjects which benefit from a tighter focal width such as:

• Wildlife photography
• Bird photography
• Sports and action photography
• Aviation photography
• Macro and close-ups
• Events and performance photography (concerts, dance etc)

There’s every reason to capture portraits, weddings and any other subject-type photography and videography with the A6700, where you’ll enjoy portability and weight savings over full-frame, albeit without the same wide sensor coverage and shallow depth of field.

Sony A6700 video review

Watch our hands-on video review of the new flagship APS-C camera here.

Sony has done an amazing job upgrading their flagship APS-C hybrid camera, which offers enhancements across the board for both stills and video. Photographs can be captured at high frames rates of up to 11fps with auto exposure and autofocus tracking at higher resolutions than previously.

Users gain more control over image formats, compression rates and colours are more accurate than previous generation models. AF has been significantly upgraded to be more accurate, intelligent and quicker than ever.

Video upgrades are equally impressive, with technology ported from Sony’s pro video cameras and the A6700 is capable of simply gorgeous 4K thanks to faster processing and readout speeds from the new sensor.

If you love a smaller form factor, along with extended reach this is the best camera Sony has ever made and will help take your content to the next level, whether you customise every setting, or shoot straight out of the box.

Reserve the Sony A6700 mirrorless camera body today to make the most of incredible new capabilities for stills and video, or choose between two versatile zoom lens kits – the A6700 with 16-50mm Zoom Lens Kit or the A6700 with 18-135mm Zoom Lens.

Don’t forget to grab a free trade-in quote in order to offset the cost by selling any unwanted gear, which is collecting dust in the back of the closet.

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By Nick Dautlich on 12/07/2023