Sony Launches Long-Awaited APS-C Mirrorless

2023.07.12

Today, Sony unveiled one of the most highly anticipated mirrorless digital cameras ever! Over the last few years, the company focused its efforts onto their extremely successful series of Full-Frame Mirrorless Digital Cameras, prompting speculation that APS-C would be abandoned. However, Sony releases a number of entry-level units, with their last Dual Control-Dial APS-C mirrorless being the Sony A6400 launched in 2019.

On July 12, 2023, the Sony A6700 launched to become the first Sony APS-C mirrorless with Triple Control-Dials! This new model comes in a similar form-factor as the A6400 yet with an extra control-dial at the front. It packs a built-in EVF, unlike the ZV-E10 launched already two years ago. An EVF, Dual Control-Dials and a weatherproof body are necessary for a camera to be considered professional. The newly unveiled A6700 gets two out of three, which makes it semi-professional yet is a definite upgrade.

Four years allowed the camera make to deliver huge performance improvements that make the Sony A6700 one of the most exciting mirrorless cameras launched in a long while. This mirrorless camera is built around a new 26 megapixels Exmor R BSI-CMOS sensor paired with a powerful Bionz XR processor. This APS-C sensor has a standard ISO 100-32000 sensitivity-range which is expandable to ISO 50-102400. This resolution is now typical among APS-C cameras and we can expect it to deliver solid image-quality.

The most significant update compared to the A6400 is that the A6700 finally features builtin image-stabilization. Its compact IBIS is a 5-axis system with 5-stop of efficiency. Oddly this is behind recently launched cameras yet we suspect this allowed Sony to make this mirrorless very light. Weighing just 409g, it is one of the lightest APS-C mirrorless models available. This allows the A6700 to make better use of lenses, particularly third-party ones, and allows to use very bright prime and specialty lenses in lower light than otherwise.

The Sony A6700 comes with a hybrid shutter that allows a maximum electronic shutter-speed of 1/8000s and continuous shoot at 11 FPS. Together with the Bionz XR processor, this camera can capture bursts of 1000 JPEG images or 59 RAW files. A 759-Point Phase-Detect AF system with nearly 100% coverage gives this camera the chance to track subjects across the frame. This almost doubles focus points of the A6400. Another huge jump in specifications is the video frame-rate. The A6700 can record 4K Ultra-HD video at 120 FPS compared to the 30 FPS of the A6400. Plus, it now has a Multi-Interface Hot-Shoe for completely digital audio capture.

Beyond these key performance improvements, this mirrorless follows its predecessors will in terms of design and capabilities. Framing uses an updated viewfinder with exactly the same specifications, a 0.39" EVF with 2.4 MP and 100% coverage at 0.7X magnification. The EVF has an essential Eye-Start Sensor to automatically switch between the EVF and LCD. The LCD itself got a small boost in resolution yet switched from a tilting model to an awkward and less useful rotating model.

Features of the A6700 are comprehensive yet not extensive. Full manual controls with choice of metering modes are there, plus builtin Time-Lapse Video. An Interval-Timer is probably available yet absent from the official list of specifications, similarly to HDR, AEB and DOF Preview. This model does not have a builtin flash. It has a small Mode-Dial and camera mode switch plus a few customizable buttons. Modern features including WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2 and 10-bit HEIF capture are all available on this camera.

The new Sony A6700 is said to become available some time in 2023 for $1400 USD or $1900 CAD. This is now a common price for APS-C mirrorless yet is approaching the cost of Full-Frame models too. It remains to be seen whether this will be a viable pricing. Outside of price, the Sony A6700 is an attractive camera, particularly since it is so light and compact.

• Digital Camera