Canon 7D vs Sony Alpha SLT-A77?

Question

Canon 7D vs Sony Alpha SLT-A77?

Answer 1

Here's my 2 pence worth.

I'm not familiar with the Sony at all.

But I do have an EOS 7D and absolutely love it. The viewfinder and rear screen are perfectly good and I've taken loads of motor racing shots at 8 fps which I found worked for me.

The 7D has a very useful "Quick View" rear screen which is invaluable. I don't know if the Sony has a similar feature.

With the Canon, you wont have to buy new lenses but, as others have said, it's always handy to carry a second body so consider keeping the 550D

I know the 7D is relatively ancient now but it's still a good, solidly built camera.

If you haven't already done so, take a look at both models in a store; handle them and ask questions then see which seems right for you.

Answer 2

As with the previous poster, at this point; I'm not a fanboy of any of the brands above. I have owned Canon and Sony products in the past; but not so much in digital photography products. I was going to buy the EOS 7D last Christmas since it was highly recommended as the best all-rounder. In terms of image quality; the 7D does it better than the Sony A77. But since the A77 is the newest out of the three mentioned since it was released in August 2011, I myself ended up buying one from that result only because I myself did not want to join the common mainstream Nikon or Canon SLR range. The Sony Alpha A77 is not a DSLR, due to its advertising and marketing ploy, they call it a DSLT which is incorporated in part to the model, SLT-A77 with all of their other models too from the A55 and so forth. I bought this camera because I wanted literally all the bells and whistles that the other two cameras did not have. Obviously the Nikon D7000 has the best quality image sensor by itself, but the 7D and A77 can record High Definition video at 1080 resolutions and even faster on the A77. Image Stabilisation is found on the A77 only like with all Alphas, whereas the NIkon and the Canon only have that built into the lens. The auto focus on the Sony is very quick, the 12 fps rate is good at first; but this feature wears off if you're not going to be doing any sports and wildlife shooting. The A77's LCD screen at the back flips out and you can literally turn it in any desired direction and it is one of the best out there on the market. Now in terms of water resistance, the Canon 7D and the Sony A77 have that feature built into the body; whereas the Nikon D7000 I believe does not. Furthermore, the A77 is the only camera on the list to have a built-in GPS feature; any photos that you take out doors and if you have this enabled; with good coverage (without too many buildings and high rises), it will give you the latitude and longitude coordinates with your photos and with Sony's proprietary software, it will show the location on a world map of your shots. Now the Canon 7D and the Nikon 7000 will probably get you better value than the Sony; only because its been around a lot more. The 7D is aging a bit, being more than 4 years old. The Sony A77 is new but the range of lenses available is by far much less than Nikon or Canon combined. I have hand tested the 7D before making my purchase with the A77, the A77 is slightly bigger, especially wider than the 7D; it feels more robust and the built-in menu system as well as the preset modes seem rather easier to understand more so than the Canon. Therefore, the Nikon and the Canon are more designed for those who know a great deal about photography and wanting to upgrade to a somewhat mid-level professional entry DSLR. Whereas Sony's intended marketing is for the enthusiasts looking for something that will give you DSLR capabilities but with a built-in dummies guide if so to speak. To avoid the conflict of interest, I would probably go with the D7000 for best photo quality; if for video and high fps rate, then the Sony A77. The Best battery life type of camera, go with the EOS 7D. The A77 has the worst battery life because it uses a digital OLEV view finder as opposed to Pentaprism

Answer 3

Making sure I have the facts right.

You want an upgrade from your 550d.

You are beginning to transition to a more "professional" level of photography.





Switching to another's brand's consumer level (although newer) camera would be extremely silly.

You won't get 12 FPS, but you'll get much better results investing in new glass.



If you're the lone professional photographer at a wedding and you only have one camera body, you're doing it wrong. Your 550D would make an adequate second and/or backup camera in the case of a catastrophic failure of your main body.

Answer 4

I don't really know THAT much about these two DSLRs, BUT I've been hearing that the a77 buffers much earlier than the 7D. This might be present due to the fact that the a77 shoots about 4 frames more than the 7D. It's your choice to make. I only included this piece of information because you probably don't want your camera to buffer very quickly since you're doing sports work. Enjoy your upgrade!

Answer 5

Things are more complicated than you might think.



First let's tackle your current gear. I can totally understand your desire of more capable professional gear for events and weddings.



The 550D AKA the T2i in the USA uses the exact same image sensor as the one found in the much more expensive 7D. Common sense sense tells me this makes the 7D a poor value. The weather sealing, better AF and feature set, more FPS have zero impact on image quality. So there's that. The 7D is old in the fast moving dSLR world, so only buy one new if the price is significantly lower than the introduction price, even better get one used.



The Sony A77 is an amazing machine, and a match for the 7D in terms of where both cameras sit in the chain. The A77 will run rings around the 7D when it comes to HD video, fps, and auto focus speed and accuracy. The viewfinder allows you to do things that a conventional optical viewfinder cannot, but there are cons. In low light it can help but at some point noise is an issue, and in contrast-y situations, it can also be an issue.



Neither camera is a top choice if you plan on shooting weddings which will require a lot of high ISO work unless you are lucky enough to only shoot outdoor weddings. High FPS is something you don't need from any dSLR for the work you do. A better choice would be a cheaper, lower on the chain Pentax K 30 or K 50, a more serious camera like the Pentax K5 II is even better.



The 16MP Sony Exmor image sensor used in the Pentax bodies is better at high ISO than the 7D, A77, and all the new Nikon bodies.



One last piece of advice, don't sell your gear to get the new gear. For the work you do, two bodies are needed, so you don't have lens changes to make, and in case one body fails. Buy a dual camera sling from camera slingers or blackrapid.



Keep saving or do whatever you have to do, just be patient and save up for your next body. If you favor Canon, understand that they make nothing with an APS-C sensor that's better than what you own now. Sad, but that's what Canon chose to do to maximize their profit. The 70D has not been tested, but I have zero faith it will do well in the image sensor dept. You will need to jump to full frame to get a good Canon sensor. The 5D mark II used, or the 6D new are the best values.

Answer 6

I'd choose the Sony over the Canon (and Pentax over either), but your case isn't as clear-cut.



Sadly, there isn't a lot the EOS 7D can do that your existing camera can't, and changing systems is just stupid.



I'd look at improved lenses and a more powerful flashgun for your existing system, rather than a body upgrade that wouldn't be worth the expense.