Sony A6700 Review

The Sony A6700 reviewed here, also known as the Sony Alpha 6700, is an APS-C format mirrorless camera aimed at enthusiast photographers, particularly those interested in photographing wildlife or taking a relatively small camera on their travels.

While it has some great video features, the A6700 sits in the photography and hybrid side of Sony’s camera line-up rather than on the video and vlogging side. It replaces the Sony A6600 and is above the Sony A6400 and A6100 in the range, making it the company’s flagship APS-C format interchangeable lens camera.

The Sony A6700 incorporates a lot of the technology seen in the A7 IV into a smaller, lighter, and more portable camera body.

The Sony A6700 has a 26MP APS-C format backside-illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor paired with the latest Bionz XR processing engine. That means it’s the highest-resolution Sony APS-C format camera to date.

Also, thanks to the new sensor and processor combination, the A6700 has a faster readout than the A6600, which means rolling shutter effect is kept in better check.

Despite the jump in pixel count, the A6700 has a native sensitivity range of ISO 100-32,000, the same as the A6600, with expansion settings taking the range to ISO 50-102,400 for stills and movies.

It’s the first time that the Bionz XR processor has been used in a Sony APS-C format camera, and it’s paired with an AI chip that’s dedicated to the subject recognition system.

All this enables the Sony A6700 to have a hybrid autofocus (AF) system, with 759 phase detection points (covering 93% of the frame) and 25 contrast detection points (yes, 25, not 425), along with Real-time tracking and Real-time Subject Recognition AF system. Whereas the A6600 can detect human and animal eyes in stills mode and human eyes in video, the A6700 can detect humans, animals, animals and birds, insects, cars/trains, and aeroplanes in both stills and video mode. The type of subject is selected via the menu.

The subject recognition is supported by Human Pose Estimation, which helps the camera track a human subject around the frame. It also uses a hierarchical approach to focusing, targeting the subject’s eyes when an eye is recognisable, falling back to the head or the body as necessary.

The A6700’s AF system operates at down to -3EV. There’s also a Focus Bracketing feature that enables the camera to capture up to 299 images in a series, with the focus distance adjusting between each shot. That’s useful for focus-stacking post-capture on a computer. The change in the focus distance can be set in steps running from 1 (narrow) to 10 (wide). Handily, the bracketed images can be saved to a separate folder of the memory card to make them easier to locate and merge on a computer.

Although it has an APS-C format sensor, the A6700 has the Sony E mount, so it can accept both full-frame and APS-C format lenses with that mount. There are currently over 70 lenses in Sony’s E-mount line-up, and 21 of them are specifically designed for use with APS-C format sensors. The smaller sensor delivers a 1.5x focal length magnification factor, so a 16-55mm lens effectively becomes a 24-82.5mm lens.

There’s a sensor-shifting 5-axis image stabilisation system built into the camera, and, according to Sony, its algorithm has been improved for stills. It enables a claimed 5-stop extension in the safe hand-holdable shutter speed.

Sony has also evolved the exposure control for human faces when one is detected in the frame. It’s said to be about 20% more reliable than before.

In addition, the colour reproduction and white balance system are said to have been improved for better results when shooting in sunlight or in artificial light.

The Sony A6700 also has 10 preset Creative Looks for stills and movies, with 8 adjustable parameters (including contrast, saturation and shadow etc) to enable you to get the look you want in-camera when shooting stills or video.

As we see more often now, HEIF (High-Efficiency Image File) format is available alongside Jpeg and raw format. It’s the first time that HEIF has been made available in an A6000-series camera. HEIF format files are 10-bit rather than 8-bit, enabling a wider range of tones and colours to be captured, but they have a smaller file size than Jpegs. The downside is that the format has yet to be widely supported.

Like the A6600, the Sony A6700 can shoot at up to 11 frames per second (fps), but the burst depth is extended. Sony claims that over 1000 Jpeg Fine images or 59 raw files or 44 raw and Jpeg files can be captured in a single 11fps burst with AF and exposure tracking whether the mechanical or the (silent) electronic shutter is in use.

The Sony A6700 uses the NP-FZ100 rechargeable battery and has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Sony A6700 video features

The headline video feature of the A6700 is its ability to use full-pixel readout with no pixel binning but 6K oversampling to create 4K video with enhanced image quality. This can also be recorded in 10-bit with 4:2:2 colour sampling and frame rates up to 120p. There’s also XAVC S-I and XAVC HS and Log recording with LUTs, S-Log 3 gamma, S-Cinetone and HLG recording.

Sony has also given the A6700 its Auto Framing feature that was first seen in the ZV-E1, a full-frame camera designed for vlogging. This uses the AI-based subject recognition technology to automatically crop the frame to keep the subject in a prominent position while recording video. It enables the framing to adjust as the subject moves without physically moving the camera. It’s beneficial for people recording themselves in action.

There’s also S&Q mode for creating slow-motion and fast-motion videos in-camera, in-camera Timelapse creation, AF assist and Sony’s Focus Map to help make better use of the available depth of field.

If you take a quick glance at the Sony A6700, you’re likely to think that it looks the same as its predecessor, the A6600, as it has the familiar compact, flat-topped rectangular shape and a similar control layout. However, there are a few noteworthy changes.

According to Sony, the A6700’s grip is more ergonomically shaped than the A6600’s, but I can’t say I noticed a major change. On the back of the camera, in the top-right corner, the A6700 has a small but effective thumb rest. In combination with the front grip, this makes the camera feel secure in my hand.

It’s reassuring to know that the A6700 is made from magnesium alloy and is sealed against dust and moisture, but Sony hasn’t stated to what level.

As with the A6600, there’s just enough space on the Sony A6700’s grip to squeeze on three fingers while my index finger is on the shutter release or hovering near the record button. However, when I’m shooting, I tend to slip my little finger under the grip because I find it easier to keep the camera steady.

I used the A6700 with a range of lenses, including the full-frame FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS (effective focal length 105-300mm) mounted with the Sony 2x teleconverter to give an effective focal length range of 210-600mm. While that’s a front-heavy set-up, it’s perfectly usable with the camera’s grip giving the purchase required to keep the lens steady when your left hand gives some support. That said, the APS-C format Sony E 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS, which has an effective focal of 105-525mm is a better match.

The Sony E 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS on the Sony A6700

There are a few control changes introduced by the A6700 that have a positive impact. Rather than having the video option on the mode dial, for instance, there’s a dial beneath the exposure mode dial that can be set to stills, video or S&Q (slow and quick) mode. That’s great because it means you can shoot video in whichever exposure mode you have selected via the mode dial rather than having to set it via the menu.

In addition, the place taken by the video record button on the A6600 is now occupied by the c1 custom button, and by default, the record button is much more sensibly located on the top plate of the camera, just back from the shutter release. That’s a straight swap for the c1 button on the A6600. This means the record button is easier to press without wobbling the camera at the start and end of every video clip.

Thanks to a ridge between the c2 and record buttons, the two buttons are easy to locate with your finger and press when you’re looking through the viewfinder. Without that ridge, they would be difficult to find without looking.

One control that is on the A6600 that some may miss on the A6700 is the AF/MF switch. In some cases, this isn’t needed because many lenses have the same switch, but otherwise, you’ll have to change between manual focus and autofocus (AF) mode using the function (Fn) menu. Given the excellent performance of the A6700’s AF system, this isn’t a major issue.

One disappointment with the Sony A6700 is that it doesn’t have a joystick for selecting the AF point. Instead, there are two options available for setting the point. The first is to press the button at the centre of the navigation pad on the back of the camera to activate AF point selection mode and then use the navigation control to move the point around. Conveniently, this option stays active until the centre button is pressed again, but it’s a pain to have to keep pressing it to revert back to access the navigation control shortcut options.

Alternatively, activating the TouchPad allows the screen to be used to set the AF point by a touch control on the screen. I like to set this to use the bottom right quarter of the screen as this avoids me setting the point with my nose and also makes it easy to set the AF point using my right thumb.

I prefer to set the Touch Position mode to ‘Relative’ as this prevents the AF point from jumping straight to wherever I touch the screen and allows me to move it up or down, left or right, relative to its starting point. It is a more intuitive way of working when I’m only using a small part of the screen to set the AF point and I’m looking in the viewfinder.

Helpfully, when you take your eye away from the viewfinder and compose images or video on the screen, the camera defaults to using the whole screen with Absolute Position, so the AF point jumps quickly to wherever you tap.

Sony A6700 screen

The screen on the Sony A6700 makes two of the most welcome changes in comparison with the A6600. As well as making a modest step up in resolution from 921,600 dots to 1.03-million dots, the 3-inch screen on the A6700 is mounted on a vari-angle hinge. This means that the screen can be flipped and rotated up or down, making it of use whether you’re shooting in landscape or portrait orientation. It can also be rotated to face forwards for vlogging.

In further good news, Sony has made much more use of the screen’s touch sensitivity. Consequently, in addition to being able to use the screen to trip the shutter or select the focus or tracking point, the A6700’s touch control extends to the main and function (Fn) menus. You can even access the Fn menu by swiping up, and then it’s just a question of tapping on the parameter you want to adjust before selecting the option you want.

Sony hasn’t extended the touch control at the expense of button and dial control; the A6700 still has all the buttons and dials that you’d expect – albeit without the AF/MF switched I mentioned earlier.

Following in the footsteps of the Sony A7S III, Sony A1, Sony A7 IV and Sony A7R V, the A6700 has a revised menu that makes it easier to find the options that you want. This includes a two-page ‘Main’ section that lays out the key settings in a grid ready for selection with a tap. As I mentioned earlier, the whole menu is navigable by touch, which makes finding, selecting and adjusting the parameters you want much quicker than with physical buttons and dials – although they are also available.

It’s good to see that the default options in the function menu are different in stills and video mode. It means you see features that are more relativist to what you’re shooting.

Sony A6700 viewfinder

There are no changes to report with the Sony A6700’s viewfinder as it remains the same as the A6600. It’s a 0.39-inch type OLED with 2,359,000 dots. The 0.39-inch type viewfinder is significantly smaller than the 0.5-inch 3.69-million-dot EVF in the Fujifilm X-T5 and some other cameras. If you wear spectacles, it’s unlikely you’ll get your eye close enough to exclude the surrounding view, and I found it preferable to shoot without my glasses, either adjusting the diopter or wearing contact lenses.

The viewfinder can be set to ‘Standard’ or ‘High’ quality and ‘High’ or ‘Standard’ frame rate. However, you can’t set both to ‘High’, one has to be in the ‘Standard’ setting. I found the ‘Standard’ quality setting fine for most instances, but there’s a bit more detail visible when the ‘High’ setting is selected, and that could be helpful for macro photography or those times when you need to know that you’ve got the focus in precisely the right place. It also gives a better view in low light at high ISO settings, as the shadows look cleaner.

The ‘High’ frame rate option is a better choice with moving subjects, but I was still able to follow animals and the like satisfactorily in the Standard mode.

While the viewfinder is small in comparison with some of the competition, it gives an accurate preview of the images so you can use it to assess colour, white balance and exposure.

I’ve been shooting with the Sony A6700 ahead of its launch, and although it’s not yet possible to process the raw files it produces, I’ve been able to examine its Jpegs and video.

As I mentioned earlier, the electronic viewfinder shows an accurate preview of the image that’s captured, so there are no surprises when you look at your pictures on a computer. It’s also clear that the exposure metering system’s default ‘Multi’ setting does a great job in most circumstances, and I found no reason to switch away from it. When the subject detection modes are in action, the metering is skewed towards the detected subject, which makes life simple.

Inevitably, there were some occasions when I needed to use the exposure compensation control, but this never came as a surprise. During my testing, it was always in conditions that you might expect it.

Colours are also represented well in the viewfinder, and I was pleased to note that the A6700’s auto white balance system does a great job in a range of natural lighting. My images captured in bright sunshine look attractive and naturally warm rather than too neutral. Conversely, images shot in shady conditions look neutral rather than cold or blue.

Sony A6700 autofocus performance

Sony is at the forefront of autofocus system development, and all of the knowledge and technology it has developed is poured into the A6700. Consequently, the A6700 is capable of getting subjects sharp very quickly, and it can keep moving subjects sharp.

Of course, the big news on the AF front is the AI-powered Subject Detection system, complete with its own chip. I used the Sony A6700 at a local wildlife park, and when ‘Animal’ or ‘Animal/Bird’ was selected as the subject, it did a great job of latching onto the animal (or bird) and targeting its eyes. There were a few occasions when it didn’t get the focus exactly on the animal’s eyes, but the hit rate is impressive.

Bird detection mode also works very well, and I found insect mode good, but it didn’t target the subject’s head (or eyes) as effectively as in Human, Animal or Bird mode. Nevertheless, it boosted my hit rate with inspects.

There’s no question that the Subject Detection mode makes photographing moving subjects easier. It’s particuarly helpful when you’re shooting through foliage, a crowd or wire fencing.

Sony A6700 image quality

While the Sony A6700 has a standard sensitivity range of ISO 100-32,000, I would endeavour to keep to ISO 12,800 or lower if possible – at least when shooting Jpegs. I’ll have to wait until I can process the raw files to see how they stand up to bespoke noise reduction.

At the lower end of the ISO range, the A6700 produces high-quality images with good detail – on par with what I’d expect for the pixel count. It means you can zoom in to see the soft downy hairs on a leaf, the subtle texture of a flower and the fine detail of an animal’s fur.

This continues to around ISO 3,200, when some of the finest details can look a little impressionistic at 100%. And by ISO 5,000, noise starts to appear in even-toned areas of Jpegs.

As you might expect, the A6700’s Jpegs captured at ISO 12,800 have more visible noise; in fact, you can spot it when they are sized to 33% on a computer screen. Naturally, zooming in makes it more visible. However, even at 100%, it’s not terrible, and there isn’t the coarser texture that is visible in parts of some Jpegs images captured at ISO 25,600.

As usual, I would keep the upper expansion settings for emergencies only when I desperately need a record shot, but I’ve seen far worse results at ISO 102,400 than the A6700 produces.

Sony A6700 dynamic range

When I tested the A6600, I was impressed by the range of tones that it can capture in a single image and their ability to withstand processing. As I mentioned, so far, I’ve only been able to examine Jpegs from the A6700, but it doesn’t burn out the highlights nor lose the shadows too quickly. The low-ISO files can also survive substantial adjustment. I found I was able to brighten a deliberately underexposed image by more than 4EV without noise becoming a problem.

Sony A6700 Image Stabilisation

When I shot with the Sony FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS, at the 70mm end, around 20-30% of my images shot with a shutter speed of 0.6 seconds look acceptably sharp at 100% on a computer monitor. Shooting at 1/3 sec delivered a similar result. That’s a shutter speed compensation factor of 6 and 5EV, respectively. However, that’s with a stabilised lens.

Increasing the shutter speed to 1/6 sec improved my hit rate to around 80%. That’s a 4EV compensation factor.

Sony A6700 video performance

The Sony A6700 can produce high-quality video, especially when set to capture the best quality 4K footage downsampled from 6K.

As expected, the colour and exposure are the same as seen with the still images captured using the same settings. The autofocus system also works well, and the subject detection makes light work of keeping the subject sharp.

I’m pleased to say that the rolling shutter effect is much less problematic with the A6700 than with the A6600. There’s little to no distortion with the A6700, even when moving the camera quickly.

I haven’t had time to test how long it’s possible to shoot every resolution and quality video, but when the A6700 was set to record 4K 4:2:2 10-bit footage, I was able to capture a 3-minute and 40-second clip before the camera turned itself off to cool down.

Sony A6700 continuous shooting

I put an OWC Atlas S Pro V90 Class 10 U3 SDXC card in the Sony A6700 to test its burst depth at 11fps. When shooting raw files, I captured 63 images in one hit. Switching to capture Jpeg Fine quality files enabled me to capture 1,368 images in succession while increasing the quality to Extra Fine Jpeg, dropped the number to 506. Those figures align with Sony’s stated numbers, exceeding the 1000+ Fine Jpeg burst by some way.

Sony A6700 battery life

The Sony A6700 takes the NP-FZ100 rechargeable battery, and while Sony says this gives the camera a long life, I haven’t seen any figures claimed for it. However, I shot 586 images and captured several short clips of video on one battery charge.

Follow the link to browse and download full-resolution images from the Sony A6700.

Although I have tested the Sony A6700 extensively, I’m going to wait until I can process the raw files before I pass final judgement and give it a rating. However, so far, I am impressed with it overall.

While the Sony A6700 has an APS-C format sensor rather than a full-frame sensor, it’s a more ‘serious’ camera than the full-frame Sony A7C. The A7C doesn’t have twin dials on the top plate, the advanced subject detection system or the extensive touch-control and revised menu of the A6700. Notably, the A6700 has the same viewfinder as the A7C, but it seems better suited to the smaller sensor camera – that said, I’d prefer a 0.5-inch EVF.

I’d also like to see a joystick on the back of the camera and a second SD card slot, but I suspect that Sony’s answer to that and my request for a larger viewfinder is that it wants to keep the camera’s size down. And to be fair, it is very compact and neat.

Whether you shoot stills or video, the Sony A6700 can produce great results. Its colours look good, it handles exposure well, and the focusing system is great. The only fly in the ointment is the limited time that you can shoot the highest-quality video.