# OK, Sony, now listen up!



## LouR (Mar 19, 2013)

I have had my new A77 a couple of weeks and was finally able to put it through its paces this past weekend during Race Week in Bristol, Tn.   I LOVE this camera, especially the EVF.  It's fantastic being able to adjust settings WHILE I'm seeing and shooting things instead of guessing how to make the next shot better.  They then changed how the exposure value adjustment is used-unlike the A100, it can not be used in full manual mode-only p,a,s.  I love the balance bar in the viewfinder, showing me if I'm leaning one way or the other. Focal points-outstanding.  Color-perfect. I can get good quality shots at much higher ISO's than my previous cameras.  And even at lower shutter speeds, the shoot-process to card time is lightning quick.  I actually had to STOP panning my race shots as that was blurring them. With the A100 and before that, my (Minolta) 5D, I had to pan and shoot.
I love that it takes the SD compact cards. 8g for $12.99? I can live with that. And they'll take up so much less space.
Now for the negatives, which I am hoping for the most part, are quirks.  One isn't and that is the placement of the movie button.  It's located right next to the diopter. Not a good place.  I suppose it's there to shoot movies on the fly, but putting it with other more important buttons was a mistake.  My big ol' fingers keep hitting it. Get rid of it, Sony and go back to having the movie icon on just the dial with recording done by hitting the same shutter button as for photos (like Minolta's old Z2). You overdid the buttons to begin with and that one is unnecessary.
I don't like looking through the viewfinder and seeing my last shot.  I would imagine how to get rid of that "feature" is in the book but I haven't finished the book yet. When the shot is taken, it comes and goes, but after a while, if the camera goes to power save and I'm ready to shoot again, there it is.  I'm learning pretty quick to hit the display window button twice each time I put the camera to my eye, but I shouldn't have to.
Power save gets "stuck".  I hope I won't have to send this out for repairs, but sometimes the camera doesn't go back to active after being down for a few minutes. If it was consistent, I'd just complain about their incompetence in design, but it's intermittent.  
It is one heavy camera without the lenses on, a chiropractor's dream with them. While holding it is ergonomically comfortable, carrying it is not. The monopod will be seeing more use, methinks.


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## kenerickson (Mar 19, 2013)

I purchased a A 57 an quickly turned off the movie button unless in movie mode. I kept hitting by mistake also.


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## Derrel (Mar 20, 2013)

The high-MP Sony NEX-7 had the SAME,exact problem with the placement of the doggone movie button!!! Michael Reichmann over at Luminous Landscape railed about what a stupid place it was for that button. He and thousands of other NEX-7 owners suffered the same fate...wanting to take a still piccture, they brought the camera to shooting position and then started...shooting video....

"Do'ah!" It's hard to fathom that a big Japanese gaming,television, and electronics and music and movie company cannot figure out how to design a decent camera body. And making the same,exact stupid mistake across the range, from mirrorless and into the d-slr spectrum...wow...how very Microsoft-like of Sony...


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## Fox_Racing_Guy (Mar 20, 2013)

If you download and apply the latest firmware (Version 1.07) you can dis-able the movie button. http://esupport.sony.com/US/p/swu-download.pl?mdl=SLTA77V&upd_id=8440&os_group_id=6 

I would also recommend David Busch's book.  David Busch&#39;s Sony Alpha SLT-A77 Guide to Digital Photography: David D. Busch: 9781133597131: Amazon.com: Books


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## jaomul (Mar 20, 2013)

Sony cameras have come on in leaps the last few years. Whether or not you like slt and evf is a matter of opinion but to be fair their tech is pushing other brands to up their game. Its all good


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## Kolia (Mar 20, 2013)

Turm off the review function to not see your last picture.


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## LouR (Mar 20, 2013)

As I said, I haven't gone thru the entire book it came with yet, so both turning off the review function and the movie button are the next set-ups I have to do.  (It's annoying not being able to read a lot with my eyes and kind of ironic since I write two motorcycle columns).
I forgot to mention that I am also beginning to love the movable LCD screen, but at one point at the race, I put the camera up to my eye with the damned screen still sticking out. D'oh! I'm a professional, kids. Don't try this at home....uh-huh...


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## Fox_Racing_Guy (Mar 20, 2013)

LouR said:


> so both turning off the review function and the movie button are the next set-ups I have to do.



The movie button "off" was not available until firmware V 1.06, make sure your camera has this or 1.07 before you try and turn that button off.


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## LouR (Mar 21, 2013)

Fox_Racing_Guy said:


> LouR said:
> 
> 
> > so both turning off the review function and the movie button are the next set-ups I have to do.
> ...


How would I find that out?


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## Fox_Racing_Guy (Mar 21, 2013)

Power on the camera.
Press the Menu button.
At the "Menu" screen, select "Setup".
At the "Setup" screen, select "Version".
The firmware version is displayed on the LCD screen. 





*If the current firmware version is 1.07 or higher, the camera does not need this update.*


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## LouR (Mar 21, 2013)

Thanks. Dummy me forgot Google was my friend. Had to download the firmware update and changed the movie setting as well as a couple others.


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## Fox_Racing_Guy (Mar 21, 2013)

:thumbup: Glad you worked it out.


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