Sony A6700 Photo & Video Review
I have owned the Sony A6700 for a while now, I pre-ordered the camera and received it long before Adobe Lightroom could edit the RAW image files. In that time I have used the camera extensively for photography and videography, it is certainly a very capable camera in the APSC hybrid camera category, but it has a few issues which can cause headaches in both photo and video use cases.
I’ll be discussing the photography from a street photography perspective and I’ll be discussing the videography from a freelance videographer and YouTube creator perspective.
If you’re mainly interested in video, please scroll down.
Sony A6700 Street Photography Review
Sony A6700, Sony 20mm f/2.8, Kodak Gold Preset
Street photography is my number one hobby, so it was a serious consideration for using the Sony A6700. Of course, the A6700 is an APSC sensor camera, meaning it has a 1.5x crop on any lens you use. So, as an example, in the above image, the Sony 20mm becomes a 30mm in full frame terms - it doesn’t become a 30mm lens, but it provides an equivalent field of view.
As someone who has primarily used full frame for the last 10 years, it was unusual to commit to a crop sensor camera again but there are some surprising benefits I had neglected in the past. The smaller sensor also leads to a deeper depth of field on any lens, so an f/2.8 aperture becomes an f/4.5 meaning more of your image is in focus when wide open at f/2.8 compared to full frame. This can be seen as a negative but in street photography, this is a benefit.
If you’ve ever used a Four Thirds sensor camera, you’ll know that the system has a crop factor of 2x - so that same f/2.8 becomes an f/5.6 aperture.
Sony A6700, Sony 20mm f/2.8, Kodak Gold Preset (vertical crop)
The A6700 has a 26MP sensor, which is great, but I have nothing more to say about it.
What is more interesting is the A6700 has an incredibly advanced autofocus system in 2023/24, it shares the same AI autofocus system as the Sony A7R V. The autofocus is a major step above most other cameras I have used, both in photo and video mode. It has 759 autofocus points, which means you can track a subject from one corner to the other perfectly. I can honestly say that I have never once worried about the autofocus on this camera, with AF tracking mapped to the ‘AF-On’ back button, I simply hold the button and track a subject effortlessly with little to no thought.
So, bravo Sony, it’s brilliant.
Another key feature which comes in handy is the 11fps burst shooting, which can be very useful when shooting fast-moving subjects, for me this isn’t very important but has been helpful.
My main photography complaint
From a street photographer's perspective, the camera has at times been quite frustrating for two reasons.
The first reason is the EVF, it is the same low-resolution EVF from previous A6000 series cameras with a 2.36m-dot EVF which is quite low for today’s standards.
The second reason is the shutter sound, I know, bare with me. The shutter is just quite loud and obvious, which can make street photography in quieter places a little difficult without attracting unnecessary attention. It’s not a big deal, but if you want the camera for street photography it’s definitely not ideal.
Of course, you can switch to silent mode to remove any shutter sound at all which can be useful unless you’re shooting fast-moving subjects.
Sony A6700, Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8, Kodak Tri-X Preset
Sony A6700 Videography Review
In terms of videography on the Sony A6700, there are 4 key things I want to highlight. The TLDR here is that the camera performs incredibly well, but there is one issue in the fact that it overheats quite easily in warm temperatures.
Clear Image Zoom Autofocus
Clear image zoom has always been a benefit of Sony mirrorless cameras, allowing you to crop an extra 1.5x in 4K and 2x in 1080p. In the Sony A6700, we gain improved autofocus in clear image zoom, meaning we can select specific AF points or track subjects by face, eye or object detection. On previous Sony cameras, clear image zoom was limited to a standard wide area selection which was useful in a pinch, however, the new clear image zoom is just like zooming on a lens with normal AF modes enabled.
Overheating
On a low note, the Sony A6700 does suffer from overheating, much like other Sony mirrorless cameras like the A6000, A6300, A6400 etc. Also, the Sony A7C would overheat from time to time as well. However, on the A6700 with the higher performance video modes, such as 10bit and 4K 120fps it becomes easier to overheat in shorter periods. So, if you are someone who filmed in warmer temperatures for extended periods, even outside on a sunny day, this is something to be wary of when it comes to investing in the A6700.
Audio Pre-Amp
A surprise bonus for me when using the A6700 for my YouTube videos has been the improved internal audio pre-amp, I haven’t seen this discussed much online, however as I film in the same space with the same microphone regularly it is something I have noticed and then compared between my A7C, A7S III and the A6700. It seems as though audio inputs from a standard 3.5mm microphone, like the Rode Wireless Pro+ require +1 input gain on the camera compared to the A7S III, but benefit from a cleaner audio track. By cleaner I mean the noise floor seems to be much lower, so any low hiss in your recording is significantly quieter compared to your voice.
It’s an FX30, which is an APSC FX3/A7S III
If you’ve used an FX3 or A7S III, you chose the full frame route for the same camera. If the A7S III is the hybrid version of the FX3, then the A6700 is the hybrid version of the FX30. The video quality is outstanding, it comes with S-Cinetone and other great Sony picture profiles like HLG and Slog. You also benefit from both 8bit and 10bit 4K up to 120fps with continuous autofocus. But these are the headline specs, which you already know. Personally I think the camera is worth it just for the video specs, however I would not choose it as a dedicated A-cam on professional shoots, it is my B-cam professionally but on YouTube and in street photography it is more than enough for anything I need.
