Sony a6700 Review: A Return to APS-C With a BANG! 

I always enjoy the tech talk from Chris.

I've had an a6000 since the days when it was the best camera I could afford. Stuck with it because I liked my lenses and the incremental improvements in the line still weren't worth the cost to me. 6700 may change that. Front dial, articulating screen, IBIS, silent shutter, good video, good grip, longer battery life, improved autofocus, all with the ability to use the same lenses make it a winner for me. Plus my kids are through college.

First A6700 video I've watched - great review guys, comprehensive without turning into a spec read. Cheers

Love Chris and Jordan. So detailed and not scared to tell the faults of the camera. Thats integrity which is rare nowadays. Loyal subscriber. Glad yall are doing great at PetaPixel.

Good review, thank you! The only thing missing was no mention about precapture. I would have loved to see that in a APS-C camera without the rolling shutter issues.

I’m a former a6000 shooter. The a6700 is the camera I waited 5 years for before not being able to wait anymore and buying a Nikon Z5 back in 2021. I sold all my nicer a6000 glass to help pay for the Z5. I still have my old Sony a6000 and kit lens only because the retailer wouldn’t buy them due to their age.

Oh man ! Just found you guys back! awesome you are still making videos 🎉

Nicely done! A number of good upgrades…Sony listened! 46 minutes @room temperature before it shuts down at 4K 24 is likely fine; for serious video get the fx30. Lots of folks will complain about the micro HD port though, but small camera makes that tough.

Holy crap I genuinely thought it was never gonna happen

Excellent review of the Sony a6700 camera fellow!.. Interesting to see what time does for innovation and comments that seemed to have sparked their action.

Great review, as always, and nice little upgrade. Love the 10-bit color, the 4k 60, and some of the other tweaks. I’ll add this to my Sony APS-C quiver, keep my clients happy, and continue to support my family.

Thanks for the review guys, 'twas very helpful. I've been looking to upgrade from my A6400. The bigger battery, front dial, and better guts are all attractive features. The new side-only flip screen might be a deal-breaker, however. I have taken so many photos looking down at my back-flip screen; I just cannot imagine how that could work with the screen sticking out the side.

Yeah, as a mostly-stills, some-short-video shooter this is my upgrade path from a 6300 + APC lenses. I was afraid that I'd have to go full-frame and didn't want to deal with the weight and cost of the lenses. Really liking the ergonomics (especially the articulated screen, also the grip and front wheel), the amazing autofocus, the improved image quality and tonal range, and having IBIS at all, which the 6300 doesn't. I'd love to hear more about a feature barely mentioned in some sites, anti-flicker. Has Sony solved the e-shutter/LED lighting conflict? That would be huge for shooting stage/concerts, my main thing. One thing, though - Sony PLEASE send us an APC f/2.8 medium tele with converters, like Fujifilm has in its 50-140!

It's nice to see that Sony hasn't forgotten about apsc line. I guess their next step should be to refresh the apsc lens lineup as it's showing its age. They were the first to appear on the market with the arrival of Sony a6000 and Nex cameras. I am in the Nikon Z system and their lenses are superior, even the more affordable ones.

I actually miss the rec button on the side. So much so that I just re-programmed it back in 🤣

Ive been using the a6500 for the last few years. I just pre-ordered this a6700 on Wednesday. Cant wait.

I have ordered the a6700 to upgrade my OLD and heavily used a6000 and to use with the several APSC lenses I have. And in addition I shoot the a7IV along with it's compliment of full frame lenses. I think this will be a great combination.

happy to see you Chris 😊

So grateful you guys made the transition to PetaPixel. This is an excellent review too, and timely for me. I have had several apsc sony's. Starting with the a6000, my first sony. I upgraded to the 6500 and shot the hell out of it. I'm super happy with the a6600. All great cameras though. I'm also still shooting my RX100va. Glad to see this review and I may have to log onto the BH website for some GAS therapy.

So glad that I’ve chose the Fuji xt5 back in November and didn’t wait for the 6700

I’ve been waiting from a6000 > a6300 > a6500 > a6600 for a front dial and finally!!! I almost switched over to Fujifilm X-H2s for front dial plus no rolling shutter, but finally my wait is paying off! Sony take my money! I’m a photographer not a videographer and in the Sony full frame system. I’m glad I can keep one system!

This is exactly the camera I wanted except for a full size HDMI port and new camera strap lugs so I'm happy

I like the selector switch. I wish they'd bring back the a6400 back panel toggle switch and link it to memory modes.

Can't wait for those comparison videos!

Excellent review like always! loved 1/4 Noct reference LOL!

Great show boys! Love your presentation.

At last, the camera we've all been waiting for!

Huge upgrade 👏👏

Yes just bought one and whole set of Kase filters. thanks for your video!

Thanks!

I’ve used 6000 series cameras for 7 years now, starting with the a6000 and then the a6500 which I’m still using semi-professionally. I keep planning to go full frame or even abandon ship for the s5iix. I might still, but I’ll probably buy this first and see how it does. Yes it’s not a huge step up in some areas but it looks like they’ve addressed almost every real complaint I had with the system

I have used the 6400 and the 6600, the new upgrades on a6700 are significant to make it a valuable hybrid camera. Again a great review by Chris and Jordan will wait to see their side by side with Fuji X-S20. I think the auto focus and AI features will be tough for Fuji to beat the 6700.

Thank you so much for the informative and helpful review on Sony A6700. Good luck guys!

Great review! Looking forward to watching the APS-C shootout with Canon and Fuji 🙂

Thanks for the great review as always!!Sony never really understood photography well, although they have great tech. Only 11 fps and no pre-shot buffer. On top of it, will need to check for sensor reflections - this leads to bad flaring and blooming issues on my A6100.

Special thanks for mentioning the SentryBox! Never played there, but always happy to hear Warhammer mentioned anywhere on the limitless expense of the internet!

True useful and has an excellent review already. Some are comparing it with R7 with some biased mode. They never touched heating, crop,s, etc. Thanks to you two again. Canon please listen to all and approve at least some of the Tamron and Sigma as well as Voltrox lenses.

Looks great. A big step up for ergonomics. Let's cross our fingers that the A7Cii takes the same approach to ergonomics (though I hope they don't go as large with the grip). The only thing holding me back from an A6700 is the impact of that larger grip on fitting the camera in a jacket pocket.

Thank you

As well as having some full frame Canon cameras, I also have the a6300 and since I'm a still photographer, I haven't seen any reason to upgrade to the newer versions until now. So thank you for the review

re 2:06 into the video - All the A6000 series from the 6300 onwards do BBF with an AF on button - the difference is that the button could have two functions via a switch , they simply REMOVED that facility from the 6700 along with the extra function button which the 65/6600 had

Looking forward to this so much 🇦🇺

Great review. It has a lot of advantages over my a6500 which cost around $1400 5-6 years ago. I might consider the a6700 but I really want to see some more reviews and comparisons with photo and video quality to the a6500. Good price point, but still $1400 is a lot of money for a camera hobbyist.

The latest improvements are amazing but I still wish they make the UI as fast and simple as the one you find in smartphones. I would smartphone level of sharing and more casual editing for social media. Still using my OG A7 and 35. Still love it for casual portraits and landscape.

I'm reeeeeally looking forward to the R7 vs X-S20 vs a6700 video!

Great raw photo/video capabilities. Improvements in handling. Let down by displays. The big zoom on the camera in this video makes it look like a unwieldy combo.

At B&H APSC Lenses for Fuji X-mount 184 prime Lenses and 21 zoom lenses, APSC Lenses for Sony E-mount 117 prime Lenses and 19 zoom lenses, BUT there are also ALL the Full frame Sony E-mount Lenses of which many are compact, 215 prime Lenses and 42 zoom lenses for Sony Full frame E-mount, so a total of 393 Lenses for Sony E-mount.

Nice review as always! Hasn't (single exposure, so non-computational photography) image quality plateaud for all sensor sizes though, not just APS-C? From what I understood, pretty much all modern sensors are less than a stop away from the theoretical maximum efficiency, so the major differentiators that are left are sensor size and the ability to make multiple exposures / use computational photography.

Love your T Shirt Jordan!

Nice camera. I like that Sony no longer hinders video features on cheaper cameras.

My last Sony apsc was the a6500. Love the compactness of the camera and it performed great. Paired it up with the sigma f/1.4 apsc trio. Glad to see Sony is making a new release. But I already moved on to Fujifilm and Nikon Z lol.

Thank you so much!!!

great review !

The review is great as always, desperately waiting for the a6700 vs xs20

Ya know if they added the silver top option like the A7C has, it would go a long way to adding a little style to the A6xxx bodies

I bought a used A7C in 2020, after 6 years with an A6000. I decided it was more camera than I needed and sold it after a few months to buy an A6400. I really didn't expect to upgrade my "nice" camera again for many, many years, but the A6700 is tempting.

Excellent review PP! Compact body style with EVF + 5-axis stabilized sensor + plenty of lenses + 10-bit recording at up to 4K60!!!! Excellent camera but I still love the look of my Fuji X-T. Great job Chris and Jordan.

Excellent review.

As always, a joy to watch

Great Video! Love the content as well as the pro's and con's for this product. Jord... bruh, don't forget to blink once and a while bud, felt like you were trying to hypnotizing me to complete items on my procrastination list... j/k fellas, good stuff here guys thanks for the help.

I will be patiently waiting for X-S20 comparison. Will move from X-T3 to one of these two.

Mmmm. So this is what I took from this vid guys..... Bigger grip, not great buffer (still not changed this significantly enough) same rear viewing screen of old, same EVF of old, still no twin card slot. I'm not convinced to buy it at this point. Great video mind. It answered all the questions I had about this camera. Thanks for shooting it for us. 👍

Awesome... as usual.

Definitely would love to see that comparison between this the XS20 and the R7. I have an R7 myself and I really love it but I gotta say the lens situation really is a big negative on that camera. Maybe this might get me to jump ship

Although this is a Sony camera review but man watching those pastel, dreamy colours shot from Lumix S5IIX is such a feast to the eyes!

I bought an a6000 on a whim years ago, when it was almost the first mirrorless camera you could get. Two years later, I got rid of all my beloved Nikon gear because I hadn't used it since I bought the a6k. Two years after *that* I bought an a7r2, making the a6k my backup body. I have plenty of E-mount glass now, so, guess who wants an a6700 now? :-)

I’ve the a6300 for like 6 years and I’m seriously thinking about upgrading to this one. Glad I don’t have to change my lenses.

I would really like to see you folks test the XT4 as well. The previous best APSC camera. It was one of the best all rounders for a couple years so it would be nice to see if the updates have helped keep it relevant.

We currently have the a6600 and our business is mostly video with some photography. Now that this camera has a6600, is it still worth looking at full-frame like Sony Alpha A7SIII or FX3. They are double the price plus all the lenses, but I'm wondering what the top advantages are. Just low light?

Does the a6700 have the same creative profile controls that the a7siii has? Can you adjust the highlights, shadows, contrast, etc..?

So I was going to upgrade my Fujifilm camera to the x100v......they are not and have not been available for a very long time which makes me question Fuji's viability in a competitive market. But after seeing this video.....I am on board with Sony. Thanks for your information.....I appreciate it.

Great review. I bought this a6700. Uploaded 4k videos. Great camera.

Thanks for a comprehensive review. Looking forward to the Fuji sx comparison review.

I’m still rocking a6000 😉

Looking forward to the comparison between APS-Cs that have similar prices!

Excellent video as usual. Will wait for the XS-20 and a6700 comparison review before buying.

Love these videos. God help us all if we all of a sudden had to shoot photos with a basic film camera with a single shutter button. We'd be lost. Or we'd be happy snapping photos on 35mm film and making videos on a compact VHS recorder, uck. Still, the object is to master whatever camera we have to make great videos and stills. I take what reviewers with a grain of salt, listen to them praise and then bitch about this work of art. This camera, with the few warts will be very successful considering its powerful features and relatively low/mid cost. What I have seen from other videos is a lot of improvements made over the a6000 series. This machine is simply incredible and if someone can't take great stills or make videos need to find another hobby. Kudos to Sony and all the other manufacturers for continuingly upping the game. We all benefit. Oh, I want one, saving my $$$.

No matter what channel Chris and Jordan go to, I'll follow 😊

Hopefully features and front dial will trickle down to the A7C II, which is the camera that I’m waiting for.

I do like the apsc sensor, however I‘m probably making a huge switch to the A7 R series due to needs for a sensor with big pixel counts as I need that for making graphic assets, specifically for stuff I can‘t scan with flatbed

I really liked the pop up articulating flash on the mid tier 6xxx series, because it was always useful in a pinch, especially on holiday in low indoor light conditions, where bringing an external flash is a hassle. This is the reason why I got my a6400, over the 6600/a7c, and probably why I won't upgrade to the a6700.

I hoped to switch from Fuji to Sony, but don't see anything over fuji XT. No not even on par with Fuji XT-4 if video autofocus not crucial to you. More over XT3 is better in terms of screen, viewfinder and have joystick as well and will be around the same in terms of stills IQ.

waited 4 years for this camera... majorly dissapointed that the ibis has not been improved minor dissapointment about the evf still gonna buy it

I love my A6400. How much of an improvement in noise would the A6700 be in low light, specifically Astro and nightscapes?

I wish you did an image quality and colour rendering study, stuff that actually makes or breaks the deal.

Hmm, watched all the A6700 reviews I could find today and this is the only one that mentioned an overheating issue. That surprises me.

Hopefully we get the A9III in November.

Would love a video on recommendations for matching lenses to this camera, best choices for beginners

Don’t think you mentioned the new focus stacking which is a nice feature although would be good if the image could be built in camera

Good upgrades. I'm in a goid place with my A6600, and Fuji XT-1. Both cameras have a great selection of lenses! Something that should never be taken lightly. Nice job, guys!

Looks like it’s going to be a great addition

Can I connect an external monitor via HDMI, and not lose face tracking autofocus?

I wish I could be happy with the a6700 announcement. I was really hopping for two things: first, faster shooting somewhere between 15 to 20fps. Second, a secondary SD card it seems Sony hasn’t update these two since the a6000. Never the less excellent review!!!

I am a long time user of Nikon APS-C from D7000 to now Z50. When the Canon R7 (could argue that it was a Nikon D500 replacement) came out I almost change brands, but the lack of affordable lenses from Canon and no third party lens; I didn't pull the trigger. Honestly I was hoping for Nikon to introduce a new APS-C with all the features of the R7 and D500 with better AF. But now this new Sony A6700 has me thinking again of jumping ship. As you said Sony has a much better line up of third party lenses and Sony lenses than Canon. So will wait for your review with production unit, before I make my decision.

The camera is somewhat unimpressive, but what does impress is that new background Jordan is using for the video segments. Video looks great.

Both a6700, R7, and XS20 are great cameras. Although im not really into these type of content creation focused cameras. I am more on the photography side. I guess the most interesting thing about these releases are there are more grumnblings against the a6700, when we can consider how it has better rolling shutter and video dynamic range than the r7. It also has the best video autofocus and lens breathing compensation, compared to the low performance of fujis when it comes to autofocus. And lastly the lens options; you cant beat sony when it comes to 3rd party lenses. I believe all of these 3 cameras are great and theres no need to grumble too much against the a6700 which is in my opinion the better choice if your mainly a content creator and not just focused on photography. Sony could have done better but the a6700 can go against the r7 and xs20.

Hi Chris, my old cage smallrig a7C, can it put on body a7600? anyone can try this before?

You can get the Nikon Z 6 II with the current instant rebate promotion for 1.549 € with better features and build quality than the Sony plus a full-frame sensor with better image quality at high ISO. If you don't photograph athletes at the Olympics or birds in flight all the time, you shouldn't have any problems with the AF.

does the video get "noisy" when in temperature warning mode on high temp setting??

First, great video. But i too am a bit underwhelmed. I was expecting upgrades to the IBIS and LCD and EVF. For me, and photo-centric use, its this or a Fuji, given good lens options for both. Still using my Nikon Z50, but not seeing any follow on model offering from Nikon. I like Sony for how well LR handles their raw files. But i value Fuji’s upgraded IBIS.