- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- Sony SLT-A99
- Nikon D600
- Canon EOS 5D Mark II
- Canon EOS 5D Mark III
- Canon EOS 6D
Rated 82% by by c|net (Jan, 2012)It refreshes fast enough for comfortable continuous shooting as well.
Rated 82% by by DPReview (Jun, 2012)Within each of the six Picture Control options you can make adjustments to sharpening, contrast, brightness, saturation and hue settings.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Sony SLT A77 compared to the Nikon D800
MP24
APS-C
Rated 82% by by c|net (Jan, 2012)For the LCD, Sony created a fairly complex mechanism to enable its LCD to tilt as well as swivel.
36.2 MP
Full frame
Rated 82% by by DPReview (Jun, 2012)The D800's low light focusing ability is impressive, among the better performing cameras we've seen.
megapixels
| 0 MP | 36.2 MP   | 40 MP |
SLT A77 by Photography Blog (Dec, 2011)The Sony A77 can shoot full-resolution 24.3 megapixel pictures at up to 12fps whilst maintaining continuous auto focus and auto exposure, an impressively fast rate for such a relatively inexpensive camera.
D800 by KD (Jun, 2012)The beauty of a high megapixel camera is that it makes your pictures better at the same megapixel size as your last camera!
sensor size
SLT A77 by David-Pierce (Apr, 2012)The A77 uses the exact same 24.3-megapixel APS-C sensor as the NEX-7, and to similar effect: its photos look fantastic.
D800 by Jiunjr-Feng--Robert (Apr, 2012)D800 is my first full frame camera, which I wasn't thinking full frame to be necessary because of good flash is able to handle low light condition, which seems the most key reason for people to choose full frame.
viewfinder size
SLT A77 by David-Pierce (Apr, 2012)Colors are accurate and clear (even though they don't always look it in the viewfinder), and details are remarkably well-produced — even shadows and reflections in windows came out crystal clear.
D800 by Photography Blog (May, 2012)Otherwise the Nikon D800 is a highly dependable and capable camera that offers a versatile and improved auto focus system, an enhanced viewfinder with 100% frame coverage and a very good movie mode.
body size
143 x 104 x 81 mm
146 x 123 x 82 mm
D800 by Clint (Aug, 2012)It exceeds the quality of medium format film cameras in a much more portable size and weight.
focus points
| 0 | 51 | 60 |
SLT A77 by Photography Blog (Dec, 2011)The shutter-release has a definite half-way point, with the focus points (a choice of 19 with with 11 cross sensors to maximize precision for both vertical and horizontal subjects) rapidly illuminating green in the viewfinder and a confirmation bleep signaling that focus and exposure has been determined and the user is free to go on and take the shot.
D800 by P.-SUSo good I am willing to not use any other focus points but the center one for now, until Nikon release a service advisory for it.
Performance Real world tests of Sony SLT A77 vs Nikon D800
DxOMark image quality
SLT A77 by D.-Pierce--pierce324 (Nov, 2011)It also makes a couple of steps ahead in color accuracy and dynamic range.
D800 by Doctor.GenerosityFewer pixels would have enhanced colors and dynamic range and contrast, the non-MP ingredients of meaningful image quality.
DxOMark low light performance
SLT A77 by PA-PA-Jossey (Nov, 2011)I first test all my cameras in low light conditions because I love using natural light for most of my photo's when I can.
D800 by J.-Blaha--JrThe automatic white balance in absolutely amazing in low light conditions, as I shot landscape under a full-moon with long exposure the other night, and it looked like the shot was taken during daylight, complete with the blue sky with stars visible and white clouds, which made for a nice wow factor.
shutter lag
| 0 ms | 124 ms | 200 ms |
SLT A77 by David-Pierce (Apr, 2012)The shutter lag is so low that I actually had trouble only capturing one frame if I was in a continuous shooting mode — by the time I’d pressed and released the shutter, I’d taken more like three or four frames.
D800 by Photography Blog (May, 2012)The Nikon D800 lets you dial in shutter speeds of up to 30 seconds and has a Bulb mode as well for exposure times of practically any length, which is very good news if you are seriously interested in night photography.
continuous shooting
SLT A77 by Joe-Stealthmode (Nov, 2011)I've checked timestamps and have a couple of bursts that were 12 per second.
battery life
530 photos
900 photos
SLT A77 by Photography Blog (Dec, 2011)On the bottom of the camera is a compartment for the lithium-ion battery that supplies an impressive life-span of 470 images with the viewfinder or 530 images in Live View mode, plus a metal tripod socket that's in-line with the centre of the lens mount.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the Nikon D800
| Image stabilization | Sensor shift | vs | None |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supports image stabilization | |||
| Create realistic 3D images | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Create 3D photos to view on a 3D TV | |||
| Much faster rapid fire | 12 fps | vs | 4 fps |
| 3x faster continuous shooting; Take photos in rapid succession to capture motion | |||
| Has a flip out screen | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Great for recording movies | |||
| Significantly less delay taking photos | 124 ms | vs | 209 ms |
| More than 40% less shutter lag; Avoid missing spontaneous moments | |||
| Automatic panorama | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Stitches together multiple photos into a single ultra-wide view | |||
| Includes a GPS | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Records the location of your photos automatically | |||
| Lighter | 732 g | vs | 1,000 g |
| Around 30% lighter | |||
| Smaller | 143 x 104 x 81 mm | vs | 146 x 123 x 82 mm |
| Around 20% smaller | |||
Advantages compared to the Sony SLT A77
| Much larger sensor | Full frame | vs | APS-C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Around 2.5x larger sensor; higher quality photos | |||
| Much better overall image quality | 95.0 | vs | 78.0 |
| More than 20% better image quality | |||
| Much larger screen | 3.2" | vs | 3" |
| Around 10% larger screen | |||
| Much less startup delay | 200 ms | vs | 3,100 ms |
| 15.5x less startup delay; Be ready for anything | |||
| Much less noise at high ISO | 2,853 ISO | vs | 801 ISO |
| More than 3.5x higher low light performance | |||
| Significantly higher resolution screen | 1,040 k dots | vs | 921 k dots |
| More than 10% higher resolution screen | |||
| Much more color depth | 25.3 bits | vs | 24.0 bits |
| Around 10% more color depth | |||
| Much higher resolution | 36.2 MP | vs | 24 MP |
| More than 50% higher resolution; Capture more detail, good for large prints | |||
| Significantly more phase-detection focus points | 51 | vs | 19 |
| 32 more phase detection focus points; Faster autofocus in reasonably lit settings | |||
| Better dynamic range | 14.4 ev | vs | 13.2 ev |
| Around 10% better dynamic range | |||
| Significantly more highly reviewed by consumers | 89.35% | vs | 87.01% |
| Almost the same | |||
| Marginally more recently announced | Feb, 2012 | vs | Aug, 2011 |
| Announced date 5 months later | |||
| More photos per charge | 900 | vs | 530 |
| 370 more shots; Longer battery life | |||
| Slightly more cross-type focus points | 15 | vs | 11 |
| 4 more cross type focus points; Easier and faster focusing in low light | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Sony SLT A77 | Nikon D800 | ||
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 | Rated by 110 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by RogerB (Dec, 2011) Rated 80% by by Robert-E.-Newsome (Jan, 2012) Rated 100% by by RogerB (Dec, 2011) | Rated by 236 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Charles (Jun, 2012) Rated 20% by by E.-K.-Wlin (Jul, 2012) | |
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | Sony SLT-A99 Highest resolution screen |
 | 2 | Nikon D600 Least noise at high ISO |
 | 3 | Canon EOS 5D Mark II 3-way tie: Largest sensor |
 | 4 | Canon EOS 5D Mark III Many many cross-type focus points |
 | 5 | Canon EOS 6D Most shots per battery charge |
 | 6 | Pentax K-30 3-way tie: Image stabilization |
 | 7 | Canon EOS 7D Rated the best by consumers |
 | 8 | Sony Alpha NEX-6 Many more phase-detection focus points |
Popular Questions
July 13, 2012
What to do, what to do?
I've been shooting with Nikon for most of my time as a military photographer. I am issued the Nikon d300s body but am looking to start getting my own equipment. I have gotten really used to the...
Intermediate I
9
Answers Sony SLT A77
Ismael-Zubairu-Adams1 
Beginner II
If you already own Nikon equipment i would stay with Nikon else go for the Sony a77. The new SLT's are great! View Ismael-Zubairu-Adams1's recommendation
- 0 comments
- July 16, 2012
- Reply to: What to do, what to do?
Nikon D800
John-Kim 
Intermediate III
1) Are you happy with results you been getting from D300s? 2) Are you looking to go full frame or stay with crop sensor format? (D300s, Pentax K-5, Sony SLTA77) versus (D800, Canon 5D MK Do... View John-Kim's recommendation
- 0 comments
- July 23, 2012
- Reply to: What to do, what to do?
