a68 Vs. a77ii

All,
I feel confident I can get some good responses from the membership here, so I have a few questions I could use some help with.

Ive been researching both the a68 and a77ii.

Both cameras fit in my budget, but if I select the a68 I will have more to spend on additional lens.
(I have zero Sony gear now, currently with Nikon)

My primary goal is shooting people, mostly portraits.. also SOME sports.

The 4D tracking of the two AFAIK are equal, however I do not need (but do want!) the 12fps
that the a77ii has.

Of greater desire is the focus modes and quality that the a77ii has, and I am wondering if
the a68 duplicates that performance and features.

The object tracking and eye focus are what I think would be more beneficial than the
extra bells & whistles that the 77 has.

If the 68 can rub shoulders with the 77 in the focus features and performance department
I would be smart to settle on that and use the extra money on additional glass.

Yes, I know... neither are full frame, and neither are flagship models. I really do
have a tight budget so please dont suggest upgrades in camera bodies. These
two cameras are my primary interest.

Having said that, Im an SLR guy and love the SLR format so naturally the 68 and 77
are very attractive to me. The A6300... I would possibly entertain that camera
but have no hands on experience with ANY of these cameras.

Also please advise the 68 and 77 have high speed sync (or whatever the mode
may be called for Sony).

AFAIK the 68 and 77 both have focus peaking, very desirable.

AFAIK the 68 and 77 both have IBIS, very desirable.


If I did start off with the 68, then (AFAIK) all the lens will function 100%
on teh 77 if I upgrade later. Correct?


Anything else I may be missing, Id welcome your feedback!


I am frustrated with my 5300, agn... not a flagship camera. Been looking to
upgrade to the D7200 for deeper buffer and HSS. The focus performance on
the 7200 is better (as I read) than the 5300, but features are not much better.

To stay Nikon and upgrade to a camera that has REAL feature and performance
upgrade, I'd have to go D500 (Im fine with APS-C cameras, really...)

For the money I'd spend on the D500 body, I can get a 77ii, and two lens for
$150-$200 more and put the D5300 and lens on ebay.

In the end, agn from what Ive seen on youtube.. etc.. the D500 is still way
behind in features and performance of the 77ii.

Thank you for reading and I appreciate any help!!

Kind regards,
Andrew

Any Sony people left on the forum?

Bump?

Hello, Andrew. I've been all over the board with cameras over the past seven years or so, and I hope some of this helps.

I went using a 60D for sports to using an A77 and it was a major step up in IQ and AF. AF tracking was perhaps a push.

I upgraded to an A77ii shorty after when I caught a great refurbished deal online. I used this body for for spring training baseball, some college football from the stands and for wildlife. It was a very good camera for me, but I never felt the upgrade was a giant improvement. My focus tracking was was slightly better than its predecessor, IQ slightly cleaner at middle ISO range.

I now have an a99ii and it is a great body, but physically it is incredibly similar to the a77ii.

The a77ii gives you more FPS and a metal mount vs the plastic of the a68. If you aren't going to use heavy lenses, the a68 will be a good buy. Bang-for-buck it is a good buy.

All that said, I enjoyed using my a6000 quite a bit more than my A77ii. The AF and frame rate were a push, but the a6000 is so much smaller/lighter. Battery life if is close if you don't turn off the rear screen review on the a77ii. Had I not ended up with a Minolta 200 2.8 prime as a result of a failed experiment with the LA-EA4 and e-mount bodies I would probably never have tried a-mount. Glad I did, but the body is four-year-old tech and holding close to its introduction price. Crazy.

I've seen used d800 and d610 the same price or lower than the a77ii new. If you are happy with the Nikon brand, maybe give full frame a try? EVF and I Is is nice, but only you can decide if Sony is for you. Any recent FF Nikon puts out a cleaner image than any a-mount body can due to the translucent mirror. The flip side, the a-mount will beat all except the D850 in AF--but the a99ii puts up a great fight.

Thanks for the follow up, I may just get an a68 and test the waters of a Sony camera.

Take care,
Andrew

The price to performance ration on that a68 is tough to beat.

Have you actually used a 68? I am curious if the 4D on the 68 can hold a candle to like the a77ii.. eye focus, face detection, tracking are my #1 desire over frame rate or deep buffer.

Thx,
Andrew

I have not, and I don't know anyone who has used an a68.

Thank you for your honest report. In the US it appears it is for sale... but hardly any (none?) Youtube reviews from a US owner.

I might take the chance and roll the dice..

Ill follow up here if I do.

Thanks agn,
Andrew

ShutterKlick wrote in post #18572346
Thank you for your honest report. In the US it appears it is for sale... but hardly any (none?) Youtube reviews from a US owner.

I might take the chance and roll the dice..

Ill follow up here if I do.

Thanks agn,
Andrew

Please do follow up--I'm definitely interested to hear what you end up doing and how you feel about it.

Sony has released so many interesting bodies on both A and E mount over the last 18 months, there seems to be something I like about all of them.

Still trying to figure out what to do..

It looks like A mount glass is much more abundant. Given that I can use the 3 adapter on the A6300 and A mount glass and still use all the AF points, if I am reading correctly.

Still trying to compare to D7200.. I really like the eye AF that Sony has, and the 4D focus.. But if I just got a D7200 Ive already got glass, flashes and flash controller.. I really need the HSS the 7200 offers in order to get the pictures I am wanting to shoot.

Then there is the D500, but $1,500 is a big leap. D500 Vs. Sony anything, even at $1500 for the D500, Id come out "ahead", not having to buy any additional glass or strobes. I would spend a minimum of $1,500 on an A6300 and enough lens to cover what Ive already got... then I still need a new flash controller (Godox)!!

Decisions.. Decisions.

I am thinking about renting before buying..

Ill update when I have an update.

Andrew

ShutterKlick wrote in post #18577716
Still trying to figure out what to do..

It looks like A mount glass is much more abundant. Given that I can use the 3 adapter on the A6300 and A mount glass and still use all the AF points, if I am reading correctly.

Still trying to compare to D7200.. I really like the eye AF that Sony has, and the 4D focus.. But if I just got a D7200 Ive already got glass, flashes and flash controller.. I really need the HSS the 7200 offers in order to get the pictures I am wanting to shoot.

Then there is the D500, but $1,500 is a big leap. D500 Vs. Sony anything, even at $1500 for the D500, Id come out "ahead", not having to buy any additional glass or strobes. I would spend a minimum of $1,500 on an A6300 and enough lens to cover what Ive already got... then I still need a new flash controller (Godox)!!

Decisions.. Decisions.

I am thinking about renting before buying..

Ill update when I have an update.

Andrew

Andrew, just a few things regarding the LA-EA3 adapter.
--It will work great on the a6300 if you are using A-mount lenses with an SSM motor. The A-mount lenses using SSM usually are clearly marked as such.
--If you are using Tam/Sigma A-mount glass, I have no idea.
--If you are using A-mount glass with the "screwdrive" motor then the LA-EA3 will be pure MF on any e-mount body.

I shot my a6000 alongside my a77ii only a handful of times, but here is one example:

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

IMAGE LINK: https://www.flickr.com …663/in/datepost​ed-public/

rcjn0117

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

IMAGE LINK: https://www.flickr.com …444/in/datepost​ed-public/

Eye AF, one of the major factors in wanting to go Sony, for both the A58 and A77II, is only available in AF-S mode.

Therefore I am investigating if the A6300 can do Eye AF in both AF-S and AF-C modes. Ill report back my confirmation,
I have read the manual and it says Eye AF cannot be used in Manual Focus mode (doah!), but makes no mention to AF-C.

If Im going to change, its going to be all the features functioning in the methods I want and need, which means Eye AF in AF-C too!

Andrew

For what it is worth, I was consistently happier with my a6000 images than any other body I have ever had (D40, 60D,T4i, 6D, a7r, a77, A77ii and a99ii were the others). The AF never seem to let me down and the IQ really surprised me even after a year of regular use.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

Photo from mickeyb105's gallery.

Thank you Mickey, you have been very helpful!

Andrew

My head is spinning!

I continue to search in the Sony line, for the 4D focus system appears to provide exactly what I want in my next camera.

Thinking aloud, and wishing for reflection:

A6000 - Inexpensive, uses the E mount lens, a large number of focus points, Eye AF - But no IBIS

A6300 - Middle expensive, uses the E mount lens, a HUGE number of focus points, Eye AF - But no IBIS

A77II - Middle+ expensive, uses the A mount lens which several are to choose from, medium number of focus points
Has IBIS, fast FPS, Eye AF

A68 - Inexpensive, uses the A mount lens which several are to choose from, medium number of focus points,
has IBIS, medium-fast FPS, Eye AF

A7 - *full frame!* - Middle + expensive, great price for FF sensor! Uses the FE mount to capture full 24mp. 4D focus, Eye AF.
Downside: FE lens are pretty cost prohibitive for my transition. Does NOT appear to have a very high focus point count.

So, all my picks have: 4D focus and Eye AF.

The two affordable options are the A6000 and A68.

I have a Lumix G3 which is the most similar size to the A6000/A6300 to anything I have handled before, and its a nice
knock around camera but for SERIOUS work, which is my focus.. (excuse the pun), the SLR type body is what I prefer
the most.

This narrows the field to: A7, A77II and A68.

Since the A7 lens will elevate my transition cost to the prohibitive level I am now looking at A77II and A68.

Since the A77II has "no" significant advantage over the A68 as far as the camera is concerned, the A68
is looking to be the wiser $$ choice that will give me the biggest boost in performance and features over
my current Nikon D5300 and even the considered D7200 for upgrade.

A68 pitfalls: My D5300 has a super slick twisty screen that I *love*, but very few makers, even Nikon,
has retained. the A68 does at least have a flippy screen. Not sure if the A68 higher ISO images have
higher noise or not, I can run 6400 ISO on my D5300 and with P.S. noise filters end up looking really
good (cant tell it in print either way). A68 does not have touch screen, Im only seeing this on the
A6500 which due to price is not a player.

A77II pitfalls: Initial investment in the camera body, 2014 release date. Its nice to have the flippy &
twisty screen, but.. I could live without it, not a deal breaker for the A68.

A68 Lens selection: When looking for lens on ebay for example, I am finding what I want in the
A mount lens for seriously less money than the E or EF mount. I am curious though, will features
like the Eye AF work with a screw focus motor lens? (Should have similar/same behavior of the A77II??)

At this point, I am giving my greatest consideration to the A68 with dual kit lens
https://www.amazon.com …s&keywords=sony​+a68&psc=1
The kit lens will perform "well enough" until I can upgrade them.

For my portrait work, one lens I want is the 35mm f1.8 (budget), which will give me the bokah
I want and the ~50mm eq
https://www.amazon.com …8-8&keywords=a+mount+35m​m

For portrait work, the other lens I want is a 50mm f1.8 (budget) which will give me the bokah
I want and the ~75mm eq
https://www.amazon.com …8-7&keywords=a+mount+50m​m


All this is DOABLE on my budget limit.

Even though the A68 is an SLT camera (Yes, I know about the 1/3 f light loss), it does have "mirrorless like"
performance that I am drooling for, in the frame and body I prefer, with the features and performance
I need to advance to the next level.

The things that tickle my fancy are:
4D focus with great object tracking
Eye AF (for toddlers that wont sit still)
Focus peaking and manual magnification which will make manual focus a joy
(rather than the pure pain that I experience with Nikon)
HSS = improved outdoor portraits (my specialty) and creative lighting

I can "upgrade" to the A77II later and still use all the kit I gathered.
If I upgrade to the A99V (after hitting the lottery!) I can use all the kit I gathered.


I am looking for your thoughts and ideas on the matter. If money were no object,
I would likely just buy one of each, of everything.. and be happy.

Thanks,
Andrew