Sony a7 vs Sony a77 – Which Should You Go For?

It’s always important to be well informed about your options before making a decision. And if that decision involves the purchase of a camera, we are right here to help. In this review, we will be comparing the Sony a7 vs Sony a77; the former being a pro mirrorless and the latter a semi-pro DSLR.

This comparison is geared towards providing you with the necessary information that will help you pick one of the cameras.

Comparison Overview — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

This review has been divided using various subheadings so you can get a clearer picture of what these two cameras can offer you before you make a choice on which to purchase. This comparison overview will give you a peek into the more detailed comparison.

Where Do They Both Get It Right? — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

Sony graced the two cameras under review with a great sensor resolution. They both have a 24 megapixel sensor. Although the Sony a7 comes with a 35.8 x 23.9 millimetres full-frame CMOS sensor, the Sony a77 comes with a 23.5 x 15.6 millimetres APS-C CMOS sensor.

The sensor resolution makes either of the two cameras a great choice especially if you want large print images with great detail.

You’ll have no worries with using either the Sony a7 or the Sony a77 in challenging weather conditions. This is because both cameras come with environmental sealing, ensuring that neither water nor dust particles creep into them.

The Sony a7 and the Sony a77 both come with an electronic viewfinder. This makes it super easy for you to compose and focus your pictures correctly before shooting.

Shooting with either of these cameras will not be so restrictive as they both have an articulating screen. The articulating screen allows you the freedom to shoot from different flexible positions.

You will surely appreciate the fact that both the Sony a7 and the Sony a77 come with RAW Support. Shooting in RAW delivers your images to you in the most unprocessed form possible. This gives you more room to work on them as you desire at a later time.

Where Do They Both Get It Wrong? — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

The first noticeable feature that is absent from both the Sony a7 and the Sony a77 is a touch screen. Neither of the two cameras has a touch screen, restricting you to the use of only buttons.

Another way Sony gets it wrong with these two cameras is in the area of battery life. Both cameras have really poor battery lives, with the Sony a7 offering a poor 340 shots per single charge, and the Sony a77 offering a higher but equally not impressive 470 shots per charge.

How Do They Differ From Each Other? — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

Only one of the cameras has a built-in stabilizer. While the Sony a7 has none, the Sony a77 is fitted with a sensor-shift image stabilizer that keeps all the camera’s lenses stable.

The Sony a7 is also different from the Sony a77 in that while the Sony a77 has a built-in flash, the Sony a7 does not come with this feature. This means you will always have to rely on an external flash when using the a7 to shoot in low-light conditions.

Automatic location tracking is possible only with Sony a77, as it has a built-in GPS. The Sony a7 has no built-in GPS.

Furthermore, in order to aid viewing and changing the camera setting easily, Sony introduced the top LCD screen. However, only the Sony a77 has this feature, leaving the Sony a7 without.  A wireless connection is definitely a desired camera feature. However, just the Sony a7 has this feature.

Videographers will surely appreciate the presence of a headphone port on a camera, as it makes for better video control. Sony, however, provides this feature on only the Sony a7, as there is an obvious absence of a headphone port on the Sony a77.

Another spotted difference between the two cameras is the smartphone remote control feature. This feature allows you to control your camera with a smartphone. However, while the Sony a7 comes with this feature, the Sony a77 does not.

Which Has The Better Price-Value Ratio — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

The Sony a77 will be giving you better value for your money. Yes, the Sony a7 comes with a few more features but surely not enough to justify the 500 dollar difference. For a camera under 300 bucks, we really think the a77 holds it down pretty well.

Comparison Table — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

	Sony a7	Sony a77
Announcement Date	October 16, 2013	August 24, 2011
Weight	474 grams	732 grams
Sensor Size	Full frame	APS-C
ISO Range	100 – 25,600 ISO	50 – 16,000 ISO
Continuous Shooting	5 frames per second	12 frames per second
LCD Screen Resolution	1230k dots	921k dots
Low Light ISO	2248	801
Image Stabilization	None	Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash	None	Yes
Color Depth	24.8	24.0
Optical zoom	4x	3x
Video Formats	MPEG-4, AVCHD	MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Battery Life	340 shots per charge	470 shots per charge
Built-in GPS	None	Yes
Flash Sync Port	None	Yes
Headphone Port	Yes	No
Top LCD Screen	None	Yes
Smartphone Remote Control	Yes	No
Wireless Connectivity	Built-in	Eye-Fi Connected
NFC Connection	Yes	No
DxO Mark Overall Score	90	78

What Situation Is Each Best Suited For? — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

Sony a7

Sony a77

Its medium-sized bodyweight of 474 grams makes the Sony a7 an amazing camera for daily photography. Not just its weight but its sensor resolution, its environmental sealing among other great features. If you are looking for a camera for your portrait photography, the a7 is a very suitable choice. Its sensor resolution, full-frame sensor, built-in electronic viewfinder, and face detection focusing combine to ensure this suitability. The Sony a7 has a fast shutter speed of 1/8000 second, good low light ISO, 25 cross-type focus sensors, and environmental sealings. These features coupled with its electronic viewfinder, average continuous shooting, and wireless connection make it suited for sports photography. Together with some features already highlighted, its live-view feature makes the Sony a7 a good choice for your landscape photography.

This is an excellent camera for outdoor photography. With the Sony a77, be ready to capture all the action, as this camera definitely boosts sports and wildlife photography. The Sony a7’s built-in stabilizer, environmental sealing, 12 frames per second fast continuous shooting, and 11 cross-type focus sensors makes you look forward to going out on a shooting spree. In addition, its incredible 23.5 x 15.6 millimetres APS-C HP CMOS sensor, articulating screen, and face detection feature combine to make a great tool for street photography and the shooting of portraits. Its built-in GPS is an added advantage for the traveller. Not only will its features get you excited, but the results will also definitely drive you on.

A Sony a7 Demonstration Video

What Do They Have In Common? — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

Here are the features common to both the Sony a7 and a77:

i. 24 mega pixel sensor resolution

ii. Electronic viewfinder

iii. Environmental sealing

iv. Articulating screen

v. RAW support

vi. External flash hot shoe

vii. Microphone port

viii. Face detection focus

ix. Automatic exposure bracketing

We will now discuss each of these features in detail…

Sensor Resolution

We always like to start with sensor resolution. Why? Because it is one of the first things you look out for to determine a camera’s worth. If you want your images in large print without giving up high quality and details, it is important to consider the sensor resolution of your camera.

Both the Sony a7 and the Sony a77 have a sensor resolution of 24 megapixels. While the Sony a7 has a 35.8 x 23.9 millimeter full-frame CMOS sensor, the Sony a77 has a 23.5 x 15.6 millimeter APS-C CMOS sensor. Sony uses its upgraded BIONZ X image processor for these two cameras.

What really is the BIONZ X processor? The BIONZ X imaging processor is simply Sony’s improved imaging technology that imbues each shot taken with realism. It processes image data at incredibly high speeds and delivers the images with real-life color and minimal noise. 

Electronic Viewfinder

If you are all for the technologically advanced electronic viewfinder, Sony has got you covered. Another thing the Sony a7 and the Sony a77 have in common is the electronic viewfinder.

A viewfinder is the part of a camera where you look through to properly focus and compose your picture before shooting. It helps reduce the need for cropping images. There are basically two kinds of viewfinders: optical and electronic.

The optical viewfinder allows you to compose and focus the picture by looking through a window-like screen. Whereas, in the case of an electronic viewfinder, you are looking at an LCD screen.

Another major difference is that the optical viewfinder shows what the lens sees, while the electronic shows what the sensor sees. And so, the electronic viewfinder shows you exactly how the image will look when shot.

The Sony a7 and the Sony a77 each have an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 2,359k dots and a 100% coverage. That said, while the Sony a7 has a viewfinder magnification of 0.71, the Sony a77 has a viewfinder magnification of 0.73. Whether you go for the a7 or a77, you’re picking a camera with a great electronic viewfinder.

Environmental Sealing

To ensure that your camera functions optimally for as long as possible, proper care needs to be given to it. Using a camera to shoot in tough weather conditions exposes it to dust particles and water getting into it.

It is therefore wonderful to point out that both the Sony a7 and the Sony a77 come with environmental sealing. This provides added protection for your camera against the negative effects of the elements.

So, you can breathe a little easier while taking those breath-taking pool action images or jungle shoots.

Articulating Screen

One feature that promotes ease of use is the articulating screen. An articulating screen is an LCD screen that is not fixed but can be turned in a number of directions without turning the camera body.

This type of screen allows you flexible shooting positions. Both the Sony a7 and the Sony a77 have a 3-inch sized screen.

It is, however, necessary to point out that the screen on the a7 can only tilt vertically, but the a77 has a fully articulating screen. Also, the Sony a7’s 1,230k dots resolution screen makes it 33% sharper than the Sony a77’s 921k dots resolution screen.

RAW Support

Shooting with a camera that has RAW support allows you to store shot images as files containing minimally processed image data from the camera’s image sensor.

What this means is that the camera stores your shot images as uncompressed and unprocessed files, so no data is lost when you need to edit. When you shoot in JPEG, however, the stored images are already compressed, and so, have lost a lot of image data.

To print the pictures or share them online, you will have to process the RAW files and convert them suitably. They will have to be converted to JPEG or other suitable image formats. The benefit of shooting images in RAW is that you don’t get to lose important image data. Since the Sony a7 and Sony a77 both have RAW Support, you can rest easy.

External Flash Hot Shoe

Everyone appreciates being given an option. As good as having a camera with a built-in flash is, you will definitely appreciate being given an option for external flash support.

The external flash will come to be beneficial for better lighting of images, especially considering the lighting of the environment. And you will really need an external flash for your flash photography.

Both the Sony a7 and the Sony a77 are fitted with an external flash hot shoe, giving you the option of external flash support. As a result, the two cameras are great options to consider if you have flash photography in mind.

Microphone Port

Still on options. When planning to shoot videos, you intend to go all out to get the best quality of not just pictures but sound. And being given quality audio recording options will be greatly appreciated. The option of, say, a microphone port, will be appreciated.

Sony takes care of this by providing the a7 and a77 each with a microphone port. This helps in your bid to get the best audio quality to match your camera’s image quality.

Face Detection Focus

When a camera automatically sets its focus and exposure for a shot once it detects human faces, we know it has the face-detection focusing feature. Such a camera is a great choice for shooting portraits and groups.

The Sony a7 and the Sony a77 have the face-detection focusing feature, making them great tools for street photography and portrait photography. When you’re up for some fun, taking selfies with these cameras will be pleasant.

Videographers will find this feature most helpful when they are filming people.

Automatic Exposure Bracketing

When you really are not sure about the best exposure for your image, especially because the lighting is confusing, you need Auto bracketing.

Exposure bracketing is shooting an image at the exposure you think is right, and then shooting two others after adjusting the exposure each time. This is done in order to determine and select the best shot.

Automatic exposure bracketing allows you to set the width of the three pictures to be taken once the camera is in AEB (automatic exposure bracketing) mode.

This is so that when you take the next shots, you will have one in the exposure set and another underexposed by the number of stops set. The third picture will be overexposed by the number of stops you set.

The Sony a7 and the Sony a77 have the automatic bracketing feature.

A Sony a7 Demonstration Video

How Different Are They From Each Other? — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

Which offers better audio quality: a7 or a77?

One major feature present in the Sony a7 but absent in the Sony a77 is the headphone port, and as a result of this, you will be able to get clearer audio with the a7 just by connecting an external microphone. For this same reason, you can perhaps also say that the better camera for recording videos is the a7.

Which comes with built-in Wi-Fi: a7 or a77?

The Sony a7 comes with built-in Wi-Fi, however, with the a77, you will need an Eye-Fi card to be able to create a wireless connection with devices. Yes, an Eye-Fi card will get the job done, but it is no news that it is generally just more convenient to have Wi-Fi built-in.

Which can be remote controlled: a7 or a77?

The Sony a7 comes with the smartphone remote control feature which, as the name implies, allows you to control it with your smartphone. It is a fun and creative way to shoot and record videos with your camera. It really does come in handy when you have to self-record or take a group photo you’re also supposed to be in.

Which allows for a one touch wireless connection: a7 or a77?

The Sony a7 comes with near field communication which promotes easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices. With this feature, you can create a wireless connection with an NFC compatible device nearby just by touching them together. Yes, it’s that easy.

Which comes with image stabilization: a7 or a77?

The Sony a77 comes with built-in sensor-shift image stabilization which ensures that your pictures come out looking great even if the camera vibrated or shook while you were taking photos by automatically stabilizing the lenses of the camera while you shoot.

Which comes with a built-in flash: a7 or a77?

The Sony a77 is designed with a built-in flash to help you improve the lighting in low light locations to be able to get brighter photos without any hassle.

Which has built-in GPS: a7 or a77?

The Sony a77 is designed with a Global Positioning System (GPS) which allows you to track locations. This sole feature makes the a77 a better camera for tours and for travel photography.

Which has a screen on its top side: a7 or a77?

The Sony a77 comes with a top side LCD screen that makes it more convenient for the photographer to monitor and change the camera settings during a shoot.

Which has a faster continuous shooting: a7 or a77?

The Sony a7 has a burst mode speed of 5 frames per second, while the Sony a77’s continuous shooting is more than 2 times faster at 12 frames per second. This makes the a77 the better option for when you have to get photos of people or objects that are constantly in motion.

Which has the longer lasting battery: a7 or a77?

The Sony a77 has a battery that can get you up to 470 shots per full charge, while that of the a7 can only go up to 340 shots per full charge. Well, obviously, the a77 has the longer lasting battery, but it is still not impressive. Although the Sony a77 provides 130 more shots per full charge than the a7, if you will be using either of them, you will need to make arrangements for backup batteries. Well, that will still depend on how much you intend to shoot per session. But still, it does not hurt to have a backup.

Which has the bigger sensor size: a7 or a77?

The Sony a7 has a full-frame sensor, while the Sony a77 has a type of crop sensor called the APS-C. A full-frame sensor is any sensor with the same dimensions as the standard 35 millimetres film format. The crop sensor is any sensor that is smaller than the 35 millimetres frame. While the Sony a7 captures a wide field of view, the Sony a77 captures a tighter field of view than the a7 because of its sensor size.

The major advantage the crop sensor has over the full-frame is its cost. This is because manufacturing a full-frame is much more expensive than producing a camera with a crop sensor. So, it all depends on what type of photographs you want to shoot and your budget.

What Are The Unique Pros Of Each Product? — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

What Are The Pros Of The Sony a7?

• The Sony a7 offers you better connectivity with its wireless connection feature.
• It also offers high audio quality options with the provision of a headphone port.
• The smartphone remote control feature allows you to control the Sony a7 with your smartphone.
• Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices is made possible with the NFC connectivity feature on the Sony a7.

A Sony a7 Demonstration Video

What Are The Pros Of The Sony a77?

• One of the unique features of the Sony a77 is the built-in stabilization that helps stabilize all the camera’s lenses.
• Automatically tracking the location of the shoots is made possible with the Global Positioning System (GPS) built into the Sony a77.
• You will find that the built-in flash of the Sony a77 will come in handy when in shooting low-light conditions.
• Another unique feature of the Sony a77 is the presence of a top LCD screen. This screen allows for easy viewing and setting changes.

A Sony a77 Demonstration Video

What Are The Unique Cons Of Each Product? — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

What Are The Cons Of The Sony a7?

• Sony a7 does not come with a built-in image stabilizer as one would have expected from a camera of its class.
• There is also no built-in flash on the Sony a7.
• Automatic location tracking is not possible when using the Sony a7 because it does not come with a built-in GPS.

What Are The Cons Of The Sony a77?

• To videographers, one flaw of the Sony a77 is that it does not come with a headphone port.
• Wireless connectivity is a feature that would have been appreciated on the Sony a77. Unfortunately, the camera does not come with this feature.

Check out these other articles:

• Sony a7 Vs XT1 – Comprehensive Comparison
• Sony a7S Vs GH5 – Comprehensive Comparison
• Sony a7R Vs Fuji XT2 – Detailed Comparison
• Sony a6000 Vs Nikon D5100 – Detailed Comparison
• Sony a7R Vs RX1R – What Camera Is Better For You?
• Sony a6300 Vs Canon 7D – Detailed Comparison

What Pros Are Common To Both Products? — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

	Sony a7	Sony a77
Great Sensor Resolution	The Sony a7 has a 35.8 x 23.9 millimetres full-frame CMOS sensor whose resolution is 24 megapixels. This makes it a great camera that allows you to shoot amazing images that won’t lose details on large prints.	With its 24 megapixels 23.5 x 15.6 millimetres APS-C CMOS sensor, the Sony a77 can hold its own in the production of images that are high in quality.
Articulating Screen	Its tilting 3-inch sized LCD screen allows you to shoot from flexible positions when using the Sony a7.	The Sony a77 has a 3-inch sized LCD screen that affords you flexible shooting positions.
RAW Support	The high-quality RAW images of the Sony a7 makes you want to stick to shooting in RAW only.	The Sony a77 also comes with RAW support.
Electronic Viewfinder	Sony a7 comes with a 2359k dot electronic viewfinder that allows you properly compose pictures.	The Sony a77 also comes with an OLED 2359k dot electronic viewfinder.
Face-Detection Focusing	The face-detection focusing feature is present in the Sony a7.	Sony a77 also comes with face-detection focusing, making it a great camera for shooting portraits and random street photographs.
Environmental Sealing	Environmental sealing makes the Sony a7 a desirable camera for outdoor photography.	The Sony a77 is also given added production against weather conditions with environmental sealing on its body.
Microphone Port	So that you are able to produce videos with great audio quality, the Sony a7 comes with a microphone port.	The Sony a77 is also fitted with a microphone port providing you with great audio quality options.
Auto Exposure Bracketing	To handle shooting in tough light conditions, the Sony a7 comes with auto exposure bracketing.	The Sony a77 also comes with the auto exposure bracketing. This is beneficial when shooting high dynamic range (HDR) and in tricky lighting conditions.
External Flash Shoe	The Sony a7 comes fitted with an external flash shoe to make room for your external flash support.	The external flash shoe is also available on the Sony a77.

What Cons Are Common To Both Products? — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

	Sony a7	Sony a77
No Touch Screen	The Sony a7 does not have a touch screen. A touch screen would have made navigating through the camera even swifter.	The Sony a77 also does not come with a touch screen.
Battery Life	The battery life of the camera is considered to be poor. This camera allows for a rather disappointing 340 shots per single charge.	The Sony a77 affords you 470 shots per single charge. This is rather poor, as it is well below the average battery life of a DSLR.

What Do People Think About Both? — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

Sony a7	Sony a77
The Sony a7 really got users pleased with its lightweight. 474 grams for a full-frame is a really comfortable fit.	Users of the Sony a77 were really excited about the camera’s continuous shooting. The Sony a77’s ability to shoot 24.3 megapixels at 12 frames per second was worth getting excited about, most concurred.
Social media enthusiasts were really thrilled with the Sony a7’s wireless connection feature.	Videographers commended Sony for the high-quality videos shot with the Sony Alpha a77. They were pleased with the provision of the microphone port but disappointed with the non-inclusion of the much-needed headphone port.
Another thing of pleasant observation for the users was the very impressive RAW image quality. On the other hand, they complained of the overly over-processed quality of images shot in JPEG.	Quite a number were split between accepting the innovative electronic viewfinder or rejecting it. Some welcomed the new technology, while others wanted to stick to the familiar optical viewfinder.
The absence of a built-in stabilizer did not go unnoticed by users.	What almost everyone seemed to agree on was the battery life of the Sony a77.
What users found really disappointing was the camera’s battery life.	In all, the users thought the Sony a77 a worthy investment.
Users finally agreed that the camera’s compact size and wide feature set, together with the RAW image quality made up for the flaws.

What’s Our Take On Them? — Sony a7 Vs Sony a77

Sony a7	Sony a77
As we stated earlier this contest was largely full frame vs crop sensor and mirrorless vs DSLR.	It is clear that the cameras under review have almost the same features. This is apart from instances where the Sony a7 had unique features absent in the a77, and vice versa.
Looking at the feature set and current price, we can say that the a7 is the winner. It comes slightly higher on our table. However, as we always emphasize the decision is based on what your requirements and budget are.	Your choice will, therefore, be based primarily on what your personal photography needs are. This definitely entails taking your finances into account.

Sony a7 Vs Sony a77 — FAQs

Is the Sony a7 a professional camera?

The Sony a7 is a professional camera, however, whether it does a really good job for professionals is debatable. Of course, it is not a bad camera, but it is hard to see what the a7 gives you that a good semi-pro camera won’t.

For a professional camera, the a7 has a poor performance in low light, poor battery capacity, slow continuous shooting, and no image stabilization. Although it was designed for the pros, we really doubt that the pros are rushing towards this one. Anyway, it is weather sealed, we have to give it that.

Is the Sony a7 good for video?

The Sony a7 actually does a decent job in video mode. It does not shoot 4K as some may have expected, but it does shoot full HD, which is good enough quality if your videos are going to end up on the internet. It also has a mic jack, so, you don’t have to depend on the built-in microphone, you can get an external microphone and get better and more superior audio quality.

The a7 is also compatible with headphones which means that, while you are recording, you can monitor and regulate your audio, which is always a welcome idea.

Is the Sony a77 good for photography?

The Sony a77 is a good camera. Its 24 mega pixel APS-C CMOS sensor will be getting you pretty good images. It also comes with a built-in flash, an external flash hot shoe, and a PC sync for off-camera flashes, which makes it a favorite for flash photography.

The a77 also has a pretty fast continuous shooting, making it great for sports photography. And in addition to that, it is weather sealed, so, it is great for wildlife photography (and other forms of outdoor photography).

More so, its built-in image stabilization means you can confidently take photos on the move, like in wedding photography. So, basically, you can see that the a77 is a great camera for many different types of photography.

Is the Sony a77 still worth it?

In spite of the fact that it was released as far back as 2011, the Sony a77 is surely still worth getting. It still offers a lot of value and can even compete with some of the more modern cameras; all this at such an affordable price.

Yes, you might miss the lack of modern technology which particularly shows in its lack of built-in Wi-Fi (which an Eye-Fi card can make up for).

However, when you consider that it’s weather sealed, has image stabilization, built-in GPS, sync port for off-camera flashes, a fully articulated screen, and still costs less than 300 bucks, you may be more willing to overlook the “lack of modernness”, especially if you are on a tight budget.

Is the Sony a77 good in low light?

The Sony a77 is good in low light. Yes, it has a pretty underwhelming 100 – 1600 ISO range, however, what it lacks here, it makes up for it elsewhere. First of all, the ISO maximum of 1600 is further expandable to 25600, and well, it gets even more interesting.

The a77 comes with a built-in flash, and on top of that, you still have a hot shoe on which an external flash can be mounted. Like that is not enough, this camera is designed with a PC sync port which makes it compatible with off-camera flashes. So, with the a77, you won’t be having problems shooting in low light areas.

Is the Sony a77 good for vlogging?

The Sony a77 is a good camera to vlog with. First of all, it produces good enough video quality for YouTube and other social media platforms (full HD). Secondly, with the external microphone jack, it also gives you an option to get equally amazing audio quality for your videos.

Now, the icing on the cake is the a77’s LCD screen which is fully articulated. This means that you can easily rotate the screen and self-record which is surely one thing vlogger and YouTubers look out for.