Sony a6700 APS-C Camera with AI-Powered Photo and Video Features Announced

Camera News

by Florian MilzJuly 12^th, 2023

Sony just announced the a6700, its next-generation APS-C camera with advanced subject detection and solid photo and video features. The a6700 marks the first camera from the a6000 series since the a6600, which was introduced in 2019. Let’s find out what this camera can do!

With a 1.5x crop sensor compared to full-frame cameras, the a6700 is more compact and lightweight than its full-frame brothers and sisters. Thanks to the Sony E-Mount, you can use a wide range of lenses, including 21 dedicated APS-C lenses and, of course, all the full-frame lenses from Sony. There are also a large number of third-party lenses that you can use with this camera, and lots of adapters are available as well.

Power and speed

The a6700 features a 26-megapixel BSI (backside-illuminated) Exmor R CMOS sensor which is coupled with the BIONZ XR processor that is also used in the Sony a7R V (read our article here). This combination allows for solid video and still photography features, as well as AI processing power for subject detection and autofocus performance.

The camera features IBIS (in-body image stabilization), and Sony also improved the buffer size to allow continuous shooting of 11 frames per second in RAW+JPEG and 59 continuous RAW photos.

Video recording features

You can record 4K video oversampled from a 6K full-frame readout without pixel binning. When you record 100fps or 120fps in 4K, a 1.6x crop of the sensor is used. You can also set the camera to record HD at up to 240fps with a 1.5x sensor crop. This is all in addition to the APS-C crop.

Sony included S-Log 3 gamma with custom LUT support, S-Cinetone, and HLG color modes. Video codecs in the a6700 include the usual XAVC S, as well as XAVC S-I and XAVC HS. All files are saved to one SD card.

The camera also features a 3.5mm microphone and headphone jack and a USB-C port for charging and transferring data. Power is provided by an NP-FZ100 battery.

AI-features

Thanks to the AI processing unit in the a6700, features like Auto-Framing (which can also be found on the ZV-E1) and Eye AF during Clear Image Zoom can be achieved. Speaking of Autofocus – the a6700 features 759 phase-detection points, and supports subject recognition for humans, animals/birds, insects, cars/trains, and airplanes.

The alpha 6700 also takes subject recognition one step further and offers human pose estimation, in addition to eye and face detection for humans. Eye, head, and body detection for animals is also available, as well as airplane, car/train, and insect detection. This feature set brings the a6700 to the same level as the high-end full-frame Sony a7R V.

The autofocus works precisely in dark environments up to -3.0 EV. You can also override the autofocus in AF-C and AF-S modes to switch to manual focus at any time.

Viewfinder and monitor

Sony added a 1.03 million dot vari-angle LCD touch-screen, which flips out and swivels like most other modern Sony cameras. All the camera menus now feature the same modern and touch-friendly layout and design as other high-end alpha cameras. You can also navigate the menus using touch or with buttons and dials.

The OLED viewfinder is almost as bright as the high-end Sony a7R V and features 2.36 million dots and 1.07x magnification. You also have the option to set the EVF refresh rate to 60 or 120fps.

Other notable features

Also available in this camera is the Focus Map feature, which lets you see how close or far away objects are to the camera with the help of a color overlay, similar to a false color exposure tool.

You also have the option to activate focus peaking while AF is enabled, and other AF assist improvements.

The camera features a re-designed grip for improved ergonomics and a dedicated Still/Movie/S&Q dial as with their other recently released cameras. You can also customize many of the buttons and dials to do custom-assigned features.

Price and availability

The Sony a6700 will be available from the end of July 2023 for $1,398 (body only).

You can also buy the camera as a kit with the 16-50mm lens for $ 1,498 and another kit with the 18-135mm lens will cost $ 1,798.

You can find more information about the camera on the Sony website.

Have you been waiting for this camera as a successor to the a6600? Does this camera tick all your boxes for a new APS-C camera or do you prefer the FX30? Please share what excites you about this camera in the comments below! Do you have negative feelings about the a6700? Share away in the comment section.