ABOVE: The Sony Alpha 77 is seen here with its optional grip

One of the key differences between the Alpha 65 and the A77 is that while the A65 is made from plastic, the Alpha 77 has a magnesium alloy chassis and is sealed against dust and moisture ingress. It makes a notable difference in the feel of the two cameras, with the A77 feeling more rugged.

There's plenty of opportunity to customise the A77 and A65, and it may take a while to find the perfect configuration. Those wanting to shoot action and sport should track down the option to turn off the image review so that the image isn't displayed in the EVF before the next one is captured – it makes it far easier to pan with the subject. It would be nice if it were possible to switch off the EVF review while retaining it on the LCD screen, but that is a step too far at this point.

Articulated LCD screen

An articulated screen is a great bonus for creative shooting, when implemented well it really encourages shooting from a range of angles. The Sony Alpha 77's screen is unusual because it's mounted on a rotating hinge on a tilting arrangement.

This takes a little bit of getting used to, and it takes a while to work out which way to twist or lift the screen, but it means the LCD can be positioned in a much wider range of angles than usual. For viewing from above, for example, it can be positioned behind the main body of the camera or just above the camera so that the protruding eyecup of the viewfinder doesn't obscure the view.

In many situations it is more natural to shoot with a camera like the Alpha 77 held to the eye, but when the 921,600 dot LCD is used to compose images, it provides a clear view. Even in very bright sunlight it is still possible to see the main elements of the scene on the screen, however, some setting options become hard to make out.

As you might expect, there are several display options available for the EVF and LCD screen. The digital level display is especially useful and extremely well implemented indicating the yaw of the camera as well as whether it is tipped up or down. It's very easy to work out which way the camera needs to be rotated to get the horizon level.

The histogram is also useful, as is the 'Peaking' display which reveals which areas of the image are overexposed. They both make it easy to see when enough exposure compensation has been applied.

GPS

Sony has built a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit into the A77 so that images can be tagged with data that indicates where they were taken. Although the unit draws power from the camera battery, we didn't find the battery drained unusually quickly despite having the GPS activated throughout the two days that we shot with the camera.