Sony is serious about its SLRs. The A100 was a fair effort, with a resemblance to the Dynax 5D Sony inherited from its takeover of Konica Minolta, but the A700 is a whole new camera. Where the A100 is a budget model for novices, the A700 is targeted at enthusiasts and even professionals too. It offers a combination of durability, speed, resolution and high ISO speeds.

At the heart of the A700 is a 12.2MP Exmor CMOS sensor designed for the best possible performance, with on-chip noise reduction both before and after the analogue/digital conversion. More noise reduction is then applied by Sony's BIONZ processor.

This BIONZ processor is clearly a fast performer as the A700 can shoot JPEGs at 5fps until the memory card is full up. It can also shoot up to 19 RAW file without even a hiccup.

It's not just the processor that controls the maximum continuous shooting speed - the shutter and mirror have to be able to keep up too. The A700's new shutter/mirror assembly has that short 'clack' sound characteristic of high-speed cameras, and Sony says the shutter should last in excess of 100,000 shots.

Bigger and better

From the outside, the differences between the A700 and the A100 are clear. The A700 is substantially larger and heavier. The reinforced aluminium chassis is finished off with magnesium alloy body panels.

And the switchgear has silicon seals to resist the entry of dust and moisture. The controls are different, as well. Like other 'serious' SLRs, the A700 has two control wheels rather than one, and the new menu system is reckoned to make routine adjustments much easier.

That's open to debate - menus are menus, and there's nothing particularly special about these - but the A700 does have an alternative control method. Pressing the Fn button on the back makes the LCD information display interactive, so that you can scroll around and highlight the settings you want to change. It's both intuitive and quick.

The A700 doesn't have a secondary status LCD display on its top plate, unlike the Canon EOS 40D, but it doesn't really need it. It's as easy to use the 3-inch LCD on the rear, and it doesn't seem to have much impact on battery life because Sony claims an excellent 650 shots on a full charge.