The A700 ... remote control from your PC

[DonSchap]

One of the cooler aspects of the α700, that I did not have with the α100 was ...

"Lower Noise!" 'Rooz' quickly points out.

Heh, heh ... Uh, yeah, but, also the capability to directly control your camera from the PC, through the USB connection with the included software. The beauty of this, while not being actively capable of seeing through the viewfinder, from the PC, you can still autofocus and take images at various settings without having to get up and down, from your PC ... I like that. I am not a kid, anymore, although I have one on TV.

I find this tremendously helpful while working some distance from the camera .... up to 12 twelve feet, and working on a subject or subject matter. Unlike just using a remote shutter release ... you can use either your PC or laptop, just out of frame ... and play with white balance, exposure, aperture, DRO ... and several other important aspects of your shot. Then, with a click of the mouse ... results!

While using short lens, the trip is not usually that far, using a 135mm on a APS-C sensor ... we can be talking 10-20 feet or even more. The constant UP & DOWN can be truly exhausting, after a few hours of work.

So for no extra cost ... your arms and legs get a bit longer. If they start piping LiveView out, in the next version ... ah technology, huh?

[AJ Gressette]

I have also found this extremely useful, mostly in studio. The camera display is not exactly a color calibrated monitor and having a laptop or desktop monitor attached to the camera is very helpful. With controlled lighting, a few tweaks here and there, you can produce exceptional JPG images without having to do post process.

Great point to bring up, Don!

[Rooz]

yeah it's a pretty cool feature i suppose if you were that way inclined. personally i found it a bit of a pain in the ass and quite cumbersome to be honest. but if you shoot studio alot it'd probably come in handy. i think that sort of stuff is really only the tip of the iceberg for what will be coming our way over the next couple of years.

[sparkie1263]

Doesn't Canon have a camera out that can send the images wireless to a printer?

Frank

[laydros]

Frank I know some of the P&S cameras have that ability. I do not know if they have added it to any SLRs yet.

One reason I initially leaned toward the XS or XSI was the great computer control. I didn't know that the A700 had it until yesterday when I was loading the Sony software on a PC and bumped into the remote software, which prompted me to look it up. I haven't tried much studio stuff yet, but it seems like it could be quite handy.

[DonSchap]

Hey guys ... I really am trying to keep the ball rolling, here. There are aspects to the α700 that you just cannot get with the rest of them. That is precisely why I have recommended it as the DSLR to buy. It now is under a grand ... and how cool is that?

It truly is the culmination of all the best parts of SONY/Minolta DSLR photography. Oh sure, there a few extra bells and whistles in the α900, but no camera is as significant as the α700. Call it a "threshold shift" in your photography.

Good luck with YOURS!

[Tom F]

Wish I could install the software on my PC. It's not compatible with 64 bit Vista.

[DonSchap]

Is there not a 32-bit emulator that you can run older stuff with?

[Tom F]

There is for most things but not the Sony software.

[DonSchap]

Well, time to downgrade the OS to Win XP (32-bit). Oh, the answer was right there, huh? (if only)