Sony A700: Still Good Enough
As much as I enjoy using the Sony A350, the work I’m doing now needed something a little more solid — a second body I could lean on without changing how I shoot. It had to stay in the Sony A-mount system because I already own the lenses, and I didn’t want anything too modern. No video, no extra distractions — just a camera I could pick up and use without thinking about it. Simple, stripped back, and close enough to shooting film that it still feels familiar.
The Sony A700 was the obvious step.
It sits in the same world as the A350, but it feels built for a slightly more deliberate kind of work. Better JPEG output. A brighter viewfinder. A body that feels like it’s meant to be held in cold hands and used without fuss. And importantly, it lets me keep the same approach: walk first, camera second, and keep the process simple enough that it stays enjoyable.
I picked the A700 up second-hand through MPB for £119, which was noticeably less than what I was seeing on eBay at the time. It also came with a 12-month warranty, which took the risk out of buying something this old. For me, that fitted the same logic as the camera itself — using what already exists, at a sensible price, and putting the money into making work rather than chasing new gear.
Staying in the Same System
Part of this decision was practical. I already had the lenses.
The A700 keeps me in the Sony A-mount system, which means the kit I’ve gradually built still makes sense. The lenses that have been doing the work continue doing the work, without me having to start again.
My main pair are the same ones you’ve already seen in my photos:
the Zeiss 16–80
the Sony 55–200
Between those two, I can cover most of what I tend to photograph on a walk — wider scenes, details in the landscape, and the odd bit of reach when something sits just out of comfortable range.
There’s also a small practical win that feels almost too sensible to mention: the A700 uses the same batteries. Not a life-changing detail, but one less thing to think about. When you’ve already decided you want to carry less, the small bits of compatibility start to matter.
A Step Up Without a Step Sideways
The A700 is only a fraction bigger than the A350 — about 5mm in the places that matter — and only slightly heavier. In the hand it feels more substantial, but not in a way that makes it feel like a burden. It’s still very much a walking camera.
More importantly for me, it still fits in my hip pack.
It’s a little snugger than the A350, but it goes in, and it goes in with everything I actually need. That hip pack has become the simplest expression of how I want to work now. It forces a limit. It keeps the day honest.
My usual carry is:
camera
both lenses
three batteries
2x CF cards
a lens cloth
And that’s it.
No extras “just in case”. No bag full of options. No feeling that I’m out for a day’s photography and walking is the thing I do between shots. If the camera fits that pack, it passes the test.
Why the JPEGs Matter
I shoot black and white JPEG only. That hasn’t changed, and I don’t see it changing any time soon.
It isn't about proving a point. It's the way I've always worked — I shot film for years, and the way I've set these cameras up still feels close to that. Shooting JPEG only makes me slow down, think about what I'm composing, and commit to the frame before I take it. It's not about getting it perfectly right in camera, it's about getting it as good as I can. I still do some post processing — mainly contrast work and finishing touches that make the image feel like mine — but the foundations are laid in the moment, not rescued afterwards.
The A700 gives me noticeably smoother tonal output in black and white compared to the A350. Part of that comes down to sensor differences — the A700 is CMOS, while the A350 is CCD — but I’m not interested in turning this into a technical argument. All I know is what I can see.
The A700’s JPEGs feel a little more settled. The transitions through mid-tones are smoother. The files take contrast well without tipping into harshness. And when you’re working in black and white, tone is the whole game. You aren’t leaning on colour to carry a scene. You’re relying on shape, texture, light and structure. If the tonal file is strong from the start, everything feels easier.
I still tweak the camera JPEG settings occasionally — mainly the zone and brightness adjustments to suit the conditions — but that’s the point: I’m not constantly reconfiguring the camera. I set it, I leave it, and I get on with the walk.
Buttons, Not Menus
This is one of the biggest differences in use, and it’s hard to show on a spec sheet.
The A700 gives you more direct control through tactile buttons. It feels like a camera built at a time when designers expected you to operate it by touch, without needing to keep diving into the menu system. That matters to me, because it keeps me out of “camera management” and in the act of photographing.
With the A350, once it’s set, it stays set. I’m not someone who’s constantly changing things mid-walk. The difference with the A700 is more about how it handles in the hand. There’s a bigger spread of direct, tactile controls, and the camera feels designed to be operated without thinking about it too much. And when I do need to adjust something, it’s usually small and purposeful: a tweak to those JPEG tonal settings depending on weather and light. Then it’s back to walking.
What I Lost, and What I Gained
The A350 has a couple of things the A700 doesn’t. The big one is the flip screen and live view.
That was handy at times, especially for awkward angles. If I’m honest, there are moments where I miss it. A flip screen makes certain shots easier, and it can be useful when you’re low to the ground or trying to keep a discreet angle.
But the A700 gives me something I value more: a bigger, brighter viewfinder.
That change affects the whole experience. It makes the act of framing feel more intentional. It makes you commit. It’s closer to how I work with my film cameras — bring it to the eye, look properly, decide, take the frame.
It’s not better for everyone. But it fits me.
There's also a practical image quality gain that's easy to overlook. The A700 offers an Extrafine JPEG setting, which the A350 doesn't have. Where Fine compression throws away a certain amount of image data to keep file sizes down, Extrafine keeps more of it — meaning better detail, smoother tones, and less compression artefacting in the final file. For black and white work where tonal quality is everything, that extra retention of detail makes a noticeable difference.
And then there’s the body itself. The A700’s magnesium build and weather sealing gives a different kind of confidence. I don’t walk to protect cameras. I walk in whatever weather turns up, and the camera comes with me. If something feels a bit tougher and more resistant to the elements, that’s not about bravado — it’s just one less thing to worry about.
Old Doesn’t Mean Less
This is where the A700 really aligns with how I think about photography.
It’s an older camera. It was Sony’s flagship DSLR back in 2007. Technology has moved on. Cameras have become lighter, faster, sharper, more automated, and more expensive. That’s all true.
But the A700 hasn’t become less of a camera just because time has passed.
If it was good enough then, it’s still good enough now.
It can still do what it was designed to do: make photographs. And it can still do it at a level that, in the real world, is more than enough for the way I work. Most of the time, it isn’t the camera that limits anyone — it’s patience, consistency, and the willingness to learn your tools properly.
I believe you can make meaningful work without the latest and greatest equipment. That isn’t some romantic opinion. It’s just reality. A lot of “latest and greatest” is driven by marketing and upgrades, not by necessity. And a lot of good photography comes from familiarity — from breathing the camera in, living with it, knowing what it will do before you even lift it to your eye.
That’s not something you buy. It’s something you build.
A Camera That Supports the Work
The reason this matters right now is because the work has shifted slightly.
I’m still walking the same paths. Still photographing local ground. Still returning to places repeatedly. That hasn’t changed. But the outcomes are changing.
Some images are now being made with prints in mind, or with book pages in mind — not just a single standalone photograph. That doesn’t make the photography more important. It just gives it a different destination.
The A700 fits that. It feels like a workhorse in the best sense — not flashy, not precious, just reliable. Something you can take out again and again, in different weather, across different seasons, and trust it to behave the same way each time.
And because it sits inside the same system as the A350, it doesn’t feel like I’ve changed direction. It feels like I’ve reinforced the direction I was already going in.
Where It Leaves Me
I’m not interested in chasing the next upgrade. I’m interested in walking, photographing, and building work over time. The A700 is simply a tool that supports that, without pulling me away from the parts I actually enjoy.
It fits in the hip pack.
It uses the lenses I already have.
It gives me better black and white JPEG files.
It feels good in the hand.
It keeps me out of menus.
It feels built to be used, not babied.
And most importantly, it lets me keep working in the same style as the A350 — simple, repeatable, and focused on what’s in front of me rather than what the camera can do.
The A700 doesn’t change the way I see.
It just makes it easier to keep showing up.