is the 700 better than the 100

Has there been enought testing to determine whether the a700 is worth the extra money over the a100

The 3" ridiculously high resolution screen on the A700 is nice.... lol. But over double the price? With how great the A100 is for the price, I can't imagine spending that kind of crazy money on the A700. Geez... I can't get over the price of the A700....

Hi Matt; Thanks for the comeback.I am still wondering which camera takes the best pictures.I agree with you on the price and trying to justify it.Maybe it is too soon to get a technical answer....Vern

I don't question the A700 will have better pictures... but >$1000 better pictures? No way. There's only so perfect a picture can be, and we're near that limit. Unless that A700 comes down to $1000 body, it'll be hard for me to consider it a legitimate option to the A100. Just me, I'm stingy :)

Thanks Matt, I am hoping to get a reply from someone that has used it,and possibly the 100

I have used the a100 alittle. But for the cost, it directly competes with the Nikon D300 and has the SAME cmos sensor. Finally sony has stepped up to the plate.

Hi Parahawk13; Thanks for the comeback.It is probably a little early to ask the question, whether the higher priced 700 is enough better than the a100 .I was hoping to find someone that had the 100 and moved up to the 700.I am still searching for a answer to that question,,thanks anyway.....Vern

Vern hinze, Thanks for the welcome. Well I am so sure that I am going to ENJOY the A700 I am going to buy a body this sunday. I have a Minolta 7D which (even though only 6meg) I feel is as good as the A100. Sony took most of the qualities from the 5D. Also if you look at just price the Nikon D300 17999.95 12.3 meg and the Cannon 40D 1299.95 10.1 meg. To me the Sony is the best bang for the buck. Also the A700 has a vertical grip and the A100 does not.

Well, it is a great cam but the price at which it is availed is far too much....... in comparison to a100. Over 12 mp is a good deal

I have used both and owned two Minolta 5D.

Here is what I will tell you from experience and reviews I've read from users and sites.

The A700 is better in about everyway but this is when your going to notice it:

Feel, Fit, and Finish: If you had a 5D or A100 this camera may look close to the same but in actual use its a whole new world. If your coming from the 7D you WILL NOT WANT ANY OTHER SONY CAMERA. Its easy to switch Aperture, Speed whatever with the two dials without having to futz around in the menu's all the time. Their is a switch by your left hand to switch tracking mode, so if for instance your taking pictures of a flow and see an Eagle all of a sudden you can flip to constant focus and get a great shot. Its also easier to switch how you are having the light metered with this model. While not waterproof the A700 has seals on all buttons and switches so it will be longer lasting and be able to withstand the elements better. Fit is subjective but I think the A700 feels better in my hands then pretty much any other DSLR on the market (I like the Canon 40D and 5D also). If you have large hands you will have a place for your fingers unlike with the unbelievably popular Rebel series. If you have come from the A100/5D you will be surprised at how little pressure it take a picture. I found myself accidentally taking pictures when I just wanted to focus at first, but this has made a HUGE difference in my telephoto shooting as I found with the 5D that the shake from pushing down the button would often ruin a photo, this oddly also makes using a tripod way easier.

AUTOFOCUS: Compared to the 5D/A100/7D the A700 Autofocus is WAY faster. This makes a huge difference on certain lenses. My Beercan (70-210 F4 all metal lens) gets way more use now, its always been a wonderful lense but it was hard to use for moving objects before. The tracking of moving objects is way better also. The A700 also has an extra sensitive center focus cross which helps with center tracking. Their are very few Minolta/Sony lenses have drive motors and their are lots of great older lenses so this is even more important with this system as the camera will be doing a lot of the lens spinning. The first time your telephoto gets off target and focuses all the way in and out you will be glad you have an A700.

Low Light: The A700 gives you more ISO choices and WAY less noise then any Sony/Minolta lense before it. The A100 was a mess in this regard, Sony simply tried to fit too many pixels on the 5D design to have their first SLR. Remember we are dealing with a CMOS sensor here which you won't find on too many SLR's and gives you way better perfomance.

Great Resolution: Megapixels mean nothing besides how much space the picture is taking up on your computer. Fortunately for you the A700 truly delivers on its resolution, testing shows that it will even resolve more detail then sony's own 14megapixel sensor (once again because the A700 uses a CMOS sensor like the Nikon D300 (same sensor actually Nikon buys them from Sony).

Available hand grip is a must for any wedding photog, and awesome for everyone else. This also gives you the ability to to have a second battery for longer battery life.

In short: If your a pro their is no excuse, esp if you do weddings. If you shot sports or birds the A700 will be almost impossible to resist
due to the amazing autofocus. If you shoot posed pictures of friends and families, or like to do landscapes and/or macros I think the A700 is a much harder sell, except you would be surprised at how fast kids can move and how they never want to stay in the light :). Remember that these are SLR systems and if your still using the kit lens (except the 17-80 is actually a decent little lens) or a cheap lens you will probably be getting a better return by buying better glass (lenses). In a year or two the A700 is going to have greatly lost value and with the Sony system becoming more popular many used lenses have been going UP in value.

Have the sony (had actually) and now own the 700. Just wasted $1500 Singapore dollars. Gave the 100 to my son so don't feel so bad but.....could have used the money for another tele-photo lens