Sony Alpha SLT A77.This model is the long awaited replacement for the A700 which was, and still is an excellent camera in its own right. This model though differs mainly in that it has a"translucent" mirror to quote Sony themselves, although it is really a pellicle mirror first used I believe by Canon. This diverts some of the light to a phase-detection autofocus sensor, whilst the rest goes through to the APS-C sized sensor. This in effect means the mirror does not have to move up and down so the camera can operate much quicker.(12fps) Its quite a large camera but sits well in my hands at least! It has a well designed deep grip which makes it easy to hold with one hand although with some lenses it can tend to get a little heavy after a while. It also has a movie mode which the older model lacked. Its a ruggedly built camera with weather seals to make it dust and shower resistant although Sony are very vague about how much it can resist, but from experience I have used it in many downpours with as yet no ill effects,but... it is not waterproof so don,t push your luck too far!
