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New Sony Alpha a68 DSLR Camera Announced!!

Sony A68

Sony just announced the New Alpha A68 DSLR style A-mount Camera for semi-pro and enthusiast photographers alike. The unit is extremely affordable @ $599 US (body Only) considering the features in my opinion. The A68 is a nice upgrade from the A58 in a few ways as I will discus bellow and also differs from the A77 Mark II in a number of ways which I will discuss below.

So the translucent mirror technology is still alive and well from Sony! The A68 utilizes the 4D focusing technology as well, which will bring accuracy to another level of quality in theory. 79 Phase detection AF points are a very large number and 15 of them are cross-style which is also awesome news for sports shooters. Effective down to -2ev is very good as well.

Video tracking is supposed to be greatly improved and hopefully will now work with faster apertures. It was limited on the original A77 when I tested years ago to f/3.5 I believe. Not the case with sony mirrorless cameras though for comparison. I will get to the bottom of this soon enough, don’t worry!

Sony A68 Key Features:

  • 24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS Sensor
  • BIONZ X Image Processor
  • Translucent Mirror Technology
  • SteadyShot INSIDE Image Stabilization
  • 2.7″ 460.8k-Dot Tilting LCD Screen
  • 0.39″ 1,440k-Dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder
  • Full HD 1080p30 Video with XAVC S Format
  • 79-Point Phase-Detection AF System (15 Cross-type Style)
  • centrally-located horizontal f/2.8 AF point
  • ISO 25600 and Shooting Up to 8 fps
  • Top Display Panel & Rear Control Wheel
  • Flexible Spot AF feature
  • -2ev focus sensitivity
  • Eye AF

A68 Camera Body Shots

Sony Alpha a68 DSLR Camera
Sony Alpha a68 DSLR Camera
Sony Alpha a68 DSLR Camera
Sony Alpha a68 DSLR Camera
Sony Alpha a68 DSLR Camera
Sony Alpha a68 DSLR Camera
Sony Alpha a68 DSLR Camera
Sony Alpha a68 DSLR Camera
Sony Alpha a68 DSLR Camera
Sony Alpha a68 DSLR Camera

Sony A68 vs A58

Sony Alpha a58 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens

Semi-Pro vs Enthusiast…

Sony A58:
  • 20.1 MP Exmor HD APS-C CMOS Sensor

  • BIONZ Image Processor
  • Translucent Mirror Technology
  • 2.7″ 460.8k-Dot Tilting LCD Monitor
  • SVGA OLED Tru-Finder 1.44m-Dot EVF
  • Full HD 1080i Video Recording at 60 fps
  • 15-Point AF with 3 Cross-Type Sensors

  • ISO 100-16000, 5 fps Shooting
  • SteadyShot INSIDE Image Stabilization

  • DT 18-55mm II kit lens included

  • 5.1 x 3.8 x 3.1″ / 128.6 x 95.5 x 77.7 mm

  • 1.26 lb / 573 g with battery and memory card
  • $498 US (currently) $598 US normally
NEW Sony A68:
  • 24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS Sensor
  • BIONZ X Image Processo

  • Translucent Mirror Technolog

  • SteadyShot INSIDE Image Stabilization
  • 2.7″ 460.8k-Dot Tilting LCD Screen

  • 0.39″ 1,440k-Dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder
  • Full HD 1080p30 Video with XAVC S Forma

  • 79-Point Phase-Detection AF System (15 Cross-type)
  • ISO 100-25600 and Shooting Up to 8 fps

  • Top Display Panel & Rear Control Wheel

  • Flexible Spot AF feature
  • -2ev focus sensitivity

  • Eye AF

  • 5.6 x 4.1 x 3.3″ / 142.6 x 104.2 x 82.8 mm

  • 1.53 lb / 696 g body only

  • $599 US (Body Only)

Sony A68 VS A77 Mark II

Semi-Pro vs Pro

Sony A77 Mark II
  • 24.3MP APS-C Exmor CMOS Sensor

  • BIONZ X Image ProcessorGapless On-Chip Lens Design
  • Translucent Mirror Technology
  • 3.0″ 1,228k-Dot 3-Way Tilting LCD Screen

  • 0.5″ 2,359k-Dot XGA OLED Tru-FinderFull HD 1080p Video Recording at 60 fps79-Point Phase-Detection AF System (15-Cross-Type)
  • ISO 25600 and Shooting Up to 12 fps

  • Built-In Wi-Fi Connectivity with NFC

  • Dust and Moisture Sealed Body

  • Max Shutter = 1/8000sec

  • Max Flash Sync = 1/250secEye AF5 Step AF Tracking
  • Many More Physical Buttons5.6 x 4.1 x 3.2″ / 142.6 x 104.2 x 80.9 mm excluding protrusions
  • 1.60 lb / 726 g with battery and memory card

  • $848 US Currently (normally $1198 US)
NEW Sony A68:
  • 24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS Sensor

  • BIONZ X Image Processor

  • Translucent Mirror Technolog
  • SteadyShot INSIDE Image Stabilization

  • 2.7″ 460.8k-Dot Tilting LCD Screen
  • 0.39″ 1,440k-Dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder

  • Full HD 1080p30 Video with XAVC S Format

  • 79-Point Phase-Detection AF System (15 Cross-type)
  • ISO 100-25600 and Shooting Up to 8 fps
  • Top Display Panel & Rear Control Wheel

  • Flexible Spot AF feature

  • -2ev focus sensitivity
  • Eye AFMax Shutter = 1/4000sec

  • Max Flash Sync = 1/160sec

  • 5.6 x 4.1 x 3.3″ / 142.6 x 104.2 x 82.8 mm

Closing Remarks

So as you can see Sony positioned the NEW Alpha A68 DSLR right in the middle of the enthusiast A58 and Pro A77 Mark II as far as features and design go. Basically with the new A68 you get the critical killer AF system which is perfect for sports, but you don’t get the so called bells and whistles of the A77 Mark II unit. We are talking about really good weather sealing, the fast 1/8000sec max shutter speed, larger and higher resolution lcd screen and electronic viewfinder, plus a physical flash sync port. Many more physical buttons and built in Wi-Fi also set the A77 Mark II apart from the other units.

The A77 Mark II has all the must have options Pro’s require, and the A68 has what you need to get the shots at the race track for example, but not with the same killer build quality or other key features pro’s often require and/or demand.

The A58 is an affordable DSLR option, but does not offer the awesome AF system or faster processor that the other units have. It also lacks in some features like video, max frame rate, and max ISO for example…
That is about it for this article guys and I really hope you found the information you were looking for as it pertains to the NEW Sony A68 DSLR camera

Questions and Comments always welcomed and encouraged!
Jay

Sony A68 (body only) for $599 US @ BHphoto
Sony A68 (w/ kit lens) for $699 US @ BHPhoto

  1. I am new to DSLR photography, last November I bought the A77ii with a few extras but since buying it, it has been a little disheartening it seamed as though the A mount was being lade to rest in favor of the E mount, I hope the new A68 will prove that Sony can be a front runner in this field.
    With that said i do hope that Sony will put the same amount of effort into upgrading the WiFi app for the A77ii as they have for the A7, A6000 range, the app is so low grade for a pro grade camera it is a joke.
    So for the people who like me who think the A77ii is a dream camera to own, why are Sony not listening to what is being ask and turn the toy app into a professional quality app?

    1. Colin,
      Excellent points and thanks for taking the time to comment and share! I agree with everything you said and I’m also guilty of ignoring the A77 Mark II for the most part… The full frame E-Mount phenomenon is insane and I think Sony has really limited resources in this regard. Not really sure what the deal is with that?
      I also agree the A68 has the potential to kill it in the field! I have not compared it to the CaNikons, but Sony usually offers better overall features and IQ for the money. The recent Canon T-series build quality is pretty poor, so I’m thinking the A68 looks beefier at first glance…
      App support is a must and needs to be addressed, although the A68 does not have Wi-Fi which I thought was pretty odd? Perhaps Sony is not going to pursue the Apps for the A-Mount Series cameras due to the hardware differences. The Apps can’t be the same as the ones for mirrorless e-mount cameras due to the mirror and all. Therefore only the A77 Mark II has Wifi and App abilities . So your talking one camera as apposed to the dozen or so E-Mount units that can basically use the same app. The more I think about this, the more I think Sony is limited with resources for this particular thing. It really needs to be looked into, because the camera as you said is amazing in every other way.
      Jay

  2. I am happy to see this after all the mumbo jumbo on mirrorless. It designed for semi pro, however I am so glad that sony decided to use this body and hopefully will also continue with this body for the future A99 MK II which many people are exhaustingly waiting for it.

    1. I agree Blu and also can’t wait for the A99 Mark II 😉 Sony has made loyal users wait far to long in my opinion!
      Thank you very much for the comments,
      Jay

  3. Hi! I have an A-65 that was discontinued. Can you make a comparison? Is the A68 the evolution of the A65? the 25600 iso is also for video? (I use it for this, but i can see that A68 has no 60fps like A65 has)

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