Summary

Highly Recommended awardThe A6700 becomes Sony’s most capable hybrid APSC camera to date, confidently capturing high quality photos and videos in a wide variety of situations. For stills shooters, the highlight is Sony’s best autofocus system, tracking people, animals, birds, insects, cars, trains and aeroplanes. Couple it with the E 70-350 zoom and you have a formidable combination for wildlife, sports and action that remains very compact and lightweight. Meanwhile macro shooters will appreciate focus bracketing, long exposure fans will enjoy the Bulb timer, while everyone benefits from the improved stabilisation and triple control dials. But despite employing Sony’s latest AF system and best APSC sensor to date, the actual photo quality and burst speeds were similar to its predecessor in my tests, and the body features remain more mid-range than high-end. For videographers, the 1080 detail, 4k rolling shutter, and stabilisation all enjoy improvements over Sony’s previous generation, while the autofocus system now recognises and tracks more subjects than ever. 4k 120 is unsurprisingly the highlight, despite incurring a hefty crop of about 1.5x on top of the APSC crop to start with, making the active sensor area smaller than Micro Four Thirds. Plus without active cooling, the 6700 overheated in my tests after around half an hour of 4k at 50 or 60p, and there’s also no 6k, Open Gate nor RAW video. That said, in 4k up to 30p, I managed just over two hours on a single charge without overheating. As always, there’s pros and cons to weigh-up, but the A6700 gives you the core video quality of the FX30 in a more affordable body aimed at those who want to shoot photos as well as video. Compare closely with Fujifilm’s X-S20, Canon’s R10 and R7, Panasonic’s GH6 and the FX30, and don’t forget to factor in the price and availability of lenses you need. But if you end up choosing the A6700 you’ll have a confident and compact hybrid camera that excels at what most people demand from it.

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Sony A6700 review

- Written by Gordon Laing

Intro

- Intro

- Samples

- Verdict

The Sony A6700 is a mid-range mirrorless camera with a 26 Megapixel APSC sensor, 4k 120 video and built-in stabilisation or IBIS for short. Announced in July 2023, the A6700 is Sony’s first new hybrid camera with an APSC sensor since the A6600 launched four years previously. Sure there’s been other APSC models in that time, but they’ve been more focused on video and vlogging, whereas the 6700 is firmly focused on people who take both photos and videos.

At first glance, the 6700 would appear to be a 6600 with the sensor from the FX30 cinema camera coupled with the autofocus system from the A7R V, and while both represent the headline upgrades here, there’s a wealth of extra features I’ll cover in this review.

I’ve made two separate videos all about the A6700. The first details the design and controls before delving into the features and performance for stills photography, while the second concentrates entirely on the video capabilities. I’d recommend watching them both in order, but if you prefer to read the written highlights, keep scrolling!

When you first pick it up, the 6700 most closely resembles the A6600, sharing essentially the same compact body shape with a flat top and viewfinder perched in the top corner.

In your hands, the weather-sealed body with a magnesium alloy chassis feels small but robust, and comfortable with a generous grip that’s a tad deeper than before. It weighs around 500g with battery but no lens.

From the top you’ll notice a similar layout, with no popup flash, but at least the hotshoe now supports Sony’s latest digital MI shoe accessories like the ECM-M1 mic launched alongside it, and allows you to record four channel audio where available.

Sony’s moved the built-in microphones to the front, and they can sound great, but beware of the rattly strap lugs – at least on my sample – which can ruin handheld footage unless stuck down.

Eagle-eyed Sony fans may notice the C1 button now circled in red and defaulting as a more convenient movie record button than the old corner location, while the bump on the power collar has rotated to the right side.

More importantly, the 6700 finally gains a front finger dial to complement the two rear thumb wheels, while photo, movie and S&Q modes have been sensibly relocated to a new dial beneath the main exposure mode. Both sensible changes.

Round the back, the layout remains much the same as the 6600 including the flat wheel which doubles as a joypad, making an impressive three control dials in total.

I’m also happy to find a new AF-ON button, although sadly Sony has continued to resist fitting a joystick to this series, leaving you to use the touchscreen or the joypad to reposition the AF area. Fujifilm’s X-S20 as well as Canon’s R10 and R7 all have AF joysticks, and I personally prefer them for adjusting the AF area.

In a major change from previous models though, the 6700 switches the old vertically tilting screen for one that’s now side-hinged, allowing it to flip put to the side, angle up or down, as well as forward to face you or back on itself for protection.

As such it may no longer be on the optical axis when flipped out and involve two actions to angle up, but I always found the viewfinder eye-cup or hotshoe accessories would block the screen on previous models, so personally speaking I’m happy about the change.

The panel itself is a 3in touchscreen with 1.03 million dots and a 3:2 shape that can display photos without blank bars. This is different from the 6600 and earlier models which employed wider 16:9 shaped screens which may have been filled for video but cropped for photos. I prefer the new shape, but the panel resolution is beaten by several rivals which have switched to 1.62 million dots.

The viewfinder is unchanged, still delivering the same 2.36 million dot resolution as the 6600 with the same 0.7x magnification and fastest refresh of 120fps.

To be fair, Canon’s APSC cameras, not to mention the Fujifilm X-S20 all share the same viewfinder resolution, and it’s fine for general use but nothing special. You’ll need to step-up to the Fujifilm X-T5 for a higher res viewfinder from an APSC body.

The 6700 also shares the same FZ100 battery as the 6600, and while it’s rated for fewer shots than its predecessor – perhaps depending on how CIPA now counts them – it still remains a highlight here, good for around 600 still photos.

In my tests shooting action with a mix of shutter types, I captured way more than 600 photos in practice, and for video, managed to record a single clip of 4k 25p in 10 bit lasting just over two hours on a full charge. As far as I know, there’s no battery grip available, but then neither do most of its rivals.

Meanwhile the ports have been rearranged behind multiple flaps, similar to the ZV-E1.

Behind the upper flap are 3.5mm microphone and USB C 3.2 ports, the latter a merciful update to the Micro USB of earlier models, and able to not only support Power Delivery for quick charging in-camera, but also lets you use it as a standard UVC / UAC webcam for live streaming to computers or phones at up to 4k 30p.

Behind the lower flap are a 3.5mm headphone jack and a Micro HDMI port, so sadly no room for full-size HDMI, but not surprising given the body size, and as far as I understand it, no support for RAW video either.

Nestled between the port flaps is a single SD card slot, a much more convenient location than inside the battery compartment of previous models and now supporting UHS-II speeds. But anyone hoping for twin slots will be disappointed. For that on an APSC camera you’ll need a Canon R7 or Fujifilm X-T5 upwards.

One of the highlights of owning a Sony camera is the e-mount, supporting a wealth of native lenses not just from Sony but also embracing third parties.

This is in some contrast to Canon who’s RF mount remains essentially closed to third parties and right now only has three lenses designed specifically for APSC models, meaning most owners will be fitting full-frame lenses or adapting older DSLR models.

Of course a tougher rival is Fujifilm, who’s long-established X-mount is designed for APSC alone and has a comprehensive selection of quality lenses available, so my advice is to see which system has the lenses you want and can afford.

Oh, and don’t bother with the 16-50 kit zoom if you want to get the best from any Sony; it’s certainly no mistake Sony supplied review samples with the considerably superior, albeit more expensive 16-55 2.8 and 15 1.4 lenses.

The A6700 only becomes Sony’s third APSC camera with built-in sensor-shift stabilisation, or IBIS for short. You can see the view here with the 16-55 at 55mm without IBIS, before entering the menus to enable SteadyShot and returning to a much less wobbly view.

I find a steadier view when composing invaluable, but in terms of slower shutters, the 6700’s IBIS allowed me to handhold a sharp result at 55mm, or 83mm equivalent, at shutter speeds down to 1/10 versus 1/160 without.

That’s four stops of compensation in my tests, so roughly similar to what I measured for Fujifilm and Canon’s latest IBIS.

In the first of the headline upgrades, the A6700 inherits the 26 Megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor first used in the FX30 cinema camera. This may only represent a mild boost in resolution over the 24 Megapixel sensor in previous models, but as a much newer back-illuminated design coupled with the latest image processor, it has potentially greater quality than its numbers suggest.

I’ve got loads of sample images for you, but let’s dive straight into a resolution chart comparison, photographed with the A6700 fitted with an adapted Sigma 40mm Art lens, one of the sharpest I have and one I’ve used in many other reviews for comparison.

With magnified views of the 6700 on the left and the 6400 on the right, the latter also representing the 6600, you can see there’s essentially no benefit in pure resolution to those two extra Megapixels, at least for still photos.

These results are roughly similar to Fujifilm’s 26 Megapixel models, so if you’re after more detail at low ISOs from APSC, you’ll need the 32 Megapixel sensor of the Canon R7 or 40 Megapixels of the Fujifilm X-T5 and X-H2.

How about noise levels? Let’s run through an ISO sweep, starting with the 6700 on the left at its new extended low sensitivity of 50 ISO, before the 6400 joins in on the right at 100 ISO. These are all JPEGs out of camera, as the 6700 wasn’t supported by Adobe at the time I made this review.

As I increase the sensitivity one stop at a time, both cameras deliver pretty clean looking results up to 1600 to 3200 ISO, with noise only really starting to become visible from 6400 ISO upwards.

That said, it’s pretty discrete until you reach the very highest values of 25600, 51200 and 102400 ISO, and from these results I’d say there’s actually little to choose between them on high ISO noise for JPEGs.

The newer 6700 sensor is arguably a tad better in some colour patches here, but it’s very minor and personally I wouldn’t make a decision on this alone.

How about sensor readout speed? Here’s two shots I took using the electronic shutters on both cameras while panning quickly, with the 6700 on the left and the 6400 on the right, and again I’d say they’re looking very similar here.

As you’ll see in my review of the movie capabilities, the rolling shutter is improved on 4k video, but for still photos, the 6700’s skewing looks similar to the 6400 in my tests, so use with caution when photographing fast-moving subjects or panning quickly.

The user interface and menus have received the same revamp seen on the A7R V and FX30, including the Main view that shows a bunch of settings at a glance with the chance to adjust some by touch as well as traditional controls. It’s a useful view, but to me feels a lot like an expanded version of the existing Fn menu, which also remains available here. Do we need both going forward?

Running through the image quality menus, the A6700 lets you choose between JPEG and two types of HEIF formats, with four compression settings, three resolutions and four aspect ratios.

Best quality Fine JPEGs typically worked out between 6 and 15MB in my samples. There’s also an HLG option for still photos which can look great on HDR TVs.

Meanwhile, RAW shooters get to choose between Lossless Compressed and Compressed versions, with the former working out around 33MB each. Note there’s no uncompressed or lower resolution RAW options. I’ll be testing the dynamic range when the RAW files are fully supported by third party software.

Nestled amongst the bracketing modes within the Drive menu you’ll find focus bracketing, making its debut on a Sony hybrid APSC model. This lets you capture up to 300 images, gradually adjusting the focus between each at increments of one to 10.

You can use the mechanical or electronic shutters here, and also set a delay from a separate menu, since the traditional self-timer is also on the Drive list and can’t be selected at the same time.

Unlike some rivals, Sony won’t stack the images for you in-camera, leaving you to do it afterwards in software. I’ve used Helicon Focus here to stack my group of 62 images, which has the desired effect of delivering the depth of field I required for this macro closeup of a British pound coin, without having to close the aperture right down and suffer from diffraction softness.

Exploring the menus you’ll also find a Bulb timer, again inherited from the A7R V and letting you preset an exposure between two seconds and 900 seconds. This allows you to easily make long exposures beyond the usual 30 second limit without the need for a cable release. Just put the camera into Bulb, choose the exposure time in the menu, set the self-timer to avoid touching the camera and you’re all set.

Moving onto bursts, here’s a sequence shot at the top H+ speed of the 6700 which remains the same 11fps as its predecessors, whether using the mechanical or electronic shutter. I’ll show you lots more bursts in a moment, but for splashes you may prefer models with faster frame rates.

In terms of autofocus, the 6700 inherits the AI processor introduced on the A7R V, along with its broad array of subject recognition.

Select Human from the menus and the 6700 will use everything it knows about human limbs and poses to recognise and track bodies, heads and eyes in a wide variety of environments.

Select Animal and Bird and the 6700 will again recognise and track bodies, heads and eyes of a wide variety of creatures, whether static or in motion. You can also switch to animal only or bird only for greater recognition.

Insect has its own setting, and while still in its infancy compared to human and animal detection, does a fair job at surrounding various specimens with a box or even aiming more tightly around the body and head parts.

Cars and Trains have their own setting, and both aim to place a focusing box over the front of vehicles, although if a face is recognised inside, it will take priority.

There’s also an additional option for Aeroplanes, and all subject types have additional options to further refine how you’d like the system to respond, although this can get complex pretty quickly.

Sadly for all of Sony’s algorithmic prowess and dedicated AI processing, there’s also still no full Auto option which simply attempts to recognise the actual subject for you. I realise such a mode could impact recognition speed and accuracy, but Auto subject modes are already working well on both Canon and Fujifilm’s latest cameras and I’d like to see it as an option from Sony too.

Of course if you’re more interested in using a manually selected AF area, the 6700 can do that very quickly and accurately as seen here, but let’s give it something more demanding.

To illustrate how the 6700’s handling, autofocus and bursts all work together in practice, I’m going to show you a series of action shots I took with the A6700 fitted with the E 70-350mm f4.5-6.3 G zoom lens, a lightweight combination which proved formidable for wildlife and sports in my tests.

All these bursts were taken at the top H+ speed of 11fps which, while no faster than its predecessors, proved fast enough for most of the action I was shooting.

That said, there are some occasions, like anything involving a water splash, where faster speeds can be beneficial and this is where rival models with quicker options in their electronic modes at 20 and even 30fps have an advantage. And if you’re looking at the Canon R10 and R7 or Fujifilm X-T5, all sport mechanical shutters up to 15fps.

Both Canon and Fujifilm also offer pre-burst modes on recent models which maintain a rolling buffer as you half press the shutter, ensuring you never miss a moment like a bird unpredictably taking flight.

The top mechanical shutter speed of the 6700 remains 1/4000, and while this is the same as the Fujifilm X-S20, I still hoped for faster after all these years.

In some consolation the electronic shutter on the 6700 now goes up to 1/8000, but again its rivals go faster still to 1/16000 from Canon and 1/32000 from Fujifilm, which believe me is invaluable for shooting large apertures in bright light.

If you’re shooting JPEG only, the buffer on the 6700 essentially lets you keep shooting forever. In contrast, I only managed 132 best quality JPEGs out of the Canon R7, but it was shooting 32 Megapixels at 15fps. The Sony is also capable of shooting long bursts of RAW files too, albeit in the Compressed format.

Autofocus is unsurprisingly where the 6700 triumphs and I could rarely find a subject or situation where it faltered. Humans were recognised in every situation I tried, including kite and towing watersports which often fooled other systems.

Bird and animal detection did a great job at finding wildlife, and while busy backgrounds can still prove problematic, I’d rank Sony’s recognition as among the best out there.

Vehicle detection also worked well for me while photographing a Ferrari meet at Brands Hatch race course, with the 6700 recognising and focusing on the closest car in the frame the instant one appeared, allowing me to come home with a lot of keepers.

I did notice some skewing when using the electronic shutter which could prove off-putting when panning to follow fast cars, but this is no different from other non-stacked rivals at this price point, and switching to the mechanical shutter resolved the problem. Besides, you don’t need a silent shutter in this situation anyway, and the top mechanical shutter of 1/4000 proved fast enough here.

Just before wrapping-up I wanted to mention the 6700’s predecessors which may be good enough for your needs, with used models available at potentially bargain prices.

If you don’t need Sony’s latest subject detection or 4k video beyond 30p, the earlier A6600 remains a solid option with IBIS, the big battery and much the same photo quality.

Or how about the A6400 which I used to film most of my YouTube reviews for several years. Not too shabby right? And while it lacks the 6600’s IBIS and big battery, it’s a fast shooter which I also use for all my college sports.

Going further back, there’s the original A6000, lacking 4k video and surely too old to be considered today, right? Well think again, because this is the camera I took to several editions of the Tour de France to take these photos, proving it’s still a worthy option for fast action, and an absolute bargain on the used market.

Sony A6700 movie mode review

Next for my review of the Sony A6700 for videographers, concentrating on the movie quality and features. Just briefly for starters, here’s some of the more notable design aspects for videographers.

The A6700 has a side-hinged screen which can flip-out to face you without being blocked by the viewfinder or hotshoe.

Unlike the FX30 it includes an electronic viewfinder which can be useful for composition and playback in bright conditions.

The built-in microphones now face forward, but watch out for the rattly strap lugs which can spoil audio on handheld clips unless stuck down.

It features a Multi Interface or MI shoe, supporting accessories including the ECM-M1 microphone launched alongside it. The digital pins also support four channel audio on compatible accessories.

Ports include 3.5mm microphone and headphone jacks, Micro HDMI, and USB-C which supports Power Delivery for quick charging and also allows the camera to work as a standard UVC UAC webcam.

Meanwhile there’s a single SD card slot, a record button that’s in a much more convenient location, three control dials, and the FZ100 battery pack, which lasted for just over two hours of 4k 25p in my tests on a single charge. Admittedly less than the A6600 managed with the same battery, but still respectable.

In contrast, while the pro video focused FX30 may lack the viewfinder and mechanical shutter of the A6700, it does sport twin card slots that also accommodate CF Express Type A cards, a full-sized HDMI port which can also output RAW video, a built-in cooling fan which reduces overheating especially at higher frame rates, and a scattering of quarter inch mounts around the body.

At only $400 more than the A6700 it’s a serious alternative that videographers will need to weigh-up carefully.

Ok now for the video quality options, with the A6700 supporting 1080 up to 240p, and 4k up to 120p, the latter making it unique among its peer group. Meanwhile 1080 up to 120p and 4k up to 60p all share the same virtually uncropped coverage.

All video is in the 16:9 shape and there’s nothing higher than 4k resolution, so no wider Cinema 4k, no taller Open Gate and no 6k either, all benefits of Fujifilm’s latest models.

In the File Format menu you’ll find a choice of codecs, including the older XAVC S in 4k or 1080, both using H.264, but now up to 120p and in 10-bit 4:2:2 if desired. It’s amazing to think back to the 6600 generation being 8-bit only.

There’s also the newer XAVC HS which uses the more efficient H.265 codec, and XAVC S I, standing for All-intra, using higher bit-rates to encode 1080 or 4k.

All these modes record sound, support continuous autofocus and playback at normal speed even when captured at 120p, giving you great flexibility when editing.

Meanwhile the S&Q mode allows you to capture one frame rate and play back at another, allowing you to see the effect of slow or quick motion in playback. It’s also where you’ll find the options to record 1080 up to 240p.

Like other recent Sony cameras, the 6700 supports S-Log 3 for grading, now spun-out from the earlier Picture Profile menu and into its own more sensibly-labeled one. That said, the Picture Profile list now has a conspicuous gap in the numbering from whence it came.

Set the Auto Temp menu to High and you should be able to keep recording 4k up to 30p for as long as you have battery remaining. I managed to record just over two hours of 10 bit 4k 25p indoors on a single charge with no overheating warning.

Set the camera to 4k at 50 or 60p though and it’ll heat up pretty quickly, in my tests overheating and shutting itself down after between 25 and 35 minutes. At this point the body was quite hot to touch, and required a few minutes to sufficiently cool down before being able to record another half hour clip.

Other cameras with small bodies and no active cooling also struggle with 4k 50 60p, so if you need long times, either film 4k at 24-30p or switch-down to 1080. Or of course invest in an FX30 with active cooling.

Enough talk, let’s look at some footage, starting with a still photo of Brighton Pier, with the 16-55mm lens at 16mm showing the full width from the sensor.

Now for a 1080 25p clip filmed at the same focal length which as you can see makes a minor crop to the full sensor, roughly working out at about a 1.06 times field reduction. The camera uses this framing as the basis for all but its toughest modes.

So here’s 1080 at 50 or 60p, sharing the same coverage and the same resolving power.

And now for 1080 at 100 to 120p, again with no change in coverage or quality. Already owners of the 6600 generation will be eyeing this 1080 footage enviously, as those models were not great at 1080 to 60p and even worse at 120p.

But now onto 4k at 25p, which shares the same coverage as the previous 1080 clips and, lest we forget, the highest frame rate of the 6600 generation to be uncropped. 4k 30p was available on those models, but incurred a crop.

So a warm welcome to 4k at 50 to 60p here, sharing the same virtually uncropped coverage as before and a key benefit over the previous generation.

And now for 4k at 100 to 120, another major upgrade, not to mention pretty unique among its peer group, albeit here employing a 1:1 pixel grab, in turn resulting in a substantial crop.

You’re looking at about a 1.5x field reduction beyond the other video modes, or about 1.6x when compared to a still frame. I measured a similar crop for 1080 at 200 to 240p, and coincidentally the active part of the sensor in these modes is now smaller than Micro Four Thirds, so it’s worth keeping an eye on OM Systems and Panasonic if you’re into slow motion.

If you’re interested in grading potential, you can download an A6700 S-Log 3 clip filmed at its base sensitivity of 800 ISO. I found the dynamic range to be similar to the FX30 as expected and I’ll provide this sample via my review at cameralabs.com for you to download and grade yourself if you’re interested.

Let’s have a quick look at the slow motion capabilities with a splash test, first filmed in 4k 50p, but playing back at normal speed on my 25p timeline.

Now for the same clip, but slowed by two times.

And next for 4k 100p, playing back four times slower than normal, where I’ve also adjusted the zoom to match the field of view.

And finally for 1080 at 200p for an eight times slowdown, captured here using S&Q mode without audio and automatically slowed using the settings I chose.

4k 120 is the highlight here and I have a compilation of clips towards the end of the review.

But first let’s measure and compare the actual resolving power of each mode by filming my standard resolution chart with the A6700 and A6400, the latter also representing the 6600.

To better see the differences I’ll zoom-in for a closer look, starting with 1080 at 25p with the 6700 on the left and the 6400 on the right. The 6400 generation was notoriously bad at 1080 video and you can see how much better the 6700 is on the left.

Now for both cameras at 1080 50 to 60p, where there’s no change in quality for either of them. So again the newer 6700 on the left remains superior.

At 1080 100 to 120p, the 6700 on the left still delivers the same quality as before, but the 6400 on the right has fallen further still, and I should note involves a crop at this point on that generation.

The newer 6700 on the left allows you to shoot even faster in its S&Q mode, here at 1080 200 to 240p, although this in turn incurs a crop and a loss in quality. I’d say it’s become a tad worse than the 6400 in 1080 100 to 120p on the right, but it is double the frame rate.

Now let’s move to a finer portion of the chart for a 4k comparison, here at 25p where there may be differences in their rendering, but a similar degree of actual detail. I always felt 4k on the 6400 generation was its saving grace, although it did suffer from significant rolling shutter as you’ll see in a moment.

Next for 4k at 50 to 60p on the 6700 on the left, leaving the 6400 on the right stuck at 25p. There is a 30p option on the 6400, but that’s as fast as it goes in 4k and it’s cropped. As you can see there’s no loss in quality on the new 6700 here.

And finally with the 6700 on the left at 4k from 100 to 120p, where I’ve had to reframe due to the crop. The lack of oversampling, not to mention slightly higher sensitivity here has reduced the ultimate resolving power a little, but it remains close to the slower modes.

Before moving on, I wanted to make a quick comparison between footage filmed with and without Active SteadyShot enabled, as while this delivers enhanced stabilisation, it does so with a crop. So the question is whether there’s much loss of quality.

So first here’s the 6700 filming 1080 without SteadyShot on the left and with Active SteadyShot on the right, where there’s a minor drop in ultimate resolution, but nothing I’d be that concerned about.

And now in 4k 25p where the version on the right with Active SteadyShot looks pretty similar to the clip without, which should alleviate any fears that the best stabilisation will hammer your quality.

Let’s move onto noise, with clips filmed in 4k 25p on both cameras between 3200 ISO and the maximum video sensitivity of 25600 ISO. I’ve cropped them sideways to fit both side-by-side, but these are presented at normal height with no additional magnification – so this is how it would look viewed normally in your projects.

From these clips I’d say both the old and new generations are actually looking quite similar here, maybe even with slightly less obtrusive noise from the 6400 on the right.

But now for rolling shutter which has always been a problem for the older 6400 in 4k. To compare them directly, I mounted both cameras on top of each other, set the same focal length and video mode, then vigorously panned them back and forth. So hold onto your breakfast and let’s go!

Starting with 1080 at 50p, I’d say the new 6700 on the left roughly matches the old 6400 on the right for rolling shutter. It’s visible but not too bad, especially when you consider the oversampled 1080 footage from the 6700 is way more detailed.

But now for both cameras in 4k at 25p, where the 6700 on the left is showing a little more skewing than in 1080, but the 6400 on the right has taken a much greater turn for the worst. As I change direction it almost looks like a Scooby Doo flashback and as a 6400 owner, I’d say rolling shutter is one of its biggest drawbacks to filming in 4k. You even notice it on a static shot when walking in and out of frame.

And for good measure here’s the 6700 filming 4k at 50p, where the rolling shutter looks similar to the 25p version, and again in 4k 100p, where the cropped view has become tighter, but the skewing effect looks similar to before.

So while the new 6700 can’t help but remain behind the best stacked models out there in terms of rolling shutter, it is still delivering nicely detailed footage with minimal skewing.

Now onto autofocus, starting with a simple focus-pulling clip filmed in 4k 25p at 55mm f2.8, where you can see the camera effortlessly racking back and forth.

That’s easy, so how about face tracking using the full AF area, this time at 35mm f2.8, and again no problem at all. This sort of thing has been bread and butter for Sony cameras for many years though, but new to the 6700 over its predecessors is better recognition of humans in different poses, improved accuracy for animals and birds, not to mention tracking for a wider variety of subjects, including insects, vehicles and planes.

I’ll show you some examples in just a moment, but first stabilisation, starting with a clip filmed at 55mm without any compensation, where the footage is wobbly.

Next for a clip filmed with standard SteadyShot enabled, which employs sensor-shift IBIS. This lens has no optical stabilisation, so it’s IBIS alone here, and I’d say it’s already looking a bit steadier than my earlier tests with the 6600.

And now for Active SteadyShot which takes a crop and uses that border to provide additional digital stabilisation, which here has further reduced the wobbles.

It’s important to use an external mic with the 6700 too, as while the built-in mics have been improved, on my sample they were rendered useless for handheld vlogging thanks to the constant rattling of the loose strap lugs. You’ll want to tape them down, as my ECM-M1 review demonstrates.

But don’t let that distract you from the fact Active Stabilisation on the 6700 really does look more stable than its predecessors, in turn making it more preferable for walking and talking videos. But again secure those lugs or use an external mic.

Single person crews may also enjoy the Auto Framing mode inherited from the ZV-E1, which crops the view and uses subject detection to move the frame around, giving the impression that someone’s behind the camera, panning it left and right.

Sometimes it looks a bit artificial, but get your motion right, and it can actually look surprisingly convincing, as if someone really is moving the camera on a fluid head. Remember in this clip, the camera was static, so all the zooms and pans are performed by a digital process in-camera.

Like the ZV-E1, you can also record the cropped and panned version to your card, while outputting an untouched version over HDMI for security. But like that camera, there’s no option to change the aspect ratio.

I’d love to use Auto Framing to generate a tall portrait shaped clip for mobile, where the subject would remain tracked and centered even if they moved from the middle. This could be even better if the camera had an Open Gate mode with the full width and height of the sensor at its disposal.

Imagine having the camera create horizontal and vertical versions of the same clip without ever cropping you off the frame. This to me is the ultimate promise of Auto Framing, yet to be realised.

Check prices on the Sony A6700 at B&H, Adorama, WEX UK or Calumet.de. Alternatively get yourself a copy of my In Camera book, an official Cameralabs T-shirt or mug, or treat me to a coffee! Thanks!