Body&design Sony Alpha DSLR-A700

The A700 is a pretty successful combination of the old and the new, with the control layout showing heavy Konica Minolta influence (as mentioned earlier, the spirit of the original Maxxum 7D lives on in this camera) but the styling taking a considerable step forward. 7D users will immediately notice the lack of a second dial on top of the camera, though we can happily report that we don't miss it, thanks to the A700's new GUI and control system. As with the 7D the camera positively bristles with buttons, switches, levers and dials, which can seem a little daunting at first. The advantage of retaining the Konica Minolta ethos of putting as many dedicated controls on the body as possible becomes more and more apparent the more you use the camera, and having so much control (quite literally) at your fingertips pays real dividends in situations where you need to react quickly to changing conditions.
Build quality is very solid; a real step up from the A100 and certainly a match for the Canon 40D, though if we're being brutally honest the plastics used still feel a little insubstantial, especially when compared to a true 'semi pro' model like the Nikon D300. The grip has a fine-grained rubber coating that could do with a little more 'grip', but overall the impression - in the hand - is very positive.