Page 19 - Friedman Archives

Major Improvements to its predecessor 19

racecars).
The camera actually has two versions of this feature which are mutually
exclusive: The “Lock-on AF” feature (designed to be used with still
images), and the “Center Lock-On AF” feature (best used with movies).
More details on both of these features can be read in Section 3.4.

1.1.2 LOWER NOISE AT HIGH ISO
The new sensor also incorporates “microlenses” on top of each pixel to help
in making the most of whatever light hits. This technology was originally
developed for Sony’s A7 full-frame mirrorless sensor, which really needed
it when used with legacy wide-angle lenses. Fortunately the A-mount
lenses don’t suffer from this problem so much, but still it’s nice to see any
kind of improvement in light-gathering ability, especially one that’s so
difficult to manufacture.

The new sensor has lower noise, too. Figure 1-2 shows a comparison at
ISO 12,800 between the original A77 (top right) and the A77 II with two
levels of noise reduction ('low' and 'normal'; bottom row). (These are .jpgs,
obviously.)