Sony A68 Comparison Review

The Sony Alpha SLT-A68 is a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera that was officially introduced in November 2015 and is equipped with an APS-C sensor. It offers a resolution of 24 megapixel.

Is the Sony A68 a good camera? The A68 has a Camera Elo of 1973. This rating puts the A68 among the top 40 percent of all digital single lens reflex cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (APS cameras), the A68 ranks among the top 50 percent. Based on its within category standings, the camera earns a 3.5-star performance rating.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The side-by-side display below illustrates the physical size of the Sony A68 vis-à-vis a credit card. Three successive views from the front, the top, and the rear are shown. All width, height and depth measures are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Sony A68 alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price	Street Price
1.		Sony A68	143 mm	104 mm	81 mm	610 g	540	n	Nov 2015	US$ 699	ebay.com
2.		Canon 750D	132 mm	101 mm	78 mm	555 g	440	n	Feb 2015	US$ 749	ebay.com
3.		Canon 760D	132 mm	101 mm	78 mm	565 g	440	n	Feb 2015	US$ 649	ebay.com
4.		Panasonic TZ100	111 mm	65 mm	44 mm	312 g	300	n	Jan 2016	US$ 699	ebay.com
5.		Pentax K-S1	121 mm	93 mm	70 mm	558 g	410	n	Aug 2014	US$ 749	ebay.com
6.		Sony A7 II	127 mm	96 mm	60 mm	599 g	350	Y	Nov 2014	US$ 1 999	ebay.com
7.		Sony A58	129 mm	95 mm	78 mm	492 g	690	n	Feb 2013	US$ 599	ebay.com
8.		Sony A77	143 mm	104 mm	81 mm	732 g	470	Y	Aug 2011	US$ 1 399	ebay.com
9.		Sony A77 II	143 mm	104 mm	81 mm	647 g	480	Y	May 2014	US$ 1 199	ebay.com
10.		Sony A6000	120 mm	67 mm	45 mm	344 g	360	n	Feb 2014	US$ 599	ebay.com
11.		Sony RX100 III	102 mm	58 mm	41 mm	290 g	320	n	May 2014	US$ 799	ebay.com
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Sony A68 was launched in the US market at a price of $699. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Check A68 offers at
ebay.com

Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The size of the imaging sensor is a crucial determinant of image quality. All other things equal, a large sensor will have larger individual pixel-units that offer better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixels in a sensor of the same technological generation. Further, a large sensor camera will give the photographer additional creative options when using shallow depth-of-field to isolate a subject from its background. On the downside, larger sensors tend to be more expensive and lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

The Sony A68 features an APS-C sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.5. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Sony A68 among the medium-sized sensor cameras that aim to strike a balance between image quality and portability.

For most cameras, data on sensor performance has been reported by DXO Mark. This service assesses and scores the color depth ("DXO Portrait"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports") of camera sensors, and also publishes an overall camera score. The adjacent table reports on the physical sensor characteristics and the outcomes of the DXO sensor quality tests for a sample of alternative cameras.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Sony A68	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60i	24.1	13.5	701	79
2.		Canon 750D	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/30p	22.7	12.0	919	71
3.		Canon 760D	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/30p	22.6	12.0	915	70
4.		Panasonic TZ100	1-inch	20.0	5472	3648	4K/30p	22.8	12.5	559	70
5.		Pentax K-S1	APS-C	20.0	5472	3648	1080/30p	23.5	13.0	1061	78
6.		Sony A7 II	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.9	13.6	2449	90
7.		Sony A58	APS-C	19.8	5456	3632	1080/60i	23.3	12.5	753	74
8.		Sony A77	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.0	13.2	801	78
9.		Sony A77 II	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.4	13.4	1013	82
10.		Sony A6000	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.1	13.1	1347	82
11.		Sony RX100 III	1-inch	20.0	5472	3648	1080/60p	22.4	12.3	495	67

Many modern cameras are not only capable of taking still images, but can also record movies. The A68 indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the A68 can use is 1080/60i.

Feature comparison

Apart from body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a variety of features. For example, the A68 has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 1440k dots. The viewfinder offers a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.57x. The following tables report on some other key feature differences and similarities of the Sony A68 and comparable cameras.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Sony A68	1440	Y	2.7 / 460	tilting	n	1/4000s	8.0/s	Y	Y
2.		Canon 750D	optical	n	3.0 / 1040	swivel	Y	1/4000s	5.0/s	Y	n
3.		Canon 760D	optical	Y	3.0 / 1040	swivel	Y	1/4000s	5.0/s	Y	n
4.		Panasonic TZ100	1166	n	3.0 / 1040	fixed	Y	1/2000s	10.0/s	Y	Y
5.		Pentax K-S1	optical	n	3.0 / 921	fixed	n	1/6000s	5.4/s	Y	Y
6.		Sony A7 II	2400	n	3.0 / 1230	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
7.		Sony A58	1440	n	2.7 / 460	tilting	n	1/4000s	5.0/s	Y	Y
8.		Sony A77	2359	Y	3.0 / 921	full-flex	n	1/8000s	12.0/s	Y	Y
9.		Sony A77 II	2359	Y	3.0 / 1229	full-flex	n	1/8000s	12.0/s	Y	Y
10.		Sony A6000	1440	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	n	1/4000s	11.0/s	Y	n
11.		Sony RX100 III	1440	n	3.0 / 1229	tilting	n	1/2000s	10.0/s	Y	Y
Note: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

The LCD screen on the Sony Alpha SLT-A68 is flexibly attached to the body. In particular, the LCD can be tilted vertically to facilitate odd-angle shots in landscape orientation. This tilting design is often preferred, for example, by street photographers to a fully articulated, swivel type of LCD attachment, as it is more unobtrusive during shooting than a screen that flips out to the side.

One convenient feature of the A68 is the presence of an on-board flash. While this built-in flash is not very powerful, it can at times be useful as a fill-in light to brighten deep shadow areas.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Sony Alpha SLT-A68 and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Sony A68	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	-	-	-
2.		Canon 750D	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	Y	Y	-
3.		Canon 760D	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	Y	Y	-
4.		Panasonic TZ100	-	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
5.		Pentax K-S1	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	-	-	-
6.		Sony A7 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
7.		Sony A58	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
8.		Sony A77	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
9.		Sony A77 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	Y	Y	-
10.		Sony A6000	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
11.		Sony RX100 III	-	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-

It is notable that the A68 has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Further information on the features and operation of the A68 can be found in the free online Sony A68 Manual or on the Sony support site.

Expert reviews

While the comparison of the spec-sheets of cameras can offer a general idea of their imaging potential, it remains partial and cannot reveal, for example, the handling experience and imaging performance when actually working with the A68. User reviews that are available, for instance, at amazon can sometimes shed light on these issues, but such feedback is all too often partial, inconsistent, and inaccurate. This is why expert reviews are important. The table below summarizes the assessments of some of the best known camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price	Street Price
1.		Sony A68	3/5	..	..	..	4/5	4/5	Nov 2015	US$ 699	ebay.com
2.		Canon 750D	5/5	..	..	75/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Feb 2015	US$ 749	ebay.com
3.		Canon 760D	5/5	+	..	77/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Feb 2015	US$ 649	ebay.com
4.		Panasonic TZ100	4.5/5	+ +	..	82/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Jan 2016	US$ 699	ebay.com
5.		Pentax K-S1	4/5	..	..	..	4.5/5	4/5	Aug 2014	US$ 749	ebay.com
6.		Sony A7 II	5/5	+	4/5	82/100	4.5/5	5/5	Nov 2014	US$ 1 999	ebay.com
7.		Sony A58	3/5	..	..	..	4.5/5	4.5/5	Feb 2013	US$ 599	ebay.com
8.		Sony A77	5/5	91/100	..	81/100	..	5/5	Aug 2011	US$ 1 399	ebay.com
9.		Sony A77 II	4/5	..	..	80/100	4.5/5	5/5	May 2014	US$ 1 199	ebay.com
10.		Sony A6000	5/5	+	4.5/5	80/100	4.5/5	5/5	Feb 2014	US$ 599	ebay.com
11.		Sony RX100 III	5/5	+ +	..	82/100	4.5/5	5/5	May 2014	US$ 799	ebay.com
Note: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The review scores listed above should be treated with care, though. The assessments were made in relation to similar cameras of the same technological generation. Thus, a score needs to be put into the context of the launch date and the launch price of the camera, and rating-comparisons among cameras that span long time periods or concern very differently equipped models make little sense. It should also be noted that some of the review sites have over time altered the way they render their verdicts.

Check A68 offers at
ebay.com

Camera to camera comparisons

If you would like to see a side-by-side review with another camera, just use the search menu below. There is also a set of direct links to comparison reviews that other users of the CAM-parator app explored.

~

Did you notice an error on this page? If so, please get in touch, so that we can correct the information.

You are here:  Home  »  CAM-parator  »  Sony A68 Review