Sony Alpha A380L 14.2 MP Digital SLR Camera

Introducing: Sony is a very good entry-level Digital Camera, the Sony delivers excellent photo quality in a body that is streamlined for experienced photographers, but relatively for the less advanced.

At least Sony is a great choice for Digital Camera, and it's a solid choice for creative still shooters. But though the image quality and general shooting performance are top-notch, if you are upgrading to capture sports, kids, or pets, the Sony may capable for it.

Avid photographers who want full creative control over their images should consider a Digital (single-lens reflex) Camera. The Sony is a one of models offer the advanced features that experienced shooters need.

So far it has behaved beautifully with good battery life, fast enough recording speeds and good image quality even on its lowest settings. The lens work good, but have had trouble trying to get long distance pictures (not enough optical zoom) but it was to be expected, and can easily be fixed by attaching adequate lenses for said purpose.

Only issue may be with the LCD screen, as it tends to get scratches on its surface ratter easily, so I'd suggest you get some sort of cover for it (I haven't been able to find it where I live - Colombia, Southamerica). Guess I'll have to buy it through Amazon too.

Can't really give much more advice as I am just a n00b at this stuff, but I can tell you this camera has opened a new door in my head and career I think won't be closed for the foreseeable future. By Justin Clemens "Halläathrad" (Los Angeles)
Excellent product if you're just learning, I'll let you know if it keeps up.

Sony a55 DSLR Camera

Introducing: Sony is a very good entry-level Digital Camera, the Sony delivers excellent photo quality in a body that is streamlined for experienced photographers, but relatively for the less advanced.

At least Sony is a great choice for Digital Camera, and it's a solid choice for creative still shooters. But though the image quality and general shooting performance are top-notch, if you are upgrading to capture sports, kids, or pets, the Sony may capable for it.

Avid photographers who want full creative control over their images should consider a Digital (single-lens reflex) Camera. The Sony is a one of models offer the advanced features that experienced shooters need.

Sony a55 DSLR Camera makes easy to shoot great photos in very challenging lighting conditions. The Auto-HDR (digh dynamic range) takes 3 photos and combines them perfectly into one photo, so that very bright sky and darker landscape both are exposed properly in the final photo. The camera also uses a similar process for doing low light situations (where subject movement would cause a blur if no flash was used). These are in-camera processing features that only Sony is offering at this point.

The continuous auto-focus during video is also a first for inter-changeable lens cameras. Overall, it's a great photographic tool.

By the way, one reviewer compared the a55 to his Canon 7D. That's a $1,600 camera, body only, while this is $750 body only. In a way, it's a compliment that a camera costing so little has to be compared not to others in its price class, but to a camera double the price. By letsdesign (India)

Sony Alpha A200K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera

Introducing: Sony is a very good entry-level Digital Camera, the Sony delivers excellent photo quality in a body that is streamlined for experienced photographers, but relatively for the less advanced.

At least Sony is a great choice for Digital Camera, and it's a solid choice for creative still shooters. But though the image quality and general shooting performance are top-notch, if you are upgrading to capture sports, kids, or pets, the Sony may capable for it.

Avid photographers who want full creative control over their images should consider a Digital (single-lens reflex) Camera. The Sony is a one of models offer the advanced features that experienced shooters need.

Sony has really done it. This isn't gonna be a technical review, just what I feel are strong points and weak points of this camera.

This is a great camera for beginners of SLR's to learn on but ain't too bad for those of you who know what you are doing. I myself have had film SLR's for many years, this is my first DSLR and cost was a factor for me. I am in no way made of money so the low price really sold me (no pun intended). The features you expect from an SLR are all there, and you can go from full auto to full manual and every point in between in a just a flip of a switch and the pressing of a few buttons to set up your shot.

Built in Image Stabilization is a great feature to have, especially when some camera makers build it into the lens, which, in turn, makes your lens prices considerably higher.

Some people complain about no live view on the LCD, but I personally prefer no live view. It saves on some battery life and it makes it feel like more of a real camera and less of a point and shoot. If you want live view, wait for the A300K

The camera feels sturdy and isn't too big or small. I have very large hands and the camera feels good in my hands. It is mostly plastic, which in a way can feel a bit cheap but doesn't seem to be a problem at this time.
ISO setting is great. If you want to shoot in low light situations you have ISO settings up to 3200 with a supposed noise reduction but I haven't checked that out yet. I personally have it set on 100 and will keep it there for the least amount of noise.

Media options are GREAT!!! Sony MemorySticks are ridiculously priced. Especially when you need to have a high capacity one for these big pics (esp. shooting in RAW). Luckily this camera takes CompactFlash cards, which are some of the cheapest one you can get. (I got mine here on Amazon 4GB for $42).
The only thing I have a problem with on this camera is that you have to pay an extra $12 for an LCD protector (small plastic cover for LCD screen). Some camera makers include this with their SLR's. Sony should have included this as well.

Just don't forget the accessories. It will be nice to get the 70mm-300mm lens (which I got for $229) for those far away and macro shots. Screen protector is $12. Memory will vary by the amount you get. I also bought a nice tripod/monopod for $40.

So that's it. With this camera you will be taking very nice pictures, at high resolutions and at a reasonable price. There are very few downfalls in the design, and a lot of extremely nice features. Hope this helps with your decision. By Reza K. (Emeryville, CA United States)

Sony Alpha A900 24.6MP Digital SLR Camera

Introducing: Sony is a very good entry-level Digital Camera, the Sony delivers excellent photo quality in a body that is streamlined for experienced photographers, but relatively for the less advanced.

At least Sony is a great choice for Digital Camera, and it's a solid choice for creative still shooters. But though the image quality and general shooting performance are top-notch, if you are upgrading to capture sports, kids, or pets, the Sony may capable for it.

Avid photographers who want full creative control over their images should consider a Digital (single-lens reflex) Camera. The Sony is a one of models offer the advanced features that experienced shooters need.

Sony Alpha A900 24.6MP Digital SLR Camera is well built with plenty of buttons to control its functions. It is easy to use and produces stunning picture quality when used with high end Zeiss, Sony or Minolta lenses. When used in continuous shooting mode, the camera captures 5 RAW images per second for 3 seconds, for a total of 15 images, before its image buffer fills and the image capture rate becomes limited by the speed of the Compact Flash card.

However, the A900's high resolution sensor is somewhat susceptible to noise. Packing 24 megapixels into this full frame sensor means that each pixel collects less light per unit time than does each pixel of a 12 megapixel full frame sensor. In consequence, the 24 megapixel full frame sensor is less immune to noise than the 12 megapixel full frame sensors of the Canon 5D or Nikon D700 cameras. When no in-camera noise reduction is applied by the A900, noise becomes apparent at ISO 800 and objectionable at ISO 1600. However, it is possible to extend the usable ISO range to 1600 or 3200 through the use of at least these three RAW converters: (1) Image Data Converter SR version 3 that Sony has released for free download, (2) DxO Optics Pro Elite version 5.3.6, 5.3.7 or 6, or (3) Adobe Lightroom 3. To my eye, the Sony Image Data Converter SR version 3 achieves slightly better noise suppression than the other two options.

The A900 places large demands on the computer where images are stored and post processed. The best image quality is obtained from RAW mode which consumes 36 megabytes per image file and stores 12 bits per pixel. And opening one of these 36 megabyte RAW image files using Adobe Photoshop can be time consuming. I have upgraded my 1.5GHz PowerPC G4 Mac mini to a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Mac mini in order to decrease the time required to open a RAW image file to a reasonable delay.

The high resolution of the 24 megapixel sensor is achievable only with high end lenses such as the Zeiss 24mm f/2, 85mm f1.4, 135mm f1.8, 24-70mm f2.8 and 16-35mm f2.8 lenses, as well as the Sony G and Minolta G lenses. My own measurements with the Imatest lens test software reveal that many of the lower quality, non-G Minolta lenses (and presumably also the equivalent Sony lenses) are not sharp enough to exploit the high resolution sensor. Exceptions to this statement include the Minolta 28mm f2, 35mm f2, 50mm f1.4, 100mm f2.8 macro, 100mm f2.8 soft focus and 70-210mm f4 lenses, which are not G lenses but approach G in quality. Nevertheless, be prepared to purchase an expensive set of lenses if you want to get the most out of the A900. And be certain to perform autofocus microadjustment on all of your lenses using the LensAlign focus calibration system if you want to get the most out of each lens.

Sony A77 24.3 MP Translucent Mirror Digital

Introducing: Sony is a very good entry-level Digital Camera, the Sony delivers excellent photo quality in a body that is streamlined for experienced photographers, but relatively for the less advanced.

At least Sony is a great choice for Digital Camera, and it's a solid choice for creative still shooters. But though the image quality and general shooting performance are top-notch, if you are upgrading to capture sports, kids, or pets, the Sony may capable for it.

Avid photographers who want full creative control over their images should consider a Digital (single-lens reflex) Camera. The Sony is a one of models offer the advanced features that experienced shooters need.

This viewfinder will change the way you use your camera. It'll change it for the better because it gives you greater control over the camera than you've ever had before.

Because the viewfinder is an OLED video screen in the eyepiece instead of being a typical piece of glass, you're seeing something entirely different. Something more useful.

An optical viewfinder shows you what the lens is seeing. An electronic viewfinder shows you what the sensor is doing. Think about that for a moment. Let's say you own a Nikon D7000 and you boost exposure compensation. Do you see any change in the viewfinder? Of course not. You'll see that change in the photo you take. That's how SLRs have always worked, even back in the days before digital. Ah, but with the electronic viewfinder in a Sony a77, when you boost exposure compensation, you'll see the image in the viewfinder become brighter, just as the shot you take will be brighter.

An even simpler example: Look through the viewfinder of a DSLR and choose an exposure point. Pick a dark spot. Nothing changes in your viewfinder, right? Pick a bright spot. Do you see any change in the viewfinder? Of course not. But, in the a77 viewfinder, you see the exposure change because the viewfinder is showing you what the camera is doing rather than only showing you what the lens is seeing.

Here's how most of us probably used our DSLRs: You pick the camera up to your eye. You look through the viewfinder to frame your shot, etc. You take the shot and then pull the camera away from your eye so you can review the shot you just took, using the LCD screen on the back of your camera "Ah, shoot. Blown highlights." You lower exposure compensation, put the camera viewfinder to your eye, frame up the shot again and take it again. Then check it again on the LCD screen on the back of the camera.

In other words, it's a game of switching from viewfinder to LCD, LCD to viewfinder, etc etc etc. Back and forth.

With the electronic viewfinder in the Sony a77, you don't have to do that anymore. You can literally see the changes you're making in the viewfinder. And, better still, you can set up your viewfinder to review the shot you just took for 2 seconds (or 5, though I find 2 to be enough). So, you take the shot and immediately see the shot you just took without moving the camera. By Rob (Portland, OR)

Sony Alpha DSLRA500L 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera

Introducing: Sony is a very good entry-level Digital Camera, the Sony delivers excellent photo quality in a body that is streamlined for experienced photographers, but relatively for the less advanced.

At least Sony is a great choice for Digital Camera, and it's a solid choice for creative still shooters. But though the image quality and general shooting performance are top-notch, if you are upgrading to capture sports, kids, or pets, the Sony may capable for it.

Avid photographers who want full creative control over their images should consider a Digital (single-lens reflex) Camera. The Sony is a one of models offer the advanced features that experienced shooters need.

A costumer said that Sony Alpha DSLRA500L 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera is an excellent camera thus far. Previously, I've had an A300, Canon XTi, and Nikon D5000, all of which were very good cameras too. However, this is quickly becoming my favorite camera of the bunch. The build quality seems very good and the picture quality is awesome. Its heft and size feels nicely in my hand too; the other ones are smaller and lighter by comparison. That is all. I don't need to go into the technical specs because they are already listed everywhere.

Sony Alpha A100K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera

Introducing: Sony is a very good entry-level Digital Camera, the Sony delivers excellent photo quality in a body that is streamlined for experienced photographers, but relatively for the less advanced.

At least Sony is a great choice for Digital Camera, and it's a solid choice for creative still shooters. But though the image quality and general shooting performance are top-notch, if you are upgrading to capture sports, kids, or pets, the Sony may capable for it.

Avid photographers who want full creative control over their images should consider a Digital (single-lens reflex) Camera. The Sony is a one of models offer the advanced features that experienced shooters need.

Sony has finally come a full circle, by starting the digital camera, withdrawing from the initial SLR plans and now firmly back. This review Sony Alpha A100K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera compeletly with Kit 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 Lens. Their first SLR is from the bones of a 20 year MAXXUM/DYNAX line from Konica Minolta. This is the initial camera in the Alpha line called the DSLR-A100, a 10.2 megapixel, three frame per second SLR mostly based on the Konica Minolta MAXXUM 5D. This Sony is between the Canon Rebel 400xti and the Nikon D200 and it compares very favorably to the Nikon D80 although the D80 takes better photos but has no built-in anti-Shake.

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX100V 16.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital

Introducing: Sony is a very good entry-level Digital Camera, the Sony delivers excellent photo quality in a body that is streamlined for experienced photographers, but relatively for the less advanced.

At least Sony is a great choice for Digital Camera, and it's a solid choice for creative still shooters. But though the image quality and general shooting performance are top-notch, if you are upgrading to capture sports, kids, or pets, the Sony may capable for it.

Avid photographers who want full creative control over their images should consider a Digital (single-lens reflex) Camera. The Sony is a one of models offer the advanced features that experienced shooters need.

Costumer; I just spent 2.5 weeks traveling Ireland with this camera so I've had plenty of time to get my hands dirty. I can honestly say this camera is amazing! It's small and lightweight but still packs a 30x zoom and takes great photo and excellent video. I see tons of reviews already with lots of detail so let me try to convey quickly my impressions of this camera after some hands on time.

Ergonomics:
Camera is just about perfectly sized and shaped in my book. A nice big hand grip on the right with a rubberized feel gives it a professional, well made feel and makes it easy to handle. The rest of the camera is kind of a brushed matte black which also gives it a very professional look. Handling for photos is great as well as it's large enough to make it easy to take two handed photos with the left hand balancing the front of the camera and lens ring and the right on the hand grip. This gives great control over the camera while snapping shots. The focus ring on the lens is a great for fine tuning your zoom to perfectly compose that distant subject. I was surprised how much I used the lens ring instead of the zoom in/out toggle next to the shutter.

Display/Screen:
Brilliant high resolution display so images, menus and video are all clear and crisp on screen. The screen itself seems pretty fragile so I'm considering adding a little protective cover to the screen. I have a hx9v as well and the screen is similar if not the same and my hx9v got a deep scratch in it from just a day of carrying in my pocket. The articulating feature is surprisingly useful. I didn't think I'd need or want this but the ability to hold the camera up high or down low and tilt the display so you can still view the camera is a handy feature.

Video:
top notch video, 1080p video with something like 60 frames per second, how can you beat it! Video is very clear and smooth with little to no artifacting or blurring. You can even snap still images (i think they're 3-5 MP) while taking your video. I don't think another camera in it's class can compete with this camera from a video standpoint. The AVCHD format is something I'm still learning to work with though and I find it's not the easiest to work with on a Mac. There don't seem to be many readily available video players for AVCHD and the way the movies are stored isn't the most straight forward way to facilitate browsing through your movies. Basically, things get stored in a not so simple folder structure and you have to know what you're looking for to find your movies. And like I said, then getting them to play, at least on a Mac, isn't so straight forward either. This could very well be a "newbie" thing from my standpoint and it's this format that allows the camera to take such brilliant high resolution video in the first place so I'm willing to deal with some learning curve/hassle here until AVCHD is more widely used.

Photos:
Photo quality is excellent when viewed at Large size or smaller and still very good at larger sizes. This is the only area where I wasn't floored by the performance of the camera. If you are looking for dSLR quality photos and/or are a big "pixel peeper" than this camera is not for you. Sony employs some pretty heavy noise reduction which results in noticeable artifacting when viewing images at full size. The hx100v allows from adjusting the level of noise reduction to "-" in the menus but even set to minus I found the NR heavier than I'd like. One of the downfalls to the megapixel race, unfortunately. Who needs 16 MPs crammed onto a tiny sensor like this? But that's a whole other discussion. The photo quality is still very good and more than satisfactory for me, especially with everything else the camera provides. Another feature of the Sony is the sweep panorama. This allows you to click the shutter and pan the camera across a landscape and the camera intelligently creates a panoramic photo in-camera. This is pretty remarkable and I used this a LOT on my trip! You have a few different size options from STD to WIDE to High Resolution. It's a lot of fun and provides for some very scenic photos that can range from a beautiful landscape to a "fisheye" still view of a crowd or a town. What's most incredible is how good the processing is at handling moving objects. I took panoramic photos of scenes with cars and people moving through the scene as I panned and it almost allows resolved them perfectly without any blurring or defects. I have noticed sometimes moving objects will be incorrectly "spliced" or solid lines such as lines on a basketball court or a fence or railing will be "spliced" a bit but this doesn't happen often and from research I've done this is more often the users inability to pan the camera smoothly than the camera processing something incorrectly.

Conclusion: The bottom line for me with this camera is it is just plain fun to use. Great video, sweep panorama, a 30x zoom and good photo quality makes for a wonderful package. I am incredibly happy with this camera and have zero regrets about not having my dSLR with me on my trip. The 30x zoom gives you incredible range for capturing the perfect photo, the photo quality is good, if not very good, and only pixel peepers and those printing poster size prints will be unhappy with the results. The video and sound are best in class and the camera now handles SDHC cards so you're not bound to Sony memory sticks any more, although it can use those too. Anyone looking for a "do it all" camera that packs a huge zoom in a small body and takes great photo and video will love this camera.

Surprise likes:
Articulating screen is great
Zoom/Focus ring on the lens is great for fine tuning your composition when zooming and also provides manual focus
Sweep panorama. I knew I'd like this feature but didn't realize how much.

Annoyances/Gripes:
AVCHD format for movies isn't the easiest to work with
Camera not widely available yet (I had to have family pick it up from a best buy in South Carolina and bring it with them on the trip to get it)
Screen seems very vulnerable to scratching. Hope this was a helpful review! Go get this camera and start having fun with it! By Billy

Sony Alpha A230L 10.2 MP Digital SLR Camera

Introducing: Sony is a very good entry-level Digital Camera, the Sony delivers excellent photo quality in a body that is streamlined for experienced photographers, but relatively for the less advanced.

At least Sony is a great choice for Digital Camera, and it's a solid choice for creative still shooters. But though the image quality and general shooting performance are top-notch, if you are upgrading to capture sports, kids, or pets, the Sony may capable for it.

Avid photographers who want full creative control over their images should consider a Digital (single-lens reflex) Camera. The Sony is a one of models offer the advanced features that experienced shooters need.

This is Sony Alpha A230L 10.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with Super SteadyShot INSIDE Image Stabilization and 18-55mm Lens with lovely colors and textures this camera produces. Again, this is a personal preference. Exposure compensation can easily be changed +/-2 as well as color saturation in the menu.

The GUI menu system is easy to use, clear/crisp with easy to find advanced menu settings. 18-55mm kit lens excellent IQ and good overall practical range to have for most photos.It is going to pretty much meet all of my needs for awhile, at least with the better lens on the front, and maybe a really good zoom to give you a bit more range of options.

Sony A390 Digital SLR Camera - Black

Introducing: Sony is a very good entry-level Digital Camera, the Sony delivers excellent photo quality in a body that is streamlined for experienced photographers, but relatively for the less advanced.

At least Sony is a great choice for Digital Camera, and it's a solid choice for creative still shooters. But though the image quality and general shooting performance are top-notch, if you are upgrading to capture sports, kids, or pets, the Sony may capable for it.

Avid photographers who want full creative control over their images should consider a Digital (single-lens reflex) Camera. The Sony is a one of models offer the advanced features that experienced shooters need.

Picture quality is stunning. Don't be overly impressed with the 14.2 megapixels because unless you regularly make 16 x 20 pictures or larger, you won't really notice a difference from a camera with say 10 megapixels. The whole emphasis on megapixels is really just a marketing ploy.

The thing to focus on are the lenses, and both lenses that came with our kit take amazing pictures--clear, sharp, vivid colors. If you are a beginner or just don't want to be bothered with lots of technical details, just set the main control dial to Auto, and the camera will take care of all of your settings for you.

The lenses are easy to remove and put on, and the autofocus and automatic light metering features work very well. If you want to start playing with settings to adjust aperture, shutter, depth of field, ISO settings etc. you can do so. In short, you can simply point and shoot or else start making all kinds of adjustments to become more creative.

The manual that comes with the camera is adequate. If you want a book that clearly and concisely explains everything about using this camera with lots of tips for being creative, buy David Busch's Sony Alpha DSLR-A390/A290 Guide to Digital Photography