Having previously reviewed the Alpha 200 and 350, it seems a bit silly to review the Alpha 300. After all, the Alpha 300 is a 200 with Live View, or a 350 with 10 megapixels instead of 14mp. Right?Well, pretty much that's the case. But there is also a corresponding price difference. Is Live View worth an extra $100? Is 14mp worth an extra $200?
For my money, yes, Live View is worth the $100 because of the way Sony has implemented this feature. Unlike most systems, you won't see a loss in autofocusing performance (or a loss of autofocus completely), nor will you alter the way the exposure and white balance are determined. Add to this the articulated screen that makes extremely low or high angle shots easier, and I say "YES"! Any drawbacks? Yes, this screen is a bit thicker, and pushes you back a bit when looking through the camera. Also, the way Sony implements Live View does mean you only see 90 percent of what you'll get on the image.
OK, is 14mp worth the extra $200? I don't know, but I don't think so. We really need more critical comparisons from people with true scientific methods of measuring the difference in image quality, but there are a few assumptions that will probably hold true, based on previous cameras. The 14mp will give a superior image in good lighting, when ISO values (the fake "film" speeds) can be set to higher quality settings. You won't see this difference on an 8x10 standard photo, but probably could in very big enlargements or severe cropping of photos. Keep in mind that the "1.4x and 2x teleconverter" option you have with Live View is nothing more than cropping, with 2x dropping your effective megapixels in half.
Past cameras would suggest, however, that the higher pixel density of the 14mp camera would be a drawback in low light conditions, in particular when we have to raise the ISO settings. Thus, they may not even be as good as the 10mp sensor for these applications (but we still need critical testing to confirm this assumption).
So, for my money, I'd say the 14mp is probably not worth the money for someone shooting an even variety of shoots, but might be for a landscape/wildlife photographer.
Compared to other brands, I think the Alpha 300 wins on features compared to the Canon Digital Rebel XTi or Nikon D60 (Live View, stabalization in body). The new 12mp Canon XSi is more in the price range of the 14mp Alpha 350. In any case, with 3 new Alphas, and the new D60 and XSi, there's no more excuses! Get a camera and start taking great photos!
Sony Alpha A200K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization with 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
Sony Alpha DSLRA350K 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens
Nikon D60 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens
Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black)
One of the things that annoyed me about shooting with a dslr were my glasses. To prevent them from being smudged, I'd flip them up when pressing my face against the eyepiece. Spend an entire day doing this and it becomes a royal PITA. I've only used the camera for about a week so far and I can already see that I'll be relying on Live view a lot.
The other major benefits of Live view are: 1) being able to shoot pics from the ground level perspective (great for kids and dogs) without multiple trial and errors or crouching/laying on the ground (my back thanks me), and 2) shooting over a crowd of heads, fence, glass partition, etc.
The image doesn't track as smooth as I'd hoped, but it's good enough for framing the shot. It shows you the autofocus points as well as providing a live histogram (i love it!).
I upgraded from a Minolta 5D and I think I'll miss the depth of field preview as well. Small price to pay for all the other great features.
In summary, get this camera if you're not heavily invested in other lens systems. I haven't checked out the competition since I'm one of the surviving members of the Minolta clan, but I'm sure others have competent implementations as well.My first DSLR, and I am very satisfied.
Why I bought it:
Live View excellent implementation. This was my number one purchase point for this camera. Fast switching to and from the Optical Viewfinder. You can use Live View outside of the studio and it acts just like a standard consumer digital camera screen. Screen tilts, which is handy.
10MP this is the sweet spot for price and capability. The Alpha 350 has 14MP, but I decided to save the money and buy a few accessories right away.
RAW+JPEG I wanted a camera that shot RAW+JPEG and didn't skimp on the JPEG. You can shoot high-quality JPEG and RAW at the same time.
Great photos has to do that.
Good surprises after I got the camera and started using it:
Ease of Use very easy to start using right out of the box (recharge the battery first).
Steady Shot gives me the confidence to shoot without a tripod and it has a nice readout on the LCD that tells you when you're shaking.
Battery life I've been taking quite a few photos the last week and have yet to recharge the internal battery.
Display Button easy to press and review your photos. Very easy to get back to shooting.
Minor Bad Point in-camera flash is very low and kit lens casts a shadow if you are too close to your subject. I got an HVL-F36AM external flash with the camera so I don't have to worry about this too much.
Some mention that the viewfinder is small, but I used it all day today because of the bright sunlight and was happy with it. I was sitting in our vehicle and noticed a tank in my side mirror. I decided to take the photo using auto focus but that didn't work, so I focused manually on the tank about 30 yards behind me through the driver's side window in the left side mirror and got a perfectly sharp picture using the Optical Viewfinder.
Great camera!!I purchased the Sony A300 5 months ago through J&R Music World. The camera came to me quickly and with no apparent problems. Since then I have used the camera several times to take photos of my grandchildren and also some landscapes. I always mount the camera on a sturdy tripod. When it is not being used, it is stored in a padded camera case. The last time I turned on my camera the LCD showed a white screen with just a couple of lines running through it. I did not bang it, drop it or otherwise abuse it. The camera comes with a 1 year warranty. Since I purchased a Sony product I did not expect to have a problem with them honoring my warranty. They gave me instructions to send it to Precision Camera Repair. After about a week I checked Precision's online repair status and I had a message saying that repairs were delayed because they were waiting for payment. When I called they told me that the camera showed some small scratches on it's base so the camera was obviously abused and therefore they would have to charge me $254 to repair it! I went ballistic. Precision's customer service person told me that maybe they could reduce the repair cost and immediately reduced the charge to $175. Now you may say that my argument should not be with Sony. It should be with Precision Camera. However when I called Sony Customer Relations they refused to intercede and told me I was out of luck. My argument is with Sony because they are using an obviously unscrupulous repair service. How do I know they are unscrupulous? Because I have since found out that what they did to me, they have also done to other people. There are many complaints about them at these websites:
Sony's Customer Relations Department turned a deaf ear to my complaint. I had no choice but to pay for a repair that should have been covered by the warranty.
I am very disappointed with the durability of this camera and the way Sony handled my problem.I've had the A300 for about a month now I've been using it regularly and am very pleased. I did a lot of research before choosing this D-SLR and IMHO the A300 offers the best bang for the buck in its class. My decision was based on the image quality, Sony's innovative LiveView functionality, in-body stabilization, lens availability (without any confusion as to what lens is compatible, what lens is stabilized or has a focus motor...) and price.
I use the LiveView and OVF interchangeably and both work very well for me (and I wear glasses). I find LV and the tiltling LCD particularly useful when using a tripod as it's no longer necessary to contort my body to the OVF to see what the camera sees; it's also very useful for candid shots and to get over peoples' heads (or fences at zoos for example). I've found the LV/tilt-LCD incredibly useful to be able to place the camera on a wall or post or less convenient spots when there's no tripod, and be able to compose and shoot a great night shot.
I find the camera responsive no complaints there AF is fast and accurate. Metering is flexible, accurate and consistent. Battery is great lasts a long time and with the % display, I know when I'm running low.
The built-in image stabilization has saved many a shot for me where lighting was marginal I would not want to have to do without this feature.
I'm pleased with the image quality (even when I forgot to reset the ISO from 800 after some indoor/no-flash wedding shots). The camera has lots of buttons so I don't have to go searching through menus and if I do need to do something that doesn't have its own button, the Fn button generally gets me there quickly a well thought out interface that works for me.
I have the Sony 18-70 and 75-300 kit lenses and I'm happy with both as they provide great flexibility in range, and they're sharp enough for me. All in all I'm very happy with this tool and if my shots don't come out the way I expect them to, it's more likely my problem than any lens or camera limitation.
Knowing what I know now about this setup, I'd definitely make the same decision to buy it.
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