Sony Alpha A100K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 Lens by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony Alpha A100K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 Lens
Digital camera Review: Good Pictures and feature rich
Summary: 4 Stars
Takes good pictures, can't spot the difference to the Canon Rebel 400 Xti, which a co-worker got same time. My last SLR was a Nikon 35mm 10 years ago. and have used compact digital cameras since. They are just not comparable.
Pros for me:
plenty of lenses available second hand.
anti-shake in the body, not the lens
takes common sony batteries, same as my sony camcorder
usb mass storage and pict bridge support
Cons for me:
sony specific flash fitting
usb connection is behind memory door, not behind a rubber cover.
non standard power supply required, or put battery in supplied charger.
no worldwide warranty option
Digital camera Review: Sony should do a better job
Summary: 2 Stars
I had the chance recently to try a A100. With all of the glaring reviews about this item, and a set of lenses + very nice program flash of my old Minolta Dynax 7000i I was willing to get a body of the A100 next to my Nikon D70s.
It's a decent DSLR, feature-wise, and the steady-shot feature is a big plus, but I found the following items a big negative:
1. Above ISO 400 there is a considerable amount of noise. The ISO 800 is virtually useless and ISO 1600 is just a joke. There are tons of discussions about the A100 noise on user groups, typically from users who already own a A100, and recommend to use 'Noise Ninja' and other post processing tools to fix it. Ridiculous. My D70s produces better image quality at ISO 1600 than the Sony produces at ISO 400. This makes this camera virtually useless indoors, unless you're willing to ignore the visibile picture noise, or print pictures at 5x7 only (in which case you may well purchase a 3MP snapshot camera which will work quite as well and probably produces less noise).
2. I found the white balance to be off too much in standard lighting situations. I had to do quite a bit of post processing in Photoshop. Also, the camera I tried under-exposed every single shot.
3. Mirror noise / slap is quite loud. Too loud.
4. Flimsy built. This was quite disappointing (Canon and Nikon doing a much better job at that).
5. Flash does not popup automatically. There are numerous indoor snapshot type of scenarios where you do not want to be thinking about this.
6. Related to 5.: AF assist only functions with the flash popped up.
7. Flash performance is very poor. I tried various settings, but it would fire off a strobe first (quite annoying) and then a pre-flash and then a flash. It would always cause at least a 0.5-1s delay. It should go off when the button is pushed! This is bad.
If you're in the market for a daytime camera, this may be a good choice, but if you're planning to do any shooting with reduced lighting (dusk/dawn/indoor/shade/etc.) then you better have a fast lens at hand (none of the kit lenses will help you there) or use a flash if the subject allows for it.
My conclusion is this is not a DSLR. It's a snapshot camera in DSLR disguise.
Digital camera Review: Just do it!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love my Sony Alpha DSLR. There, I've said it, and I feel much better now. I obsessed over DSLR statistics, read endless reviews, flipped pages comparing the "big name DSLR's" (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax) to no end.
I drove myself batty trying to get the best "bang for the buck" on this major (for me) purchase. I liked the Nikon D-40x, I have several Nikon film SLRs. Using my current lenses would be nice, but using them only in manual mode didn't pop my cork.
The Canon Digital Rebel 10 mp model looked great in the specs and reviews, but once I got a chance to hold the Canon Rebel, the camera's body was just too small for me to hold comfortably. I always had the feeling that I was always about to lose my grip and drop it.
The Pentax SLR was newer on the market, and I had not heard much about it, but I have an old K1000 Pentax, that is built like a truck. It has never let me down, even the time in Kenya when I dropped it in the dirt, running away from an charging elephant (long story, made short: if you need to keep zooming back to frame a picture, its because the thing you are taking the picture of is getting closer...)
I digress, back to the cameras -
As I said, I was so absorbed in specs, that I failed to see the big picture. Any of these fine cameras is going to take great pictures, and make you a very happy snapper (sorry to UK folks, that last term is NOT referring to what you think!, a "happy snapper" in the US is a hobby level photographer who takes a lot of pics))
Why did I pick the Sony, let me count the ways, umm reasons...
I love my Sony because of the built in image stabilization, the eye start autofocus, the immense battery life (over 700 pictures on a charge!), the feel of the camera in my hands, and a dozen little things that only become obvious when you are actually using the camera.
The autofocus is super fast, This past weekend, I got a black squirrel in mid leap, frozen in perfect focus! I had never seen a black squirrel before, so I was very happy to see I had gotten the shot. This was mainly luck on my part, but superb autofocus engineering on Sony's part.
I am sure I would be very happy with either of the other cameras I was considering, but I doubt that any of the other cameras would have gotten that shot.
I guess in the end, that you should not get all hung up in the specs game. There are so many rabid opinions out there, it makes the car guy's Ford vs Chevy fight look tame. Do a bit of study, go to stores where you can actually handle the various cameras, (this is how I found the Canon's body was too small for me to comfortably hold) and order the one that suits your style. Which ever one you get, I'm sure you will be happy with it also.
The important thing is to get the camera of your choice, and start enjoying it!
Digital camera Review: Sony A100 One Great Camera
Summary: 5 Stars
After using the Nikon D80 and the Canon EOS 40D in my work, I found the Sony A100 easier to use and giving me the same or better quality than the Nikon or the Canon.
The Sony A100 has the same Minolta A-type bayonet mount, enabling the use of a large back catalogue of existing Minolta and third party lenses as well as avoiding the development of a whole new system. And with the Anti-Blur built into the camera your cost of lenses is greatly reduced.
The Anti-Dust system is a special anti-static coating (Indium Tin Oxide) on the low-pass filter in front of the CCD ensures no build up of dust due to static electricity. Secondly an 'Anti-Dust vibration' using the cameras CCD shift system, but instead of introducing a delay at startup this occurs at power off. This camera has many great features, Eye Start AF, Continuous shooting until media full, 40 segment honeycomb pattern metering, 2.5" 230,000 pixel 'Clear Photo LCD Plus' monitor, Lithium-Ion battery. I use my camera daily in my job. It's not a Nikon D200 but nether is the price. If you want a Great Digital SLR at a fair price, something easy to use, with very, very good results and a camera that will use a wide verity of lenses (Minolta Lens work just fine)at good prices this Camera is for you.
Sony Alpha A100 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
Digital camera Review: Love this camera!
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband and I have an old Minolta 7000, which we love, so we debated for awhile on whether or not to go digital. We loved the idea of the convenience of picking and choosing pictures with digital and being able to experiment with different photography ideas, but we were afraid of losing photo quality. Then, Sony came out with the A100. We were so excited that our old Minolta lenses were compatible with it! However, this did not erase our skepticism. We still did a lot of research and reading of reviews, before we finally decided to go for it.
We have certainly not regreted purchasing this camera. We both enjoy using it. We took a beach vacation back in June of this year, and we were very anxious to see how the actual printed pictures turned out. Well, we were very impressed! The pictures were beautifully crisp. We couldn't have been happier with the results.
Other than the digital convenience and picture quality, we also like that this camera has the rechargeable battery, which saves a lot on battery costs, and the battery charge lasts a long time. Also, we like that it has a built in flash. You can purchase a larger flash to mount, if you wish, which would be nice in some situations, but the built in flash is sufficient for most things. One more thing to mention is that the camera comes with some great photo software. For those photos that need just a little touch-up, the automatic correction on the software does a fantastic job. There are so many great things about this camera, it would take me forever to mention them all.
You won't go wrong with this camera!