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My Sony A100 - DSLR

In this Tabblo I am writing a little bit about my Sony A100, my first DSLR.

 

The reason we bought it was that we had good experience with image stabilizer (from Canon PowerShot S1 IS) and we also have a Minolta Dynax 7 -  SLR with several good lenses. Since you can use this type of lenses on Sony A100 it is a good buy for us.

 

We are very pleased with the camera; very easy handling and intuitive controls, high quality pictures and high performance in battery.

 

The image stabilizer Sony calls Super Steady Shot and it gives you 2-3 step on the exposure. Could make a big difference how to shoot!

 

One feature I like a lot: It doesnt matter which control you use; the control dial (picture below) or arrow control buttons (picture right) you can use either in choosing menu-item, exposure control etc

 

Also excellent 2,5 “ and  230 000 dot LCD screen.

 

I havent learned yet how to control a flash - on any camera that is - so I cant say its better or worse than another.

 

 

(I think I most often get better result not using the flash - Anyone agree? On the other hand several picture on this page are taken with flash so maybe I have too high expectations)

 

Of course you can easily control Fill flash, No-red-eye, Flash amount etc

One very good function is what I call "the-super-fast-focus-check".

 

It works like this: When you have taken a picture you press the button AEL also marked with a + magnifying symbol.  (First picture to the right) Now the camera magnifies the picture a lot and you can check at once if focus was good.( Second picture to the right)

 

I am using it a lot! Very handy!

I like to take macro-shots and the manual focus helps me to control exact focus

A feature built in - heritage from Minolta - is the eye-start-auto focus. That means that sensors around the viewfinder make the camera focus when you put your eye close to it. It speeds up the process from idea to shot.  (Picture to the right).

 

Havent used the auto-focusing-when-object-moves feature yet. In theory good for action shots.

 

 

 

 

Other features that we like:

 

- Depth-of-field preview button

- Dynamic Range Optimizer with “Automatic analysis and optimisation of ‘difficult’ scenes shot against the sun or with strong contrast”

- Anti-dust system with “shaking” mirror at shut-off time

- Nine-area focus system , same as in old Minolta Dynax system

- Very well balanced in weight and size. Perfect for my big hands.

- The left function dial control makes it super fast to change settings; exactly how you like it to be when you need it.

 

My advice when bying a camera: look for features that you need and that are easy to use.

 

Myself I dont have use for 10 Mb since I can print A4 size and even posters with good quality with less number of pixel. Simone and I dont have any paintings at home, just our own pictures. And we change them rather often. Printing them on our own printer and posters we order by www. Not many guest could see difference between them and a real "photo developed" picture.

 

Useful links:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydslra100/  A100at dpreview

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/alpha100.html  A100 at Steves Digicams

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm about megapixel use. I think you should read him with your sceptical glasses on. Isnt he just just reluctant to change his behavior?

http://www.dcviews.com/reviews/Sony-A100/Sony-A100-review.htm  Review at DCReview

Dec-2006: Update after a couple of month of use:

The 10 Mb big size  picture actually matters more than I anticipated. Now I can crop more and still have good quality pictures.

 

The batteries are good but I am glad that I bought a backup. And as you with a 4 Gb Flash Card can take around 940 at Large & Fine quality pictures you need batteries.

 

 
COMMENTS
Jillcdunn said at 5:16 p.m. on Oct 14, 2006:
Looks like a super nice camera. Mine is a lightweight compared to this bad boy. :)
Cespinel said at 6:40 p.m. on Oct 14, 2006:
I've been looking at this camera since it came out. I kave a Minolta 5D so alot of those same features I'm familure with. What I do like about it is the 10 mega pix. it has. I'm strugling though between it and the new Nikon D80. It's a great camera aswell. I'll be keeping my eye out for some more of your new a100 pics. Thanks for sharing..
Siagian said at 1:12 a.m. on Oct 15, 2006:
i could really use that super steady shot. alas my sony didnt come with that.
Antonio said at 1:22 p.m. on Oct 15, 2006:
One question: you don't find the time to take a picture (common to be a little slower on Sonys than on Canons) annoying? I'm wondering whether they've fixed this. Otherwise, a fabulous review.
Akeke said at 1:48 p.m. on Oct 15, 2006:
The eye-start-focus feature reduce your time from aiming until the shot is taken. I tend to compose the picture for a while so I dont think about the time for the mirror to click or the microchip to process. As in all digital camera the time to process the pictures is as long as the shutter time. That means 30 seconds of shutter opening 30 seconds of processing.
Mthorne said at 10:06 a.m. on Oct 16, 2006:
great use of tabblo and an informative review - feedback from a trusted source is always appreciated.
DVP said at 3:34 p.m. on Nov 19, 2006:
I've been looking at the Alpha and the H1 or R1, still haven't made a decision, but definately appreciate hearing from end users.
Akeke said at 5:24 a.m. on Nov 20, 2006:
@DVP: One big differens for me with DSLR: With the former CyberShot I couldnt see properly at screen without removing my glases (yes they are not good but I change evry 3-4 year) . And the viewfinder was bad. In a SLR as in DSLR you look thru viewfinder and see usually very clear. My simple advice to you is to use the camera before buying. All the camera you mention are good, very good and produce high quality shoots if you point it correctly! Dont get stuck about details about resolution, megabit etc. The main thing is that is should be easy to use. If I have - as I had on several other cameras - the ability to manipulate the coming image, but it is to complicated to do it, I just dont bother, do I? Ask Hollyridger / Noreen how she likes her Sony R1 and H5
Chiloedream said at 7:17 p.m. on Nov 22, 2006:
Very interesting. I have to make the same about my Panasonic lumix leica. I hesitated between my bridge camera and your reflex, first Sony reflex. I give me 1 or 2 years before buying a new reflex. All your tabblos are excellent. Bravo Akeke.
Trekki said at 12:59 a.m. on Dec 8, 2006:
:-) Yes, a very good camera :-) I just bought it, because I also had my old very good Minolta lenses - and... all excited :-) Haha, now learning phase starts :-) Thanks Ake for this Tabblo, which really speeded up my decision to get a digi SLR = THIS one :-))
Anjad said at 2:21 p.m. on Jun 12, 2007:
Thanks for this tabblo Ake. My husband bought the Sony Alpha 100 too a few weeks ago. I myself use a Konica Minolta Dynax 5D and I have several lenses which we now both can use.
I think the Alpha is a great camera and I agree with your last remark about the 10 megapixels. And the eye-start-focus is a gret feature too.
Flinkfar said at 2:42 p.m. on Jun 12, 2007:
Excellent review, i'm still trying to decide what to buy..........
Zippywinds said at 9:49 p.m. on Jun 12, 2007:
whoa awesome and congrats, :)
Zero42 said at 9:53 a.m. on Jun 14, 2007:
this is a perfectly presented very thorough review. i haven't kept up with sony since i started using canon and having used a lower/prior sony model, it's neat to see all of the advancements and options you've got. my can is much less user-friendly than this slick cam. thanks for adding this to the group.
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