Digital Trends

Sony alpha DSLR-A200 February 25th, 2008 | by David Elrich

Performance and Use

There’s a reason D-SLRs are more popular than ever. You turn the power on, the camera’s ready to fire in around a second and you’re good to go. Even with the Eye-Start Autofocus system turned off, the A200 grabs focus quite quickly. Needless to say, click the shutter and your image is captured. This one is rated 3 frames per second at full resolution and it’ll take 6 RAW shots before stopping. If you’re in JPEG Fine, you can keep firing until your card is filled. This is miles ahead of any point-and-shoot but nothing like the more expensive 40D that’s rated 6.5 fps and takes 17 RAW files before giving it up. Higher-priced cameras have more processing power to deal with the onslaught of files. They also have beefed up mirror and shutter assemblies to move more quickly. If your dream is to shoot the cover for SI, consider a more expensive camera but if you’re capturing the kids in motion on the soccer field, you’ll be fine with this one.

I started off shooting in Auto, JPEG Fine (3872x2592 pixels) with the D-Range Optimizer set at Standard. The camera has Creative Styles that let you change the image’s overall tone. I used Standard (but there’s Vivid, B&W and Adobe RGB). White balance and ISO were auto as well initially but then I moved into the manual modes and engaged the burst mode.

The –A200 is a responsive little camera. It starts in about a second and shutter speed is very fast. The –A200 has 9 auto focus points—no cross type—as you’ll find in more expensive D-SLRs. For the most part this was a non-issue but the 75-300mm definitely had trouble dealing with scenes with falling snow (yes, it did finally snow in New Jersey). Since the –A200 has a 1.6x digital factor, this lens translates to 120-480mm in 35mm terms, a pretty powerful zoom for those trying to capture a running soccer player. Definitely use the burst mode in those situations; the camera was very close to the 3 fps spec given by Sony and it’s a huge step from a point-and-shoot. It also doesn’t compare to the 40D, but it’s $500 USD cheaper.

One of the biggest differences between this model and the older Sony DSLR-A100 is ISO; it jumps from 1600 to 3200 with the new edition. I shot a number of images in Shutter Priority stepping up from 100-3200. The results were as expected. Between 100-400 there was hardly any noise. Once you hit 800 things started to get the digital noise storm. Beyond that it was very noticeable but I was pleasantly surprised at indoor photos at 1600 and 3200. Still you should keep the ISO at 800 or preferably below for images with some pop.

I took many shots in the various manual modes—you definitely need to read the owner’s manual to get the most of this D-SLR and any other for that matter; newbies should consider it required reading. Once I downloaded the images, it was time to view the 8.5x11 full-bleed prints.

For the most part there were no surprises when I reviewed the prints. A colorful beach ball framed by the snow had very accurate colors and looked very lifelike. A snow-capped mailbox was also spot-on. Indoor shots with available sunshine also were very good showing plenty of detail. As noted earlier, experimenting with the ISOs didn’t shock me. Up to 400 there was little noise, a lot more at 800 and 1600/3200 would be relegated to small prints at best.

Conclusion

I generally liked the DSLR-A200. This entry-level D-SLR has a lot of things going for it: quick focusing, fast shutter speed, lots of tweaks for those who want them plus it captures good 10MP stills with accurate colors and nice contrast. If it were my money, I’d stick with the basic kit with the 18-70mm lens. Then if you feel that it’s not powerful enough, save your money and purchase a higher-quality zoom (Zeiss or G lens) with a speedier aperture than the f/4.5-5.6 75-300mm bundled in the $900 USD package. This is all stated with the premise you do not own any lenses from older film SLRs. If that’s the case, stick to your “family.” Those moving up from a point-and-shoot will be happy with the A200—especially when they capture a winning goal or a terrific smile your old camera would’ve missed.

Pros:

• Solid, accurate photos
• 3 fps speed
• Nice 2.7-inch LCD

Cons:

• Digital noise at 800 and above
• Avoid the 75-300mm bundled zoom