Digital Trends

Sony alpha DSLR-A350

April 13th, 2008 | by David Elrich

Performance and Use

As usual I started off in Auto with Eye-Start AF disabled, in single shot mode, using basic multi-segment metering, automatic AF and the D-Range Optimizer in standard setting; white balance and ISO were auto as well. This is about as Auto as you can get. Once I took a bunch of shots in this fashion it was time to explore the various manual options, all the while using Live View, of course. 

As noted, I’m a big fan of this Zeiss lens and with the camera’s 1.6x digital factor it’s 25.6-128mm in 35mm terms. This gives me the wide-angle option for portraits and landscapes plus I can zoom in on objects that are fairly far away. Good stuff. I took the -A350 down to the beach and visited local nurseries to get a nice jolt of spring color.

On to Live View—or as Sony calls it Quick AF Live View. What the company did was add another sensor to the camera to handle this feature so it’s amazingly faster than competitors. You just flick the switch on top and the LCD becomes your viewfinder. It’s so much better than the others, you’ll flip. Everything isn’t perfect as there’s some blur as you move positions but it clears up quickly as you focus. And there’s a bit of lag as the camera saves the files. The other issue is overall image blur since you’re holding the camera at arm’s length rather than pressed against your face with your elbows locked. The built-in sensor shift stabilization helps but you have to be careful. Still the fact you can hold the camera over your head to see and snap your subject is wonderful. Sony claims 2 frames per second in Live View but my results seemed a tad slower than that. Faster would be better but what can I say? I really liked it. Hopefully other makers will take this approach or stop saying how wonderful their Live View is.

Image Courtesy of Sony

Live View is all well and good but this is a 14.2-megapixel D-SLR and quality photos are what you want—along with that cool LCD screen. As noted, I did a lot of shooting outdoors as well as a still life indoors to see how the camera handled ISO up to 3200. Once done it was time to turn out a raft of 8.5x11 full-bleed prints. Actually it’s time to start turning out 11x17s and 13x19s with these new 2008 D-SLRs but that’s another story.

My results were quite good. Colors were very lifelike with popping yellows of forsythia bushes while early spring blooms looked very realistic including reds, blues and purples. When using the viewfinder I didn’t really notice the 2.5 fps second speed versus 3 found on competitors. As noted there was a definite lag in continuous mode during Live View sessions—about the only drawback I found in this iteration of the feature. Shots indoors were quite good with digital noise starting to appear at 800 (but not too bad) while 1600 was decent and 3200 only good for small prints—if you had to use it all.

Conclusion

This one is really a no-brainer. At $799 USD for the body only, the Sony alpha DSLR-A350 is a terrific camera for the price. I’d avoid the kit lens and spend a little extra for the 16-80mm Zeiss edition--and you’ll be set for years. This D-SLR has a nice, solid feel, is easy to operate, takes quality images, has built-in stabilization, sensor cleaning and enough tweaks to keep you punching menu options until you get completely bored. Fortunately the photographic results of the –A350 are far from boring. And then there’s Quick AF Live View. Did I mention I liked it?


Pros:

• Fine 14MP images
• At last! Live View that makes sense
• Loaded with features

Cons:

• Could be faster (fps) especially in Live View
• Noticeable noise above 800 ISO
• Forget the kit lens