product images:
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sample images
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Details at a glance
Megapixels: 10.2
Lens Mount: Sony α, Minolta A
FPS: 3
LCD screen: 2.5 inch
Storage: CF, MS [PRO] Duo
Size: 133 x 94 x 71mm
Weight: 545g
(full details at bottom of the page)
We clicked with
Image quality, easy to use controls, super steady shot, number of quality components in the series, price
Shots in the dark
Build quality, lack of way to trigger external flash, eye start
Links
More Sony information
www.sony.co.uk
Price Comparison:
Sony Alpha 100
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The Sony Alpha 100 is one of the most eagerly anticipated cameras of the year. When Konica Minolta announced that they would no longer be selling DSLRs it seemed a bad day for the industry. Konica Minolta (and before them plain Minolta) hadn't really challenged the giants such as Nikon and Canon in terms of market share but they had consistently come up with great innovations - for example in 1985 they came up with the first successful SLR with autofocus.
When Sony announced that they had effectively bought up the company and were planning to launch their own version of the 5D and 7D things started to get interesting - a company with the experience and ideas of Minolta with the marketing muscle and technology of Sony. The Alpha 100 is their first step in a brand new system.
Throughout this review, you will see me compare the Sony Alpha 100 to other cameras such as the Canon 30D and the Nikon D200. This may not be entirely fair since the Alpha is cheaper than either of these cameras. However, if the Alpha is to compete then it really needs to make a stand against cameras such as this. A 30D is available for around £750 body only. If you can find one, then the Alpha 100 is about £550 for the body only. However, once you have invested in extra lenses, flashguns etc a £200 differential isn't that great. Until Sony announce another model in their DSLR range (and we believe it's only a matter of time) we think it's fair to judge the Alpha 100 against other cameras whilst keeping the price in mind.
The system
It's worth taking a moment to look at the system as a whole. When you choose a DSLR you aren't really buying a camera - you are buying into a whole system of cameras, lenses and accessories. This is one reason why Canon vs Nikon arguments get so bitter - it isn't a simple matter of trading your 30D for a D200, it's a whole system that you are changing.
The kit on review is a Sony Alpha 100 “twin lens” package. You get the camera, an 18 - 70 f3.5-5.6 short zoom lens and a 75 - 300 f4.5-5.6 “travel” zoom.
Sony are also planning to release some very exciting new lenses which are clearly designed for professional use including a 300mm f2.8, a Carl-Zeiss 135mm f1.8 and teleconverters. There are also more consumer focused lenses such as the 18 - 200 f3.5-6.3 all in one lens. In total Sony have announced 19 lenses and 34 accessories which will be available by the end of the year. In addition “almost all” of the Minolta A-mount lenses and accessories made in the past 20 years are said to be compatible with the Sony Alpha series.
Make no mistake, this is a serious contender backed up by a very heavyweight system.
Features
It's a digital SLR and it does what digital SLRs do - it allows you to change to various lenses, gives through the lens viewing, a relatively large sensor and gives you control over practically every image parameter you could want. I'll cover how well some of these perform in the “on test” section. For now, let's look at some of the features that set the A100 apart from its competitors. (Due to the size of this review, these are on another page, just click the link to see the section)
Super Steady Shot
Eye Start
Anti-dust system
Dual memory format
D-range optimiser
External Flash
On Test
Enough of the spec sheets - what's it like in the real world? To test the Sony Alpha 100 we took it out into a variety of real world shooting situations including some landscapes, a studio shoot, a children's party and some general tourist pictures. As far as possible we tried to use it the way its target market will. Images were carefully scrutinised on a colour calibrated screen at 100% and bigger and selected ones were printed out at various sizes. The plan was to use it like real people in the real world but check the output very carefully.
In this section you will see small size crops from images. Click on them and they will open full size in a new window. These are “100% crops” - this means that when you open them if they are 600 pixels wide then we cropped a 600 pixel wide section from a full size image. You are viewing the file at 100%. Sony files are 3872 X 2592 pixels (at maximum size) so a 600 X 400 crop represents just over 2% of the picture area. If you view a 600 X 400 pixels crop on an average 15” monitor at 1024X768 resolution, you are looking at roughly a 6X4 print size. This would scale up to a massive 38 X 25 inch print. As a very rough guide, if the sample crops look great to you on a standard monitor they should give beautiful A3 prints. If they look “OK” to you then you'd be very happy with A4 prints. Unless otherwise indicated all crops are from camera unedited and are from what we consider generally well exposed images.
(Due to the size of this review, these are on subsequent pages)
Handling
Noise
Speed
Flash
D-Range
Eye Start
Image Stabilisation
Raw mode
Image Quality
Verdict
It's a curious fact that right out of the box, some of the newer better compact digital camera can match DSLRs for image resolution and impact. The DSLRs beat the compacts on many other measures but if you want a camera to give you great pictures without any effort then I'd recommend something like the Casio Ex-Z600. To my eye the Sony Alpha 100 gives images with exactly the kind of punch and tonal range that I associate with the very best compact cameras but with all the flexibility and expandability of a complete system DSLR. That may seem a very strange comparison to make but I expect more first time DSLR users to be delighted with the Sony on day one than with an entry level offering from the other players.
It's true that cameras such as the D70s really come into their own when shooting raw and I haven't thoroughly tested the Sony's ability with raw files and that at the moment there are better lenses available for practically every other DSLR on the market than the Sony. This has a big impact on image quality and I'm giving the Sony some slack here - it may be that when I shoot it with better lenses the image quality won't improve as much as I expect but I think that's unlikely.
There are some drawbacks that prevent me declaring this an ideal camera. Build quality is a concern and the lack of any easy way to trigger studio flash seems a major flaw to me but I'm very impressed with the Sony Alpha 100 and can't wait to see others in the series as they are announced.
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If you are looking for a DSLR and don't have any system investment or brand loyalty then I'd highly recommend investigating the Sony Alpha 100 - however, I'd also recommend waiting to check out the Nikon D80 and whatever Canon announce next before making a decision.
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Sony α (alpha) 100 specs
| Mega-pixels: | 10.2 |
Photo: | JPEG, RAW |
| Lens Mount: | Sony α, Minolta A |
RAW: | Yes |
| LCD: | 2.5 inch |
FPS: | 3 |
| Dimensions: | 133.1 x 94.7 x 71.3mm |
Shutter: | 30 sec to 1/4000 |
| Weight: | 545g |
Exposure: | ISO 100 to 1600 |
| Storage: | CF, MS [PRO]Duo |
Movie: | No |
| Battery: | Li-Ion NP-FM55H |
Microphone: | No |
| Interface: | USB 2.0, AV |
PictBridge: | Yes |
