by Michael Hunter

Created on: December 22, 2009

Sony Alphas are a new line of DSLRs and Sony has quite an uphill battle to gain some ground against the likes of Canon and Nikon, but after shooting with the entry-level A200 for about a year and a half I feel confident in saying that it will not be long before Alphas are widely used and praised. The body is very comparable to about every other DSLR out there in both size and weight. The thing that is different with the A200 is that even if it really is just as crowded as the Canons or Nikons on the back, it does not feel or look like it is. There is the LCD, a directional pad with center button, a Function (FN) menu button above that, the AEL and manual exposure menu buttons at the top, and then a column of four small buttons (Menu, Display, Delete, and Playback) on the left edge next to the LCD. The power switch and SteadyShot switch are also on the back of the camera.

The lessening of buttons means that there are more nested menus and button combinations to learn, but it is very easy to navigate and learn your way around. Within a few days of taking pictures I was changing things without looking between shots with the camera still up and ready. The viewfinder display shows you all of the information you need based upon your mode selection so you can adjust your shutter, EV compensation, aperture, flash, and focus all without taking the camera away from your eye. When you do need to use the LCD, though, its 3” screen is more than enough to display all of your functions, histograms, and everything else. The screen is also great for instant review of your pictures if you had an unexpected movement or just weren’t sure how it would turn out. Even in cold weather shooting I recently did the screen held its brightness and contrast extremely well despite the temperature.

I usually keep my kit lens (18-70 3.5-5.6) on the camera for the majority of my shoots and its performance with the camera is practically flawless. Speaking of lenses, one really great thing about the Alpha series is that these new cameras are compatible with Minolta A-mount lenses, giving you a wide variety of quality lenses to choose from, both new and old! Auto focusing is snappy and sharp, although sometimes in Macro mode the auto focus has a hard time deciding what to focus on if there are a lot of small objects (like pine needles) in the shot.

I have found a few things about the camera that I do not quite like, but after comparing to other entry-level DSLRs from Nikon and Canon the same issues exist there as well. So in the end these drawbacks are the result of outgrowing certain capabilities of the camera faster than I expected. The biggest issue for me is the lack of decent exposure bracketing. You can bracket, but only a maximum of 3 stops at 0.7EV apart (max EV range of -2 up to +2). Since I have found an interest in HDR photography I am obviously looking for at least 3 stops at 1.0EV intervals. I can do it manually, but it requires me to use my tripod, meaning that times where I cannot use my tripod leaves me with no chance to properly shoot for an HDR photo. The other drawback that I have encountered is its low-count burst mode. Shooting high-speed sports and objects like roller coasters can be difficult with slower burst modes. While this has not been too much of a drawback for me, you may want to consider this.

Overall the Sony Alpha A200 is an outstanding entry-level DSLR for its price and offers plenty of high-level features while remaining an easy to use and understand camera. Its form is great, as are its functions. To anyone looking to step into a higher realm of photography with DSLRs, I suggest at least strongly considering the A200 along with the Canon Rebels and Nikons.

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