Sony saved KM's A-mount (all my Minolta/Konica-Minolta lenses and accessoris work with a100!)
Resolution.
Easy to use.
In-body Anti-Shake.
Battery seems to last forever.
Intuitive menu and controls.
Good size and weight.

I hear there's noise issues at ISO 800 and 1600. I've never had the need to shoot over ISO 400 in my life though, so why start now?

I started shooting with the Minolta Maxxum system around 2000, finally settling down with the wonderful Maxxum 7. I did not buy a KM DSLR as they were very late to the game and I knew they were in trouble and I also wanted a litte more resolution to justify the purchase.

So, the Sony a100 is my first DSLR. I pre-ordered it, which I usually don't do until I see some thorough reviews. I'm glad to say though that I'm glad I did it. This camera is wonderful. I do miss the controls of the Maxxum 7 however. Sony did a great job though of taking an excellent camera (KM 5D) and making it into a true superstar.

I have a lot more faith in Sony's marketing too. Hopefully next year we will see more lenses and camera bodies from Sony which would indicate that they're sticking with the project for the long-haul.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Canon 350D
Canon 10D
Canon 30D
Canon 1D Mk II

THE BODY
The first thing I noticed about the Sony Alpha was the grip. I have big hands and the grip on the Alpha is comfortable. I had the Rebel XT, and it was a bit too small for my hands.

USER INTERFACE
LCD is at 2.5 and bright. You set the brightness level on the LCD in the menu under settings. The camera's user interface is pretty easy to learn. Traveling to through the images is very fast. zooming in and out is fast also.

FEATURES
The DEC was the first feature that I like. In manual mode and you can set your contrast, sharpness, and saturation level to the desired setting. Personally, I like sharp and saturated pictures.

DRO was one of the features that I thought was going to be great. It works well in advanced mode and only in certain settings.

Super Steady Shot (SSH)
Works great. Shot the Alpha in church for a wedding with on and off. SSH makes a significant difference. I am not sure it's part of the SSH, but in the view finder, there is a graph telling you how much movement there is in the camera.

BATTERY LIFE
Battery life last longer the the Rebel XT.

OTHER STRENGTH
Sony System Offers High Quality Carl Zeiss Lens (don't forget to use the coupon)
The price is decent for a 10.2 mega pixel.



Check out my gallery (link under my avatar) on this site.

DRO doesn't work on RAW file shooting and other settings.
Built in flash doesn't pop when needed like the Rebel XT. You have to manually left it.
Shutter sound is noisy.
The charger is in two pieces.
Expensive professional grade lenses (Carl Zeiss)

Before I write this review, I just want to say that I am not a pro. I've been shooting DSLR for about 3 months. Although 3 months seems like a short time, I've done my homework about photography and camera hardware.

I bought the Body (only) and the Sony 18-200mm lens. It's a great camera! Body build looks tough and professional. The Body only camera came with a memory stick converter for pro duo which was good because I had a 2 gig stick from my PSP. Also, It came with a %15 coupon which is good for 90 days of any Sony Alpha Accessories. So if you plan spending tons of money on Ziess Lens, you might want to use this.

Customer Service

Good!

Similar Products Used:

Canon Rebel XT

Price $899.00
Features list (already summated)
Entire DSLR system, not just a couple of lenses with a camera body.
Image resolution at 10.2 megapixels (same ccd as Nikon D200x).
Image quality.
Ergonomics and ease of use.

Not many that I can see or worth listing. Keeping in mind the price for what you get in it's class I really can't complain whatsoever, and WONT.

First in the Alpha line is the A-100. I ordered this camera the first day Sony took pre-orders so I could get my hands on it right away. The confidence built with Sony from 5 other camera purchases from them, made this decision a no brainer for me. Not to mention the deal you get for $899.00 (body only).
On with review.
This camera is a steal, with an extensive features set in it's price range nobody can match. It is a small camera measuring 5.2 x 3.7 x 2.8 inches by DSLR standards, only the Rebel 350 and Pentax Ist best it's size and weight for its class. Ergonomics are outstanding, and the grip size is perfect, and extremely comfortable. Accessing exposure menus and settings are a breeze with the two upper rotating dials. No fumbling around deep within menus to access the important stuff. Very easy to learn. The viewfinder is bright and clear providing 95% coverage of the image. The 2.5" LCD is crisp, clear, and bright (from many angles) with 230,000 pixels. Battery life extraordinary, up to 750 shots (normal conditions). I shot for 4 hours this morning, and I didn't see a drop in the battery life one bar (mind you I manage my battery life pretty good). I am pretty impressed. Image quality with two lenses (50mm Prime macro and 75-300 telephoto) is pretty darn impressive (especially the 50mm Macro), with extensive exposure setting options. Noise is excellent up to ISO 800, and very usable to ISO 1600 in brighter conditions (despite nay sayers, prints come out with hardly much noticable noise at all). Image stabilization via Super steadyshot helps you keep the ISO lower as well providing almost blur free hand held shots down to 1/10 sec (at least thats as low as I could go, results will vary by user and conditions). The manual flip up flash is actually refreshing in a simple and old fashioned sort of way, I really prefer just pulling it up rather than finding a button to pop it up. Flash setting are extensive as well, and the camera does a great job on auto. Eye start focus uses sensors to detect presence of your eye (or any other objject) and when selected in the menu, the camera gets a head start on focusing on your subjects. Pretty neat, although it reminded me of the R-1 eye detect, and I find that I am picky when I use it and when I don't. DRO (tynamic range optimization), is a hardware based solution for getting the best tonal range out of your pictures and is the worlds first hardware solution for such (did I mention 899?). The camera's frame is all magnesium giving it a typical DSLR strength and durability, while keeping the camera nice and light. The auto focus system is great, albeit a tad loud and lets just say it, a little out of date when comparred to modern auto focus systems, yet it works very good however.

Those KM fans and users should feel right at home with this camera, but be aware, it's not just a rebadged KM 5D, this camera has a lot more going for it so give it a chance to show you what it can do. With 21 lenses all available by the end of this year, there should be plenty of room to grow within this system offered. Sony fans will appreciate the DSLR convieniences of interchangable lenses and speed... oh and dont forget ... MORE OPTIONS!

Overall I am very impressed with what this camera can do. I'm excited to push it to its limits to see what it is truly capable of. But so far, it's a big "woe, go Sony!!" for me.

On a side note, it's good to see KM's great ideas still alive and it's employees employed. It was a smart decision of both companies to combine, and im sure glad they did, based on thier first offering.

Carl

My images are here: http://gallery.photographyreview.com/showgallery.php?si=&perpage=18&sort=2&cat=500&ppuser=243359&catdrop=527

My email address is: carlgarrard@dslextreme.com

Customer Service

Outstanding.
When Sony sent an email out to all pre ordered customers that they would have to wait another month for thier camera, I phoned Sony and they shipped mine out the very next day, and apologized for the email. My first lens ordered had come 2 weeks prior to my Camera.

Similar Products Used:

Canon Rebel 350xt
Sony R-1