Sony Alpha DSLR Guide

Buying Guides Camera Reviews Featured Sony

 
Sony was a latecomer to digital SLRs. But don’t let that fool you into thinking they don’t have game. About six years ago they bought all of Konica-Minolta’s digital SLR patents and a few months later they released their digital SLR, the Sony Alpha A100. There was a lot of skepticism about Sony’s ability to make a competitive digital SLR. But the A100 showed the doubters that Sony was serious and capable. Sony has since proved their commitment to the digital SLR market after their last round of announcements (August 2011) they’ve arguably become the most innovative DSLR manufacturer. They’re the only camera maker to compete with Canon and Nikon in the full-frame, pro digital SLR space and in the past two years they introduced the award-winning transparent mirror Alpha SLT line and the Alpha NEX mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. There’s no doubt Nikon and Canon are watching their rearview mirrors closely because Sony is coming up fast and looking to make that pass. As far as technology goes, some might say they’ve already made the pass.

Sony Alpha DSLR Guide

Take Me Straight To The Cameras >>

One of the main benefits of choosing Sony over Nikon or Canon is all their digital SLRs include Sony’s excellent SteadyShot built-in image stabilization. So no matter what lens you use on a Sony digital SLR, you’ll get sharper photos in low light and with longer lenses. Nikon and Canon users need to buy special “VR” and “IS” lenses to get the same benefits. Sony is also the only camera maker that offers the same auto focus performance regardless of whether you’re shooting stills or movies. And for regular folks who want digital SLR performance, Sony’s mass-market experience means the Sony Alpha cameras are intuitive and easy to use.

With the exception of the full-frame 24.6-megapixel Alpha A900, all of Sony’s digital SLRs APS-C sensor (smaller sensor) cameras with a 1.5x crop factor. Sony’s new Alpha SLT cameras (Single Lens Translucent) have an electronic viewfinder (EVF) and a fixed, transparent mirror instead of a hinged mirror like most SLR cameras. The transparent mirror allows the camera to use faster, more accurate phase detect auto focus in live view and movie mode as well as for still photos. That gives the Sony SLT cameras the most effective movie mode auto focus of any currently available camera as well as allowing faster burst speeds than comparably priced competitor cameras.

Sony's Latest & Greatest Cameras - The SLT-A77 (left) And The NEX-7 (right)
Sony’s Latest & Greatest – The Sony Alpha SLT-A77 And The Sony Alpha NEX-7

The Sony Alpha NEX compact mirrorless camera line also deserves mention. With the exception of the very special NEX-7, the NEX cameras aren’t individually detailed in this guide because, technically, they actually aren’t digital SLRs. But they use the same sensors as Sony DSLRs and can use Sony Alpha lenses with an adapter. In fact, Sony just introduced a new lens converter, the LA-EA2 Mount Adaptor which adds a mirror and phase detect auto focus to the NEX cameras, effectively converting them into digital SLRs.

You can’t discuss digital SLRs without also talking about lenses. Sony doesn’t have as many SLR lenses as Nikon and Canon but they’ve done a great job of building up the lens selection and making sure there are lenses to meet everyone’s needs. There are almost 30 Sony lenses now, including five premium Carl Zeiss lenses, three macro primes, and Sony’s fast aperture G-Series pro lens line. And since Sony bought the Maxxum lens mount patent from Konica Minolta, there’s also a whole world of used Konica Minolta glass to be had on Craig’s List and eBay.

Below, you’ll find descriptions of all the current Sony Alpha digital SLRs, including basic features and specs as well as links to reviews, shopping and any other related articles we might have. If you have any questions, you can post them either on the Sony Camera Forum or in the comments section at the bottom of each page in this guide. And if you’re a Sony Alpha digital SLR owner, please take a few minutes to write a review in our user reviews.

Sony DSLR Guide Directory
Sony Alpha A390
Sony
Alpha A390

$499
Sony Alpha SLT-A33
Sony
Alpha SLT-A33

$650
Sony Alpha SLT-A35
Sony
Alpha SLT-A35

$700
Sony Alpha A580
Sony
Alpha A580

$899
Sony Alpha SLT-A55
Sony
Alpha SLT-A55

$799
Sony Alpha SLT-A65
Sony
Alpha SLT-A65

$999
Sony Alpha NEX-7
Sony
Alpha NEX-7

$1349
Sony Alpha A900
Sony
Alpha A900

$2699 (body only)
Sony Alpha SLT-A77
Sony
Alpha SLT-A77

$1999

 

Sony Alpha A390

Sony Alpha A390 Digital SLR

Selling for under $500 with a lens, the 14-megapixel Sony Alpha A390 is a great entry-level digital SLR buy. The A390 has built-in SteadyShot image stabilization, a 2.7-inch tilting LCD display and Sony’s proprietary Live View Quick Focus, which focuses just as well in Live View as when you’re shooting stills. It’s small and compact with a pop-up flash and a Graphic Display of shutter speed and aperture as well as an on-screen Help Guide, making it a great choice for beginning photographers, first-time DSLR owners or families who want a camera they can share for all kinds of events and subjects. It also has HDMI and Sony BRAVIA Sync, which lets you control the camera with the Sony BRAVIA TV remote.

  • Price: $499 with lens
  • 14.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
  • ISO 100 – 3200
  • Tilting 2.7-inch LCD
  • 2.5 FPS burst
  • Built-in pop-up flash
  • On-screen Help Guide
 
next cameraSony Alpha SLT-A33 >>
 



 

Sony Alpha A390
Sony
Alpha A390

$499
Sony Alpha SLT-A33
Sony
Alpha SLT-A33

$650
Sony Alpha SLT-A35
Sony
Alpha SLT-A35

$700
Sony Alpha A580
Sony
Alpha A580

$899
Sony Alpha SLT-A55
Sony
Alpha SLT-A55

$799
Sony Alpha SLT-A65
Sony
Alpha SLT-A65

$999
Sony Alpha NEX-7
Sony
Alpha NEX-7

$1349
Sony Alpha A900
Sony
Alpha A900

$2699 (body only)
Sony Alpha SLT-A77
Sony
Alpha SLT-A77

$1999

 

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About the author: Photo-John

Photo-John, a.k.a. John Shafer, is the managing editor of PhotographyREVIEW.com and has been since the site launched back in 1999. He's an avid outdoor enthusiast and spends as much time as possible on his mountain bike, hiking or skiing in the mountains. He's been taking pictures for ever and ever, and never goes anywhere without a camera.


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  • Greg McCary says:

    Nice guide John

  • Photo-John says:

    Thanks, Greg. It got kind of out of hand. I didn’t intend the inro to be so long but I thought the Sony system needed more introduction than Nikon and Canon, since Sony is a relative newcomer to the camera business and some of their technology is probably mysterious to the average camera shopper.

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