Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 Easy Digital Camera Review

When Sony announced its intentions to throw its brand-weight into the already competitive DSLR market, professional shooters and general consumers alike were curious how the electronics giant would fare. In summer 2006, Sony revealed its first DSLR: a 10.2-megapixel model with built-in Super SteadyShot image stabilization, a dust reduction system, and a distinctive feature set that includes a unique dynamic range optimizer. The Sony α (alpha) DSLR-A100 is well-built, distinct, and competitively priced at $850 with an 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Sony-branded kit lens.

We compared the A100 to Canon’s Digital Rebel XTi and Nikon’s D80 – two formidable alternatives within the $800-$1,100 DSLR bracket – and Sony’s alpha A100 held its own. While the A100 lacked the color accuracy of the Canon XTi, its slightly oversaturated palette yielded a punchier look. The A100’s prints were every bit as sharp and detailed as Nikon and Canon’s alternatives, although the Sony imposes an in-camera sharpening algorithm that makes images more difficult to edit in software.

In terms of noise and dynamic range, the Sony A100 seemed to be as good as the competition at its lowest ISOs, but fell off as the sensitivity was pushed. The DSLR didn’t perform as quickly though. It took more than a second to start up and snap the first picture, its burst mode hung around 2.5 frames per second, and there was about a quarter-second shutter lag – all much slower than most DSLRs.

The Sony α A100 is durable and robust for a sub-$1000 DSLR. It fits between Canon’s Rebel XTi and Nikon’s D80 in terms of size, but it is substantially larger than any Cyber-shot digital camera on the market.

The A100 packs an in-camera Super SteadyShot image stabilization system and an infrared sensor just below the optical viewfinder that detects when you’re using the viewfinder and shuts down the 2.5-inch, 230k LCD screen to preserve battery life. There is also a dust reduction system that shakes the image sensor to keep dust from settling on it and appearing in pictures.

Flash exposures taken with the A100 were evenly lit and offered a competitive illumination range, although the A100 does not offer the commander flash mode found on Nikon’s D80 (and D200) for triggering multistrobe setups with its in-camera unit.

Sony’s new alpha line accepts Konica Minolta, Sony, and Carl Zeiss-branded lenses. Even though the A100 has built-in stabilization, consumers should be prepared to pay a premium for top glass. The kit lens offers a slightly more useable 18-70mm focal range than most manufacturers’ 18-55mm kit lenses, but mechanically, it remains on par with other inexpensive kit designs.

There are a few design idiosyncrasies on the alpha DSLR-A100 that affect operation such as the single jog dial for adjusting exposure settings. In full manual mode, users will have to hold down the exposure compensation control and simultaneously rotate the jog dial to switch its control from shutter speed to aperture. This is cumbersome and adds time to adjustments.

The A100 offers well-organized menus that are easy to navigate with the multi-controller, which on the A100 offers eight directions, rather than the typical four. Sony also added a large function dial to the top of the camera for critical settings. There is a button in the center of the dial that needs to be pressed while the dial is rotated. While this is clearly a security measure, it makes operation clumsy and inconvenient.

The Sony α A100 offers a range of shooting modes from pure automatic to full manual. There are seven preset modes - Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports, Sunset, Night Scene, and Night Portrait – that should help transition point-and-shooters to a DSLR. The camera accepts CompactFlash cards as well as Sony's Memory Stick Duo with an adaptor.

Sony’s α (alpha) DSLR-A100 has a unique feature set that includes in-camera stabilization and dust reduction technology, and it gives entry-level DSLR users a lot for the price. At $850 with a kit lens, the A100 is a respectable entry into the DSLR space.

Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 - THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating: 568.91

Likes

- Built-in Super SteadyShot stabilization system - Effective dust control - Aggressive pricing - Convenient dynamic range system - Good control display and menu organization

Dislikes

- Parameters dial is slow and clunky - Plastic construction - Video port is inside media compartment - Quarter-second shutter lag - Inconvenient manual controls

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi Rating: 601.75	Nikon D80 Rating: N/A	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 Rating: 350.97	Pentax K10D Rating: N/A	Olympus EVOLT E-500 Rating: N/A
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
- More accurate colors - Less noise in pictures - Neater control layout - More Canon lenses and cameras available - 2.7 fps burst mode - Not as much shutter lag - Brighter optical viewfinder - Supports multiple flash units	- Sturdier body - More ergonomic controls - Better image quality - In-camera editing - More lenses and cameras available - More effective 11-pt auto focus system - Faster startup - 2.8 fps burst - Not as much shutter lag - Supports multiple flash units	- Longer 24-120mm Carl Zeiss lens - Live preview LCD that rotates	- 11-pt auto focus system - Good control layout - 3 fps burst mode - In-camera editing	- 15 scene modes - Five metering modes - Cheaper: $799 with 14-45mm kit lens
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
- 10 megapixels  - Similar weight - Dust removal system - 2.5-inch LCD with 230k pixels - Sensors to detect when cameras are held at eye-level - Shoots RAW files	- 10 megapixels - Shoots RAW files - 2.5-inch LCD with 230k pixels	- Similar price - 10 megapixels - Shoots RAW files - Accepts both Memory Stick Duo and CompactFlash media - Plastic construction	-10 megapixels - Dust control - Similar shake reduction system  - 2.5-inch LCD - Shoots RAW files	- 2.5-inch LCD - Dust reduction system - Lightweight body - Shoots RAW files -2.5 fps burst mode
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
- More expensive - No built-in image stabilization - Short kit lens - Metering system isn't as effective - Battery doesn't last as long	- No image stabilization - No dust removal system - More expensive - Metering system isn't as effective	- Can't change lenses - 2-inch LCD screen with 134k pixels - 3-shot burst mode - Slower 2.1-second startup - Electronic viewfinder - Heftier - No image stabilization	- More expensive - Shorter kit lens - Less resolution on LCD at 210k - 16-segment metering system - SD card only; no CompactFlash	- 8 megapixels - 215k resolution on LCD screen - 3 focus points