Minolta in Sony Clothes
I'm sooo happy I managed to get one of these before Sony made all their changes. It acts just like my Minolta Film cameras, the venerable 9000 and the newer 5 Film - easy to use menus, controls where I want them and that wonderful lighting fast autofocus. I'm not a fan of anything Sony proprietary (like the battery) but so far it's been good to me. I bought this to take pictures of my newborn son - cause face it, no P&S will ever react fast enough to catch the boy with his eyes scrunched up and tongue hanging out.

One serious con is the sheer bulk of the thing. My wife LOVED the Maxxum 5 Film, lightweight and thin for her little hands. She needs to use two hands almost exclusively for this beast. It's not a weight issue either, it's the shape of the grip. I find my fingernails grinding into the body from the way I hold the camera one handed. Better grips could be had.

There are certainly fuller featured models out there, even in this manufacturer, but really, how often do you use all those features? I know what I'm doing, I'm a photographer from way back with a Pentax K1000 knock off from Cosina, but about all I ever do is change the flash or exposure compensation settings, and usually I get better results if I use the pre-programmed modes anyway.

Takes a darn pretty picture in plain old automatic, too. Just like the Maxxum 5, if you can teach a 5 year old to frame and compose, the camera will do the rest.

Of course there's the compatibility issue with all my old Minolta glass... eh... some of it plays nice, and some of (and particularly my portrait lens) will not work in anything other than full manual. Which is okay really, better than purchasing an entire new library of Nikkor lenses.

Oh, the image stabilization program in the body? Works like a charm.

Good camera. Evil customs charges
Excellent camera and lens. Terrific value and good service from supplier. Disappointed that there was an additional customs bill of £71! Could you warn customers of this charge, in future.

Despite this, at a total cost of £330, it was still a real bargain

Great Camera
This was my first introduction to DSLR - but not my first experience with an SLR - i had shared a Minolta Maxxum 3000 with my brother (that was the model # as i recall) but never really bothered to learn its functions and because it was a film camera quite an expensive hobby - with film and development. So essentially the Sony Alpha was my first real experience with SLRs (Single Lens Reflex). Digital photography has given me and a whole bunch of people a hobby that is very affordable after the first initial investment - but i digress...

This was not my first digital camera. My first digital camera was another Sony - the DSC-V1 (i have written a review here at epinions about that as well) - that little camera had an excellent clear Carl Zeiss lens and great color along with functions of a SLR - you can fiddle with aperture and shutter speed - but with it's small fixed lens you'll always that great depth of field unless it is ultra close.

I wanted to "graduate" from these so-called point and shoot cameras - although i know a bit more about photography from reading books since getting the Alpah but i would not call myself an expert. So really this review is from a novice's standpoint even after owning this for about 2.5 - 3 years. I'm more about composition and letting the camera take over the technical aspects - however i have played with aperture settings, shutter speeds, and exposure settings.

There are so many options in DSLR these days - the iconic NIKON followed by ubiquitous Canon (my brother owns the XTi), Fuji, Pentax, Olympus -- then (at the time) there's the new Sony entry into the DSLR market - the Alpha 100 - there are now different models of the Alpha 200, 300, 350, and the top of the line 700 which boasts a live lcd preview.

Just a bit of history about Sony entry into the DSLR market - they had a partnership with Konica-Minolta (KM would use Sony's expertise in digital electronics) and Konica-Minolta decided to tuck tail and leave the DSLR market sold their existing technologies to Sony so Sony using KM's foundation re-engineered the KM DSLR into their own and entered the market with the A100.

The Sony A100 DSLR major features/benefits include (IMHO):

*The Sony BIONZ engine - the brains behind the camera (like the DIGIC II for the Canon) -

*10.2 megapixels

*Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization - built right into the camera - some have it built into the lens - so every lens you use will have this super steady shot - but nothing beats a steady hand or a great tripod! I think this was a hold over from the K/M days.

*Anti-Dust Technology - dust repellent coating and an active shake of the CCD for those stubbornest of specs. This works OK - i can see specs of dust - i haven't used the "shake" - although it gives a little nudge when you turn it on.

*fairly large 2.5 color lcd screen - great color and clarity on the LCD screen

*Eye-start autofocus system - if you turn this feature on - as soon as you put it close to your eye it starts trying to focus - i found this feature to be useless - it is light sensitive so if you put this close to your body it will start focusing - i turned off this feature - this was another holdover technology from K/M.

*With the Alpha Mount you can use "old" lenses from K/M with the Sony A100 so if you had a K/M DSLR and multiples lenses you can also use it with the Sony Alpha. You are able to use the myriad of K/M alpha mount lenses but not all of the accessories - Sony changed the hot shoe for the flash so that won't work and you need to buy a new flash - BUT i had an old wired remote from my first original Minolta Maxxum and that worked.

*New Carl Zeiss lens - exciting but it would probably cost more than the camera itself.

ACTUAL USE / FEEL of the camera (from a novice standpoint):

with anything new you'd have a learning curve but this camera is pretty intuitive however i would suggest reading the manual once over. Once you start using it and learning the control it will be like second nature.

The feel of it is somewhat heavy - it is certainly a bit heavier than the Canon xTi but it has a very comfortable grip.

The autofocus is a bit loud with the whirring of the motor - the mirror is louder than most- i would not take pictures clandestinely because you just can't it will give you away every time.

I am currently using the 18mm - 200mm max aperature (open) is f3.5 - f6.3 - not quite quick to focus in low light situations, but the lens is so versatile with the wide 18mm and the nice zoom of 200mm it's hard not to like this lens. Please keep in mind that the DSLR mirror is larger than a regular film SLR so you have to multiply the "mm" by 1.5 to get the true "mm" size. At 18mm with the DSLR it is really 27mm and the 200mm is really 300mm.

I find this camera to be very comfortable and fun to use. The strap that came with it is not length adjustable however and i like to strap the camera across my body - i have a small frame - people with a larger body should get an adjustable strap.

PICTURES:

a picture speaks a thousand words - here's is a link just some of my photos from flickr.com i've taken over the years with my Sony Alpha 100:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/62904109@N00/sets/72157594360924382/

only a very few of the pictures had post process done - some where cropped - mostly it is as is.

one note - i have adjusted the camera to hard sharpness and high saturation - i love color and i thought the images from the sony was just slightly soft so i shifted it to hard sharpness on the camera itself.

Also keep in mind the pics also depend on how your computer monitor is calibrated but it is a good presentation of what the Sony A100 can do.

I find the pictures to reproduce excellent colors and the lens are quite clear.

all were taken with the 18mm - 200mm Sony Lens.

I bought this camera when it first came out and the kit was about 00 dollars AND the 18mm - 200mm lens (as i recall) was 0 dollars. This camera could be had BRAND NEW for under 0 with this lens! What a great deal for a under-rated and all around Great Camera!

Pros love their Nikon or perhaps their Canon - but I thought the Sony was a great camera and currently at a great price!

Unbelievable Long Battery Life
I bought the camera in Feb. and just charged twice since then. I charged the battery before my 10 days vacation in Europe, and took over 1,000 pictures (very beautiful) and the battery now is still 3/4 full!
Another advantage of this camera is the anti-shake function. I could take pictures with very low shutter speed (1-2 seconds) and the pictures are still sharp.

DUST IS MY ONLY PROBLEM
1. I purchased this camera (Sony a100) about a year and a half ago and it's lived up to my expectations. Photos are crisp and clear, controls are conviently located and the large LCD is handy although I wish it was the swivel type, battery life is good. I have three, one Sony and two much cheaper non-Sony. I wish the lens selection was a little better but this is just a hobby for me and SIGMA lenses are just as good and cheaper. There is some noise at low light levels but that's not a problem for me. My problem is dust bunnies inherent in all digital slrs in this class. But I have solve that too with a small bottle of ECLIPSE 2 and a few SENSOR PADS that fit the low pass filter to be cleaned. Sometimes it only takes a good whiff of dry air with the camera turned upside down. But sending it back to them until the warranty runs out consumes too much time and they don't do a very good job. My job was better. Last of all Sony has the gall to sell the A.C. adapter at well over 5.00 and then recommends that any type of cleaning (dust blower only) not be done without the A.C. adapter. This is of course so the mirror stays up while blowing off the dust. My advice is use a freshly charged battery; it only takes a few minutes to do a good cleaning with the blower or the more adventurous low pass filter. Be advised Sony will void the warranty if you screw up the CCD aka low pass filter while using the SENSOR PADS. But trust me, it's very easy to clean and the low pass filter is tougher than one suspects. Still, extreme caution and patience is needed with a light but firm stroke. By the way, the A.C. adapter can charge two batteries at once but still not worth the price and there are no substitutes because of the proprietary connection on the camera body, again Sony Only! Oh, there is also inaccessible dust inside the viewfinder, again inherent in all slrs in this class. My camera goes almost everywhere I go so there will be dust.

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