with battery grip the camera's almost like professional equipment, image by Iñigo Ochoa Gómez |
A top model of Sony's α DSLR line, the DSLR A350 is an innovative camera, with many a feature which is sure to be emulated by rivals in the future.
It hosts a 14.2 megapixel CCD sensor, which, for the uninformed, is a mighty high spec. It even outguns the biggest offering from Nikon. However, digital cameras have evolved to a point where one should look beyond the size of the sensor to judge its worth.
The focusing system on the camera works quite well. It performs reasonably in low light situations and the improved means quicker lock-on in any situations. The camera features a nine-point adjustable focusing, with a feature called Eyestart. What this means is that the camera stars to focus when you hold it up to your eye, unlike with other cameras where you would have to depress the shutter release button to get the camera to focus.By far our favorite feature is the 2.7 inch LCD review screen. Like many of its more expensive rivals, it features Live View, which means that you can use the screen as a viewfinder, and thereby composing the picture without holding the camera to your eye. While this feature is fairly common, the Sony is has the advantage that the LCD can be tilted away from the camera, making low and high vantage point photography a breeze. The LCD tilts both upwards and downwards, and will open up a world of vantage points had previously been closed to the photographer who likes to consider his composition before taking the shot. Gone are the days of the ‘Hail Mary’ shot, where you hold the camera high above your head and pray that it’s pointing in the right direction
Continuous shooting is a bit of a problem, with the maximum frame rate at only 2.5 frames per second, but this should not be an issue unless you want to work with fast moving subjects, such as at a sports event or wildlife.