The Alpha 350 for 800 euros is a further development of the Alpha 200 with 10-million-pixel sensor. With both cameras, the housing can not completely satisfy, because it does not give a particularly pleasant feel away from the rubber coating at the front of the handle. The integrated flash does not project too far over the housing, so that red eyes are pre-programmed for portraits and shadows with strong wide-angle lenses. In terms of camera technology and equipment, Alpha 200 and 350 are comparable. This includes the built-in image stabilizer (Super Steady Shot), which according to the manufacturer should allow the expansion of the freehand limit by 2.5 to 3.5 EV steps, but also the AF system with 9 sensors, the middle one cross sensor. The tripping delay including AF time is 0.28 s longer than the Alpha 200 (0.24 s), the ON delay of 0.5 s is a bit shorter (0.6 s). However, there are also significant differences. In the standard image mode, the cameras create 2.5 or 2.6 B / s.
Compared to the Alpha 200, the new slew monitor of the Alpha 350 is immediately visible. With 2.7 inches and 76_700 RGB pixels, it has the same format as the competitors of Pentax and Samsung, but its resolution is lower. On the other hand, the sister model Alpha 700 offers a 3-inch monitor with a very high resolution of 30_7_000 pixels (comparable to the Nikon D300).
However, the monitor can be swiveled out of the case with the Alpha 350. There are two hinges in play: one allows tilting downwards by about 30 degrees, while the second hinge allows a swivel into the horizontal. You then look like a light shovel from above on the monitor. Sideways, however, such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 or Olympus E-3, the monitor can not. Tip: For snapshots around the corner, pan the monitor horizontally and rotate the camera in the portrait position.
In the Live View function, the Sony Alpha 350 is ahead of most competitors. Instead of using the main sensor for the live view, Sony uses a second sensor in the viewfinder system for the live view image. A moving mirror as part of the pent mirror design directs the image to the second sensor (similar to the Olympus E330), so it is displayed on the monitor. The crucial advantage of this is that the phase detection AF is still active, since the back-oscillation mirror remains in the initial position. Thanks to the second sensor, the Alpha 350 focussed in live view mode faster than other cameras with live view, and even the serial image mode remains possible with a somewhat reduced image frequency. Exposure corrections and the effects of different white balance modes are directly visible. However, live view preview and the later image do not match color exactly.
In combination with Live View, the camera offers a digital zoom, the "Smart Teleconverter". In this case, the magnification factors 1.4 or 2.0 are zoomed into the image, which anticipates an image-reducing portion. The function proves itself if one would like to have a magnified image for manual focusing - do not forget to switch back to the frame before triggering. Another downside to the live-view comfort of the Alpha 350 is the low effective magnification of the optical viewfinder: a factor of 0.47 represents a fairly small viewfinder image that makes the SLR feel very limited. Most cameras offer more at this point, only the Panasonic DMC-L10 with 0.44 still a little less.
When the Live View is activated, a black shutter in the viewfinder prevents light from interfering with the exposure metering. To switch between the optical viewfinder and the live view, there is a small sliding switch to the right of the viewfinder prism. This is a practical solution, because you do not have to look for it long. In the shooting mode, the TFT monitor shows all necessary data. Pressing the display key activates a display with particularly large letters, while the second press calls a display with smaller but still legible fonts and higher information density. In the first case, exposure corrections are indicated numerically with a comma point (eg -0.7), in the second case a bar scale. In the display window itself you can not correct corrective, as one knows about the Olympus or Panasonic.
The Fn button can also be used to adjust the exposure levels: flash mode (including long-time sync), exposure metering method, AF mode, AF field configuration, white balance, and Dynamic Range (D-R) optimization. It can be set to "Standard" and "Advanced", but can also be switched off. There is no need for different settings like Alpha 700.
If you change the camera mode from portrait to portrait (or vice versa), the display is adjusted accordingly. When the camera is set to the eye, the display on the monitor goes off automatically, and the autofocus is activated even before you press the shutter button. This function (Eye-Start-AF) can also be disabled.
The operating mode dial on the upper left of the housing has 12 detent positions for standard and motif programs; on the right side of the housing there are only two buttons for the ISO setting and image sequence mode (single and series, self-timer, exposure series) .
The menus of the Alpha 350 are structured as in the case of the model 200 in the form of four tabs with a total of 8 submenus. The entries of each submenu can be viewed on one page so that you do not have to scroll. Quite unpractical: When the menu is switched on, the first entry in the recording menu is always selected and you can never continue at the point where you just stopped before. Particularly annoying with the flash-light correction, for which there is no own button.
In the so-called creative mode (shooting menu), the camera allows various presets for color and contrast adjustment. In addition to a black-and-white and AdobeRGB mode, there are six sRGB-based presets (Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Night, and Sunset). All RGB presets can be adjusted in the parameters Contrast, Color and Sharpness. Sony has dispensed with the Alpha 350 for functions for the subsequent processing of images, as competition models increasingly offer.
With its 14-megapixel sensor, the Alpha 350 generates approximately 40 MB of image files, if these are stored later uncompressed as TIFF. In Photoshop, an image of 25.87 x 38.88 cm at 300 dpi opens. The camera itself stores images as RAW, RAW + JPEG or as JPEG in two quality levels. The measured resolution is 1476/1427 LP / BH at ISO 100/400 the highest measured so far below the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III (21 Megapixels, 1752/1753 LP / BH at ISO 100/400). There is less enthusiasm when looking at noise and object contrast: VN 1.1 / 1.7 at ISO 100/400 and VN 3.1 / 5.5 at ISO 800/1600 are values which can even be obtained from Four-Thirds- Cameras better known. The image quality can also not really be satisfied: from 8.5 to 8.0 screens at ISO 100/400 and 7.0 and 6.0 screens at ISO 800 / 1600. In the overall image quality rating (64.5 / 60 Points on ISO 100/400), the camera benefits on the one hand from its high resolution, on the other hand from the fact that measured values above ISO 400 are not currently included in the evaluation.
$ Break $
$ Break $ assessment according to new test criteria
Sony Alpha 350
With 14 megapixels the Sony camera is the most high-resolution model of its category between 500 and 1000 euros. The image quality at ISO 100 is good and is in its category in the midfield. But in the case of high sensitivity ranges, the picture noise is then somewhat strong. Also the kurtosis values (texture loss) are anything but optimal. While ISO 400 could still be blinded, the values at ISO 800 are weak and fall to "bad" at ISO 1600 due to excessive picture noise.
Sony Alpha 350
No comments:
Post a Comment