The Sony Alpha-A100 represents Sony's first foray into the world of digital SLR cameras, and it's certainly not a bad one. The camera is a reasonably priced entry-level dSLR with a new 10.2-megapixel CCD image sensor, placing it roughly in the same category as the new Canon Digital Rebel XTi and Nikon D80.

It's no secret that Sony purchased some technical know-how from Konica Minolta in order to develop the Alpha-A100. Even in structure and design, the A100 is very similar to the Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D.

Sony Alpha Structure and Design

The Sony Alpha-A100 has a pleasing overall appearance (thank you Konica Minolta) and a durable build. It feels comfortable in my hand, though perhaps slightly on the light side (which may be a plus for some users). The camera is composed of a mixture of black plastic and metal, with a nice rubber hand grip. Its plastic content is about the same as the Digital Rebel Xti, but noticeably more than found on more expensive cameras, like the Nikon D200.

One major design difference between the A100 and most other digital SLRs is the location of the quick controls for frequently used adjustments, such as white balance, ISO, and metering. Most cameras allow you to make these adjustments using buttons on the back of the camera (and through the camera menu as well). On the A100, however, the frequently used adjustments are located on a dial to the left of the pop-up flash. Those new to digital SLRs probably won't mind the difference, but some veterans may prefer the buttons to the dial.
All of the other buttons and controls on the Alpha-A100 are in their usual place. The dial to the right of the flash lets you choose between manual mode and several preset scene modes: portrait, landscape, sunset, night view/night portrait. Just to the left of the camera's 2.5-inch, 230,000-pixel LCD display, you will find four buttons, including the menu button at the top. To the right of the display are the menu selection buttons and the Super Steady Shot on/off switch.

Sony Alpha Features

The Sony α DSLR-A100's image processor is one of many new features that sets the camera apart. The so-called Bionz Image Processor is not software-based like most other image processors; it uses hardware-based Large Scale Integrated (LSI) circuitry, which typically has a much faster response time. As a result, the camera can respond faster overall, handle dynamic range optimization processing, and sustain a battery charge for a longer period of time.

The one feature of the Alpha A-100 that seems to be drawing the most attention, however, is the Super Steady Shot image stabilization system. Drawing upon Konica Minolta's original CCD shift technology, Sony has gone a step further and produced a true stabilization system. What this means for you is that you can take pictures with a slower shutter speed, such as under low light conditions, and still get a reasonably sharp picture. In our own tests, the system worked just about as well as Sony claims; that is, you can set your shutter speed at 2 - 2.5 stops lower than you would on a camera without the stabilization system and still get an image of the same sharpness and clarity. This is a big selling point, indeed, as many Canon and Nikon cameras require you to buy expensive image-stabilized lenses to get basically the same result.




Sony has also incorporated into the Alpha-A100 an anti-dust system designed to keep dust off of the image sensor and annoying blotches off your photos. The anti-dust system is composed of two parts: a static-free coating on the CCD filter to discourage dust from settling on the sensor, and a vibration mechanism that physically shakes the CCD to dislodge any accumulated dust every time the camera is turned off.

Another useful new feature on the Sony Alpha-A100 is Eye-Start Autofocus System. When you put your eye up to the viewfinder, a sensor located directly below the viewfinder detects the presence of your eye, which triggers the camera's autofocus adjustments. In effect, the camera should already be actively focusing by the time you get the first look at your subject. Almost everyone will find this feature useful at some point, and it may be the critical selling point for those who take a lot of fast action photos.

If by chance you have purchased Konica Minolta Maxxum dSLR lenses in the past, you can actually use them on the Sony Alpha-A100 as well; the Maxxum dSLR camera line and the A100 share the same lens mount. If you don't have any old Maxxum dSLR lenses laying around, don't worry: Sony has provided a wide range of its own lenses to go with the A100.




The Alpha-A100 also has a dynamic range optimizer that improves the detail in extra light and dark areas of your photo by adjusting color and contrast. There is a normal DRO designed to increase the level of detail in darker, shadow areas, and an advanced DRO to fine-tune the DR in each section of the photo for best results.

There are even new features related to the camera's ISO capabilities. In addition to an ISO 100 - 1600 range, the A100 also has a Lo80 option to improve detail in dark areas of the photo, and a Hi200 option to do just the opposite. Unfortunately, in order to improve detail in light areas, detail must be taken away from dark areas, and visa versa. On the down side, it's really too bad the Alpha doesn't have an option to boost the ISO to 3200, which is a fairly common feature on other dSLRs.

The Alpha-A100 is compatible with both CompactFlash Type I/II cards and Memory Stick Duo media - the latter requires an adaptor that comes with the camera.

Sony Alpha Performance

When it comes to speed, the Alpha-A100 is fast, but not really fast. The camera switched on in about 1.2 seconds with the battery fully charged. This may seem fast, but it's significantly slower than some other cameras, such as the Canon Rebel XT, which is ready to go in under .3 seconds. Shutter response time was slightly better at 0.33 seconds with the standard 18-70mm kit lens. The camera took about .14 seconds to focus (pressing the shutter button to the first stop), and shutter lag was recorded at .35 seconds.

The Alpha-A100 did fairly well in continuous-mode as well. The camera shot 8 10-megapixel JPEGs in a row at 2.75 frames/second. The speed is very close when using RAW mode, though it begins to slow down after 2-3 shots. Expect the flash to slow down this speed considerably.

Overall photo quality was very good. Thanks to the new image processor and dynamic range optimizer, color saturation and contrast was generally well balanced. As we had hoped, detail was maintained relatively well, even in photos dominated by shadows. Though it's certainly no substitute for a trusty tripod, the image stabilization system did help keep photos sharper than they would have been otherwise.

ISO performance was fairly average for a dSLR in the sub-$1000 class. Photos were crystal clear through ISO 200, but began to pick up some noise from 400 on up. At ISO 1600, noise level was enough to reduce detail in most photos. However, we were still able to print reasonable quality 8x11 photos at this ISO.

When taking photos indoors, the automatic white balance tended to lean towards red and orange, producing a warmer than authentic image in some cases. Switching over to manual white balance largely took care of this problem. In natural sunlight, the automatic white balance performed quite well.

The Sony Alpha-A100 is one camera everyone one should consider if looking at dSLRs in the sub-$1000 category. It has nearly all the features expected on new dSLRs: 10-megapixel sensor, anti-dust system, image stabilization system, 2.5-inch display, and more. The camera has enough options to satisfy the serious photo enthusiast, while being easy enough to use for a dSLR newbie. With Konica-Minolta design and technology behind it, Sony's first dSLR is serious competition for Nikon, Canon, and the rest.