In summary
High resolution, image stabilisation and dust reduction technology plus excellent handling in a keenly-priced DSLR.Although we posted a ‘first look’ on the Photo Review website shortly after the official launch of Sony’s first interchangeable-lens DSLR early in June, it was late August before we were able to secure a production unit of the DSLR-A100 (Alpha 100) and conduct our standard battery of tests. In the interim, the camera and lenses have been selling well in a highly competitive market that is about to be further stimulated by the release of Nikon’s D80 and Canon’s EOS 400D, both of which offer 10-megapixel resolution. . . [more]
Full review
Although we posted a ‘first look’ on the Photo Review website shortly after the official launch of Sony’s first interchangeable-lens DSLR early in June, it was late August before we were able to secure a production unit of the DSLR-A100 (Alpha 100) and conduct our standard battery of tests. In the interim, the camera and lenses have been selling well in a highly competitive market that is about to be further stimulated by the release of Nikon’s D80 and Canon’s EOS 400D, both of which offer 10-megapixel resolution.
Sony has equipped the A100 with the same APS-C sized 10.2-megapixel CCD image sensor that enjoyed a successful trial run in the Nikon D200 and will be used again by Nikon in the lower-priced D80 model. Sony will also be competing with Canon and Nikon by promising to have 21 lenses (including three special high-performance Carl Zeiss lenses) and plenty of useful accessories for the A100 on sale by the end of this year.
Body and Controls
The A100 and its kit lenses combine the best of Konica Minolta’s technology, which Sony inherited early this year, with Sony’s more attractive styling. The camera’s polycarbonate body is well built and very comfortable to hold and operate with a logical control layout and quick access to all key functions.
The A100 retains its predecessors’ dual mode dial system, with the right hand dial carrying settings for the exposure modes (Auto, P, A, S and M shooting modes; Portrait, Macro, Sports, Landscape, Sunset, Night Portrait, Night scene), while the left accesses the metering, flash, focus, ISO, white balance, D-Range Optimiser and Digital Effect Control (colour /parameter adjustment) settings.
The 2.5-inch Clear Photo LCD Plus monitor on the rear body panel doubles as data display and control panel and provides a wider than average viewing angle and very good colour reproduction. Two levels of detail are given for camera settings, with larger letters and icons in the simpler level. The display rotates automatically when the camera is in portrait orientation and the shuts down when the camera is raised to the eye. The viewfinder display contains the standard metering and AF area marks plus a data display running along the lower edge with a bar graph indicating the extent of the anti-shake compensation the camera is applying.
All the controls a keen photographer could want are provided, including support for raw and JPEG capture (including RAW+JPEG); colour, contrast and saturation adjustments; sRGB and Adobe RGB colour space settings; exposure compensation and sensitivity adjustment. White balance controls include both auto and pre-set modes as well as Kelvin temperature settings and custom measurement. The menu system is similar to Konica Minolta’s, with two pages devoted to the record and play menus, two pages of custom functions (covering 12 settings) and three pages for set-up.
The focusing system is fast and versatile, with nine selectable AF points plus single and continuous AF modes, along with direct manual focusing. An AF assist light is provided for low-light shooting. Eye-start autofocus sensors detect where the photographer is looking and starts focusing before the shutter is pressed. Some photographers really like this feature as it can make focusing faster in many situations. For those who don’t, it can be switched off via the camera’s menu system.
Shutter speed settings range from a top of 1/4000 second to 30 seconds, with flash synch at 1/160 second (or 1/125 sec. with Super SteadyShot on). A remote commander will be available for longer exposures. There’s also a self-timer with a 10-second delay, which defaults to off after each shot. It’s easy enough to re-activate by pressing the Drive button near the shutter release and toggling the arrow pad. Only one memory card slot is provided and it accepts CF cards and Microdrives, although an adaptor is supplied for Memory Stick PRO and Memory Stick PRO Duo media cards.
The built-in flash has a guide number of 12 (metres/ISO 100) and is activated by lifting the flash head. Flash exposure compensation of +/- 2EV in 1/3 EV increments is provided. The A100’s body carries a hot-shoe, allowing users to fit accessory TTL flash units and Sony is offering the HVL-F56AM (GN 56) and HVL-F36AM (GN 36) units for photographers who require more flash power. No X-synch terminal is provided.
Image Stabilisation/Dust Minimisation
Sony’s engineers have done some clever work on Konica Minolta’s CCD-shift anti-shake system, renaming it ‘Super SteadyShot’ to comply with other Sony cameras. The new system claims to provide an exposure advantage of up to 3.5 stops over non-stabilised cameras. The addition of ISO settings up to 1600 further extends the A100’s shooting capabilities in low light. Noise-reduction processing is automatically applied at high ISO settings and for long exposure times.
A second clever adaptation of CCD shift has been used in the A100’s ‘Anti-Dust’ system. As well as vibrating the sensor just before the camera is shut down, Sony has added a special anti-static coating of Indium Tin Oxide to stop dust from being attracted to the surface of the sensor in the first place. In theory, at least, Sony’s system looks like being at least as successful as the Olympus system; in practice it may be even better.
Image Processing
Sony has used its expertise in image data processing to develop a new image processor chip, which it calls ‘Bionz’ (from ‘beyond the image’). It’s designed to process ‘high pixel count images captured in low light to reproduce images with low noise while giving greater details in the photo’ (to quote Sony’s press release). From what we’ve seen so far, the new chip appears to be significantly better than the processors Konica Minolta used.
Part of this capability is due to a new Dynamic Range (D-Range) Optimiser, which selectively adjusts image tones to provide a well balanced appearance. The processing takes place in the chip before JPEG compression and Sony claims it’s the first hardware-based DRO solution fast enough for high-speed shooting.
Two DRO modes are provided: the Standard mode, which measures the brightness of the scene in real time to determine the best overall exposure balance and the Advanced mode, which selectively adjusts different areas in the image. The latter is useful for backlit subjects although, with strong backlighting it can produce a slightly unnatural appearance. No user adjustments are provided in either mode and the system only works with JPEG images.
Playback
The quick review button, located right of the viewfinder, displays the last shot. Pressing it twice calls up an index display. The up key on the four-way controller calls up a histogram for the current image, while the down key controls image rotation toggling between 90, 180 and 270 degree rotation.
One feature inherited from Minolta is the ability to mark a selection of shots you want to delete, instead of deleting just one or all of them. The camera moves very quickly from one shot to the next in playback mode. Basic playback options include slide shows, DPOF print marking, image protection, thumbnail view, and playback zoom (up to 12x magnification).
Battery
Sony’s expertise in battery technology is seen in the new NP-FM55H rechargeable lithium ion Stamina battery pack. This is complemented by in-camera power-saving strategies that result in a claimed capability of recording 750 shots with a single charge. The claim is based on CIPA (Camera & Imaging Products Association) testing where the flash was used for 50% of the shots.
This high battery capacity, combined with the fast response times delivered by the Bionz processor allows the A100 to record bursts of shots at three frames/second. JPEG images can be recorded continuously until the available memory is full, while raw files are limited to six shots/burst and RAW+JPEG to three shots/burst.
On Test
As expected, Imatest showed the A100 to have similar performance to the Nikon D200. However, the D200 showed a slight edge in colour reproduction and the 18-200mm Nikkor lens we used to test it was less susceptible to chromatic aberration than Sony’s kit 18-70mm lens. The Sony lens was sharper towards the centre of its field of view at all focal length settings and imaging performance was best at apertures between f/8 and f/20. (The charts below show the resolution differences between the centre and edge of the lens field of view.)
Imatest showed the A100’s colour saturation to be slightly elevated but some colour shifts were found in the blue band, most of them relatively slight. (See graphs below.) Skin tones were, in the main, accurately rendered.
Lateral chromatic aberration was detected – but at a relatively low level in most test shots.
Both flash and night shots displayed little noise at ISO 100 and ISO 400, but colour noise started to become visible at ISO 800 and by ISO 1600 both colour and pattern noise were visible. The flash had enough power to illuminate an average-sized room at ISO 100 but cycle time was just over a second, which is unexceptional.
Greatly enlarged samples from night test shots, showing the differences between ISO 100 (above) and ISO 1600 (below) sensitivities. The top image shows the test shot at full size. Both shots were taken without noise reduction.
The A100 took just over a second to power up and capture lag averaged 0.3 seconds, reducing to 0.1 second with pre-focusing. (This is not quite as fast as some competing DSLRs but well within the acceptable range.) In burst mode, shots were recorded at 0.4 second intervals when a fast CF card was used. In RAW+JPEG mode the buffer memory only holds three shots; however you can capture up to six raw images per burst or shoot JPEGs until the memory card is full. Transfer of image data to a computer via the supplied USB 2.0 cable was also relatively fast and efficient.
All the in-camera functions met our expectations. The SteadyShot stabilisation system provided approximately two stops of extra shutter speed latitude, while the Dynamic Range Optimiser improved the tonal distribution in most high-contrast and backlit shots. However, whether you use the Standard or Advanced setting depends on the subject itself and some experimentation is required to obtain the best result (the Advanced mode sometimes provides too much correction). In contrast, the High Key H200 provided additional highlight detail in shots with a wider than average dynamic range (e.g. bright sunlight) and is useful for beach shots.
The supplied software was easy to use for raw file conversion and offered an adequate range of adjustments. Raw files can also be opened in the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw, which is a big plus!
As Sony’s first interchangeable-lens DSLR, the Alpha DSLR-A100 has plenty to offer to photo enthusiasts and represented excellent value for money when this review was posted. (Re-assessment may be required when Canon and Nikon announce the selling prices for their new 10-megapixel DSLR kits.) If future offerings are as good as the A100 – and as competitively priced – other DSLR manufacturers will need to look to their laurels.
Margaret Brown attended the June DSLR-A100 launch in Tokyo as a guest of Sony.
Specifications
Image sensor: 23.6 x 15.8 mm Interlace scan CCD with 10.8 million photosites (10.2 megapixels effective)
Lens mount: Sony Alpha mount (equivalent to Minolta A-type bayonet mount)
Lens multiplier factor: 1.5x
Image formats: JPEG, RAW (12-bit ARW format), RAW+JPEG
Shutter speed range: 30-1/4000 second plus bulb; flash synch at 1/125 or 1/160 sec.
ISO range: Auto, ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600.
Focus system/modes: TTL phase-detection AF with selectable Eye Start, single/continuous AF and direct manual focus; 9-area focus point selection, Predictive Focus Control and Focus Lock.
Exposure metering/control: 40-segment honeycomb pattern SPC with TTL multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot metering; Auto, P, A, S and M shooting modes; Portrait, Macro, Sports, Landscape, Sunset, Night Portrait, Night scene modes.
Colour space settings: sRGB, Adobe RGB (without ICC profile)
White balance: Auto, Preset selection (Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash), Custom setting, Kelvin (2500-9900K with 19-step Magenta/Green compensation)
Flash metering/GN (m at ISO 200): ADI/Pre-flash TTL metering; GN12
Sequence shooting: 3 fps for up to six raw frames; three RAW+JPEG frames or unlimited JPEGs.
Storage Media: CompactFlash Type I/II 7 Microdrive plus MS Duo/Pro Duo via adaptor for CF slot).
Viewfinder: Eye-level pentamirror system (95% field of view); diopter adjustment -2.5 to +1.0 m-1.
LCD monitor: 2.5-inch Clear Photo Plus TFT LCD with approx. 230,000 pixels.
PC interface: USB 2.0 Hi-speed (mass storage mode/PTP mode)
Power supply: NP-FM55H rechargeable lithium ion battery (approx. 750 frames/charge)
Dimensions (wxhxd): 133.3 x 94.7 x 71.3 mm (body only)
Weight: 545 grams (body only)
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Rating
RRP: $1749
Rating (out of 10):
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- Ease of use: 8.5
- Image quality: 8
- OVERALL: 9
