Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 (with 18-55mm lens)

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Sony Alpha DSLR-A230

A modest update over its predecessor, the Sony Alpha DSLR-A200, the Alpha DSLR-A230 offers the same essential feature set in a redesigned body with sufficient quality and performance-enhancing firmware tweaks to merit the term "upgrade." And like its predecessor, the result is a generally solid, if not stellar, entry-level dSLR option.

The A230 is nearly identical to its more expensive sibling, the A330. The only differences are in the viewfinder--the A230's has a much higher magnification, making it more comfortable to use--and in their LCDs. The LCDs are the same 2.7-inch model, but the A330's can be tilted up perpendicular to the body or down at a 55 degree angle. The A330 also offers Live View shooting, while the A230 doesn't. As they're essentially the same camera, they should deliver the same image quality and performance. This review is based on an evaluation of the A330.

You can get the A230 in one of two kits, a version with the 18-55mm lens or a dual-lens kit that adds the 55-200mm lens. At the moment, there's no body-only version of the A230, but one could possibly surface later in its life cycle. As with all Sony dSLRs, you should be able to use any Minolta A mount lens with the camera.

Most of the redesign works for the better, though I do have a couple of quibbles. It's lighter, though it still seems to fall in the middle of the sub-$1,000 dSLR herd for size and weight. The new grip design doesn't work for me, however. It's only 3/4 the height of the body and doesn't feel nearly as secure as full-height grips. I do like the rubberized texture that covers it and the left side of the body, though.

The mode dial, which provides the usual access to a handful of scene program modes and the typical manual-, semi-manual, and full-automatic exposure modes, sits to the left of the viewfinder. On a ledge behind the shutter is the exposure compensation button; I don't particularly like its position or feel, though. It's hard to feel and you have to move your whole hand to reach it with your thumb, and I think that will discourage people from using it.

Sony provides both an SD and Memory Stick Pro Duo slot in all its entry-level models, with a manual switch to choose between them, so you don't have to commit to the less-popular proprietary format. In an unusual design, the slots and the USB and miniHDMI connectors sit under a sliding door on the left side of the camera instead of the more common right side. (The half-height grip probably necessitated this.) It doesn't seem to affect usability, however.

The back controls are pretty typical for a modern dSLR and will be instantly recognizable to advanced point-and-shoot users. A four-way navigation switch with a center AF button is just below the indented thumb rest. With it, you pull up flash options (including a no-brainer wireless on/off), ISO sensitivity settings, display choices, and drive mode options. The latter includes an interesting three- or five-shots-in-10-seconds self-timer mode and rather limited bracketing: just exposure, for three shots in 1/3 or 2/3 stop increments. Above the navigation switch is the Fn button, with which you access all your frequently needed shooting settings plus some others: autofocus mode, AF area, metering mode, D-Range Optimizer, white balance, and Creative Style. There are no novel options here, but in a nice interface touch, some text pops up to clarify the purpose of a setting if you pause for too long without making a selection. You have to go into the menu system to set flash compensation, image quality, and toggle the image stabilization, but there's nothing truly buried or misplaced in the user interface. Of course, with the relatively basic feature set, there's not a lot to hide. (For a complete list of features and guide to the camera's parts, you can download the PDF manual.)

Like many budget dSLRs, the viewfinder isn't great--it's small and it's hard to see the focus dots blink red, especially against dark objects--but it's better than the A330's and many other competitors, with a larger, effective magnification and the focus lock indicator close to the middle of the bottom readout. There's also a SteadyShot scale, which helpfully tells you when you're at your least shakiest; a digital level, which other manufacturers have begun providing, would be a nice complement for that.

Sony's newbie-friendly information display attempts a graphical representation of where your settings fall on the possible continuum and the affect they'll have on the photo. The display isn't interactive, however, as it is with slightly higher-end models.

Overall, the A230 is reasonably fast, with a surprisingly zippy autofocus. It powers on and shoots in just 0.4 second, and can focus and shoot in a mere 0.3 second in good light and 0.6 second in dim. The latter is a big improvement over its predecessor. Usually raw shot-to-shot time is virtually the same as for JPEG, but the A230's 0.7 second for raw is slower than its 0.5 second for JPEG. Flash recycle time is pretty slow for its class, pushing flash shot-to-shot time to 1.5 seconds--that's almost twice that of the D60 and Rebel XS, and just a bit slower than the K2000. And while its continuous-shooting speed of 2.4fps is only fractionally slower than the Nikon and Canon--and oddly slower than the earlier model--in practice it still feels too slow to keep up with kids and pets. The LCD also seems to be the same one as on the previous generation of cameras, because I had the same difficulty viewing it in direct sunlight. The image stabilization works OK, testing out to a savings of about 2 1/3 stops when zoomed out to 200mm.

I'm on the fence vis-a-vis the photo quality (click through for photo samples from the A330). Part of the problem is Sony's choice of default values, especially in its Creative Styles. As Pentax does with its K2000, Sony's attempt to provide more "consumer friendly" images with its default Creative Style settings results instead in poor color rendering--too cool outdoors and too warm indoors--which makes you think the white balance is off. Unfortunately, you can't tell that's what's happening because there's no "natural" or its equivalent, and Sony doesn't tell you what the contrast, saturation, or sharpness settings are for each style; they're all listed as 0, from which you increase or decrease. So if you know enough to change the settings, or shoot only raw, you can get some very nice photos out of the camera. But someone with that knowledge is not the likely buyer for this model. However, it's also probably fixable via a firmware update if Sony chooses.

By the rest of the image-quality metrics--noise, exposure, and sharpness--the A230 renders decent photos for its class. The Dynamic Range Optimizer brings out a bit more detail in shadows and midtones and brings back some clipped shadows and highlights; in general, you shouldn't regret leaving it enabled. I'm a bit disappointed by the kit lenses, which don't match the sharpness of similar models from Canon and Nikon. The A230 delivers a fairly average noise-suppression profile for its class. Sharpness starts to degrade at about ISO 400 and color noise begins to seep in at ISO 800; you really don't want to use ISO 1600 and ISO 3200, where images are both soft and noisy.

Given that the Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 has a better viewfinder, unless you really want the Live View shooting it's a better deal than the A330. But if you're looking for the cheapest decent dSLR available--albeit one with similarly bad defaults--then you should consider the Pentax K2000.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot

Raw shot-to-shot time

Shutter lag (dim light)

Shutter lag (typical)

Pentax K2000

0.7 

0.5 

0.5 

0.2 

Sony Alpha DSLR-A230

0.4 

0.7 

0.6 

0.3 

Sony Alpha DSLR-A200

0.5 

0.6 

1.2 

0.3 

Nikon D60

0.4 

0.5 

0.7 

0.4 

Canon EOS Rebel XS

0.2 

0.7 

0.8 

0.4 

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