Sony Alpha DSLR-A350 (with 18-70mm lens)

Photo samples:
Sony Alpha DSLR-A350

With its 14-megapixel CCD, flip-up LCD, sensor-shift image stabilizer, and built-in wireless flash controller, the feature-packed Sony Alpha DSLR-A350 seems like a cornucopia of photographic goodness for the budget shopper. And you wouldn't be far off the mark: there's a lot to like in the A350, and I suspect it will garner its share of fans. Unsurprisingly, however, Sony made some compromises so that the A350 could lay claim to the title of highest-resolution budget dSLR. Sony does offer an almost identical 10-megapixel model, the Alpha DSLR-A300, which lists for about $200 less.

Sony offers the A350 in three packages: body only, a kit with the SAL-1870 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 lens, which we tested, and a dual-lens kit that adds the SAL-55200 55-200mm f4-5.6 model. Those two lenses, plus the 75-300mm SAL-75300, currently comprise Sony's complete entry-level lens lineup. For other inexpensive alternatives you'll have to turn to compatible A-mount Konica Minolta, Sigma, or Tamron offerings.

A bit heavy at 1 pound, 8-plus ounces, the solid A350 has a solid, rubbery grip that's very comfortable to hold, and the extra heft makes it feel more substantial than competitors such as the Canon EOS Rebel XSi. Another positive aspect of the extra weight: it doesn't get overbalanced when using accessories like the HVL-F42AM I tested it with.

The A350 shares the straightforward layout design of the A200. There are direct-access controls for ISO sensitivity, exposure compensation, and drive/bracketing/self-timer modes, while flash, AF, white balance, AF area, and D-RangeOptimizer settings are grouped under a screen pulled up by the Fn button.

Unlike the A700, you can't change settings directly via the information display (Quick Navi). Instead, you have to pull up this screen via the Fn button and dive in to change the settings. I much prefer the Quick Navi approach; this way takes too many clicks to simply change the metering mode.

I had to read the manual to figure out what this button does: it's the Smart Teleconverter, actually a 1.4x or 2x digital zoom which only works in Live View mode. Most cameras let you change the image size--which is what this does--but I guess Sony thinks your need for that is more pressing than for switching metering modes or white balance. Also, the error message that it pops up for it should be more helpful than "Invalid Operation."

Since much of the design matches that of the A200, I have similar complaints about the USB placement as well. The USB connector sits inside the CF card compartment, which means you have to leave the door open while downloading, potentially allowing all sorts of schmutz to get onto the card-slot contacts (and, if you're as accident prone as me, providing a protrusion to hit and hurl the camera to the floor). More important, Sony uses a semiproprietary combo micro USB/audiovisual connector on all its dSLRs, for no reason that I can see other than to force you to buy a cable from them if you lose the bundled one.

Additionally, all of Sony's lower-end dSLRs use lines rather than squares for the 9 off-center focus-point indicators. They're very dim and some people may have trouble seeing them. Especially since the A350 has a very low-magnification 0.74x viewfinder.

Sony's 2-sensor Live View implementation harks back to the more seamless approach pioneered--and subsequently discarded--by Olympus. With a secondary sensor dedicated to receiving a preview image off the imaging sensor, there's no need to flip the mirror up for preview and focus, then flip it back down to shoot, proving a more typical snapshot-like experience when framing via the 2.7-inch LCD. In addition, Sony incorporates a flip-up LCD, which makes the feature not just practical, but actually useful (predominantly for overhead and from-the-hip shooting). Like the A200, the A350 also supports wireless flash, uncommon but not unique in this price class, using the same appropriately bare-bones implementation as the A200. Rather than grafting pro multichannel support on the camera, which can be quite confusing to configure, it's basically binary: on or off.

The rest of the specs are typical for its class: sensitivity up to ISO 3200; sensor antidust protection measures; shutter speeds from 1/4000 second to 30 seconds with 1/160 second flash sync; various white-balance presets plus manual and color-temperature chooser; spot, multisegment and center-weighted metering; and spot, selectable spot and wide-area AF. There are also various drive modes including white-balance bracketing. Sony-specific features include the same D-RangeOptimizer as in the A700 and Creative Style presets with editable contrast, saturation, and sharpness. For a full accounting of the A350's features, you can download the PDF manual.

Because it generally costs too much to add faster processing in this price segment, the A350's higher resolution exacts a performance toll. There are a couple of bright spots, but in CNET Labs' tests overall the camera ranks on the slow side. When you take processing and file writing out of the equation, the A350 handily zips past the rest of the pack: shutter/shot lag lasts a mere 0.3 second in optimal conditions and 0.6 second in dim. The rest doesn't look quite so rosy. It powers on and shoots in 0.6 second, kind of slow relative to the rest. Once focused, shot-to-shot time typically takes about 0.7 second for JPEG and 0.9 for RAW, both at the bottom of the class. I will say that it doesn't feel that slow while photographing, and I routinely shoot RAW+JPEG. Adding flash recycling time almost doubles the lag to 1.5 seconds, also at the bottom of the scale for dSLRs. As you'd also expect, the camera is a slow burst shooter as well--2.5 frames per second. Though it can keep that up until your card fills with JPEGs, it maxes out at 4 RAW frames.

As usual, its Super SteadyShot sensor-shift image stabilizer does work well; at the long end of the range for the 70-200mm f2.8 lens (effective focal length 300mm) I successfully shot at 1/10 second, about 4 stops beyond the 1/200-second shutter speed determined by the reciprocal focal-length rule. And speedwise, shooting in Live View with the A350 feels very similar to shooting with a snapshot camera. However, because it uses the two-sensor approach, the LCD only previews 90 percent of the scene compared with 95 percent with the optical viewfinder. Battery life is rated for 730 pictures.

Rating photo quality tends to be difficult, but the A350 was particularly waffle-worthy. It renders good color and dynamic range. Up to and including ISO 800, photos look solid, with a minimal increase in softness. However, at ISO 1600 and ISO 3200 color noise kicks in and smeariness from the noise suppression algorithms degrades detail.

One of the A350's image-quality problem comes from pairing a middling lens with a high resolution sensor. On the left is the 18-70mm kit lens on the A350; on the right, the lens on the 10-megapixel A200. The A350's version looks more magnified, but perceptibly softer.

With some really expensive lenses--an 85mm f1.4 Zeiss T* lens, 11-18mm f4.5-5.6 lens, and 24-70mm f2.8 Zeiss lens--I got some nice low-ISO shots. But those are lenses you're unlikely to buy for a budget/entry-level camera like this, so I couldn't justify pushing the image quality rating up to an 8. (Unless you have some old, really good Minolta lenses that might be a different story.)

If you need the resolution bump at a low price, the Rebel XSi is probably a better choice than the Sony Alpha DSLR-A350. It lacks in-body image stabilization and the A350's intelligent Live View implementation, but it does have the mode, and Canon offers better comparable kit lenses and a better selection of budget lenses, as well as better photo quality and performance. And if you don't need the resolution, you can save yourself the extra bucks with an A300 and put it toward a good lens.

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)

Sony Alpha DSLR-A350 (with 18-70mm lens)

0.6 

0.9 

0.6 

0.3 

Sony Alpha DSLR-A200 (with 18-70mm lens)

0.5 

0.6 

1.2 

0.3 

Nikon D80 (with 18-55mm lens)

0.1 

0.3 

0.9 

0.5 

Canon EOS Rebel XSi (with 18-55mm lens, black)

0.2 

0.4 

1.2 

0.5 

Pentax K10D (with 18mm-55mm lens)

0.5 

0.5 

1.6 

0.5