Sony Alpha A100 Reviewed

Imagine if you will a digital camera with enough power and exceptional quality to deliver to you the capability to produce clear and crisply detailed 18 X 25 inch prints that will wow your friends and family. The 10 megapixel CCD Sony Alpha A100 does precisely that. This is a camera that won’t disappoint you when it comes to quality.

In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a trait of this camera that is disappointing.

How many times have you taken what you thought was going to be a great shot and ended up being severely discouraged because of a blurry shot, or bad lighting, etc. Not to be worried about anymore with the A100’s Super SteadyShot Optical Image Stabilization. This function will automatically reduce image blur so that clear pictures are nearly assured. This feature is one of the most beloved things about this camera and with the simple slide-of-button operation you’ll easily be able to operate it.

Another problem with photography that this Sony Alpha takes care of ahead of time is missing incredible shots because you weren’t prepared and/or the camera wasn’t already focused and ready to aim and shoot. This camera takes care of that with Eye Start Auto-Focus. This means essentially that as soon as the camera senses that your eye is in proximity to the camera it begins focusing and therefore gives you a substantial head-start on your subject.

Sometimes even when you do get that great shot however, another problem occurs that compromises a great photo and that’s dust. The Sony A-100 comes equipped with a unique anti-static coating made from Indium Tin Oxide, which is coated on the low-pass filter right before the CCD, helping to make sure that dust doesn’t build up in the first place from the static electricity of the camera. In case some dust does sneak past this first line of defense then an anti-dust vibration system takes care of it giving you much more assurance of dust spot free photos with this double line of defense.

Using Sony’s proprietary Bionz Image Processor, the Sony Alpha A100 has improved response time within the camera, an extended battery life, as well as a unique Dynamic Range Optimization processing system. This system actually offers two different levels of range optimization. These are:

• Normal Dynamic Range Optimization: This is meant to give you better detailing with shadowing by using customary gamma curves which leads to the fastest available shot to shot responsiveness.
• Advanced Dynamic Range Optimization: This fine-tunes dynamic range – area by area – for highly improved precision within the images.

One thing that’s exclusive and particular about the A-100’s Bionz Image Processor is that it’s a hardware based Large Scale Integrated circuitry system vs. the usual software system… making it respond up to 10 times faster than it normally would.

This camera also has the ability to capture photos in very low light without flash due to the highly sensitive ISO 1600, which captures large amounts of light giving you great photos at any time of the day and in any type of environment.

Once you’ve captured your brilliant images you’ll be able to easily review them on the big 2.5 inch LCD screen where you’ll have a great view for your shots, even when using the LCD for setting up those shots.

Also important is the fact that you’ll be able to operate the menu functions easily on the screen, clearly and precisely, even when the sun is shining directly on it – where most digital camera will give you a problem in this scenario.

This is a very reliable camera that gives you crystal clear photos utilizing a hefty APS size CCD imager with Sony’s unique and highly developed Super Hole Accumulated Diode (aka HAD). This lets much more light pass through to each and every pixel giving you increased sensitivity, image noise reduction, and letting you print large photos clearly. Just as well you can get in close on your subject without the photo being compromised.

On the whole, the Sony Alpha A-100 is a camera that’s unique in many ways, but most importantly it’s highly reliable. When you’re out on a shoot, or out in the field trying to grasp onto that one important but fleeting moment in an instant you need a reliable camera to help you through it, and that’s precisely what this camera will give you.

Quality plus reliability equals the Sony Alpha A100.