Reviews Written by Max

A new breed

Pros: Supersteadyshot, TREMENDOUS Carl Zeiss Lenses

Cons: Immature firmware causing some noise at high ISO and short on "nice to have" features

I chose this camera over NIkons and Canons simply because it seems to have more going for it, long term. N&C's are great cameras but the Alpha';s supersteadyshot is a gift and improves so many opportunistic images. It was only after doing a test on this myself that I was convinced and it does make a difference and NIKONS DO NOT DO THIS yet.

Secondly, Carl Zeiss lenses put the optics on a par with some of the best cameras in the world (hard to quantify this but I believe!). They don't come as standard but they are (or will be) very reasonably priced.

Thirdly, the reviews of the camera were all very positive with going OTT or damning with faint praise. There was a lot of brand snobbery and perhaps that is part of the photographic process; "I have a good camera ergo I can take good pictures", but it makes their opinions a bit suspect. Reviews are also highly partisan (like this one? Judge for yourself.) and one reviewer who couldn't find anything wrong with a new Nikon seemed not to have heard about image stabilisation.

After assessing and reassessing the Alpha, I decided Sony were serious about bringing out a range of serious pro-sumer cameras and their technical expertise and Zeiss lenses made the camera a force to be reckoned with so I bought one.

One making my purchase, lo, I found a load of quality Minolta AF fit lenses were available and bought three for under £320 and was well pleased!

Since then, the street price has come down by about £200 in some cases, and I've taken 14000 shots including some absolute doozies (see versevend on Flickr). And I wouldn't want to change to a different camera either - I really like it and feel it will grow to meet my needs in the next couple of years - a new 12 Mpxl model is rumoured. All in all, I'm well pleased.

What are the worst points? No remote shooting facilities yet and some noise at high ISOs (firmware upgrade may fix). Body looks plasticy but is actually very robust.

At the end of the day, the differences between most cameras with similar features is minimal and all will produce great images if the photographer and subject are up to the task too! ...