Sony A200: Entry DSLR Roundup
by Wesley Fink on October 20, 2008 1:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
Sony A200 vs. Sony A350 vs. Sony A700 v.4
The Sony A200, A350, and A700 models represent the three sensors currently in use in Sony crop-sensor cameras. The A200 is a 10.2MP CCD also used in the Nikon D60 and Pentax K200D cameras. The A350 features an A350 exclusive Sony 14.2MP CCD sensor, and the A700 uses the 12.2MP CMOS sensor also employed in the Nikon D300 and Nikon D90. This group of sensors represents how current Sony crop-sensors compare in JPG noise at various ISO settings. The A700 series uses the latest Version 4 of the Sony firmware that contains many of the improved image quality features of the A900.
Sony also manufactures the largest digital full-frame sensor available in the 24.6MP Sony A900 that has just recently started shipping. Since that sensor is for a different class of camera (some six times the cost of the A200), it was not included for comparison. We do have both a Sony A900 and a Canon D700 in the lab and we are working on reviews and comparisons of both these full-frame cameras.
| ISO Comparison - Sony A200 vs. Sony A350 vs. Sony A700v4 | |||
| ISO | Sony A200 | Sony A350 | Sony A700v4 |
| 100 |  |
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| 200 |  |
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| 400 |  |
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| 800 |  |
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| 1600 |  |
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| 3200 |  |
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| 6400 | |
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Click on any of the above image crops for the full image. Note: Full size images are between 3.2MB and 11.8MB! |
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The comparisons of the three Sony crop-sensors are arguably the most interesting of all. This is mostly because results show a greater variation among the three sensors than you might expect, since they are all from the same manufacturer. Much praise has been made of the A700 version 4 firmware, which was designed to bring the A700 more closely into competition with the D300. Sony claims they incorporated in version 4 what they learned in developing the pro-targeted A900. Looking at these crops the praise for the v4 Sony A700 certainly appears justified.
At ISO 1600 the A700 is clearly the lowest noise of these three sensors, which is a surprise when you realize we are comparing a 10MP A200 to a 12MP A700. In fact, the A700 ISO 1600 noise is more comparable to the ISO 800 crop from the A200. The A700 ISO 3200 crop is quite like the A200 ISO 1600, which should make images from the A700 v4 quite useful through ISO 3200. Even the ISO 6400 on the A700 v4 is more comparable to 3200 on the 10MP sensor.
The 14.2MP A350 is not similarly blessed in this comparison. It appears to be just as good as the others through about ISO 800, but the ISO 1600 performance is higher in noise than either the A200 or the A700. The A350 ISO 3200 crops shows noise is just too high in that camera at this speed and performance at ISO 3200 will be of very limited usefulness.
Keep in mind that the A700 is the current Sony prosumer model and that it costs more than twice as much as the A200 - and that's just for the body. The A200 performs well compared to other entry models, and Sony A700 fans will be pleased to see that Sony seems to have finally solved their JPG processing issues in version 4 of the A700 firmware. The results here show the A700 v4 is definitely worth the higher price if you are an advanced amateur looking for better image quality and lower noise. If you are looking for an entry-level DSLR, on the other hand, the A200 will do a fine job in both image quality and low-noise in an entry-level camera with more features than most of the competition.
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deathwalker - Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - link
Broadway Photo has the A200 kit for $321..great deal.strikeback03 - Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - link
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Broadway_Phot...">http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Broadway_Phot...good luck with that. Here is what they look like:
http://donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/h0006.h...">http://donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/h0006.h...
and
http://donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/h0049.h...">http://donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/h0049.h...
AkumaX - Friday, October 24, 2008 - link
It's hard to decide which camera to go for the coveted Entry Level DSLR position. Plenty of friends consider Canon or Nikon as the major players, and own either one.Having the opportunity to pick up the A200K for $413 shipped/no tax from SonyRewards last June helped factor in that decision. As a person who had zero experience or knowledge of the SLR domain, this was quite a gamble.
So for the past 4 months, haven taken over 8000 pictures (in RAW), and been to 2 foreign countries, this was definitely worth the investment. The biggest thing Sony has going for them is the backwards compatibility of the Minolta AF lens line.
I picked up a 50mm f/1.7 + 70-210mm f/4 (the "beercan") off CraigsList, since these seem to be "the" lenses to get. Having researched throughout these past few months about aperture, ISO, crop factor, etc... I'll probably pick up a 28mm f/2.8 also.
All in all, the Sony A200K offers a lot: 18-70mm kit lens - bigger than the rest, Minolta AF (Maxxum) Lens backwards compatibility, and plenty of alpha-based accessories. This one seems like a winner.
What am I doing? --> blog.anandtech.com/manthisiswhathappenswhenyoucantsleepandramble
cafmike1 - Monday, April 19, 2010 - link
I am waiting on the replacement SLR for the Nikon D90 herehttp://www.cameta.com/Nikon-D90-Digital-SLR-Camera...
Does anyone know when this thing is going to be announced?
Wineohe - Tuesday, October 21, 2008 - link
Hmm. I'm more critical of the ISO performance of the Sony A200. It just doesn't seem that good above 800. The Nikon and Olympus are decent and the Canon is affected by some softness and chromatic aberrations at all ISO settings, something that I attribute to it's junk lens. Given a better lens it would probably show it's stuff, but this is a budget comparison and that would be unfair. I wish Canon would spend even $3 more on making their cheapo 18-55.In general all of these camera packages boarder on being just too much of a compromise. However as I mentioned above the Olympus and the Nikon come close to being acceptable. Frankly I really don't care how many features the camera has if the output is just mediocre. An adequately equipped body with a step up lens is far better advise.
Heidfirst - Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - link
shoot RAW & pp. Sony's jpeg engine isn't the greatest.strikeback03 - Thursday, October 23, 2008 - link
I'd agree for higher level bodies, but the distinction probably isn't relevant for most consumers at the $500 price point.Wesley Fink - Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - link
The Canon lens used for testing was their excellent 50mm f1.4, so you can't blame the results on a cheapo lens. All of the tests used 50mm f1.4 primes execpt the Olympus where a 35mm macro was used because of the 2x lens factor. ALL these lenses are in the best part of their resolution curves at f/4, which was a requirement.Snapshots and regular images published in our reviews do use the kit lens, but not our noise tests.
Wineohe - Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - link
Oooh, my bad, I missed that. I actually have a 50mm f1.4 that I use occasionally on my 5D. It struggles in low light but otherwise is a fine lens. I was convinced the characteristics were that of poor optic since they seem to exist at low or high gain. Now I'm left scratching my embarrassed head. So much for the XS, it is getting long in the tooth.haplo602 - Tuesday, October 21, 2008 - link
I think you are using a few features in the A200 that are not even used by the buyers in this price range.wireless flash ... I mean come on ... what is the lowest priced Sony external flash that will work with this ? I found the HVL-F42AM as the lowest level model for about 1/2 the price of the A200 kit. No entry level DSRL user will shell out that much money for external flash, they will buy a better body in the first place.
generaly the people getting into this class DSLRs come from the P&S user group. They will still compose mostly with live view, so number of AF points is irelevant. Anyway what's the performance of the 9 focus points ? Only center one is a cross sensor ? Then the other ones will be a source of frustration for the P&S crowd in most conditions :-)