Sony A200: Entry DSLR Roundup

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
200
400
800
1600
3200
6400
Click on any of the above image crops for the full image. Note: Full size images are between 3.2MB and 11.8MB!

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.