The A350 has a lot to offer: 14.2 megapixels, dust control, built-in image stabilization and a live view LCD

---

Product Description

With incredible 14.2 MP detail, Sony¿s ¿ (alpha) DSLR-A350 raises the standard of excellence for step-up digital photographers shooting both family memories and fine-art photos. Live Preview in a large 2.7¿ LCD screen links you and your subject -- and you¿ll have special features like super-quick AF response, continuous shooting at 2 fps while you see your subject in the viewfinder, Creative Style modes for quick recall of custom settings, and in-camera Super SteadyShot image stabilization that reduces blur with every Sony, Carl Zeiss and legacy Minolta a-mount lens.

---

Product Details

• Color: Black
• Brand: Sony
• Model: B00138MVGE
• Released on: 2008-04-24
• Dimensions: 4.00" h x 5.25" w x 3.00" l, 1.28 pounds
• Display size: 2.7

Features

• Incredible 14.2 MP for ultra-high-resolution detail
• Kit include DT 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 Standard Zoom Lens
• High sensitivity (ISO 3200) with noise reduction
• Tiltable 2.7¿ LCD screen for high/low angle shots
• Super SteadyShot in-camera image stabilization

Manufacturer Description

Attach the included DT 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 standard zoom lens and start expressing yourself. With incredible 14.2-megapixel detail, Sony's Alpha DSLR-A350 raises the bar. This model pushes the envelope, setting a new standard of excellence for step-up digital photographers shooting both family memories and fine-art photos. Live Preview in a large 2.7-inch LCD screen links you and your subject-and you'll have special features like super-quick AF response, continuous shooting at 2 fps while you see your subject in the viewfinder, Creative Style modes for quick recall of custom settings, and in-camera Super SteadyShot image stabilization that reduces blur for every Sony, Carl Zeiss and legacy Minolta a-mount lens.

Alpha DSLR-A350 Highlights

14.2-megapixel Super HAD CCD The highest pixel resolution in its class (as of January 2008), for spectacular image detail for making big prints and tight crops. An advanced APS-size CCD imager developed by Sony expands dynamic range and minimizes noise more effectively for clear, sharp photos even at high sensitivity setting (up to ISO 3200).

Live Preview of your subject The DSLR-A350's Live Preview mode links you and your subject on a large 2.7-inch LCD screen, for a familiar point-and-shoot style -- with super-quick AF response and accurate exposure control to help you catch the perfect moment. In Live Preview mode, the camera bypasses the optical pentaprism mirror to create a live "eye-to-eye" view on the LCD of loved ones, children, pets and fast-changing scenes.

Tiltable, 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD Plus screen A large built-in screen with 2-way angle tilt provides a sharp, clear view of your subject and tilts up or down for low-angle or high-angle monitoring in situations where you want a child-level or overhead shot.

Continuous shooting while viewing The DSLR-A350 lets you shoot continuously at up to 2 frames per second while you see your subject in the large 2.7-inch LCD viewfinder, so you never lose track of the action. In JPEG mode, you can shoot up to the limit of your flash memory card; in RAW Burst Mode you can capture up to 4 shots, with intelligent buffer management to allow more shots to be captured without waiting for the buffer to clear.

Smart teleconverter 2x zoom At the touch of a button you can zoom in electronically on your subject, reproducing pixels on a 1:1 basis with no degradation in picture quality. One touch zooms in at 1.4X, the second touch advances to 2X zoom -- creating the 35mm equivalent of a 200mm telephoto effect with the DSLR-A350's standard 18-70mm zoom lens.

Expanded ISO sensitivity A broad sensitivity range from ISO 100 to ISO 3200 enables the DSLR-A350 to capture beautiful color images even in very dim light -- with High ISO Noise Reduction technology that reduces picture noise artifacts at high-sensitivity ISO 1600 and ISO 3200 settings by eliminating noise from RAW data after analog-to-digital conversion.

Super SteadyShot in-camera image stabilization Because image stabilization is built into the DSLR-A350, every lens benefits by an advantage of from 2.5 to 3.5 exposure steps. This allows you to shoot effectively with minimum blur even in low light without flash -- or adjust exposure control for smaller lens aperture to increase depth of field and bring both foreground and background into sharp focus.

Bionz image processor The "brain" of the a (alpha) DSLR-A350 is the advanced Sony Bionz Image Processor, using hardware-based Large Scale Integrated (LSI) circuitry to enhance images with rich tonal reproduction, improved white balance and exposure control, and expanded D-Range Optimizer capabilities. With 2-channel data transfer from CCD to processor, your camera can also respond faster.

1200-zone evaluative metering Information from the image sensor dedicated to Live View is divided into 1200 zones of luminance and RGB color information. In addition D-Range Optimizer technology contributes to judge the scene and then determine the optimum exposure to reproduce images with a more natural look.

Dynamic Range Optimizer To improve results with backlit subjects and recover details hidden in shadows or lost in glare, the DSLR-A350 provides Dynamic Range Optimizer at two levels: Normal DRO, to improve detail using standard gamma curves for fast shot-to-shot response time, or Advanced DRO, to adjust dynamic range area-by-area for the greatest precision.

Anti-dust technology Changing lenses in a DSLR can allow dust to enter the camera -- so to keep the CCD imager cleaner for better pictures, the DSLR-A350 utilizes both static-free anti-dust coating on the CCD filter and anti-dust vibration that automatically shakes the CCD to dislodge dust each time the camera is shut off.

Auto Pop-up flash The camera flash automatically pops up and fires when needed, to help first-time DSLR photographers shoot more effectively. Auto Pop-up works in Auto mode and some scene selection modes; Flash is cancelled in Landscape, Sport or Sunset modes and in "Flash Off" position on the Exposure Mode dial.

Eye-Start Autofocus System It begins precision autofocus adjustments the moment you raise the camera to your eye -- so unlike some DSLR cameras that don't start focusing until the shutter button is half-pressed, the Sony DSLR-A350 never slows down your ability to catch fast action.

9-Point Center Cross AF Sensor A fast focus motor and improved focus control help bring images into sharp definition more quickly, with predictive focus control that automatically calculates the position of a fast-moving subject.

Scene Selection Modes Along with auto exposure, the DSLR-A350 gives you scene selection modes to optimize camera performance for Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports, Sunset and Night Portrait/Night View situations.

Creative Style Settings To express your creativity and personal taste, you can adjust contrast, saturation and sharpness settings for any of 8 finishing styles -- including Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Night View, Sunset, B&W and Adobe RGB modes.

Index and Slide Show Display To quickly review your photos, the DSLR-A350 can display 4, 9 or 25-frame index views -- or present automatic slide shows with fade-in/fade-out effect.

High-resolution thumbnails for PhotoTV HD viewing The DSLR-A350 automatically creates high-resolution thumbnail images for viewing on Sony's BRAVIA HDTV in optimized PhotoTV HD mode, with image format adjustable for standard 3:2 or widescreen 16:9 display.

Function Guide Display On-screen menus are intuitive and easy to use -- and a simple Camera Function Display can be activated and operated with one hand using the "Fn" (Function) button and controller button to adjust Flash mode, Autofocus mode, White Balance, Metering mode, AF area and D-Range Optimizer.

Stamina Battery Power In optical viewfinder mode, you can take up to 730 shots3 on a fully-charged NP-FM500H InfoLithium battery -- and you'll be able to see about how much power remains in percentage increments, so you can keep shooting in confidence.

High-Capacity Media Options For conveniently storing and sharing your images, the DSLR-A350 accepts CompactFlash Type I/II media and optional Memory Stick Pro Duo media.

Optional advanced lenses and accessories Sony's Alpha system gives you everything you need to expand your creativity in DSLR photography: precision Sony DT zoom lenses and specialty lenses, Sony "G" Series lenses with advanced motorized autofocusing, amazingly bright Carl Zeiss lens designs, professional-quality flash units, and over 16 million Minolta a-mount lenses sold worldwide.

---

Customer Reviews

My thoughts on the Sony A350
To start off, I don't really write reviews on products, and I am new to digital photography, so you can really take this review with a grain of salt... However, I just thought I would share why I gave this product a 5 star rating.

The five star rating simply put is because I love this camera. As stated earlier I am new to digital SLR photography so I won't be nearly as insightful as the Nikon/Canon buffs.

Why get the A350? 14.2 megapixels. Live view. Ease of use. Super Steady Shot built into the camera.

The high megapixels enable you to take high quality photos that will look great when blown up. Does this mean that this camera will take better pictures than a Nikon D300 because the megapixel count is higher... No, not at all that was a common misconception I learned. But knowing that I wanted to take a lot of pictures and make large digital prints to make my office look less lame, I figured I should go a step higher to get the blown-up image quality that I want.

The live view is great for so many reasons. Right on the display, it tells you all your settings from battery life, flash, aperture, etc... all while giving a great idea what your image will look like. Keep in mind, what you see on the live view isn't 100% what you'll see when you load the photos on computer or photoshop.

Ease of use: Grab the camera, go over the manual, play with the settings, take pictures. Coming from someone who knew nothing about cameras until about 2 weeks ago, the learning curve was easy with this camera. Right out of the box, you can set everything to auto and take great pictures just like a small digital camera. But for more advanced photos you simply learn by trial and error and the live view helps you see what you might need to adjust when taking photos. So even if you've never touched an SLR camera, you begin to learn what ISO, f/5.6, and all the other settings are and how to use them just by taking good pictures... or bad ones!

Super Steady Shot: Clear images, built into the camera, not the lens like other manufacturers. Down the line it can help you save some money because you can buy less expensive lenses because you don't need to pay the extra money to get the image stabilization in the lens like Canon or Nikon.

So why get this camera vs. other brands? First off, this camera is great for anyone wanting to get into digital SLR's. If you have old Minolta A-mount lenses you can use them with this camera. There are websites that give compatibility charts with some of the old lenses that you have.

If you have a bunch of DSLR Nikon and Canon gear, well that sucks for Sony because you won't be buying an A350 anytime soon. If you did, then you're either dumb or have a lot of free time and money to blow. However, if you're thinking about getting a camera, Sony makes a great product and offers tons of features in the camera at a low cost. Down the road, Sony will launch more professional and higher priced cameras so if you're starting out on a DSLR journey, you can begin it with Sony and start collecting lenses, tripods, filters and all the other happy stuff that goes into the expensive hobby of digital photography.

Side note: I think this camera was $100 cheaper when I bought it 2 weeks ago. I got the Sony A350X kit (The X is the 2 lens kit, the A350K kit is a 1 lens kit) so I don't know what the deal is there. But all in all, it's a great buy.

Oh yeah, if you're trying to decide whether or not to buy the A300 or A350, in case you didn't know the only difference, literally is the megapixels. So unless you are going to blow up your images, go save yourself $200 bucks and get the A300. If you're going to make large prints like I am, then go with the A350.

Awesome DSLR
It has been about 10 years since I put away my old olympus SLR camera away to gather dust for a few nifty small digital point and shoots. I bought this Sony about a month ago and have taken almost 2,000 pics. Took me a while to brush up on my technique and understand the new dslr lingo, but for anyone who has ever used a traditional SLR, I think you'll be most pleased. SUPER clear/hi res pictures, exceptionally quick focusing, even in live view mode, and easy to access options. Chances are, the things you are looking for the most are just a button, dial or quick click away. The ISO button is super handy, and with the touch of a button, you can change the setting up to 3200 to suit your needs.

I skipped the kit lens option and decided to buy the SAL18250 (18 mm - 250 mm. Stick with the Sony lens folks. It is solid responsive, and a great overall wide angle/telephoto lens. Why schlep around 2 kit lens' when you can virtually have it all in one? (:

OK back to the camera. OK now, some cons: The camera is a bit on the heavy side (But then again I'm really used to a point and shoot). This camera also lacks the ability to do a super magnified manual focus on the LCD during live view. This is not a real big deal to me for my needs. Auto focus works great, and manual focus works fine for me those rare times I use it.

I love the tiltable 2.7 in live view screen. Got some incredible shots at ground level looking up (From a dog's eye view) I should say an ants eye view! That with the wide angle... wowza.. seriously creative shots without breaking your back or twisting your neck!

I've been able to hand hold existing light shots down to 1/20 of a second, thanks to the anti shake feature. Pretty cool. I would have never thought I could take such a slow hand held pic without it being all blurred.

I highly recommend purchasing an 8 gig CF card for this camera to maximize your data storage. You should get about 1,700 fine res .jpg pics per disk. Go for the faster speed CF card like the SanDisk Extreme III. They're cheap now, under a hundred bucks. I also recommend getting a UV filter and circular polarizer. Again, stick with Sony filters. Now that you have such a great camera, you'll want the really nice quality filters.

You'll have fun with this camera and your friends will drool over your pictures!!!

Sony Alpha 350
Not much can be said that hasn't been said. One Hell of a nice camera. Took out of box and began shooting excellent photos right off the bat. I did have to read the instructions to see what a couple of the control were and how to get to a couple of things. Excellent feel of the camera, Excellent location of control buttons. Love the anti-shaking, and live view. Owner of approximately 4 different sonys and have loved each, but the 350 is definitely the top dog. Have use the Nikon, and canon, they don't hold a candle to this camera. The company that sent the camera was also excellent, no problems, camera was waiting for me when I got home, no dented boxes.

One recommendation is to buy the added lens.