This camera is really unbelievable for the price. If we're talking about the camera body (with no lens), I prefer it over the Canon Rebel XSi anyday (and I've used both). The problem for Sony is that their lens is sooooo crappy that the image quality goes straight down the toilet, and Canons lenses are for the most part very sharp and colorful.
The solution? Minolta lenses. I got my camera in the mail this morning and have played with it all day. From the second I unpacked the lens I was disappointed- even before I put it on the camera. It has an extremely cheap and plasticy feel, probably because it is cheap and made of only plastic. I'm actually pretty sure there's not a single piece of glass in the lens (which means, for those of you are new to this, that it sucks). I put it on and sure enough the results were not pretty. Don't run off to Canon's page so quickly, though- remember that this IS a 5 star review.
What makes up for sony's crappy crappy lens is the fact that you can use any Minolta lens from the past 20 years. In anticipation of purchasing this camera I brought 2 Minolta lenses from a garage sale a few weeks ago for a hundred bucks, and when I put them on the camera it was like magic. The autofocus still works in an instant, and the sharpness and color combined with Sony's 14megapixel sensor have left this former film-snob utterly impressed.
So my advice to advanced amateur photographers is to buy this camera. But just the body only. Save the hundred bucks to buy yourself a Minolta lens (or two). I thought I'd throw in the extra hundred bucks with this cam just to have an extra lens for my collection, and it was absolutely not worth it. I don't even know if I'll mount it onto my camera ever again. Seriously- It's a big plastic turd. I wouldn't buy it again if it was 20 bucks.
Also- I learned the complete menu for this camera in less than a day. The only negative things about this camera (except for the crappy turd plastico lens) are that it's not a full frame sensor (look it up, and then decide if you really want to spend and extra 1300 dollars to get a full frame sensor DSLR), and that there's a really dumb and pointless digital zoom button that is a total tragic use of space. I could think of ten more used/usable functions that could have gone there instead.
Really though, I couldn't be happier with this camera.
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This Item  Sony Alpha DSLRA350K 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens |  |  |  | |
| Price | $289.99 | $549.99 | $479.00 | -12% $1,148.00 List: $1,299.99 |
| Delivery | Get it May 24 - 29 | — | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 28 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 29 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||
| Image stabilization | ||||
| Picture quality | ||||
| Auto focus | ||||
| Sold By | Replay Tech | Ace Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
| display type | LCD display | LCD | LCD | LCD |
| display size | 2.7 inches | 2.7 inches | 3 inches | 2.95 inches |
| lens type | Zoom | Standard | Wide Angle | Zoom |
| zoom type | — | Optical | Optical Zoom | Digital Zoom |
| shooting modes | Programmed auto (P) with flexible program, Shutter-priority auto (S), Aperture priority auto (A), Manual (M), Auto and 7 scene selection modes | — | Landscape; portrait mode; close-up; night portrait; food; sports mode | Single Shooting, Continuous shooting (Hi+/Hi/Mid/Lo selectable), Self-timer, Self-timer (Cont.), Bracket: Single, Bracket: Cont., White Balance bracket, DRO bracket |
| connectivity tech | USB | HDMI | NFC, HDMI, USB | Wireless |
| video resolution | 1080p | 1080p | FHD 1080p | 2160p |
| optical zoom | 3.9 multiplier x | — | 0 multiplier x | 2 multiplier x |
Sony Alpha A350: Recommended by dpreview.com
The provision of an exterior switch makes it clear that live view is a technique for using this camera, rather than simply an option, or mode that you might consider using. This subtle philosophical change is borne out in the rest of the camera's design: the A350 behaves in a much more coherent manner when it's in live view mode, rather than being held up to the eye - every button press brings up a new menu screen and draws your attention back to LCD.
Reviews with images
Camera, great - Lens is just OK
I got the Sony A350 about 2 months ago. The camera is great. I like the way it's laid out and it's easy to use. The live view and tilting screen is very hand when shooting small objects on the ground.HOWEVER - I'm a bit disappointed in the 18-70mm lens supplied with it. Under certain conditions (which I'm not sure I understand what these are) there is quite a bad flair. Red on the left, green on the right of objects. Bright and contrasty pictures seem to show this up most.When viewing the pictures normally, this defect isn't obvious. When the pictures are enlarged to the extent that you are starting to see the pixels, this flair becomes quite obvious. I'll try to submit a picture here illustrating this. If I'm not successful, trust me that it's poor.The good aspect of this defect is that it's not obvious unless the pictures are enlarged quite a bit, so for most photographers, it's not an issue. Dispite this problem, I like the camera and I'm glad I got it. This amazon price was also good.I bought the Tamron 70-300mm zoom and it works well on this camera and doesn't seem to have this red/green lens flair. The Tamron is a good companion at a great price.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2008
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2008
I got the Sony A350 about 2 months ago. The camera is great. I like the way it's laid out and it's easy to use. The live view and tilting screen is very hand when shooting small objects on the ground.
HOWEVER - I'm a bit disappointed in the 18-70mm lens supplied with it. Under certain conditions (which I'm not sure I understand what these are) there is quite a bad flair. Red on the left, green on the right of objects. Bright and contrasty pictures seem to show this up most.
When viewing the pictures normally, this defect isn't obvious. When the pictures are enlarged to the extent that you are starting to see the pixels, this flair becomes quite obvious. I'll try to submit a picture here illustrating this. If I'm not successful, trust me that it's poor.
The good aspect of this defect is that it's not obvious unless the pictures are enlarged quite a bit, so for most photographers, it's not an issue. Dispite this problem, I like the camera and I'm glad I got it. This amazon price was also good.
I bought the Tamron 70-300mm zoom and it works well on this camera and doesn't seem to have this red/green lens flair. The Tamron is a good companion at a great price.
HOWEVER - I'm a bit disappointed in the 18-70mm lens supplied with it. Under certain conditions (which I'm not sure I understand what these are) there is quite a bad flair. Red on the left, green on the right of objects. Bright and contrasty pictures seem to show this up most.
When viewing the pictures normally, this defect isn't obvious. When the pictures are enlarged to the extent that you are starting to see the pixels, this flair becomes quite obvious. I'll try to submit a picture here illustrating this. If I'm not successful, trust me that it's poor.
The good aspect of this defect is that it's not obvious unless the pictures are enlarged quite a bit, so for most photographers, it's not an issue. Dispite this problem, I like the camera and I'm glad I got it. This amazon price was also good.
I bought the Tamron 70-300mm zoom and it works well on this camera and doesn't seem to have this red/green lens flair. The Tamron is a good companion at a great price.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2008
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2014
