Forehead
Aug-13-2006, 10:11 PM
I stopped by the SonyStyle Store in the Stanford (CA) shopping mall. I only had 20 minutes to check out Sony's new DSLR (A100). I was also taking some macros of the camera, but had to stop when the sales staff came warning me thet THEY would get in trouble for letting me take pictures of something that takes pictures (I guess). :dunno
In that time, though, I was able to observe the following:
It's bigger than I thought it would be but
A person with large fingers would find it cramped between the grip and lens.
It's definitely NOT a sports camera, as the burst mode--although described as "fast" by one of the sales guys--shot at 2 FPS (if that) but
if the CF card's fast enough, the camera will keep shooting until it's full.
The PLASTIC BODY construction was a bit disturbing, being used to the die-cast magnesium body of my Nikon E5400; squeezing areas of the body had fortunately no damaging effect or the utterance of creaking, cracking noises (I wonder how weather resistant it is).
Though the body is plastic, the two main command knobs appeared to be metallic. I guess Sony's more worried about knobs breaking off than bodies cracking!
The power switch is located on back, upper left hand corner. I don't mind that, as I've had too many instances of my camera powering up when I didn't want it to (with that switch being AROUND the shutter button).
The CF card slot is covered by a door that requires two motions to open it: first a straight pull backward with your thumb, then it swings to the right. And no little tab to get caught on anything, unlike my camera that has a little tab on the door that sometimes gets caught on a strap or something and swings open (almost broke it off a few times that way). So it looks like Sony's put a little extra thought in a little thing that might otherwise be a big headache!
Another D-grinner described the mirror slap as being "noisy". I concur, and having a plastic shell around doesn't help. Don't take this camera for quiet wildlife shooting as you might piss off a bunch of ELK, for instance!
But f/36 aperture! I'm not used to apertures so tight!
The DOF preview button is located on the bottom right of the lens mounting ring (alright, bottom LEFT if looking from the front!), and it's rather TINY. But this is definitely a feature I haven't enjoyed since I lost my Yashica FX-1 film SLR (and three lenses) on a train in Germany almost 30 years ago already.
The 2.5" LCD screen is bigger than I'm used to, but that size is getting pretty much standard (right?).
The expert marketing team at SonyStyle failed to supply a CF card in their floor model, so I can't comment on in-camera processing, how images actually look, etc.
I couldn't take the lens off to look at the mirror or sensor, due to the security clamp they had on it.
The view finder has a diopter adjustment knob that's a bit SMALL for my liking, which doesn't help our large-fingered friends any--especially the way it's mounted: recessed and almost flush with the body. Try not to poke your eye making this adjustment!
I thought that the ultrasonic dust-buster for the sensor was that: ULTRASONIC. So why can I feel the vibrations (?) and they DON'T feel even close to being ultrasonic to me!
Anyway, the kit offered by SonyStyle (Palo Alto, anyway) comes with a Sony (not a Zeiss) 18-70mm lens, for $999 and change. Don't forget the taxes and TIP!My final assessment: though the plastic body construction would take some getting used to, the capabilities of this 10.2MP camera are tantalizing enough that I'm not ready to "shake my hands and walk away" just yet and foresake any further consideration of the A100. I gotta see the pictures it shoots before I can decide further on a Yay or Nay vote.
In that time, though, I was able to observe the following:
It's bigger than I thought it would be but
A person with large fingers would find it cramped between the grip and lens.
It's definitely NOT a sports camera, as the burst mode--although described as "fast" by one of the sales guys--shot at 2 FPS (if that) but
if the CF card's fast enough, the camera will keep shooting until it's full.
The PLASTIC BODY construction was a bit disturbing, being used to the die-cast magnesium body of my Nikon E5400; squeezing areas of the body had fortunately no damaging effect or the utterance of creaking, cracking noises (I wonder how weather resistant it is).
Though the body is plastic, the two main command knobs appeared to be metallic. I guess Sony's more worried about knobs breaking off than bodies cracking!
The power switch is located on back, upper left hand corner. I don't mind that, as I've had too many instances of my camera powering up when I didn't want it to (with that switch being AROUND the shutter button).
The CF card slot is covered by a door that requires two motions to open it: first a straight pull backward with your thumb, then it swings to the right. And no little tab to get caught on anything, unlike my camera that has a little tab on the door that sometimes gets caught on a strap or something and swings open (almost broke it off a few times that way). So it looks like Sony's put a little extra thought in a little thing that might otherwise be a big headache!
Another D-grinner described the mirror slap as being "noisy". I concur, and having a plastic shell around doesn't help. Don't take this camera for quiet wildlife shooting as you might piss off a bunch of ELK, for instance!
But f/36 aperture! I'm not used to apertures so tight!
The DOF preview button is located on the bottom right of the lens mounting ring (alright, bottom LEFT if looking from the front!), and it's rather TINY. But this is definitely a feature I haven't enjoyed since I lost my Yashica FX-1 film SLR (and three lenses) on a train in Germany almost 30 years ago already.
The 2.5" LCD screen is bigger than I'm used to, but that size is getting pretty much standard (right?).
The expert marketing team at SonyStyle failed to supply a CF card in their floor model, so I can't comment on in-camera processing, how images actually look, etc.
I couldn't take the lens off to look at the mirror or sensor, due to the security clamp they had on it.
The view finder has a diopter adjustment knob that's a bit SMALL for my liking, which doesn't help our large-fingered friends any--especially the way it's mounted: recessed and almost flush with the body. Try not to poke your eye making this adjustment!
I thought that the ultrasonic dust-buster for the sensor was that: ULTRASONIC. So why can I feel the vibrations (?) and they DON'T feel even close to being ultrasonic to me!
Anyway, the kit offered by SonyStyle (Palo Alto, anyway) comes with a Sony (not a Zeiss) 18-70mm lens, for $999 and change. Don't forget the taxes and TIP!My final assessment: though the plastic body construction would take some getting used to, the capabilities of this 10.2MP camera are tantalizing enough that I'm not ready to "shake my hands and walk away" just yet and foresake any further consideration of the A100. I gotta see the pictures it shoots before I can decide further on a Yay or Nay vote.