One of Sony's numerous models in the overcrowded 600$ to 1000$ segment is the Sony Alpha DSLR A500. It was released simultaneously with the A550 its "big brother." The A500 is a poor man's A550 and it struggles to keep up with its competitors like the Pentax K-x, the Nikon D5000 and the Canon Rebel T2i.
The Sony Alpha A500 comes with a 12.3 megapixel sensor. It has a new BIONZ sensor for enhanced detail and low noise. It has high sensitivity up to ISO 12800. Normally the pictures shot with ISO 1800 are quite good but above that level the noise becomes a distinct presence. The inbuilt noise reduction is an utter let-down. It has absolutely no effect on the picture. The pictures shot at ISO 12800 are usable only if you reduce the size by at least 50%. But if the photos are reduced in size then they are perfectly good to view.
The Alpha A500 has some good qualities none the less. It has a class topping burst photo shoot at 4.8 frames per second. In this aspect it outclasses all it peers in this category. The battery life of the Alpha A500 is also astounding for its price- it can produce 1000 shots without any need to recharge its battery.
However the metering is lower than its competitors at 40 segment metering. This reduces the overall quality of the picture but considering its low price it is to be expected. It is by no means bad but if you take into consideration its peers you feel it is less. Another damning aspect is the fact that it has no video recording at all. It is hard to find a digital camera that has no video recording these days so this comes as quite a surprise.
It has a 3" LCD screen with 230,400 dots. It can also be tilted and this improves usability of the camera and in fact it is one of its major plus points. But the resolution is three times less than that of the Alpha A550 and it comes as a sucker punch that such features cost just a couple of hundred dollars less. The other major features which differ from the Alpha A550 are the lesser sensor resolution (The Alpha 550 has a resolution of 14.2 megapixel) and most importantly it lacks a Speed priority shoot mode. But the A500 is still a solid and steady model that can perform decently well considering its price.
One of the drawbacks in this model is the overcrowding of the body by a large number of useless and completely unneeded buttons. This also has some impact on the LCD as the user has to frequently go back to access some buttons which are bound to inconvenience the user.
The Sony Alpha A500 is a solid and unspectacular camera. It is a decent camera when you want a good camera on a shoestring budget.
The Sony Alpha A500 comes with a 12.3 megapixel sensor. It has a new BIONZ sensor for enhanced detail and low noise. It has high sensitivity up to ISO 12800. Normally the pictures shot with ISO 1800 are quite good but above that level the noise becomes a distinct presence. The inbuilt noise reduction is an utter let-down. It has absolutely no effect on the picture. The pictures shot at ISO 12800 are usable only if you reduce the size by at least 50%. But if the photos are reduced in size then they are perfectly good to view.
The Alpha A500 has some good qualities none the less. It has a class topping burst photo shoot at 4.8 frames per second. In this aspect it outclasses all it peers in this category. The battery life of the Alpha A500 is also astounding for its price- it can produce 1000 shots without any need to recharge its battery.
However the metering is lower than its competitors at 40 segment metering. This reduces the overall quality of the picture but considering its low price it is to be expected. It is by no means bad but if you take into consideration its peers you feel it is less. Another damning aspect is the fact that it has no video recording at all. It is hard to find a digital camera that has no video recording these days so this comes as quite a surprise.
It has a 3" LCD screen with 230,400 dots. It can also be tilted and this improves usability of the camera and in fact it is one of its major plus points. But the resolution is three times less than that of the Alpha A550 and it comes as a sucker punch that such features cost just a couple of hundred dollars less. The other major features which differ from the Alpha A550 are the lesser sensor resolution (The Alpha 550 has a resolution of 14.2 megapixel) and most importantly it lacks a Speed priority shoot mode. But the A500 is still a solid and steady model that can perform decently well considering its price.
One of the drawbacks in this model is the overcrowding of the body by a large number of useless and completely unneeded buttons. This also has some impact on the LCD as the user has to frequently go back to access some buttons which are bound to inconvenience the user.
The Sony Alpha A500 is a solid and unspectacular camera. It is a decent camera when you want a good camera on a shoestring budget.
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