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Sony A100 review
Ilse Jurriën : August 13th 2006 - 01:30 CET
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 Sony Alpha 100 review : Sony has been actively involved in digital photography for years and can be regarded as a digital pioneer. Until recently however, there was no digital SLR camera in their wide range of cameras. When Konica Minolta, a brand that had built up an impressive reputation in photography was in difficulties, Sony was quick to contact them. This finally resulted in a takeover of Konica Minolta's camera division which suddenly gave Sony loads of in house information on lens and DSLR. If the stories are to be believed, a lot of innovative technology that has not yet been launched on the market also fell into Sony's lap. It is not then surprising that Sony's first mirror reflex camera, the DSLR Alpha 100 has a lot in common with Konica Minolta's DiMAGE 5D. However, it is more than just a blatant copy.
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 Sony A100 reflex camera - Design
In regard to appearance, the Sony Alpha 100 digital reflex camera bears an obvious resemblance to the DiMAGE 5D. This camera is more rounded and therefore looks more modern and attractive. Sony's style logo is an orange border and this looks good on a black camera. Just like the 5D, the Sony A-100 has the necessary buttons that mean that you don't have to keep referring to the menu. All those buttons look difficult, but in practise, they are great to work with. Assessing the focus is child's play, thanks to the large 2.5 inch screen on the back of the camera. The eye sensor has also been adapted from Konica Minolta. If the camera is in front of your face, the Sony Alfa 100 awakes from its slumber mode or even focuses which, to be honest, is a bit overdone.
Sony Alfa 100 D-SLR - Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO)
The a (alpha) DSLR A100 is the only D-SLR camera that can optimize dynamic range, meaning the range from highlights to shadows, including gain and contrast, through in-camera hardware processing. Sony’s Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) analyzes the captured image data and instantly determines the best exposure and color tonality of an image before JPEG compression. Unlike software optimization of a processed image, DRO is performed in the hardware. It is the first hardware-based DRO solution for high-speed shooting.
Sony A-100 SLR - Super SteadyShot image stabilization
The Sony Alpha A100 camera is engineered to combat blurry pictures through high light sensitivity (up to ISO 1600) and Super SteadyShot image stabilization, a Sony technology that shifts the image sensor to compensate for camera movement. Because Super SteadyShot is built into the camera body, all compatible telephoto, wide-angle, standard and macro lenses are automatically image-stabilized. This also allows from two to 3-1/2 stops of latitude in exposure, which supports hand-held shooting at longer shutter speeds than would otherwise be possible. In the end, you have more opportunities to shoot in natural lighting without a tripod or a flash.
b>Sony Alpha A100 digital SLR camera review
Like Canon, Sony has given its processor a name. The Sony Alpha 100 has a Boinz. We will certainly hear more of this name in the future. The Boinz processor has enabled Sony to change the dynamic range via software. It can be adjusted for the whole picture or for just part of the picture. Boinz also ensures that the DSLR camera saves the pictures on the flash memory card at top speed. According to Sony, you can shoot a 1GB memory card full in JPEG without any pauses. We tried out the Sony Alpha 100 with a Sony DT 18-70mm f/3.5 - 5.6 for a considerable period. You can read our findings in the following Sony A100 review.
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