Sony Alpha A100K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 Lens

Ace Digital did a fine job in getting the order and sending the camera the same day. Tracking on UPS worked fine. It arrived in good order. The A100K is a great camera. I have been a SLR photographer for a long time, pleased with the switch to PHD cameras generally (push here, dummy), but longing for the control and especially the accuracy of focusing that an SLR provides. The A100 does the job beautifully. Pictures are crisp and predictable. The 3 FPS cycle is fast. Battery life is awesome, including the sleep mode it drops into even when the flash is up. The literature claims 750 photos per charge, with every other shot using the flash, and I believe it. The only thing I have found is that the Auto setting on the guide wheel is not what you want to use for everyday photos. If you are takng landscape shots, use the landscape setting. Ditto for portraits. Ditto for close ups. Auto does not do the best job for any of these conditions. In fact, I try to stay away from Auto, and I have found this curious. The problem is in focusing more than exposure. The focus evaluation setting is really helpful. You can see if you had shake or subject movement very easily. The anti-shake function is really hard to evaluate: if the subject is a bit blurry, does this mean that the anti-shake didn't work, or that the subject moved? Tripod use improves focusing accuracy, but then it would on any camera. I added the Sony 70-300 mm telephoto lens and I am really happy with that as well. Great resolution, especially at max tele settings. I live 30 miles away from a mountain with a lookout hut on top, and I can see the hut clearly at the 300 setting, using a tripod. One last comment about tranferring photos. The Sony-supplied cable connection is 20x faster than removing the CF card and using the card reader on my HP computer. Since the 10 MP photos are 2.3 MB each, this time savings is considerable. This is a great camera. I am very happy with it.

Echoing what most others have said, this is a great camera. It's a dream to use, and the pictures are stunning. Since it's based on a Minolta design, it accepts the lenses from my old Minolta Maxxum 9000 (circa mid 1980s). This is a huge benefit to me; I now have an excellent quality 70-210mm zoom lens for my new Alpha-100 for no additional cost! The auto-focus and TTL metering work properly, and since the anti-shake hardware is in the camera body, that works with the old lens also. Even my old Minolta cable release (a switch on the end of an electrical cable with a proprietary rectangular plug) connects and works fine. I'm very happy with the camera. That said, there are a couple of annoyances. One of them might be significant to you, depending on how you want to use the camera. First, noise. Not picture noise, as in grainy low-light photos, but acoustic noise. The shutter mechanism is *loud*, much louder than my old Maxxum 9000. If you want to be an unnoticed photographer taking discreet pictures like Cartier-Bresson with his Leica, this isn't your camera. Second, the lens shade. This is a nit, but I find it more clumsy to use than the lens shade on the old camera. The old one was held on by a spring clasp; you just squeeze on opposite sides to install or remove it, or to reverse it for storage. The new one has to be positioned precisely so that tabs will lock into place when it is turned. Not as quick or as easy to use, but not really a big deal. I suppose it saved a couple of dollars, as the new one is one piece of plastic while the old one had several parts. On the whole, an excellent product. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

I have had a variety of cameras throughout the past 3 years with my new found interest in photography. I started small and worked my way up, from the FujiFilm 2800 to this Sony SLR and though photography is truly about the photograher, this camera definitely makes photos better, and overall makes photography much more enjoyable. Well, I'll start with the breakdown of features: 1. 10 megapixel sensor: When I found interest in photography several years ago, my first camera had a resolution of merely 2 megapixels, yet the prints were still spectacular. With this camera, there is significant increase of overall quality, but you have to keep in my different factors such as ISO, and white balance, which also play a roll in good prints. 2. ISO: I found that in low light situations, for example during a party, or something, that when I increased the ISO to 800, pictures were slightly noisy, though not significantly. I feel that the noise-reduction system helped in those situations. As far as ISO 1600, it wasn't that great, but then again not all that bad. I would say 60% of my shots would come out nicely. For regular shooting I used the HI200 setting, which would keep the ISO at <200> (above or below), and pictures turn out really well with this setting, combined with some other modes. 3. White balance: The white balance is okay for the most part. I personally like the "shade" and "sunny" modes, but not so much the tungsten and florescent, I have also at times used the manual white balance, which proved to work well, though, I wouldn't use it as much as the preset modes. 4. Dynamic Range Booster: Great great setting. About 75% of the time I've used this setting, the dynamic range has been slightly if not significantly better. What this basically means is it extends the color capabilities of your picture. So let's say there is a red shovel in a large field of grass, the green of the grass may get prioritized, however once you press the dynamic range booster button, some settings are adjusted and the red looks a lot better than it traditionally would. 5. Other Color Settings: When you are in either manual mode, A mode, S mode, or P mode (my favorite),you get to choose from a menu what best matches the situation you are shooting in. There is a list of the standard preset modes like Macro and Landscape, but there is also a few color settings I like. They are: B&W, Adobe RGB, Standard, and Vivid. My personal favorite is vivid; I don't know what it is, but this setting surely does add the extra "umph" in pictures, kind of giving them a film look. I used it to take a picture of a sunset, and it came out slightly better than the pre-programmed sunset mode. 6. Sports Photography: SLR's are definitely the way to go for action photos. This camera sports a really good 3fps, and I've captured numerous shots that simply wouldn't have been possible had it not been for upgrading to a DSLR. However I must he sports mode on this camera is base-line average, and before I learned the settings to this camera about 70% of my shots would come out of average quality. What I do when taking action shots, is go into P mode and manually select settings, and pictures almost always come out better than the pre-set sports mode. I think that the sports mode fully utilizes the advertised 3 fps, however pictures just aren't as sharp. However, this really isn't a problem once you've had the camera for a week or two. 7. Ease of Use: Well, this was my first SLR of any sort ever, yet I was up and going, fully unlocking the potential of this camera in about two weeks. I flat-out couldn't just sit there and read the manual for two hours, so instead I would go around taking candids in my spare time, and switch some settings around, and then take mental note of what looked best. 8. Comparison: I was in a debate with myself for several weeks, wondering if I should get a Nikon D80, Canon Xti/Xt or a Sony, and when I looked at reviews, each one was saying the same about the other, and I finally chose the Sony. When it arrived I used it for a little bit, then went on to Best Buy to get some accessories, and I just happened to see both the Canon Digital Rebel Xti and D80. The Xti felt really cheap, like the plastic would fall apart if you dropped it once, and sensor and kit lens were both significantly smaller than those equipped with the A100. Another thing, both the Canon and the D80 lacked built in image stabilization of any sort, which really DOES come in handy for everyday shooting. As far as the XT/XTi go, the A100 clearly outshines them. Though on the other hand the Nikon D80 is much better than the Sony. It felt really sturdy, and from shooting with one for a full day, it overall produces much better pictures than I've been able to with this camera, the only factor which stopped me from buying it was the price of over $200 more. As far as camera releases go as this year goes on, I would highly suggest not getting a Canon XSi but instead a Sony A350, because from what I've read, the Sony has much more features and gives you more bang for your buck, especially since it's about $100 less than the canon. I can't really talk for Nikon though. Well, I hope my review has contributed into your decision for a new DSLR, if you have any further questions, don't hesitate to comment for this review, thanks. -Sam

It missed the CF card, and the usb cable doesn’t match the camera, so it can not be connected to computer now.

Very pleased with the camera. Excellent service. Will use again.