Roll your mouse over the above images to see how the light path is redirected between the viewfinder and live view sensor Instead there is a second, smaller sensor placed up in the viewfinder tunnel. Sony's system stands alone amongst contemporary Live View systems in that it does not show the output from the main imaging sensor. The Sony DSLR-A380 uses the same live view system that we first saw on the A350.
SONY A350 KOPEN PRO
SONY A350 KOPEN SERIES
A brief history Sony/Konica Minolta entry level digital SLR series
SONY A350 KOPEN FULL
To find out how the A380 performed in our tests and what impact this work has made on the A380's image output read our full review. While the headline specs of the new camera models have hardly changed Sony says it has put substantial work into the cameras' image processing engines. Additionally there is a new DT 50mm F/1.8 prime lens and a DT 30mm F/2.8 macro. The DT 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 standard zoom lens and the DT 55-200mm F/4-5.6 tele zoom come in the one- and two-lens kits that each camera can be ordered in, but are also available separately. All three models are aimed at the first-time DSLR user.Īlong with the new cameras Sony has launched a number of new lenses. At the bottom of the line the A230 offers a 10.2 megapixels sensor in a fairly basic body, the A330 adds live view to the mix and the A380 tops it up with a more pixel-dense sensor (14.2 megapixels). On the spec sheet the upgrades are of a fairly minor nature and as before the three models are extremely close in terms of price and features.
Now, one and a half years later, the product hierarchy in Sony's entry-level segment remains unchanged and the current models are being replaced by the DSLR-A230, A330 and A380 respectively. In January last year Sony was one of the first manufacturers to 'diversify' its entry level DSLR offerings when it replaced the DSLR-A100 with not one but three new cameras - the DSLR-A200, A300 and A350.