Sony A230 DSLR: Review

Posted to Digital SLR 2009-10-23

Sony A230 DSLR review:

The Sony A230 DSLR is Sony's most reasonably priced SLR for beginners. In spite of its price, it's packed with features. The camera is being marketed by Sony in two camera/lens combinations - One is the camera body with an 18-55mm f/3.5-56 (35mm equivalent of 27-82.5mm) lens; the other is the camera body with the 18-55mm zoom lens plus a 55-200mm f/4-5.6 (35mm equivalent 82.5-300mm) zoom lens.

Both combinations are very reasonably priced, making the A230 one of the lowest priced camera/lens SLR combos on the market. The A230 features a 10.2MP APS-C sized sensor, an in-camera image stabilization system, and a 2.7 inch 230,400 dot color LCD display. The camera also features a high sensitivity ISO setting of 3200, a built-in vibration dust reduction system which keeps the sensor free of dust, and 6 automatic scene modes.

Rating:

4.4 out of 5

Value

The Sony A230 DSLR, when purchased with either of the kit lens combinations, represents an excellent value for the street price. The camera is aimed squarely at the beginning SLR user, but has plenty of features to allow for room to grow. The camera offers fully automatic control, which delivers excellent quality images, but also provides enough manual control for beginning SLR users to be more creative if they wish. The in-camera shake reduction system means add-on lenses cost less, and the camera has an above average build quality.

Features

The A230 has most all of the features that a beginning SLR user is likely to need, plus some that will appeal to the more advanced user. It features eye-start autofocus, which starts the autofocus as soon as you bring the camera viewfinder up to your eye. This results in faster autofocus operation. In addition, the viewfinder features a 100% field of view with a .83X magnification factor. The camera uses a 9-point autofocus system, so manual focus is rarely necessary. The 2.7-inch LCD large enough to provide a good image preview yet small enough to allow for a very compact sized camera.

Summary

If you are in the market for your first digital SLR, you won't find a better deal than the Sony A230 DSLR. It has enough advanced features that you won't have to replace it soon, yet it's ease of use allows beginning users to master it in very short order. And the camera/lens combos being offered by Sony are an excellent value.

Pros

10.2 megapixel resolution
In-camera shake reduction system
2.7 inch 230.400 dot LCD display
Built-in dust reduction system
18-55mm and 55-200mm kits lenses available

Cons

There are no cons for this product