The Olympus E-330 DSLR used a similar technique a few years ago, albeit with a much dimmer viewfinder that drew considerable criticism and poor sales. The A350 takes a completely different approach, adding a smaller secondary sensor above the optical viewfinder and using a small mirror to direct light either to the secondary sensor for the Live View feed or through the optical viewfinder. A few models additionally offer a contrast-AF system taken directly from compact digicams, but as on the Canon EOS 450D / Rebel Xsi, they're annoyingly slow in operation. You can see exactly what the camera will capture, but it also produces a noticeable and audible delay, making this type of system invariably slow and best-suited to static subjects. The majority of Live View systems have to raise and lower the camera's shutter in order to autofocus and then show a live video feed from the image sensor on the LCD screen.
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Live View is the Sony's A350's trump card, the principal reason why you'd buy this camera instead of one of its main rivals, and by and large it's very well-implemented. When other manufacturers, notably Canon on the EOS 450D / Rebel Xsi, have buried their live view mode deep within the menu system, its very refreshing to see Sony making it so accessible on the A350. New for the A350 is the prominent Live View/OVF switch, which as you would expect allows you to quickly change between composing in Live View mode or using the traditional optical viewfinder. Its definitive sound confirms for the less experienced user The shutter button, which is quite loud compared with other DSLRs and may deter some from using it for candids, but at least
SONY A350 SOFTWARE ISO
Also found on top of the camera are theĭrive continuous shooting/bracketing button, very handy ISO button, and Select the various shooting and scene modes. There's a mode dial on the top-left of the camera that lets you quickly Of the controls are clearly labeled and common to most cameras.
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The Sony A350 is quite complex in terms of the number of externalĬontrols that it has, with over 20 in total. The base) – means that it won't easily slip from your grasp (at the side) and chunky info lithium NP-FM55H battery (at On the rubberized front of the grip – which houses both card To the back of the body, allowing a comfortable resting positionįor the thumb when gripping the camera, while the indentations Handgrip, and the large, tilting 2.7 inch Build quality is very good, with a chunky plastic body that is well-suited to two-handed operation, unlike some of the more diminutive DSLRs that we've seen recently. Sony A350 body weighs just under 600g and measures 130.8 x 98.5 x 74.7 mm, rather dwarfing the standard 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens, which feels a little lightweight and out-of-place in this company.
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The Sony A350 is slightly smaller and lighter than Sony's first DSLR, the A100, but it's still quite a big camera when compared to its main rivals, the Canon EOS 450D and Nikon D60. The Sony A350 is identical in many ways to the entry-level A200 in terms of its design, so a lot of the comments that we made in our review of that camera will be repeated here. Support PhotographyBLOG: Buy the Sony A350 from On paper at least the A350 seems to have some notable advantages, but do they translate into real-world performance? Mark Goldstein found out.
![sony a350 software sony a350 software](http://www.pma-show.com/news_images/00398_sony-a350.jpg)
With a street price of just under £500 / $900 with an 18-70mm kit lens, the Sony A350 faces some stiff competition from the likes of the Canon EOS 450D / Rebel Xsi, Nikon D60, and Olympus E-520. The Sony A350 retains the same anti-dust system, ISO range of 100-3200, anti-shake system that's built into the body, eye-start auto-focus system and Dynamic Range Optimiser of the cheaper A200. The A350 shares a lot in common with the base A200 model, with the principal differences being the addition of Live View, a tilting LCD screen, and a new 14 megapixel sensor. The Sony A350 sits bang in the middle of the range, above the entry-level A200 and A300, and below the prosumer A700.
SONY A350 SOFTWARE PROFESSIONAL
Sony have aggressively attacked the DSLR market in 2008, introducing no less than three new models, with a full-frame, 24 megapixel professional camera also due out later this year.