Re: Sony Alpha 350 - a Creative Review

[Frank43]

Thank you David for this review. You are presenting the camera from a different perspective that is refreshing. Your critics of the weaknesses of this camera demonstrate unequivocally that you are looking at the camera with independent eyes.

I am most encouraged to see that the A350 sensor is so exceptional. I can grow my processing skills with it.

If I can flag a possible error:

"The Alpha 300 and 350 could really use a larger mirror-prism and a higher magnification ocular to overcome the class-losing 0.74X magnification (a true 0.47X relative to a life-size 100% view with a 50mm lens on full frame)."

I thought that the factor was 1.5 -> 0.74 / 1.5 = 0.4933 not 0.47.
Note that the well established Canon 400D is essentially the same size: 0.80 / 1.6 = 0.500. I think the difference is not perceptible.

Frank

[David Kilpatrick]

It is 0.95X (95% view) /1.5 x0.74

It would be 0.49 if the field of view was 100% of the image area.

My British Journal guide to DSLRs published on May 28th gave a figure for every single current DSLR, relative to a 100 per cent field, 1X magnification (50mm) finder. For copyright reasons I can not post this report on the web, although it is based on my own DSLR guide concept originally created for f2 magazine. I now do this for the BJP twice a year. But, I can publish all the relative apparent sizes of viewfinders!

Canon EOS 400D - 0.48X
Canon EOS 450D - 0.52X
Canon EOS 40D - 0.57X
Canon EOS 5D - 0.68X
Canon EOS 1D MkIII - 0.57X
Canon EOS 1Ds MkIII - 0.76X
Fujifilm Finepix S5 - 0.60X
Nikon D40 - 0.51X
Nikon D40X - 0.51X
Nikon D60 - 0.51X
Nikon D80 - 0.60X
Nikon D200 - 0.63X
Nikon D300 - 0.63X
Nikon D2Xs - 0.57X
Nikon D3 - 0.70X
Olympus E-330 - 0.45X
Olympus E-400 - 0.44X
Olympus E-410 - 0.44X
Olympus E-420 - 0.44X
Olympus E-500 - 0.43X
Olympus E-510 - 0.44X
Olympus E-520 - 0.44X
Olympus E-3 - 0.58X
Panasonic Lumix L10 - 0.44X
Pentax K100D - 0.55X
Pentax K10D - 0.60X
Pentax K200D - 0.50X
Pentax K20D - 0.60X
(Samsungs as above)
Sigma SD14 - 0.52X
Sony Alpha 200 - 0.53X
Sony Alpha 300 - 0.47X
Sony Alpha 350 - 0.47X
Sony Alpha 700 - 0.57X

In the report I also state the percentage of field coverage for each one, and whether the prism is glass or mirror type.

David

[Frank43]

Thank you for the clarification.

Applying the 0.95 correction to both the Sony A350 and the Canon 400D we get
A350: 0.468
400D: 0.475

The difference is 0.007 which is imperceptible. When we say that the A350 OVF is the smallest of the APS_C cameras, it sounds really bad. However, if we add that the well accepted 400D OVF is essentially the same size, it gives a better measure of the weakness. In your text you do mention that many Olympus cameras are smaller, a fact that dpreview forgot to mention.

Frank

[Glyn R]

This is a very interesting review David. It is thoughtful and well presented. It points out benefits and limitations which are present in all cameras, the image quality of the A350 is becoming more obvious to me as I acquire more better lenses.

[01af]

Very interesting review indeed, and very balanced run-down of the pros (many) and cons (also many). Especially when considering 'who this camera is for' then you'll miss mirror pre-fire (MPF, not to be confused with mirror lock-up) even more.

Those who check the significance of MPF with their Dynax 5D or A100 cameras and see no difference w/ and w/o MPF simply don't understand what MPF really is for. Of course you won't need it with a 18-70 mm, 18-250 mm, or 75-300 mm lens. But try using a 600 mm or a 1,600 mm super-telephoto lens (e. g. RF Rokkor 800 mm w/ Minolta 2× M/A Converter-L) or a macro set-up at 4× or 10× magnification ... then you'll learn very quickly what MPF (or MLU) can do for you.

If it had MPF then I'd consider the A350 as a secondary camera. Without MPF, it's just a toy because I can neither use my longest telephoto lenses nor my macro gear on it. The current line of Alpha cameras really makes me think about jumping ship---after 30 years of using Minolta. If it only had in-body image stabilization, I'd order a Nikon D300 and a few Nikkor lenses immediately.

-- Olaf

[David Kilpatrick]

Having done 10X macro on the D300 with live view plus 10X focusing magnificatin, I can tell you that even having the mirror up permanently is not enough. You need to replace your tripod, then the floor in your house, then lock your cats/dog/wife in another room, then move to a new house more than 500 metres from a main road...

David