Comments on: Sony A350 Review

By: Eric Reagan

Eric Reagan — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:28:05 +0000

@Dr. Ippolito – Have you tried setting the WB preset to Tungsten? If so, do you still get the reds and yellows? You could also try using a custom white balance setting by putting a neutral colored object under your tungsten lamp, take a WB reading and apply that as your preset. That should give you more natural colors under that white source.

It has been quite some time since I have used the A350, so you’ll need to consult the camera manual for directions on make adjustments to WB presets and custom WB settings. Hope this helps.

By: Dr Charles Ippolito

Dr Charles Ippolito — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:42:58 +0000

Hi,

I bought this camera to take more photomicrographs. I have attached it to a very high-end German research microscope. Before buying the A350, I used the Cybershot F717, which produced really beautiful photomicrographs. However, I cannot seem to tame this camera to the microscope. I am using it without a lens. The lens has been replaced by a Minolta microscope adapter. The camera was set to MF, using the M on the dial. The images that are produce are filled with unwanted reds and yellows.

I am not certain if the camera needs white balance adjustment, shutter speed adjustment, or some fiddling with aperture (even though there is not lens, so no automatic focus). I am very close, but no cigar yet. Can you provide me with some hints on how to get perfect images from the microscope?

I am using a halogen lamp (tungsten filament). Is my problem a question of color temperature? I should be able to get even better photos with the A350 than I got with the F717. However, taming this new camera has not been easy, and I could use a little tutorial advice.

Thanks and best regards,

Dr Charles Ippolito, MD (NYC)

By: Breezy

Breezy — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:12:22 +0000

I own an a350 and let me tell you that it is as versitile as it is fun to use.I have found it to be an exeptional choice for shooting at night but would recomend spending the money on a nice tripod and sony 200mm lens. I say sony lens because the dementions of other brands can be skewed as far as there true mm. As an owner of a large format(1055cm)printer I could not be happier with the resolution even a t 36inc’s> it is an affordable way to leap into the forfront of the digital revolution, but dont sell your 35mm yet as you will have nothing to talk about with more”old school” photographers>sony delivered on this product, size, weight, resolution, versitility, and useability. spend the$$$ to upgrade from the a100. ive used them too and in comparison they are toys. happy shooting.breezy

By: Sony alpha 350 Testberichte - FotoHardware, FotoWeb - picspack Fotografie Blog

Sony alpha 350 Testberichte - FotoHardware, FotoWeb - picspack Fotografie Blog — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:00:13 +0000

[...] photographybay.com: Sony A350 Review Photography Bay kennt man ja eher als Gerüchteküche ohne viel Substanz dahinter. Es gibt aber auch Ausnahmen, wie der ausführliche Test inklusive Testshots zeigt. [...]

By: Proxima

Proxima — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:01:22 +0000

I am an amateur photographer taking mostly outside pictures of cars with strong contrast or weak light. I bought a A350 with an optional 16-105mm lense and an external flash.

Good things:
- Camera is fast, good auto focus, the live view feature is great and a must for all future DSLR, plenty of adjustments possible.

Bad things, that no review talked about and highly disappointed me:
- The integrated flash is useless with the 16-105mm lense. It is not lifting enough high. It leaves a strong shadow on the picture …
- The Dynamic range optimisation is useless for every day users. I am still wondering if it is working. D80 is like day and night compared to this camera.

Bottom line: If you buy this camera, stay with the stock lense. It is a very good camera for family photographers. This camera equivalent to a Canon A640 …

By: Bob Balluff

Bob Balluff — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:15:53 +0000

I have shot about sixty shots with my a350. The image quality of all these photos which were taken outside are the most crisp of any other digital cameras. In live view I can count the number of bricks on a house from 95 feet away. The tree photos were very sharp also. I have been truly impressed.

Bob B.

By: FransvH

FransvH — Sat, 17 May 2008 12:47:29 +0000

Well after two months of using the A350, I have to say that with some good glass on in the camera produces HQ RAW images who need just little adjustment in LR or PS – don’t use sharpening in ACR only noise reduction.
Yep, but keep it under 800 iso.
Well I am a oldschool photographer used to use low speed film and don’t care about high fps, wishing it was possible to set the camera at 50 and 25 iso.
I mostly use the images or parts of it, for my work as a 3D visualiser.

The camera handles well and is easy managable, it somewhat bigger size and heaver weight is welcome for the guys with large hands (like mine) and stability.
The downside is the viewfinder, the ,75 magnification and the entree is to small. The live view works great, fast and easy, but the coverage of 90% of the image is a bit of a dumper.

I was in the race for buying a 5D that is still my wet dream camera, but I am not a 100% full pro, so desided to go for the A350 with a Tamron 17-50 2,8 and a Sigma 10-20.

Anyway, it is a nice camera with some workable disadvantages.

About the little noise, don’t forget that when you view the image on your screen your looking at 30cm at a image of ±120x80cm.

By: Marlon

Marlon — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:57:00 +0000

To Choa – Chao Santanu Buragohain:

As far as IQ tests have shown that the A350 beats the 450D handily. It’s actually much better in almost every facet. IS in the body, Live View with Flip screen, 14MP, excellent IQ, wireless flash, also shots in higher ISO’s. It’s seems that every review puts this camera right at the top for entry level cameras.

The Sony lens collection is growing and if you look at the reviews of there top glass (Carl Zeiss and G) they score higher than any other lenses in other systems. It’s growing and it will soon be on par. If you compare IS lenses to Sony lenses then you see that with Sony your getting a deal compared to Canon

Sony has been in the market 2 years and already they are the solid #3 DSLR camera maker. Thats pretty remarkable in such a short time. Sony won’t surpass Canon sells for years to come due to the fact that a loyal following stays with the system. Camera shops and many experts use this system exclusively and squelch any sort of competition. But we shall see….

A 25MP Full Frame for under 3K will surely attract some pros

By: Chao Santanu Buragohain

Chao Santanu Buragohain — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:46:32 +0000

Wow, that was what I thought in the begining about this gorgeous damsel from Sony. Let us say she’s one hell of a sexy thing.
But than we don’t need a sexy gadget but superb end result in quality pictures, and does the A350 has that?
Its a big Nooooo……..
The Sony guys did a tremendus market research implementation on needs of modern day customers, specially new DSLR hopefuls for making the A350 as customer friendly as possible. However when one comes to picture quality, they have miserably failed, just as with the compact T300.
Please understand that i have nothing against Sony. My Amplifier, Home Theatre System, DVD and 55″ HDTV are all Sony and i am happy with those.
So it is really embarrasing to see the company failing so miserably in the DSLR market.
A350 has 14mp compared to Canon Xsi 12….it has movable lcd and better live view than Canon……and even many other advantages that would sure lure in new prospective buyers.
But a person who is serious about his photographs knows better.
Thanks Sony for all the small small features that other players have so far ignored. But please get working on a system that not only has great features but produce the best pictures in the world for its worth.
And please kindly consider revising the price of your lens which are incredibly high priced compared to competetion.
As for buyers, please make sure what you want good pictures or just a sexy gadget.