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Sony Alpha A350 is a yawn!

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
32824762-2-300-OVR-1.gif

CNET Image

Well, I'll be darned! Why have name Alpha if you are not going to be the best!

However the CNET reviewer felt that the move from 10 to 14MP buys very little if anything at all, especially if you just use the kit lens! I'd love to see the EXIF of the files but they don't post them, just the combo images with 100% cutouts side by side.

32824761-2-440-SIC9.jpg

CNET Image

One of the A350's image-quality problem comes from
pairing a middling lens with a high resolution sensor. On
the left is the 18-70mm kit lens on the A350; on the
right, the lens on the 10-megapixel A200. The 14MP A350's
version looks more magnified, but perceptibly softer.Source]

"With its 14-megapixel CCD, flip-up LCD, sensor-shift image stabilizer, and built-in wireless flash controller, the feature-packed Sony Alpha DSLR-A350 seems like a cornucopia of photographic goodness for the budget shopper. And you wouldn't be far off the mark: there's a lot to like in the A350, and I suspect it will garner its share of fans. Unsurprisingly, however, Sony made some compromises so that the A350 could lay claim to the title of highest-resolution budget dSLR. Sony does offer an almost identical 10-megapixel model, the Alpha DSLR-A300, which lists for about $200 less." Source].

So really, is this better than a 12MP Canon Digital Rebel Xsi recently announced for April 27th? I doubt it!

Still, it is so counterintuitive that the camera with more pixels should be blurred, even with a cheap kit lens! I've written to the CNET editor. We'll see what they say!

Asher
 

Barry Johnston

New member
Km 7d

Asher, prior to my Canon purchase, I owned the KM 7D. It was really a superb camera, and as with all Minoltas, very ergonomically designed with all one touch controls. It felt really good in my hands. But image quality was always an issue with it. It has taken me a long time to get used to my Canon, and I still have handling issues from time to time. I don't like the 'pushing 2 buttons to do anything' system and Canon could learn a lesson from Km (Sony) in this regard. As far as IQ is concerned, Canon blows the KM right out of the water.... no contest.

Regards,
Barry
 

John Sheehy

New member
32824762-2-300-OVR-1.gif

CNET Image

Well, I'll be darned! Why have name Alpha if you are not going to be the best!

However the CNET reviewer felt that the move from 10 to 14MP buys very little if anything at all, especially if you just use the kit lens! I'd love to see the EXIF of the files but they don't post them, just the combo images with 100% cutouts side by side.

Well, the 14MP version is clearly better. You can't allow yourself to be influenced by the diminutive detail in the 10MP version, which appears sharper and is assumed to be more detailed even if it isn't. If you upsample the 14mp half to 178.4% and the 10MP half to 224.2% (symmetric about 200%), the 14MP is clearly more accurate in rendering detail. The ruler ticks look like a jagged mess in the 10MP half, and has well-balanced edges in the 14MP version.
 
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