Overview:

Sony A900 is not a cheap toy for amateurs – the frame is priced at $2999. It’s no wonder as the Sony A900 offers 24.6 megapixel resolution, viewfinder with nearly 100% coverage, in-camera image stabilization. However, the camera lacks built-in flash, or even life view. So is the Sony A900 worth its price? Read on to find out.

Sony A900 pros:
+ Good design, button placement and materials
+ Wide selection of color modes
+ Automatic flipping of LCD info display aids in vertical shooting
+ Very fast burst mode
+ Excellent sharpness
+ Good battery life

Sony A900 cons:
- Average noise performance
- No built-in flash
- Quite slow startup time

The design:

Sony A900 measures 156 x 117 x 82 mm and weighs 939 grams. The front of the camera is dominated by the lens mount surrounded by a few buttons and switches, such as the lens release button, preview button, focus mode switch and the front control dial. The back do the camera is fully packed, yet still comfortable to work with. So, besides the 3 inch LCD display working in 921,600 resolution. On the right of the LCD screen is the AEL button, rear control dial, multi selector, image stabilization control. Of the left of the display is the power switch, menu button, playback mode button and on screen display button. The left side of Sony A900 features the remote control terminal, HDMI and USB/AV ports and the DC IN terminal, whereas the right side houses the sliding door behind which you will find the memory stick slot. The bottom houses only the tripod mount and the battery compartment, while the top features the mode dial (on the left), hot shoe, small monochrome display, front control dial (on the right), as well as ISO and white balance controls.

Performance:

Sony A900 renders quite accurate colors in good lighting conditions, yet it seems that the competitive digital SLRs do even a better job in this respect. When it comes to the long-exposure color and noise the Sony A900 is one of the best performers on the market. High-ISO noise reduction starts to work only when you reach ISO 800 and so the overall noise levels are too high compared to competition. The resolution of photos taken with Sony A900 is the highest among the recent digital SLRs. And with little distortion and very good sharpness (at all zoom levels) it seems that the Sony A900 s a very good overall performer.
Sony A900 offers six predefined white balance settings and should that not be enough the camera has also an auto mode. The Auto white balance works very well on most occasions, although it might have some troubles with incandescent lighting. And when there is very little light, that is at night, the Sony A900 does a very good job overall. Even though it might have a bit too much noise the sharpness, color rendering and exposure compensate that.

Menus / ease of use:

Sony A900 has a very good image browser which allows you to magnify the photos up to 19x. However, the camera lacks editing features. Thanks to Th. 3-inch display working in high resolution all the menus look very well and are easy to read. There are three user-configurable custom settings available from the mode dial and plenty of other customizable features in different menus. Additionally, there is the ‚Auto’ mode which does everything for you and still allows you to take great photos.

Selected Sony A900 features and specifications:
Style

• Digital SLR

Megapixels

• 24.6

Resolution

• 3:2

File Formats

• JPEG/RAW

Memory Cards

• CompactFlash MicroDrive Memory Stick Duo

Shutter Speed

• 1/8000 – 30 seconds and bulb

Sensitivity

• Auto 100 – 6400

White Balance Settings

• Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash, Custom

ExposureCompensation

• -2EV to +2EV (in 1/3EV steps)

Viewfinder

• Pentaprism

LCD Screen

• 3 inches

Flash Modes

• Autoflash, Fill-flash, Rear flash sync. High Speed sync. with optional compatible accessory flash

Metering

• Multi segment, Spot, Center weighted

ManualControls

• Manual exposure, aperture priority, shutter priority

Image Stabilisation

• Yes

Self Timer

• 10 seconds or 2 seconds

Video Out (TV Playback)

• Yes

Computer Connection

• Yes

Batteries

• Lithium-ion Rechargeable

Other recently reviewed digital cameras:

Panasonic Lumix ZS3