DigitaLife

Last updated (20 December’09):
- Review by Shutterbug

Sony A850 is a full frame DSLR features a 35mm 24.6MP Exmor CMOS image sensor, in-camera image stabilizer, Dual BIONZ™ processors, PhotoTV HD viewing w/ HDMI™ output, Anti-Dust Technology, Moisture/dust-resistant design, Dual Card Slots, ISO 200-6400, and a 3″ TFT Xtra Fine LCD (921,600 pixels).

Overall Rating: | Latest Price Info

Expert ReviewsUser OpinionsSamplesManualSpecsAlso ConsiderExpert Reviews

Sony A850 Reviews

Shutterbug reviews the Sony A850 and writes;
“I found the noise was no problem up to ISO 400, slightly greater at ISO 800, as expected, and at ISO 1600 it crept in, but only if you really dug into the file. In well-exposed areas it is barely noticeable at that speed, but when magnified you could see specks in the shadows. Overall very impressive, and what we have come to expect from full-frame sensor performance.”
Rating: N/A

CNET.asia reviews the Sony A850 and writes;
“The good: Inexpensive full-frame dSLR; bright viewfinder; sensor-shift image stabilizer; dual memory card slots; plenty of customizable options. The bad: No video recording function; high ISO images tend to be too noisy; some buttons hard to access. The bottom line: The A850 is a decent full-frame camera for its price but fussy shutterbugs may not take to its below-average pictures at high ISO settings. “
Rating:

PhotoCracti reviews the Sony A850 and writes;
“image quality is superlative at ISO 100 to 200. My best RAW photos—made with Carl Zeiss ZA lenses at around f/8—are suitable for gallery quality 24?36-inch prints. By ISO 400 some digital noise is apparent, but that’s not a problem in 13?19? prints.”
Rating: N/A

PhotoReview.au reviews the Sony A850 and writes;
“Camera response times were similar to the A900 in our tests. The AF system was quick to lock on to subjects, even in dim lighting after dark. Focusing was accurate for more than 90% of the shots we took, regardless of the drive mode selected. “
Rating:

digitalTrends reviews the Sony A850 and writes;
“As for digital noise, the b?te noir of point-and-shoot digicams and some entry-level DSLRs, it didn’t appear until ISO 800 and wasn’t a problem until hitting 1250. At 3200 and 6400, quality was bad no matter what level of DRO (Dynamic Range Optimization) we used. .”
Rating:

AlphaMountWorld reviews the Sony A850 and writes;
“A850 is a responsive, comfortable, intuitive, and easy to use camera. Yes that sounds a lot like what I’ve said about the A900. With image quality, it seems nothing has been changed. Overall as I have said before the image quality is excellent with the A900 and same goes for the A850.”
Rating: N/A

Sony A850 preview video by WDC;

ImagingResource reviews the Sony A850 and writes;
“Sony A850 presents a bit of a trade-off between detail and image noise. It’s a camera with enormously high resolution, but also somewhat higher noise levels at high ISO settings than some of its competition….Shooting with the Sony Alpha A850 can be summed up in one word: Satisfying.”
Rating: Dave’s Pick

User Opinions

Sony A850 User Reviews

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Samples

Sony A850 Sample Photos

- Sony A850 Sample Photos @ AlphaMountWorld
- Sony A850 Sample Photos @ ImagingResource

Manual

Sony A850 User Manual (PDF)

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- Download Sony A850 User Manual (PDF - 3.6MB)

Specs

Sony A850 SpecificationsPrice (body only)

• US: $ 2000

• UK: TBC
• EU: € 1999

Price (with 28-75mm SAM lens) • US: ~$ 2800
• UK: TBC

• EU: € 2688Body materialMagnesium BodySensor• 35.9 x 24.0 mm CMOS sensor ‘Exmor’
• RGB Color Filter Array

• Built-in fixed low-pass filter
• 25.7 million total pixels
• 24.6 million effective pixels
• On-chip Column A/D Conversion & NRImage sizes [Still]

• 6048 x 4032 (24M 3:2)
• 4400 x 2936 (13M 3:2)
• 3024 x 2016 (6.1M 3:2)

• 6048 x 3408 (21M 16:9)
• 4400 x 2472 (11M 16:9)
• 3024 x 1704 (5.2M 16:9)
• 3924 x 2656 (11M APSC)
• 2896 x 1928 (5.6M APSC)

• 1984 x 1320 (2.6M APSC)

File qualities / formats• RAW (.ARW 2.0)

• Compressed or uncompressed RAW option
• RAW + JPEG Fine
• JPEG Extra Fine
• JPEG Fine
• JPEG StandardDust reduction • Charge protection coating on low-pass filter
• CCD-shift dust reduction mechanism Lenses• Sony Alpha lenses
(also compatible with Minolta A-type bayonet mount lenses)
•?Can be used with DT (1.5x crop) lenses in APS-C modeFOV crop1.0 xImage Stabilization• CCD-Shift ‘ SteadyShot INSIDE’ system

• Five level LED shake indicator in viewfinder
• Claimed equivalent to 2.5 EV- 4 EV steps in shutter speedAuto Focus• TTL CCD line sensors (9-points, center dual cross types + 10 assist sensors)

• EV 0 to 18 (ISO 100) detection range
• Predictive focus control for moving subjectsAF area selection

• Wide AF area

• Spot AF area (center)
• Focus area selection (any of 9)

Focus modes • Single-shot AF

• Direct Manual Focus
• Continuous AF
• Automatic AF
• Manual focus
•?AF micro adjustment (+/- 20 steps for up to 30 lenses)AF assist
illuminator• Yes (built-in LED lamp)
• Range approx 1m - 7m Eye-start AF NoShooting modes

• Auto
• Programmed Auto (with shift)
• Aperture priority AE
• Shutter priority AE
• Manual

• MR (memory recall) / Custom

Sensitivity

• Auto (200 - 1600) - upper/lower limit selectable *

• ISO 200
• ISO 400
• ISO 800
• ISO 1600
• ISO 3200

• ISO 100,ISO 125,ISO 160, ISO 4000, ISO 5000, ISO 6400 (expanded range)

Metering modes• Multi-segment (40 segment Honeycomb pattern)
• Center-weighted

• SpotMetering range • TTL metering
• 40-segment honeycomb-pattern SPC

• EV 0 to 20 (Multi-segment / Center-weighted)
• EV 2 to 20 (Spot metering)
(at ISO 100 with F1.4 lens)AE Lock• AEL button (customizable)
• Half-press shutter releaseAE Bracketing• Single or continuous bracketing

• 3 or 5 frames
• 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 or 2.0 EV steps*
*2.0 EV steps for 3 frames onlyExposure compen.• -3.0 to +3.0 EV
• 0.3 or 0.5 EV stepsShutterElectronically-controlled, vertical-traverse, focal-plane ShutterShutter Speed• 30 to 1/8000 sec
• BulbFlash X-sync• 1/250 sec
• 1/200 sec (with SteadyShot INSIDE on)Aperture valuesDepends on lens, 0.3 EV steps DOF previewYes, dedicated button White balance

• Auto
• Daylight
• Shade

• Cloudy
• Tungsten
• Fluorescent
• Flash
• Color temperature (2500 - 9900 K)

• Manual (Custom) - 3 memories

White balance fine tuning • Auto (none)
• Preset WB: -3 to +3
• Fluorescent WB: -2 to +4

• Color temperature WB: G9 to M9
(19 step Magenta / Green compensation) White balance bracketing • 3 frames
• Hi or Lo steps Dynamic range optimizer

• Off
• Standard
• Advanced Auto

• Advanced
• DRO advanced bracketing (3 frames, High/Low selectable)

Color space• sRGB

• Adobe RGBColor modes • Standard
• Vivid

• Neutral
• Clear
• Deep
• Light
• Portrait

• Landscape
• Sunset
• Night view
• Autumn Leaves
• B&W

• SepiaImage parameters• Contrast (-3 to +3)
• Saturation (-3 to +3)

• Sharpness (-3 to +3)
• Zone Matching (-1 to +2 steps)
• Brightness (-3 to +3 steps)
(Available in all color modes) Noise reduction• Long exposure for exposures longer than 1 second (User controllable: On / Off)
• High ISO NR High/Normal/Low/Off at ISO 1600 or higher Viewfinder

• Eye-level fixed optical glass pentaprism
• Spherical Acute Matte focusing screen (interchangeable)
• Magnification approx. 0.74x
• 98% frame coverage*

• Dioptric adjustment (-3 to +1.0)
• Eye-relief 20 mm from eyepiece
• Eyepiece cup removable
•?Eyepiece shutter built-in
• Viewfinder info bar

LCD monitor

• 3.0″ ‘Xtra Fine’ TFT LCD
• 921,600 pixels (640 x 480 x 3 (RGB))
• 100% coverage

• Brightness setting -/+
• Anti-reflective coating

Flash compensation-3.0 to +3.0 EV in 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 2.0 EV steps Flash ModeAuto, Fill-Flash, Rear sync , High Speed SyncExternal flash (optional) • Sony HVL-F58M
• Sony HVL-F56M
• Sony HVL-F42M
• Sony HVL-F36M
• Macro Twin Flash Kit HVL-MT24AM

• Ring Light HVL-RLAM
• Off camera flash shoe FA-CS1 AM Drive modes • Single-frame

• Continuous (H/L selectable)
• Self-timer (10 or 2 sec)
• Mirror-Up
• Continuous bracket
• Single-frame bracket
• White balance bracket
• DRO bracket

• Mirror Lock-Up
• Remote CommanderContinuous
shooting * Approx 3 fps max
• RAW: Up to 16 frames
• cRAW (compressed): Up to 18 frames
• RAW+JPEG: Up to12 frames
• cRAW+JPEG : Up to 12 frames

• JPEG (XFINE): Up to 34 frames
• JPEG (STD/FINE): 593/384Self-timer

• 10 sec

• 2 sec
• Mirror up function (optional)
• Remote control

Orientation sensor Yes, for shooting, playback and control panel display Connectivity• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (mass storage, Multi-LUN or PTP)
• Video out (NTSC or PAL)

• HDMI type C mini jack
• DC-IN
• Remote terminal
• PC control (with supplied software) Remote control *• Wired: with optional RM-S1AM or RM-L1AM
• Wireless: with optional RM-DSLR1)Video out• AV (Selectable NTSC or PAL)
• HDMI (1920 x 1080i, 1280 x 720p, 720 x 580p, 720 x 576p)
• ‘PhotoTV’ HD settings applied with BRAVIA.Storage• Compact Flash Type I/II, UDMA Mode 5 compliant
• Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, PRO-HG Duo
• Supports FAT12 / FAT16 / FAT32 Power• NP-FM500H Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (1650 mAh)
• CR2025 Wireless remote
• Battery charger included

• Optional AC adapter
• Battery life Approx 880 shots (CIPA standard) Vertical grip• Vertical Grip VG-C90AM

• One or Two NP-FM500H batteries with auto switchover for power (additional battery is optional).Dimensions 156 x 117 x 82 mmWeight (body) 850 g

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