Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- User Rating: 
Summary for Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- Superb Camera
Notes on Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- This is a fantastic camera. 14mp DSLR at under a grand is a bargin at this time. I have owned 35mm SLRs and digital point & shoot cameras over the years. This is my first DSLR. I have been pleased that given the complicated nature of such a device that it has been relatively easy to learn and use. I like the Tilt LCD but I wish it would articulate like some Point and Shoot cameras to be able to avoid glare from direct sun.
The body seems quite well made and comfortable to the hand, allthough the shutter button doesn't seem to to be intuativly placed to my hand. But I'm sure I'll get used to it as my experience with it builds. Sony eliminated the Depth Of Field Preveiw button that I understand was on previous models. I would have appreciated that feature. I use it often on my 35 SLR. I would like to see a Focal Length readout in the veiwfinder.
The 18-70 lens(28-135 in 35mm) is a good Focal Length choice and starter lens. That give a very wide angle up to mild telephoto. It gives sharp colorful images. Being a inexpensive lens, it has a couple of down sides. The worst trait is that the outside of the lens rotates when focusing, which when using a Polarizing Filter alters the filter setting. You just have to remember to focus first and adjust the filter after. The other is that 3.5 aperature is a bit slow, but a 2.8 is going to be a lot more money.
There are a number of lenses to fit availible from Tamron, Sigma, as well as Sony. Accessories from Sony tend to run high. But there are ussually less costly alternative brands for such things. Sigma makes compatible flashes for example, that are much less and do as much or more. Sony has a policy of not allowing retailers to discount. So don't expect any free printers or sales.
Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- User Rating: 
Summary for Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- Best Live View in the world of DSLR!
Notes on Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- A350 was my first DSLR... I only buy it because of it's Quick AF Live View feature: Very Good, like a compact camera.
I just don't use the viewfinder... I Don't like to put my eye directly on the camera !!!
I bought a 100mm Macro Lens... but the photo quality is not what I've expected... maybe I need some time to improve my shots!
The LCD is Bad in Outdoors... you just can't see anything - In comparison with Sony DSC-H9's LCD.
No Trimming option on the menu is Bad!
Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- User Rating: Summary for Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- My thoughts on the Sony A350
Notes on Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- To start off, I don't really write reviews on products, and I am new to digital photography, so you can really take this review with a grain of salt... However, I just thought I would share why I gave this product a 5 star rating.
The five star rating simply put is because I love this camera. As stated earlier I am new to digital SLR photography so I won't be nearly as insightful as the Nikon/Canon buffs.
Why get the A350? 14.2 megapixels. Live view. Ease of use. Super Steady Shot built into the camera.
The high megapixels enable you to take high quality photos that will look great when blown up. Does this mean that this camera will take better pictures than a Nikon D300 because the megapixel count is higher... No, not at all that was a common misconception I learned. But knowing that I wanted to take a lot of pictures and make large digital prints to make my office look less lame, I figured I should go a step higher to get the blown-up image quality that I want.
The live view is great for so many reasons. Right on the display, it tells you all your settings from battery life, flash, aperture, etc... all while giving a great idea what your image will look like. Keep in mind, what you see on the live view isn't 100% what you'll see when you load the photos on computer or photoshop.
Ease of use: Grab the camera, go over the manual, play with the settings, take pictures. Coming from someone who knew nothing about cameras until about 2 weeks ago, the learning curve was easy with this camera. Right out of the box, you can set everything to auto and take great pictures just like a small digital camera. But for more advanced photos you simply learn by trial and error and the live view helps you see what you might need to adjust when taking photos. So even if you've never touched an SLR camera, you begin to learn what ISO, f/5.6, and all the other settings are and how to use them just by taking good pictures... or bad ones!
Super Steady Shot: Clear images, built into the camera, not the lens like other manufacturers. Down the line it can help you save some money because you can buy less expensive lenses because you don't need to pay the extra money to get the image stabilization in the lens like Canon or Nikon.
So why get this camera vs. other brands? First off, this camera is great for anyone wanting to get into digital SLR's. If you have old Minolta A-mount lenses you can use them with this camera. There are websites that give compatibility charts with some of the old lenses that you have.
If you have a bunch of DSLR Nikon and Canon gear, well that sucks for Sony because you won't be buying an A350 anytime soon. If you did, then you're either dumb or have a lot of free time and money to blow. However, if you're thinking about getting a camera, Sony makes a great product and offers tons of features in the camera at a low cost. Down the road, Sony will launch more professional and higher priced cameras so if you're starting out on a DSLR journey, you can begin it with Sony and start collecting lenses, tripods, filters and all the other happy stuff that goes into the expensive hobby of digital photography.
Side note: I think this camera was $100 cheaper when I bought it 2 weeks ago. I got the Sony A350X kit (The X is the 2 lens kit, the A350K kit is a 1 lens kit) so I don't know what the deal is there. But all in all, it's a great buy.
Oh yeah, if you're trying to decide whether or not to buy the A300 or A350, in case you didn't know the only difference, literally is the megapixels. So unless you are going to blow up your images, go save yourself $200 bucks and get the A300. If you're going to make large prints like I am, then go with the A350.
Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- User Rating: Summary for Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- Awesome DSLR
Notes on Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- It has been about 10 years since I put away my old olympus SLR camera away to gather dust for a few nifty small digital point and shoots. I bought this Sony about a month ago and have taken almost 2,000 pics. Took me a while to brush up on my technique and understand the new dslr lingo, but for anyone who has ever used a traditional SLR, I think you'll be most pleased. SUPER clear/hi res pictures, exceptionally quick focusing, even in live view mode, and easy to access options. Chances are, the things you are looking for the most are just a button, dial or quick click away. The ISO button is super handy, and with the touch of a button, you can change the setting up to 3200 to suit your needs.
I skipped the kit lens option and decided to buy the SAL18250 (18 mm - 250 mm. Stick with the Sony lens folks. It is solid responsive, and a great overall wide angle/telephoto lens. Why schlep around 2 kit lens' when you can virtually have it all in one? (:
OK back to the camera. OK now, some cons: The camera is a bit on the heavy side (But then again I'm really used to a point and shoot). This camera also lacks the ability to do a super magnified manual focus on the LCD during live view. This is not a real big deal to me for my needs. Auto focus works great, and manual focus works fine for me those rare times I use it.
I love the tiltable 2.7 in live view screen. Got some incredible shots at ground level looking up (From a dog's eye view) I should say an ants eye view! That with the wide angle... wowza.. seriously creative shots without breaking your back or twisting your neck!
I've been able to hand hold existing light shots down to 1/20 of a second, thanks to the anti shake feature. Pretty cool. I would have never thought I could take such a slow hand held pic without it being all blurred.
I highly recommend purchasing an 8 gig CF card for this camera to maximize your data storage. You should get about 1,700 fine res .jpg pics per disk. Go for the faster speed CF card like the SanDisk Extreme III. They're cheap now, under a hundred bucks. I also recommend getting a UV filter and circular polarizer. Again, stick with Sony filters. Now that you have such a great camera, you'll want the really nice quality filters.
You'll have fun with this camera and your friends will drool over your pictures!!!
Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- User Rating: Summary for Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- Sony Alpha 350
Notes on Sony Alpha DSLRA350X 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera ...- Not much can be said that hasn't been said. One Hell of a nice camera. Took out of box and began shooting excellent photos right off the bat. I did have to read the instructions to see what a couple of the control were and how to get to a couple of things. Excellent feel of the camera, Excellent location of control buttons. Love the anti-shaking, and live view. Owner of approximately 4 different sonys and have loved each, but the 350 is definitely the top dog. Have use the Nikon, and canon, they don't hold a candle to this camera. The company that sent the camera was also excellent, no problems, camera was waiting for me when I got home, no dented boxes.
One recommendation is to buy the added lens.
