Sony Alpha DSLRA300K 10 2MP Digital SLR Camera with Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization with DT 18 70mm f 3 5 5 6 Zoom Lens

Overview

Sony’s Alpha DSLR-A300: the camera that links you and your subject. For first-time DSLR users, Sony combines superb 10.2-megapixel quality, a high-quality DT 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 standard zoom lens, and Live Preview in a large, tilting 2.7-inch LCD monitor for point-and-shoot simplicity. You’ll have super-quick AF response, 3 fps continuous shooting while you see your subject in the viewfinder, and high sensitivity (ISO 3200) for great low-light shots. What’s more, you get simple controls, Creative Style settings and in-camera Super SteadyShot image stabilization that work with every Sony, Carl Zeiss and legacy Minolta a-mount lens. Stamina power for up to 740 shots, Auto Pop-up Flash and many more features make DSLR model an excellent choice for your favorite new hobby.

Alpha DSLR-A300 Highlights

10.2-megapixel Super HAD CCD Superb image quality gives you great DSLR shots right from the start, with a large APS-size CCD imager developed by Sony to expand dynamic range, and minimize noise more effectively for clear, sharp photos even at high sensitivity setting (up to ISO 3200).

Live Preview of your subject The DSLR-A300’s Live Preview mode links you and your subject on a large 2.7-inch LCD screen, for a familiar point-and-shoot style — with super-quick AF response and accurate exposure control to help you catch the perfect moment. In Live Preview mode, the camera bypasses the optical pentaprism mirror to create a live “eye-to-eye” view of loved ones, children, pets and fast-changing scenes.

Tiltable 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD Plus screen A large built-in screen with 2-way angle tilt provides a sharp, clear view of your subject and tilts up or down for low-angle or high-angle monitoring in situations where you want a child-level or overhead shot.

Continuous shooting while viewing The DSLR-A300 lets you shoot continuously at up to 3 frames per second while you see your subject in the viewfinder2, so you never lose track of the action. In JPEG mode, you can shoot up to the limit of your flash memory card; in RAW Burst Mode you can capture up to 6 shots, with intelligent buffer management to allow more shots to be captured without waiting for the buffer to clear.

Smart teleconverter 2x zoom At the touch of a button you can zoom in electronically on your subject, reproducing pixels on a 1:1 basis with no degradation in picture quality. One touch zooms in at 1.4X, the second touch advances to 2X zoom — creating the 35mm equivalent of a 200mm telephoto effect with the DSLR-A300’s standard 18-70mm zoom lens.

Expanded ISO sensitivity A broad sensitivity range from ISO 100 to ISO 3200 enables the DSLR-A300 to capture beautiful color images even in very dim light — with High ISO Noise Reduction technology that reduces picture noise artifacts at high-sensitivity ISO 1600 and ISO 3200 settings by eliminating noise from RAW data after analog-to-digital conversion.

Super SteadyShot in-camera image stabilization Because image stabilization is built into the DSLR-A300, every lens benefits by an advantage of from 2.5 to 3.5 exposure steps. This allows you to shoot effectively with minimum blur even in low light without flash — or adjust exposure control for smaller lens aperture, to increase depth of field and bring both foreground and background into sharp focus.

Bionz image processor The “brain” of the Alpha DSLR-A300 is the advanced Sony Bionz Image Processor, using hardware-based Large Scale Integrated (LSI) circuitry to enhance images with rich tonal reproduction, improved white balance and exposure control, and expanded D-Range Optimizer capabilities. With 2-channel data transfer from CCD to processor, your camera can also respond faster.

1200-zone evaluative metering Exposure information from the image sensor dedicated to Live View is divided into 1200 zones of luminance and RGB color information. In addition D-Range Optimizer technology contributes to judge the scene and then determine the optimum exposure to reproduce images with a more natural look.

Dynamic Range Optimizer To improve results with backlit subjects and recover details hidden in shadows or lost in glare, the DSLR-A300 provides Dynamic Range Optimizer at two levels: Normal DRO, to improve detail using standard gamma curves for fast shot-to-shot response time, or Advanced DRO, to adjust dynamic range area-by-area for the greatest precision.

Anti-Dust technology Changing lenses in a DSLR can allow dust to enter the camera — so to keep the CCD imager cleaner for better pictures, the DSLR-A300 utilizes both static-free anti-dust coating on the CCD filter and anti-dust vibration that automatically shakes the CCD to dislodge dust each time the camera is shut off.

Auto Pop-up flash The camera flash automatically pops up and fires when needed, to help first-time DSLR photographers shoot more effectively. Auto Pop-up works in Auto mode and some scene selection modes; Flash is cancelled in Landscape, Sport or Sunset modes and in “Flash Off” position on the Exposure Mode dial.

Eye-Start autofocus system It begins precision autofocus adjustments the moment you raise the camera to your eye — so unlike some DSLR cameras that don’t start focusing until the shutter button is half-pressed, the Sony DSLR-A300 never slows down your ability to catch fast action.

9-point center cross AF sensor A fast focus motor and improved focus control help bring images into sharp definition more quickly, with predictive focus control that automatically calculates the position of a fast-moving subject.

Scene Selection modes Along with auto exposure, the DSLR-A300 gives you scene selection modes to optimize camera performance for Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports, Sunset and Night Portrait/Night View situations.

Creative Style Settings To express your creativity and personal taste, you can adjust contrast, saturation and sharpness settings for any of 8 finishing styles — including Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Night View, Sunset, B&W and Adobe RGB modes.

Index and Slide Show Display To quickly review your photos, the DSLR-A300 can display 4, 9 or 25-frame index views — or present automatic slide shows with fade-in/fade-out effect.

High-resolution thumbnails for PhotoTV HD viewing The DSLR-A300 automatically creates high-resolution thumbnail images for viewing on Sony’s BRAVIA HDTV in optimized PhotoTV HD mode, with image format adjustable for standard 3:2 or widescreen 16:9 display.

Function Guide Display On-screen menus are intuitive and easy to use — and a simple Camera Function Display can be activated and operated with one hand using the “Fn” (Function) button and controller button to adjust Flash mode, Autofocus mode, White Balance, Metering mode, AF area and D-Range Optimizer.

Stamina Battery Power In optical viewfinder mode, you can take up to 750 shots3 on a fully charged NP-FM500H InfoLithium battery — and you’ll be able to see about how much power remains in percentage increments, so you can keep shooting in confidence.

High-capacity media options For conveniently storing and sharing your images, the DSLR-A300 accepts CompactFlash Type I/II media and optional Memory Stick Pro Duo media.

AOptional advanced lenses and system accessories Sony’s Alpha system gives you everything you need to expand your creativity in DSLR photography: precision Sony DT zoom lenses and specialty lenses, Sony “G” Series lenses with advanced motorized autofocusing, amazingly bright Carl Zeiss lens designs, professional-quality flash units, and over 16 million Minolta a-mount lenses sold worldwide.

Product Specifications

Reviews

2 Stars It's like a toy I bought this and returned it for a Nikon D90. Poor quality and it felt like a toy compared to the Nikon D90. Don't waste your time or money. Go with Nikon or Canon.

5 Stars Digital Photography accessible to newcomers The Sony Alpha 300 is a very nice mid entry level camera to anyone with a desire to explore digital photography.

I had first purchased the Alpha 200, and about a week later, Sony launched the Alpha 300. I was able to return my out of the box camera, and ordered this newer model. I am glad I did, because of all the features that this camera has, as I will briefly describe below.

It is a fantastic piece of equipment that allows amateurs, and mid level photographers to engage in their creative shooting, while using some of the advantages of a point and shoot camera.
One of the main features that makes this camera so desirable is its 'live preview' feature on its LCD screen.
I was used to shooting photos on a Sony Cyber before upgrading to a digital SLR. The few days I had the Alpha 200 I hated the fact that I had to look in the viewer. But with the Live preview function in this camera, I was satisfied of being able to shoot as I had already been shooting for about 3 years, and do it with much better results with this 10Mb pixel camera.

I spent a couple months shooting with the automatic setting, which is just as using a point and shoot camera.
The real power of this camera is unleashed when you start playing with the other shooting settings. I have already transitioned into only using this camera on its manual setting, and being able to create certain moods in the photographs I have shot, all by controlling exposure and aperture, the two technical elements that are required in photography.
They are easily controlled and can be changed on the fly, while photographing your subject matter, by a simple button and a dial.

A less known feature is the ability to take 3 shoots per second, with different exposure settings, using the EAB (Exposure Auto Bracketing) setting, very useful for those who want to combine 3 shots into one, using postprocessing with either Photoshop, or any other graphics program.

The camera is compact, its weight is very manageable, and the life of the battery allows you to take as many photos as you want to create photographic essays on whatever subject you like.

I definitely recommend this camera to anyone getting into the fantastic world of digital photography. As I said, you can set the camera in automatic, and learn to use it, and gradually play with the other settings until you are using it as it is meant to be used.

5 Stars Stellar for the price I bought this camera at Circuit City's going out of business liquidation sale for $480 to capture my first family vacation to Puerto Rico. During our 8-days in P.R. we shot over 1500 photos on beaches, rain forest, resorts, restaurants, driving down the road, etc. The only accessories used were a standard UV filter and high speed 4GB CF card.

Pros:
- Exceptional Battery life. Took close to 800 photos over three days before battery needed replacement.
- Very intuitive menu. My wife, who has never used a SLR or DSLR was able to take great photos with this camera (menu setup also makes it easy to teach)
- Tilting live view screen. Nice feature if you want to avoid bending down to take pictures of the kids or get some low angle shots. Also nice to take pictures over obstacles (walls at El Morro fort)
- Compatible with Playstation 3. I just plugged the camera in to my PS3's USB port and was able to upload the photos into the PS3 hard drive... which brings me to the next point
-- Absolutely stunning photo quality! After uploading the photos to my PS3, I viewed them full screen on my 65' Mitsubishi HDTV (1080p, connected via HDMI cable). The results are stunning. Clear, vibrant colors (all photos shot at 10mp.) I can even zoom in another 50% and the photos still look good. We're talking the equivalent of a 31x56 inch photo!
- Great instruction manual. I wasn't expecting the instruction manual to provide a crash course in photography, well done.

Cons:

- The flash is mounted low and creates a shadow when shooting on objects closer than a few feet
- 10mp means really large files and slow transfer times. But that should be expected...
- LCD: Doesn't sit flush with the back of the camera... This would be a great improvement.

I highly recommend this camera to those new to DSLR's. Just make sure you budget for all the gear to go with it (good protective case, cleaning kit, UV filter (cheap investment that will save your lenses, CF card.)

5 Stars Great value DSLR for the beginner This is a great DSLR camera. I've been completely satisfied with it. I originally decided on Sony because the ability to re-use my old Minolta Maxxum lenses (which is a huge plus). The Live View was a big selling point for choosing the A300 over the A100 or A200 (as well as over Canon and Nikon), it's definitely worth it for the LCD tilt and taking pictures like you do with point and shoot. My kids and wife exclusively takes pictures that way.

The stabilizer also is very good and helps alot - as I mentioned, even my son (7 yrs) can take very good pictures.

My only complaint is the popup flash, I wish it was a little higher and possibly a little more powerful. I do see some pictures have a shadow from the front of the lense cover (or overhang - not sure that its called).

Overall, a great DSLR camera for the beginner, you will not be disappointed. I would definitely recommend purchasing the LCD cover to protect it from scratches.

5 Stars Greate Value Product I think for Taking Corner Shot, High or low Height shots the Live LCD is boon.

Camera Battery rocks, Decent options for Lense from G, DT and Ziess Lense.

Camera is very very affordable compared to same Feature in Nikon and Canon where we have to pay more then $ 500 for just Normal Lens with VR (Vibration Reduction) as it inbuild in Sensor.

I think CMOS Sensor could have render image Better but Price Vs Value Ratio may go up then.

503 views

Product Accessories

Accessories for this Product