Sony has launched its new digital SLR camera, called the ‘α’ (Alpha) DSLR-A200. With this launch, the company replaces the previous A100 DSLR. The new sibling comes in two models namely A200K and A200W.
This black colored Alpha camera features 10.2 mega-pixels resolution, the company’s Bionz image processor, dynamic range optimization system, in-body Super SteadyShot image stabilization, a quieter shutter sound, an expanded ISO range and a dust-reduction system.
The DRO systems enable users to recover details in highlights and shadows and are delivered in Normal and Advanced to adjust specific areas of a photo for greater accuracy.
The A200K and A200W bundle an 18-70mm, f/3.5-f/4.5 kit lens, a slightly wider aperture at the telephoto end than the A100’s f/3.5-f/5.6 kit lens. The A200W comes with an additional 75-300mm, f/4.5-f/5.6 lens.
Like A100, the latest DSLR comes with a coated CCD filter to prevent dust and static, 2.7-inch clear photo LCD with 230,000-pixels, an anti-reflective coating to avert solarization and automatically switches from landscape to portrait view. It also sports a 9-point Eye-Start auto-focus system, claiming to be 1.7x faster than the A100’s auto-focus system.
Moreover, the Alpha A200 carries a 40-segment honeycomb metering system, shutter speeds from 30 to 1/4000 of a second along with a maximum sensitivity of ISO 3200. The camera has the ability to capture JPEG and RAW format. It is equipped with eight preset white balance modes, and the following Scene modes such as Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports, Sunset and Night Portrait/Night View.
With the ability to deliver 3 frames per second (fps), A200 DSLR camera can continuously keep shooting in JPEG format until the memory is full; whereas in raw shooting, it can capture images at up to 6 fps and 3 fps in both raw and JPEG shooting. It also comes equipped with optical viewfinder, a pentamirror lens with 0.83x magnification and 95 per cent coverage.
In addition, the A200 sports CompactFlash I/II memory card slot and supports all Minolta Maxxum mount lenses and Sony α (Alpha) lenses like the Carl Zeiss lenses. This camera does not bundle memory stick media, however an adaptor for Memory Stick Duo media can be purchased separately.
The A200K comes with an 18-70mm kit lens will retail for $700, while the A200W that comes with the 18-70mm and 75-300mm lenses is priced at $900. Expected to ship next month, both the models work on rechargeable lithium-ion battery that lasts for 750 shots.
