Editorial Review:Product Description:Move a step up to digital photography as an art form. This DSLR is simple to use and takes great pictures in automatic modes but it goes further. It brings you in-touch with your creative instincts. Sony a (alpha) DSLR-A300: the camera that links you and your subject. Begin your new hobby with a phenomenal camera and two high-grade lenses, a DT-18-70 standard zoom and a 55-200mm telephoto lens. The Sony a (alpha) DSLR-A300 lets you capture the moment like never before. Perfect for first-time DSLR users, Sony combines impeccable 10.2 MP quality with Live Preview in a large tilting 2.7' 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(R) image stabilization that work with every Sony, Carl Zeiss and legacy Minolta A-mount lens. 1200-zone Evaluative Metering 9-Point Center Cross AF Sensor Scene Select(TM) modes for optimal results Dynamic Range Optimizer Anti Dust Technology Auto Pop-Up Flash Accepts CompactFlash Type I/II media and optional Memory Stick(R) PRO Duo storage media In optical viewfinder mode, you can take up to 750 shots on a fully charged NP-FM500H InfoLITHIUM battery On-screen menus Dimensions (Approx.) - (WHD) 5 1/4 x 4 x 3; 20 oz
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Take a picture, it'll last longer....
Let me be honest, this is my first DSLR...and it is AWESOME!!! Ok, so I've already established that I'm no expert and by all means, take my review as you will. I do have to say that my brother, who is a serious amateur photographer (has his own studio, but it's not his main profession), has a Canon D40 (I think that's the one) which was a bit more expensive than mine. Well at his daughter's second birthday we put our cameras head to head and the Sony a300 consistantly came out ahead. Boy was he mad that in the category of overall picture quality the Sony came out AHEAD of the Canon! Who would have thought that? Sure, sure, he has more options, better positioned buttons and might have a frame (or fraction thereof) per second faster. Either way, what counts most - picture quality, ease of use, reliability and speed - are DEFINITE winners for the Sony a300. I'm sure if you're reading my review you've already read a few others touching on the tilt LCD screen, the OVF eyestart auto-focus, the in camera stabilization, and much much more. I can say for the money, you won't find a better DSLR out there. I've only had the camera for about a month and a half and taken almost a thousand pictures and have yet to find a drawback. I'll update this once I do, but don't hold your breath....
Rating: -
Sony + Minolta = Looks & Specs to back it up!
I just bought the A300 about a month ago, and it is everything a serious amateur wants in photography. I've compared it with other DSLRs of the same level from all sorts of big brands (Nikon, Canon, Olympus, etc.), and I decided to get the A300. Minolta has a lot of history and prestige when it comes to making camera body and lenses, and Sony just seems to make improvements on every product they get their hands on.
My girlfriend complains a lot about how I tend to move towards more bulky and heavy cameras, and so she stays clear of being the photographer when I bring the camera. But with the A300, she loves to use it because of its design/compact design, weight (pretty light compared to other DSLRs of the same level), and overall simplicity on operating the darn thing.
Sorry if this review doesn't provide the Pro's and Con's on specifications and other technical aspects of the camera; I'll leave the Specs page of the product description for that.
Rating: -
Awesome Camera for the money..
For the money you cannot get the features this camera from any other competitor. Make sure you read all of teh features and what this camera can do, for one it has 2x Teleconverter built in! that means my 300mm lens is now a 600mm lens. Wow! Even with the standard lens you have good telephoto! Plus it has live view! and an adjustable LCD? for $599? out of this world for an extra $100 over the A200, i bought that at Wal-Mart and took it back and orderd the A300 with overnight shipping!
Rating: 
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Excellent camera for the price
This is my second dSLR. My first dSLR was the Canon D350. It took excellent pictures, but dSLRs were still evolving and I found the 1.8 inch screen too small to view, and when I viewed pics taken on it, I missed defects in photos, like out of focus areas, because of this. Thus I sold it.
As an aside, I still have my film SLR Canon EOS 500 from ages ago. Took lovely photos but obviously not used anymore :)
Come 2008, I felt it was time to get my feet wet again. All dSLR's have huge screens (remember the 1.5 inch ones of yesteryear?) and there are more choices than ever before.
I tried to order the A300 from Amazon but they didnt ship to Singapore. I bought it from a Malaysian website instead for an equivalent price. As the camera comes with no memory card, I bought a 8GB type III compact flash card for SGD$120. I've since found ther camera is cheaper from Hong Kong. Any lucky travellers to HK wanting a Sony Alpha should go tot Mong Kok and ask around. Same for the Lens- 18-200mm was offered at HKD$3100- before any haggling!
Reasons why I chose the Sony Alpha A300:
1. Large LCD screen with tilt- I have loved tilting screens since I first got my Sony DSC 30 back in 2000. In fact, all my dig. cameras can tilt- Kyocera SL300R, Nikon S4, Nikon S10.
2. Price (of course!)
3. Longer zoom than the competitors. I've always found lens which stop at 80mm (35mm equiv) quite useless. It's just too little zoom for most people. Thus this lens was much better. In fact, combined with the 1.4x and 2.0x zoom ability (it's a button on the top right of the back of the camera) makes it even better. Doing this does reduce resolution from 10 to 5 megapixels, but it's there if you need it.
4. Good reviews from many people, including the 23 reviews on this site.
5. Relatively lightweight (see below)
How have I found it since?
I've only taken about 50 photos, but they have been quite good. As I am not a professional photographer who views photos under an electron microscope at the subatomic level, I have no problems with the photos at all. Ones taken in the day at great. Ones taken indoors are obviously not quite as perfect, but certainly quite useable. Face detection is good, and I always have vibration reduction on too.
In terms of user friendliness, It's not too bad. I can take most genral photos on auto, but I still need to consult the manual for some things, like how to zoom in when viewing taken photos.
The price of the camera means that I did compare it with prosumer cameras too. Many of them were had incredible zooms, but were correspondingly heavier eg Fujifilm s100fs is almost 1kg. I used to have a Sony f828, which was also almost 1kg, and it was a hassle to carry around for lengths of time. The weight difference between the A300 with kit lens and the prosumers is very noticeable and carrying the A300 is very easy.
I had intended considering the 18-200mm or 18-250mm lens, but at this stage, I dont think the weight addition offsets the benefits, especially since I can use the nifty 2.0x button I mentioned above. Obviously, using the 2.0x on a 18-200/250mm lens would be heaven itself, but for now, I'll make do :)
Woah, that's a lot of writing- if you made it to the end, thanks for your patience!
For the above 23 prior reviewers- thanks for your time in penning your thoughts. Every review helped!
Rating: -
a great entry-level pro camera
i'm not a professional nor a novice, i have researched most of the entry-level DSLRs (going to the nearest bestbuy,is the best bet).Compared oly 510, canon xti,pentax 200d,and believe me this is over-all,one of the best built and most functional DSLRs in the market..altough two of them have in-camera image stabilization..the amazing lcd and the excellent live-view are just few of the features that got me hooked,the kit lens is not that bad either and the image quality is highly commendable..so what if it has a proprietary flash-shoe, it's not like u would buy all the accessories at once.. save up and buy the best(ahem, pardon me for the bias)if you are in the "professional" zone you wont be looking at these cameras anyways.. moreover sigma and tamron are already making excellent quality lenses for sony SLRs, stop fretting about flashes and lenses, if the body feels right, whether it's sony,canon or olympus,go ahead.. get the rest of the accessories slowly..i'm more than happy with this cam.