Sony A200 is yet another digital SLR, next to A300 and A350 to replace the good old A100.
Intro:
Sony A200 features 10.2 megapixel CCD sensor, Super SteadyShot image stabilization, 2.7 inch LCD screen. Additionally the camera has 9-point autofocus, continuous shooting mode with 3 fps, dual anti-dust system and a powerful battery which allows taking up to 750 photos before recharging. Sony A200 has also a very competitive price.
The design:
Sony A200 is made almost entirely of plastic which makes it look cheap and unstable, but in fact the camera is reliable and durable. Thanks to the plenty of external buttons with dedicated functions it is easy to navigate the camera. The camera is really well balanced and feels good even after changing the lens. On the left side of Sony A200 is a wired remote control and A/C adapter. On the right side you will find the card compartment and USB/AV connector. On the bottom is the tripod socked, whereas on the top there’s the hotshoe for an external flash.
Performance:
Thanks to the 23.6×15.8 mm sensor Sony A200 shots really nice photos in most circumstances. As always in Sony beginners will most probably want to use the very good Auto mode which automatically adjusts all settings and assures good picture quality. But more professional
shooters have a few predefined shooting modes, such as Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Night view / portrait, Sunset or Sports. There are also eight different Creative Styles (aka Color Modes): Adobe, B/W, Standard, Vivid, Sunset, Night, Landscape and Portrait. As the camera features also four different record review modes you can always have a look at your photos right after shooting and decide whether it is good enough, or you will take a new one. However, in the vast majority of cases non-professional users ought to be really satisfied with the photos as the Sony A200 with its Suer SteadyShot assures that the pictures are not out of focus. Moreover the camera automatically reduces noise and has great sharpness so it leaves nothing to complain about.
Menus / user friendliness:
Sony A200’s menus are grouped in four sections: Setup, which deals with general camera settings, such as USB transfer mode and video output; Playback is self explanatory I think, Play submenu is responsible for printing, protecting and deleting photos, and of course there is the Record menu with settings that affect the final image files when you’re taking the photos. The above groups have submenus, but they are all very logically and clearly organized so neither novices nor professional shooter should have any difficulties finding their way through them.
Sony includes a few programmes for browsing or converting your photos for both Mac and PC. The programmes include: Picture Motion Browser, Image Data Converter and Image Data Lightbox.
Apart from the software in the box with Sony A200 camera you will find the battery charger, shoulder strap, Video and USB cables and all of that in a very competitive price.
The selected Sony A200 specs are as follows:
Image sensor type
CCD Sensor
Image sensor colour filter
R, G, B, Primary color
Size (mm)
23.6×15.8 (APS-C size)
Total sensor Pixels (megapixels)
10.8
Effective Pixels (megapixels)
10.2
Automatic White Balance
YES
White balance: preset selection
Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash
White balance: custom setting
YES
White balance: types of color temperature
2500 – 9900 k with 19-step Magenta / Green compensation
White balance bracketing
3 frames, Selectable 2 steps
ISO100 – 3200 equivalent
Light metering type
TTL
Light metering cell
40-segment honeycomb-pattern SPC
Light metering: Multi segment
YES
Light metering: Spot
YES
Light metering: Center weighted
YES
Exposure: Automatic
YES
Exposure: Program Auto
YES (with Program Shift)
Exposure: Shutter priority
YES
Exposure: Aperture priority
YES
Exposure: Manual
YES
Exposure: Scene selection
YES
AE Lock
YES
Exposure compensation
YES (+/-2.0 EV, 0.3 EV step)
Flash Guide Number (in meters at ISO 100)
12
Flash Metering System
ADI / Pre-flash TTL flash metering
Flash Compensation
+/-2.0 EV (0.3EV steps selectable)
Recycling Time (approx. time in seconds)
4
Flash Mode
Autoflash, Fill-flash, Rear flash sync. High Speed sync. with optional compatible accessory flash
Slow Synchronization
YES
Red-Eye Reduction
YES
Flash Popup
Automatic in Auto and Scene selection exposure modes. Pop up by pression flash button in other modes
Automatic Flash
YES (with AUTO, P and Scene selection mode).
Source: Sony.