Sony Alpha SLT-A65 Pro Reviews

The Alpha 65 is a great mid-price DSLR that provides high levels of performance, particularly when it comes to AF and frame advance that hasn't really been seen in a camera of this class before. The image quality is excellent, delivering excellent detail, though it can't quite compete at the higher regions of the ISO range with the competition. As we've said before, the EVF is not for everyone, but it's the best example we've seen to date and it does have it's own advantages over an optical equivalent. Our advice is to try it out yourself before you make up your mind. There's no doubt that the A65 faces some stiff, established competition, but it's the A65 that delivers the best all-round blend of features, performance and image quality. It's a great camera that deserves real consideration.

Alongside the A77, the A65 is likely to put the SLT format on the map. This camera does things that DSLRs just cannot do: a 10fps burst mode with continuous autofocus and a live preview movie mode with the same super-fast autofocus is without rival at this price point. The 2.4million dot OLED viewfinder is the best EVF we’ve yet seen (the same as found in the A77 and NEX-7 models) and, in the right conditions, isn’t a million miles from the look and feel of an optical viewfinder. It won’t suit everyone, particularly when it comes to dim conditions, but does have its merits too. Few downsides include a limited battery life and limitations to high ISO images due to the packed-out, 24-megapixel sensor – a tad too high resolution to resolve above ISO 3200, but a great performer at lower ISO settings. There’s very little not to like otherwise. In many ways the A65 is more impressive than the A77 based on price alone. It’s the model that’ll make advanced features all the more accessible for a wider public, and that can only be a good thing.

The Alpha 65 is very well-specified in comparison to its rivals, matching or exceeding the competition's feature-sets in many respects. It's pricier, but we feel the impressive stack of high-end features that this camera has to offer more than outweigh its cost.

Joshua Waller reviews the new Sony Alpha A65, the bargain Digital SLR of the yearFor a similar price to mid-entry level cameras from Nikon, Canon, Pentax, instead of a 16-18 megapixel camera and 7fps shooting, you can get a 24.3 megapixel camera with 10fps shooting, built in anti-shake sensor, GPS and electronic level. What you also get with the Sony Alpha A65 with the translucent mirror is extremely quick live view and focusing. I started this review by asking whether this camera could be the bargain Digital SLR of the year, and in many ways the camera out performs every other SLR available at this price, and for this reason I think it is in fact the case that this camera is the Digital SLR bargain of the year. It will be difficult for other companies to offer this level of features and performance at a similar price point. The camera has good battery life, and although there is no optical viewfinder with SLT cameras, the new OLED EVF is simply stunning and makes the view through the camera look excellent. Although it is difficult to show on the web, it would be well worth viewing for yourself if you still have doubts about switching from an optical viewfinder to an electronic viewfinder. Highly Recommended.

Compared to the more expensive A77 model, the smaller plastic-bodied A65 is clearly designed to a more aggressive price-point. It doesn't have a magnesium body, two control dials, 12fps burst mode, 3-way swiveling LCD screen, top LCD panel, 19-point autofocus (instead it has 15), flash sync socket, or a vertical grip. But if you can live without those features and want to pocket the rather substantial cash saving instead, the A65 is still a fantastic SLT camera that is a genuine threat to the more conventional prosumer DSLRs on the market.

The SLT-A65 was launched at the same time as the long awaited A700 successor, the SLT-A77, and as we mentioned in the introduction to this review, amongst all the excitement over the flagship SLT model there was always a risk that the A65 might get overlooked. To overlook the A65 would be to do it a huge disservice though. Given its price, the A65 will inevitably appeal to a much larger number of users, and considering how much of its core technology is shared with the more expensive A77, the A65 is highly competitive. At a MRSP of $999 including the 18-55mm kit lens the A65 is currently a little more expensive than its most direct rivals, the Canon EOS 600D/T3i and Nikon D5100, but it offers a higher pixel count, faster continous shooting, a considerably superior viewfinder experience and a number of interesting features and customization options, all of which contribute to making it a pleasure to use. Naturally, as the SLT-A65 starts hitting the retailers' shelves in significant numbers we'd also expect the street price to go down a little.