Sony Alpha DSLR-A380 Pro Reviews

That the Sony A380 is only a minor upgrade indicates one of two things. Either the entry-level user is already well-catered for, with everything they need to take the kind of images they would require, or a better-specified model which would sit a little higher up is in the pipeline. After all, a replacement for the Sony A700 is long overdue, and the video recording and high-resolution LCD screens tend to be seen as niceties geared towards the mid-range market than necessities to this one. It's when using live view that the camera shines, and while other manufacturers have made their own advances in this area Sony still remains on top. It's only really the design of the body which may be problematic, though of course, this won't bother everyone. Even so, the usual advice of handling a camera before you buy it is something we'd strongly suggest here.

A few welcome touches, but the 14-megapixel resolution does more to damage image quality than improve it compared with the similar A330.

The Sony Alpha A380 delivers evenly exposed images with natural colours when left on its default settings. There are further pre-optimised Creative Style settings for those who prefer the more vivid look. We weren't convinced, however, that the supplied kit lens made the best of the sensor's high pixel count, with detail softer than we expected. Couple this with disappointment about the plastic build and lack of video and Sony gets a ‘good, but could do better' this time around.

SLR newcomers who are easily intimidated when trying to use a camera more complicated than a point-and-shoot may find the Alpha A380 a lot easier to use than other SLRs. But with the disappointing plastic build and lack of video capture, you might be tempted to look elsewhere.

This DSLR offers a beginner-friendly interface and pleasing, accurate colors.

Image wise, Sony’s A380 delivers evenly exposed pictures with naturalistic colours when left on its default settings. There are further pre-optimised Creative Style settings accessible for those who prefer the more vivid look. We weren’t convinced however that the supplied standard zoom made the best of the sensor’s high pixel count, since overall detail was softer than we expected.

Compared to the other two Alphas in this series, the Sony A380 would be our second choice after the A330. The Sony A380 scores lower than the A330 in the areas of low-light autofocus and flash power. For $200 less, you get better indoor performance than you'll get from the Sony A380, both with and without flash.

The Alpha 380 certainly looks very different to earlier Alpha DSLRs, and it feels very different too, thanks to its overhauled ergonomics, new menu system and a more useful, colourful GUI, yet it still isn't the revolutionary product that a lot of people will be hoping for.

To be fair; the Sony DSLR-A380 is a digital SLR camera you'd expect to find in the current DSLR market. The aim was clearly to create a genuine Sony Look&Feel and a user-friendly graphical user interface. And in doing so, Sony has proven successful.

OK, so while a resolution of 14.2 million effective pixels for a consumer level DSLR aiming for a mass-market family audience looks a bit like overkill, that level of spec in part justifies the Sony A380's £720 price tag. And set against the asking prices for the Canon EOS 500D and Nikon D5000 mentioned at the outset it compares pretty favourably.

While the A380 is a disappointment for enthusiasts, it can be recommended as a first DSLR for absolute beginners so long as they get on with the ergonomics and don't need video. Like its predecessor though, you’ll need a decent lens to really exploit its high resolution.

While the Sony Alpha DSLR-A380 is a solid inexpensive dSLR with a few nice features that will probably satisfy many shooters, it doesn't deliver quite enough on any front to outshine competitors.

The Sony DSLR-A380 uses the same live view system that we first saw on the A350. Sony's system stands alone amongst contemporary Live View systems in that it does not show the output from the main imaging sensor. Instead there is a second, smaller sensor placed up in the viewfinder tunnel.