Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 Pro Reviews

The a850 pleases yet perplexes in equal measure. It's certainly a fine camera, like the a900 before (and still currently above) it, yet one that seems a little misplaced in the market place. If its price point really undercut the competition then it'd be a genius proposition to full-frame hungry consumers. But despite the removal of the in-camera remote, lowering the burst rate and shaving 2% from the viewfinder's field of view the effective monetary compensation is somewhat paltry. The a900 was, by and large, a superb studio camera thanks to its 24.6MP count, but lacked low-light capabilities to the same standard of some of the competition. What the next generation of Sony DSLR is really waiting for is the implementation of the Sony's backlit ‘Exmor R' technology - something that lacks here and leaves the a850 in a curious position of offering nothing ‘new'. In effect there's an argument to bag an a900 over this newer, less-equipped venture each and every time. That is unless, of course, your savvy shopping locates it at a sensible price that trounces its initial RRP. The a850 is a solid piece of kit that pulls down the full-frame DSLR price-point by a whisker, but otherwise sadly lacks that anticipated next-level punch and, as such, feels like a bit of a gap-filler in Sony's newly and rapidly expanding DSLR range.

There is no such thing as a perfect camera. The auto-focus system, while capable, leaves a lot to be desired. The AF points need to be arranged more sensibly, and all of them need to be a cross type – or a double cross type, like the central one – in order to be really useful. Some kind of Live View – preferably off the main sensor, so that the great optical viewfinder is not compromised – would be more than welcome for the sake of all the tripod users out there. We do realise, however, that there are many photographers who will be more than happy with the AF system of the A850 as it is, and won't miss Live View at all – which is why we do not hesitate to award this camera our coveted Highly Recommended rating.

Although slightly less capable than its older sibling, the A850 offers just about everything I liked about the A900 including a slew of sophisticated features that make it easy to capture great images. Its 24 megapixel sensor provides plenty of resolution, but be prepared to push all those pixels through your software in post-processing, especially if you're shooting at high ISOs.

Sadly, while the A850 delivers essentially noise-free results at its base sensitivity setting of ISO200, you don't have to push it very far before images start to look grainy. Noise becomes quite noticeable at anything over ISO400, making the Sony a bit of a fair-weather friend, and of relatively limited use as an indoor tool.

Sony actually did the best in most rounds, so if you're an amateur/semi-pro, don't dismiss the camera even though it hasn't won this test.

The Sony Alpha A850 is a pro-oriented camera that delivers all the tools for the art and craft of photography with some new, impressive tech thrown in. It brings a new way of thinking about exposure and image processing and a new way of creating instantaneous bracketed shots to the fore, thus maybe signaling a real change in how we make images.

It's hard to call a $1,999 DSLR a great deal, but the Sony alpha DSLR-A850 is one.

Sony has created a professional grade dSLR model that challenges the competition with it's $1999.95 price point for a full frame dSLR, with image quality and resolution rivalling far more expensive camera models. If you want the highest resolution possible for larger prints, combined with best possible image quality without mortgaging your home, you'll want to consider the Sony A850.

With its tank-like build quality, intuitive user-interface and excellent handling the A850 is, despite (or rather because) of the lack of some 'digital' features such as live view or a movie mode, a no-nonsense photographers' camera that delivers excellent image quality at base ISO but cannot quite keep up with the competition at higher sensitivities. Wildlife and sports photographers would almost certainly prefer better low light performance, faster continuous shooting and autofocus but for resolution-hungry applications in good light, such as landscape or studio photography, the A850 is a more than valid option.

The Sony Alpha 850 continues to tread the same path the A900 ventured on before. All in all, the Sony A850 makes high-quality digital photography more accessible to an even broader public than before. And from this, the future Sony Alpha photographer benefits directly. Perhaps the Sony Alpha 850 is the first of a new generation of affordable high resolution full-frame DSLR cameras!

The Sony A850 is a formidable camera. It's big, which won't work for everyone, but I found it more than bearable with my medium-sized hands, and even my daughter had no trouble hefting the A850 with the (very beefy) 24-70mm f/2.8 attached and firing off a few frames. If you want the most pixels in a small package at the best price on the market, the Sony A850 is where you'll find it.