Sony-A350 pro and contra!

[gubak]

The features are great. The camera is lightweight--which is good for some, not so good for others. For me, it's excellent--especially considering that I had added the vertical grip which adds an additional battery. It feels good and the shutter is much quieter than the Konica Minolta it replaced. It sounds exactly like the a700. Live view is nice if you use it (Sony A350 live view examples). I hear that the viewfinder is supposed to be dimmer--but I haven't noticed it. The articulating screen is great for low-angle shots.

Problems:
The build quality, while not bad--is just not feeling as good as the Konica Minolta it replaced. The feel of the grip just does not feel as secure. That's it, though. It feels better than the Canon/Nikon in its class. The flash compensation is now hidden in the menu rather than the function screen.

[fjbyrne]

I have a KM 5D, Sony A100 and A700. I would say that the A100 doesn't feel as well build as the KM 5D but in reality it is every bit as good or better. It is lighter and the plastic is a little different but is high quality. The A700 is in another class of course.

I wouldn't sweat the build quality too much. It should last you many years past the point when you replace it because some new model is just too cool to pass up

[benn600]

That's my experience, too! In many ways, build quality is much less important because people tend to get new cameras so frequently these days. Solid builds mean more weight which is a big drawback in many cases.

[redwoodtwig]

I got the a350 because I wanted the 85mm glass and couldn't afford it and the a700 body.

Drawbacks: No mirror lock up. Very nasty shortcoming in my opinion when doing landscapes. Grip is no where near as good as the one on my R1, but Sony discontinued the good grip.
Manual focusing in low light is very difficult, whether you do it through the eyepiece or try to use the live view. Trying to see what aperture and shutter speed are when looking through the eyepiece is not easy. Perhaps wearing glasses is what causes the problem for me.

The "live view" is ok, what really shines is the tilting part of it. I hardly ever do "low angle" shots, but I do do a lot of waist level shooting. Comes from a background with Hasselblads and old twin lens reflex Yashica. I have no qualms about using the live view to compose and shoot with. The lack of that feature on all the supposedly "pro" cameras is one of the main things that keeps me away from them.

[Tom BELL]

I'm liking it. I keep wanting to extend lens where my G9 zoom is. Hard to get Memory out, if you have fat fingers. Manual focus is good. Auto is quick. Fun to play with. Shutter slap maybe too loud.

[rshunk]

Originally Posted by gubak

The build quality, while not bad--is just not feeling as good as the Konica Minolta it replaced.

This happens every time I buy a new camera! (until I get used to it)



Bob S.