Sony Alpha A380

amazon Sony Alpha A380 reviews

Located in the entry-level entry-level camera category, the A380 rivals the Canon EOS 500D and Nikon D5000. In particular, like Sony’s earlier DSLRs, the Alpha A380 is compatible with the lenses that Minolta produces.

The most important part of the A380 is the 23.5 x 15.7 mm APS-C 14.2-megapixel image sensor, similar to the A350. The ISO range of the machine is in the range of 100 to 3,200. Resolution range is more than enough for the needs of the majority of users, even with professional photographers. However, this sensor still belongs to the CCD, which in part results in lower processing rates and consumes more power than comparable CMOS chips. In return, Sony has integrated SteadyShot anti-shake technology on the sensor. Thus, this function can work well on all of its compatible lenses, although you will not see the anti-shake effect on the viewfinder or on the screen when Live View is enabled.

Similar to the A300 and A350, the Live View feature does not use the 14.2 Megapixel main sensor to capture images, but uses a secondary sensor located just in front of the viewfinder. When launching this feature, instead of projecting light into the viewfinder, the prism housed in the camera rotates a small angle that places the light on the secondary sensor to transmit the image to the screen. As such, autofocus (AF) will not be performed through intermediaries such as Canon and Nikon cameras. The camera’s focus speed will increase dramatically, reducing Live View interference or mirror noise when the shutter button is pressed. This also means you can switch back and forth between the two Live View modes – view through the viewfinder very quickly and smoothly.

The A380’s display remains unchanged against the A350. The 2.7-inch LCD, which measures 230,400 pixels, is slightly above the Nikon D5000 (230,000 pixels), but still lags far behind the 920,000-pixel Canon EOS 500D. This screen can flip up and down to help viewers take pictures at low or high angles out of reach, but not rotate as flexibly as the D5000.

Targeted for beginners or people who want to save money, the A380’s control system is redesigned to make it easier, more intuitive. In the default mode, the on-screen interface displays the most up-to-the-minute individual information such as ISO control, exposure, aperture control, and two other controls. Even the camera also provides fun graphs to help users calculate the depth of field to match. The buttons and rotary keys are also redesigned to avoid confusion such as the A350. Sony also decided to reduce the size of this popular DSLR down to competitors from Nikon and Canon. In particular, the machine is equipped with a button with Smart Teleconverter function similar to digital zoom on the compact. The camera has two digital zooms of 1.4x and 2x, which work only in Live View mode. The weight of the machine does not count lens only stops at 490 grams, very convenient to carry long travel.

where can you get a Sony Alpha A380 online

Sony Alpha A380L 14.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with Super SteadyShot INSIDE Image Stabilization and 18-55mm Lens: Buy it now

It also comes with a dual card slot that supports the SD and Memory Stick Pro Duo format (which is Sony’s expensive proprietary format), much like the high-end Nikon D300s. You can switch back and forth between the two cards or choose a memory card to save money.

On the downside, the machine has a relatively low shutter speed of 2.4 frames per second, no improvement over the A330, even a bit slower than the A350 and the Nikon D5000 at 4 fps . The speed of machine is fast, only 0.6 seconds, but it’s not as good as the 0.2 second flash on the Nikon D5000 and Canon EOS 500D. Obviously, this is not a viable option if you want to use the A380 to take snapshots such as sports photography, kids or reportage. Ability of noise cancellation of the machine is not impressed.

At low ISO, the image is quite sharp and colorful, but in some cases there is a large deviation in color. Color also began to change on the shots at ISO 800 and as the ISO 1600 increased the picture faded and lost details. In general, the high resolution of the sensor not only does not help sharpen the picture, but sometimes also makes noise appear in some dark areas at ISO 400. The machine is also not equipped with movie features that are very popularity of the Canon and Nikon DSLRs is that they are not cheaper than their competitors. The features of the Sony are thoughtfully designed in a user-friendly interface but confuse the user when they have to manually set the color, contrast and sharpness of the image in each style. Even white balance of the machine is not very good performance, color usually tends to sharp when shooting in complex lighting conditions.

The A380’s display is bad for showing only about 90% of the frame when the Live View feature is enabled due to the limited design of the secondary sensor. The viewfinder is 90% more visible, but it’s also hard to see due to its small size. However, this is also the general limitations of the DSLR with such price range.