Sony Alpha A200K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization with 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens

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I bought this camera from Amazon one month ago and have been very satisfied with it (and of course, Amazons great service). I wont repeat the many pros cited in other Amazon reviews, but I was blown away with Sonys online customer service. For many years now, most companies CS strategy has been to promise more and deliver less. I was therefore quite unprepared for my excellent experience. I was unable to find a particular "how to" answer in the camera manual so I went to Sonys website. After entering the model number, I was given the option to do a real-time chat. To my amazement, (a) I was immediately connected with someone, (b) she quickly acknowledged that DSLRs were beyond her and she was transferring me to a specialist, (c) the specialist responded a few seconds later....and (d) she correctly answered my detailed and rather technical question! Im still in shock. If youre debating between camera manufacturers, this is something to seriously consider before making you choice.

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I have used a wide variety of film SLRs and digital point-and-shoot cameras before. The Sony A-200K is by far the finest Ive used. I simply havent found anything this camera cant do--and thats a surprise, given its teeny-tiny flash. Indoors or out, pictures are invariably sharp and well-lit. (Letting the camera make the decisions has worked well to date; I havent needed to get into the manual settings.) The 18-70 mm lens is lightweight, amazingly sharp, and, at a 35 mm equivalent of 27 mm to 105 mm, is an almost ideal range for around-town and travel use. Built in image stabilization (Super Steady Shot) and sensor self-cleaning are features you dont get in comparable Nikon or Canon models. One of the major selling points of this camera is its backward compatibility with Minolta Maxxum film lenses and flashes. This means that lenses can be acquired inexpensively, on Craigslist or elsewhere--to evaluate a lens for your needs, just multiply its focal length by 1.5. I havent yet tried my very complicated Maxxum 5400xi flash with this camera, but Sony says it will work. Dollar for dollar, theres no better entry-level SLR on the market today. Im thrilled with this camera.

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This is really an excellent camera. I definitely dont consider myself an expert in DSLRs (I have only spent time shooting with Nikon D200, D70, and Canon Rebel XTi), but Ive been very pleased with this one so far. Image quality is extremely comparable to the Rebel XTi, except in the greens, where it appear to be superior. Noise reduction is where the Sony sort of fails- low ISO noise is very acceptable, and definitely on a par with the Canon, possibly even better depending on the image. Once you get up to ISO 1600 the Canon appears superior and the Sony is beginning to look fairly noisy- check out sample images on camera comparison sites to see if its acceptable to you. ISO 3200 results in very noisy images, but frankly the Canon cant hit 3200 anyway, so at least theres that! In short, at low ISOs the Sony holds its own or slightly exceeds its competitors, at high ISOs it looks worse, but at the same time its capable of hitting ISO 3200 whereas the competition isnt. Kind of a toss up, I guess. The kit lenses are about what youd expect- a little soft, but overall not something the average user is likely to complain about. Image distortion and chromatic aberation dont really appear to be a significant issue. Theyre decent lenses, overall, definitely comparable to the kit lenses youd get from any other maker. Battery life so far is totally acceptable. The Dynamic Range Optimization isnt as powerful as Id like, but does work and is actually fairly cool. The in-camera image stabilization is truly a great feature, and works well. From what Ive seen it maybe buys you two speeds slower shooting that without it. The thing that really sets this camera apart from the others Ive played with is accesibility- its truly easy to use. I mostly got this camera for my wife, whos interested in SLR photography but generally unfamiliar with it. Shes had absolutely no trouble or intimidation in picking up and learning the camera quickly. Overall a very good little camera thats an excellent choice for learning and having fun with, and is also capable of taking great pictures in experienced hands.

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This is a great DSLR at an amazing price. It is a very sophisticated camera yet easy to use. The fucntions you need to change most often are easily accessable, not buried in a menu. Although this is considered an entry level DSLR, its far more advanced then that description would imply. You have total creative control over the image as well as in body stabilization. I would have given this camera 5 stars had it not been for the lens included in this kit. The lens is an old Minolta design that probably worked well with a 6MP camera but its limitations are clear with this 10MP CCD, the lens exhibits a limited area of sharpness and produces retatively flat images. My suggestion is to buy the body and look elsewhere for the glass.

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Excellent camera. Why spend more money on other brands when this has all the features of the more expensive cameras. I love this camera, takes awesome photos and has so many creative aspects to photo taking. You can change the lenses for other types of photography; macro, etc...but the lens that comes with this camera does it all. You can zoom in when you need to. There is a pop up flash that senses low light. You can put it on all automatic; focusing, light metering or you can go creative and make your own settings. This is a very versitile camera that is great for the beginner or for the advanced photographer because there are so many possibilities. This takes creative photography to the max! I love this camera, my camera, and would recommend it to anyone!

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was able to purchase this item along with accessories before the holidays and had A YEAR to pay for them after applying for an amazon.com store card with deferred financing. 50$/month and now its all mine. LOVE it for ALL aspects sport(golf-waterskiing)/sunrise-sunset/fall foliage here in VT... ive ben an avid 35mm camera user for 20+yrs (purely amateur) but have some postcard quality pictures i looked @ the nikon but couldnt justify spending THAT much $$$ for a body and 1 lens know ive only begun to utilize ths camera to its full potential. with the 8gb card included ive taken in excess of 500 pictures w/memory to spare. battery life is OUTSTANDING in my opinion. thinking maybe a higher end card will increase my speed w/the golf shots as w/it set on sport auto i only get 3-4 frames of a golfers swing. 4.9/5 in my book i would HIGHLY recommend this to anyone taking the "leap" into high end digital photgraphy. honestly, JAY CAMERON

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This is truly a wonderfull camera for anybody who wants to get into the SLR Digital Camera world. Photographs are excellent, the level of detail that one gets in the pics is amazing, and it is so easy to use. Little by little one gets more use to all its features, but right out of the box, after charging the batteries, its just point-a-shoot, with all the professional look of it. If its worht mentioning, the only thing that I do not understand why this model does not support it, is the "live view". But taking pics the old fashioned way, looking thru the viewfinder, its even more realistic down the road. I, as a beginner, recommend this product 100%!

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My very first major brand 35mm SLR was a Minolta SRT 101. I made some excellent photos with that camera, but was unimpressed with the construction quality and the quality of the pictures taken under fluorescent light. Otherwise, it took excellent indoor and outdoor shots. Moved on to Canon. Talk about impressed...nowhere in 35mm photography could you find a better combination of meter and lens! Tack sharp lenses that gave VERY detailed shots of greenery, true to life color registers and a construction quality to rival Hasselblads! Something happened to BOTH Canons I had! It was like they were cursed, so my next purchase was a Nikon FM. So, lets leap ahead to 1985, and back to Minolta. The Maxxum 7000 comes out, and I cant resist this camera that does everything but go up to the subject and tell it to say "Cheese!". Autofocus, motor-driven, auto-rewind, aperture preferred, shutter-preferred, match-needle AND program modes!! Interchangeable Fresnel screens, facility to enlarge battery source, all for about $300.00!! What I had was a Nikon FTN with all the fixins for about one third the price! Served me beautifully until, after 20-some years, it started to show its wear. So, I perused the net to see what was for sale and saw a Maxxum 50 for the unbelievable price of $164...INCLUDING the lens!! Got it. A definite improvement over my old 7000 at half the price! Then disaster! After merging with Konica...Minolta gets out of the photographic camera business! However, they pretty much sell all their rights to Sony, and Sony proceeds to produce a line of excellent DSLRs that use the Minolta AF lens mount. Wanting to go beyond just the regular point and shoot viewfinder digitals, I buy a Sony a200K and couldnt be happier! The shots Ive taken so far look like something out of a 4X5 view or "ideal format" medium format camera. VERY sharp! The feature that really has me fascinated is the way the LCD menu will adjust to the way youre holding the camera, from vertical to 90 degrees off axis....VERY thoughtful feature! The batterys ability to be charged even if its not totally depleted is nice, too! Anti-shake, an in-camera dust-cleaning feature, 10.2 megapixels....shutter/aperture priorities, match-needle and program......IM IN HOG HEAVEN!! This thing is a studio all in one camera!! Couple that with the amazing price I paid for mine and the fast as blazes delivery time I got from my vendor, and Im sure Ill be a Sony DSLR man for a looooong time! Recommended and a half!

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We bought this camera for work taking pictures of construction sites for our marketing media, it was great, and then it was stolen. I recommend the Sony brand of cameras because of the Image Stabilization built into the camera. Most brands do not include this as lenses have image stabilization, but, those lenses cost more than double a standard lens. Buy one of these Sony Alphas, to save money, get last years or older model, its still a terrific camera, then just get a nice Tamron lens and have at it.

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BULD: The camera feels very plasticky to the touch. It feels less sturdy than i had imagined it to be. The features are what you expect any DSLR to have. PICTURE QUALITY: The pictures are always a little softer than i would like. I have seen pictures taken by entry level Canon and Nikon cameras and their photos can be nice and crisp. I tried meddling around with the f-stop to get sharper images but they always turned out a tinge soft. BATTERY LIFE: OK. You can take it on a weekend trip without having to worry about recharging it. OVERALL: I was disappointed with the overall performance of the camera. I would not recommend this camera to anyone else. I suggest going for a Canon or Nikon. *********************** UPDATE: Its been a little over a year after buying the camera and it failed on me. The auto-focus mechanism doesnt work anymore and the camera is literally useless. Since i am out of warranty i went to the store and got an estimate for the repair. I was told it would cost me $298 plus parts. I am very disappointed with Sony.

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