Sony announces three new Alpha DSLRs

Posted by Al Warmington on Mon 18 May 2009

Lightweight, easy-to-use cameras for budding photo buffs

Following a spate of rumours, Sony has finally let loose its new digital SLR threesome. The trio consists of the a220, a330 and a380: three gorgeous full-sized snappers that’ll make your compact shots look like they were taken on a disposable camera in the 1980s.

The a230 and a330 each sport a 10.2 megapixel sensor and a 2.7” LCD screen. All three are designed to be lightweight for easier handling; however, the a230 also grabs the title of World’s Lightest DSLR for its feature spec, weighing in a 450g. The a330 also adds a tilting LCD screen to its feature list, and if you’re splashing for the a380, you’ll get an improved 14.7 megapixel sensor too.

To help camera digital photo newbies wrap their heads round the volumes of camera jargon that is part and parcel of DSLR experience, Sony has included a new interface that’ll help to explain the various terms, and provide example images to demonstrate exactly how fiddling with the shutter speed will affect your image and so on.

Picture quality is handled by Sony’s BIONZ image processor, which now allows up to 2.5 fps continuous shooting. The trio also include SteadyShot image stabilisation and a revised control layout to make things easier to get to grips with.

Each boasts and HDMI output, but it looks like we’ll be waiting a while before Sony brings HD video recording to its DSLR range.

There are no official prices available yet, but that hasn’t stopped some details escaping online. Right now, it looks like the a230 will set you back somewhere in the region of £490; the a330, £530; and the a380, £665.

Link: Sony

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