Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 (Body Only)

I've owned it for about a month now, including some real-world use on a recent trip to Europe. It performed wonderfully and everything about the design is dedicated to shooting stills without distraction. It's large but comfortable, not as heavy as it looks, and with a huge viewfinder and hard buttons for every critical adjustment, I found myself able to get in the zone very quickly. The camera gets out of the way.

The one exception to this - and the reason I'm rating four stars instead of five - is that Sony left out a software function critical for using manual-focus lenses. The function is called "Release w/o Lens". It's available on the A700, but inexplicably not their current top cameras, and allows one to use A-priority with lenses that have no electronic connections, such as a Lensbaby. Just to be clear - this is a software feature and could be added easily as a convenience. It's available on just about every other DSLR out there including the cheapest Canon Rebel and I have not been able to get a response from Sony as to why they left this basic function out. This is the only unprofessional aspect of the camera and has made shooting with my MF lenses much less enjoyable.

The Sony A850 is an awesome camera, as long as you know what to look for in a camera system. You just aren't buying the body, you have to buy the glass :)
That said, when I was deciding to move up to full frame, I had to make a decision: Did I stick with Nikon, or try Sony? Well, I went with the A850 and I'm glad I did. It's a great camera.
I got myself the A850, the Carl Zeiss 24-70 f/2.8, and the Sony 70-400G and 58AM flash. Although the review covers the camera, realize I'm using these items with the body.


BUILD:

Solid feel throughout, with a very positive grip on the right. Command wheels "click" firmly, unlike cheaper builds that will be accidentally turned. Viewfinder is awesome, big, bright. Most buttons are within easy reach, except the ISO and WB buttons on the upper-right. I also don't like the optical preview button orientation (I prefer to press the button towards my body instead of inward towards the lens), but a small niggle. Once you pick up the A850, you know you're holding a solid piece of machinery. CF & battery doors seem to lack any sealing, so I'd be hesitant to take this out in any more than a very light drizzle. Rubber covers on the ports of the camera are very well-designed and actually hinge out, as opposed to flopping around like almost every other camera on the planet. CF door opens and stops at 90 degrees to the camera body - more is needed, as it makes getting out a CF card too hard for larger fingers.

OPERATION:

Overall, it's a camera that just gets out of your way, which is a compliment. First, some quibbles: There's no ISO listed in the VF display unless you're in the process of changing it. The AF points don't cover as much as the frame as I'd like (common complaint among FF DSLRs). Mirror slap is a noticeable "THUNK-THUNK", so don't think you'll be taking spy pictures with this any time soon.

Onto a couple of more important gripes:
No onboard flash, which really hurts for not having wireless flash triggering built-in. There is no "AF-ON" button like you find on Canon or Nikon bodies - Instead, Sony uses a button that can be used to toggle AF/MF, or switch to a central focus point, etc. but nothing exactly like the AF-ON operation from other cameras. Finally, using the "Quick-Navi" to change settings is a bit annoying, in that you can't change multiple settings at once - you have to reenter Quick-Navi each time. Not really time-consuming, as the button is right near your right thumb, but annoying. EDIT - Silly me! You can change multiple settings at once, after entering Quick-Navi mode, by using the front/rear wheels to adjust your settings, instead of the joystick. No longer a complaint!

Now the good stuff: The camera just works :) I love the SteadyShot meter in the VF, which shows you relative camera shake and lets you take a shot with minimal shake. Although I miss AF-ON, I do like AF-MF quick button, which lets me quickly take over focus when I need to. I also like the way the camera will illuminate AF points when you're in AF-C mode and using "Wide" AF points (the camera chooses the AF points). AF speed is adequately fast, though it can have trouble in very dim lights.

IMAGE QUALITY

Ultimately, the reason I bought into Sony. The image quality is amazing. Colors are outstanding. Detail is definitely there. I can crop for days and still end up with a large, high-detail file. I can (and do) print large, which was a deciding factor over the D700 (I did not consider the 5DII, as I dislike Canon controls).

I was initially really worried about the noise of the camera, that is until I read a blog from a wedding photographer that had recently switched to Sony. He gave good advice - Look at your images and really see if you *need* high ISO. I think high ISO has become the want-all, end-all criteria for buying a camera body, which is a shame. How about image quality? Ergonomics? Value? Lots of things to consider, although high ISO is nice to have.

For me, up to ISO 1600 is fine, and a well-exposed ISO 3200 looks pretty good. Interestingly enough, I've actually found myself almost completely ignoring luminance NR and only applying small amounts (15% slider in Lightroom 3) of chroma NR and images look very good! Maybe it's because of the "film-like" quality, but I actually enjoy having some grain in my images.

Also, the camera seems to underexpose anywhere from 0.3 to 0.7 EV - knowing to do a little ETTR really helps with noise and IQ in general.
EDIT - Camera no longer seems to underexpose after I switched my 'style' "Zone" setting to -1, which tells the camera don't worry so much about blown highlights when you're metering (even with RAW) - Camera now exposes how I would expect, and I don't to use a permanent exposure compensation!



SUMMARY:

Overall, a great camera (system). I like how the body performs, and I like the glass I can attach to it. It's not perfect, of course (what camera is?), but for $2000 you get a high-quality full-frame camera with loads of megapixels. If this suits what you shoot (which it does for me), then take a strong look at the A850.

I've had the chance now to use this camera for over a month and I love it. I have the 85 f/1.4 zeiss lens attached to it for portraits / weddings, and it gets the job done--the resolution is amazing. I will hopefully be adding the 16-35 or 24-70 later this year. Canikon fanboys make a big deal about this camera having high iso 'issues', but they are mistaken. I prefer natural light and have gone up to ISO 3200 without complications--using nik dfine's noise reduction software only makes it better! I also have used flash in order to lower my iso and deliver great imagery.

The camera feels solid and has some weight to it with good glass. The shutter noise is very distinct, but that is to be expected with such a large mirror. In-body stabilization is as advertised and is incredible--I'm able to get crisp, hand held shots at 1/15 s with an 85 mm lens.

I've always been told that with anything involving optics, you will never go wrong with the system with the best glass, and I believe Sony is the leader by offering zeiss lenses. Yes--they don't have all of the different lenses that Canikon offers, but 99% of my work is done in the 16-200 mm range, and they offer amazing lenses for that focal length range (I could go even longer with the 400 mm G series lenses they offer--but I just have no need for it).

Get this camera if you're looking for a well-built machine that can deliver professional images. Full frame for less than $2000 = awesome.