The Photo Times: Sony Alpha a290 DSLR camera review

7/10

Wired rating

Wired

Helpful onscreen guides make life easy for beginners. Small,

lightweight design. Wide range of lenses available. Built-in flash.

Good value for money.

Tired

Average low light performance. Cheap feel to construction. No

Live View mode and no video capture.

Price

The 14.2-megapixel Sony Alpha a290 aims to bridge amateurs into

the busy world of the DSLR,

offering decent image quality, simple operation and a host of scene

selections within a small and lightweight body that, at Â£400, could

be a smart choice for frugal amateurs.

The DSLR market is becoming increasingly crowded with low- and

mid-range cameras that pack features present on professional

models. As such, it’s refreshing to find a camera aimed solely at

beginners. The a290 is certainly an easy camera to learn with,

particularly if you don’t have much experience with the layout of

other manufacturers’ camera controls.

In good shooting conditions, photographs look sharp and colours

are bright and vivid, even using default settings. Handheld

low-light shooting without flash is possible but not easy, as

Sony’s BIONZ image processor takes this camera only to ISO 3200,

with noise noticeably creeping in at this level. The a290 does

feature optical image stabilisation though, which did improve

handheld shots, even at full zoom. And of course the a290 also

includes a handy built-in flash.

The camera has a rather unflattering, plasticky feel to it,

which may not appeal to those who have upgraded from higher-end

superzooms. However, its low weight makes it great for one-handed

shooting and you won’t feel weighed down if you chuck it in a bag

on your way to the beach.

The 2.7-inch LCD screen displays bright and clear photo review

opportunities. Although the a290 does not have a Live View

function, its higher-end sister model — the a390 — does, along with offering a swivelling LCD for those

hard to reach shots. In all other respects, the two cameras are

identical, so if Live View is important to you, it may well be

worth splashing out the extra Â£50 for the a390. However, as both

cameras are specifically for the beginner market, video

capabilities are not present on either model.

Helpful guides are displayed on-screen as you cycle through the

various available scene modes to assist novice users, as well as

clearly indicating settings during shooting, allowing inexperienced

photographers to capture pleasing shots in a variety of different

conditions whilst understanding the ways in which different

settings affect results.

The a290 also features an HDMI output for viewing photos on any
HDTV,

and using Sony’s Bravia sync you can directly control playback

functions using your Bravia remote if your TV is compatible.

Conclusion

If you are used to your compact digital cameras and somewhat

nervous about making the leap to a DSLR, the a290 should definitely

be on your mind due to its great ease of use.

While not a contender for “Best Low Light Shooter”, the a290

nonetheless provides acceptable results in less than perfect

conditions and pleasing results when better. Construction may well

feel rather cheap, but it doesn’t feel poorly constructed, and by

using plastics rather than metals Sony has made a camera light

enough for any bag and affordable for any budding amateur.

The Sony Alpha 290 is on sale now for around

Â£400.

Edited by Nate Lanxon

and why would you need an SLR if you planning ne-handed shooting on the beach?

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THanks for the review.
By the way, the comment of whattheheck is really really funny… LOL

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For a month now I have used the a290 and have found it to be the best camera I have ever owned. Its ease of use is spot on, the end product the photograph is better than I could hope for. Just bought the HVL-F20AM flash gun which gives bounce for even better results but at a cost of Â£130 for what you get is basic so I feel that it is over priced.

But if that is my only gripe then the a290 is a great camera.

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please comment asap. ok, i have a huge 500mm Nikon HN-27 that i resently got and my plan was to buy a sony alpha A270 and i was wondering if that camera has the right lens mount to hold that Nikon lens… and also wondering what the picture quality is like for pictures that are farther away. and one last thing, does this camera originally have a camera lighting? if it doesent then i have one that i could slide on

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I just bought a Sony Alpha 33 SLR with video. Nice camera with great features, but the zoom ring is jerky so is useless in video shooting mode. Sony haven’t been helpful but the dealer agrees and has checked all stock and says they all do it. Not very good. Check before you buy. I think it applies to the lens on other Sony SLR’s too. I’ve always been wary of Sony since poor backup on a Viao laptop and here I am again!

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Im looking at the getting the new Sony a33 digital camera. has anyone used it?? I spoke to a salesperson and he highly recommended it as a good camera within my price bracket (around Â£500). However, a Canon representative told me that the HD feature on Sony SLR (and Sony cameras in general) are not proper HD as they make the picture narrower in order to make it look AS good as HD. The HD feature is important to me so can anyone confirm whether this is true or whether the Canon rep was just trying to put me off a Sony?

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I recently bought a Sony A290 and would thus able to shoot directly to my computer. I think therefore I need special software which are not supplied. Is it possible to download somewhere

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