a850A brand new extraordinaire! The Alpha A850 is built around a full frame 24.6 megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor which snaps your pictures in amazing clarity with brilliant, intense colours and detailed textures.

Featuring a 3 inch “XtraFine” TFT lcd, with 921,000 pixels and 98% coverage, the Alpha A850 allows you to view your images in fine particulars. The LCD has an anti-reflective coating over it to prevent sunglare in bright outdoor lighting.
You are also able to adjust the brightness of the display.

The numbers: ISO ranges up to an expanded 6400. Snapping at 3 frames per second (or RAW at 16 fps). Weighing in at 850 grams without the battery or lens. A full battery charge [InfoLITHIUM™ Battery Pack (NP-FM500H)] is able to take around 880 pictures without using live view mode.

Something special about the Alpha A850 is that it has a double staged noise reduction. The first step is taken when noise reduction is applied while the sensor converts light to electronic signals. The second step is when the dual BIONZ image engines initiate a fine tune noise reduction during the image processing. These two steps result in images with extremely clear detail and minimal noise. These incredible results were evident even when I pushed the ISO to its maximum expanded option.

The Alpha A850 has a really fast 9 point auto focus system, the speed and accuracy proved to be very impressive while taking pictures of moving subjects. The auto focus system operates on its own F2.8 sensor for enhanced accuracy while using a wide aperture lens, putting the ten focus assist points to good use.

Not new to DSLRs, but definitely worth the mention, is the SteadyShot INSIDE feature which offers the photographer four steps of anti shake operation with all compatible lenses. This aids the photographer who doesn’t always have their camera on a tri-pod.

The Sony Alpha A850 has a fantastic feature called the Intelligent Preview function. This allows you to see the effects of the exposure and white balance settings as well as D-Range Optimiser settings and adjustments before you shoot your picture. I found that this particular feature gave me a form of priceless control over my more intricate scenes consisting of a variety of light sources and different colour effects.

Even when the main LCD is switched off, there is a little LCD on the top of the camera which gives you a run down of your major settings.

If you press the Fn button the main display switches to Quick Navi mode which allows easy one handed adjusting of key settings.

There is a wired and a wireless option for remote control and you are able to take self timer photos at intervals of 2 or 10 seconds.

Battery levels are tracked at very precise 1% stages and takes away the uncertainty of how much life is left when you are out and about on a shoot.

The build of the Sony Alpha A850 is robust and rugged, challenging you to approach more aggressive shooting conditions. The entire shell is made of magnesium alloy and the chassis is made of high tensile aluminium. All the necessary bits and openings are protected from moisture and dust by rubber seals.

Naturally you are able to connect the Alpha A850 to any HD TV or BRAVIA with the necessary cables.

The A850 is complimented with the new 28 – 75mm F2.8 SAM lens. This is a general zoom, compact lens which is brilliant to add to any photographers collection.

The DSLR A850 digital SLR camera became available in September 2009 and the 28-75mm lens will be available very soon, in November 2009.

I give this brilliant camera a five star rating for its ease of use and exceptional image quality.

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