Pro DSLR Pro DSLR
August, 2009
Sony Alpha DSLR-A850

Sony AlphaDSLR-A850

Summary Sony DSLR-A850

Prices Price
Body only Unknown With 28-75mm lens $2,801
all DSLR-A850 prices
Score Snapsort rank
Within its price range #n/a of 2 Among similar cameras #n/a of 5
details details
Specifications Key specs
Sensor size Help Full frame 35.9x24.0mm Screen resolution Help 922k dots
Megapixels Help 24.4 MP Movie format Help None
Screen size Help 3.0" Light sensitivity Help 3,200 ISO
see all specifications
Lenses Lenses
Browse all Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 lenses at LensHero
Sony Alpha DSLR-A850Sony Alpha DSLR-A850

Videos

Sony Alpha DSLR A850 Full Fram...

Sony A850 Unboxing
Sony Alpha DSLR A850 Full Frame Digital SLR Camera
  • Review
  • Pro
  • Ergonomics
 Sony A850 Unboxing
  • Review
  • Unboxing

Browse all Sony DSLR-A850 videos

Pros

The Sony DSLR-A850 vs other recent DSLRs

Overall image quality Great overall image quality Help
79.0
Color depth Good color depth Help
23.8 bits
Screen resolution High resolution screen Help
922k dots
True resolution High true resolution Help
24.4 MP
Weather sealed Weather sealed Help
Shoot in extreme weather
Fastest shutter speed Fast shutter speed Help
1/8000 of a second
Low light performance Low noise at high ISO Help
1,415 ISO
Dynamic range Wide dynamic range Help
12.2 EV
Viewfinder size Large viewfinder Help
0.74x
Sensor size Very large sensor Help
Full frame 35.9x24.0mm
Viewfinder Doesn't use battery, see more detail Help
Pentaprism
Storage slots More storage slots Help
2

The Sony DSLR-A850 vs other recent pro DSLRs

Image stabilization Image stabilization Help
Sensor shift

Cons

The Sony DSLR-A850 vs other recent DSLRs

Live view No live view Help
Preview with viewfinder
Screen flips out Fixed screen Help
Less flexible
Autofocus Manual focus only Help
None
Announced Old Help
August, 2009
Size Slightly large Help
Large 156x117x82 mm
Popularity Not so popular Help
Among snapsort users
Panorama Lacks in-camera panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
HDR Lacks in-camera HDR Help
You could do HDR manually
3D Doesn't take 3D photos Help
No 3d support
Weight Heavy Help
895 g
Built-in flash No built-in flash Help
Professional

The Sony DSLR-A850 vs other recent pro DSLRs

Movie format No movies Help
None
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
3,200 ISO
Lens availability Very few lenses available Help
62 lenses
Cross type focus points Fewer cross-type focus points Help
1
Light sensitivity (boost) Low boost light sensitivity Help
6,400 ISO
Screen size Below average sized screen Help
3.0"
Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
3 fps
Focus points Fewer focus points Help
19
Battery life Shorter battery life Help
880 shots
Viewfinder coverage Below average viewfinder coverage Help
98%

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Discussion What do you think about the Sony Alpha DSLR-A850?

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Showing 2 comments

Johnmcmillin (4:32 AM, April 27, 2011)
P.S. I just saw the rankings and this camera came out very well indeed, No. 2 among recent SLRs. I wonder if it would have done even better if "continuous shooting performance" had not been a critieria. Really, now, how many frames per second do we require for real estate? Frames per minute would get the job done for me...
 
Johnmcmillin (4:28 AM, April 27, 2011)
This was my dream camera for two years. Now I own it and use it for my RE stills. Like my a700 before it, it's a pleasure to use, especially in full manual: I put aperture on the front dial, shutter on the rear, and shortcuts to DRO on the Custom button and flash exp. comp. on the Function button. Every necessary adjustment is one easy control action away. But adjustments aren't as often required as with the smaller format. The a850 brings a big increase in dynamic range that helps fit highlights and shadows into the same exposure. That's a benefit even at 6 MP, where I usually shoot.

If you're thinking of going to full frame to get your wide-angles back, though, you might think again. It was easier to find a suitable ultrawide for the crop format. My old Tamron 10-24 did a great job, with easily correctable barrel distortion. Its older FF counterpart, the Tamron 17-35, becomes effectively an 18+mm lens due to clipped corners, and produces uneven distortion across the frame that's difficult to correct. And it's not wide enough. I'm about to get a Sigma 12-24 to test as a replacement.

Excepting that lens issue, the move up to the a850 was all positive. My old Maxxum lenses offer exceptional value, and (excepting the Tammy) they perform even better on full frame. This a pure camera, with no frills; built to a high standard, comfortably fitted to hand and smaller than some of the "pro-level" cropped-format cameras from the Big Two. There's not a Nikon or a Canon I'd trade it for.