Sony Alpha A100K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 Lens
by Sony
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony Alpha A100K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 Lens
Customer Review: Good Camera (I think)--poor customer service
Summary: 3 Stars
I got some good results while learning to use the camera. The noise issue referred to in other reviews wouldn't bother me, because I rarely take low light photos.
Unfortunately, after about 150 pictures, the camera stopped working. I received an error message after taking a picture. I called Sony customer service. After 45 minutes and a couple of contacts, no one had heard of the error message (odd that they would program an error message and then not tell support people what it means). I had to return the camera to Sony for repairs, at my expense....with a 7-10 business day turnaround. Maybe I've been spoiled by quick turn arounds (and free shipping) by Apple, Dell, HP, and others, but that seems a little long.
Customer Review: Disappointing Image Quality
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this camera for Christmas after having spent several weeks reviewing test reports (such as on [...] and reading user opinions. I wanted to buy a DLSR because eight to six years ago I owned a nice SLR from Minolta and was very happy with it. After buying our first digital camera (a compact 6 MP SONY DSC-V1) we haven't really used our SLR anymore. We have used our compact V1 a lot, maybe shot 7,000 pictures over the last three years, and even though being happy most of the time there have been moments where I wanted to have a real SLR/DLSR back. So, at the end I decided for the SONY A100 over Canon or Nikon for a couple of reasons:
1) We have been very happy with our SONY V1
2) We were very satisfied with our SLR from Minolta and the A100 is based on earlier Konica/Minolta DLSRs
3) The image stabilization (steady shot) seemed to be a major advantage
4) Sensor cleaning (anti-dust) mechanism
5) I could potentially use an old objective from my Minolta
After having received the camera and after having shot maybe 100 pictures (not too many, I admit), most of them test pictures where I took the same scene with our old V1, I must say that I am quite disappointed of the picture quality. I don't know whether it is because of the 18-70mm lens that came with the camera (even though I have read that the quality of that lens is actually not that bad) but it turns out that the pictures with the A100K are worse than those taken with our V1, which I find quite amazing, and disappointing.
The test pictures that I have taken with both cameras were taken at home, with and without flash, in various modes (e.g. AUTO mode, program mode, shutter priority, etc.). I played with the ISO settings, the flash level and the EV settings for the exposure compensation and so on. The scenery was colorful (many objects/toys with different colors) and allowed a good comparison of color reproduction and sharpness.
What I can see so far is that for some reason the pictures with the A100K are quite blurred, even though I use steady shot (also with flash where steady shot would not be required) and even though I set the sharpness already to +1, as recommended by many users. Still, the image quality is disappointing, in all modes that I have tested so far. It turns out that our V1 gives really better results, even though it is a fairly small lens (from Carl Zeiss, though), a much smaller sensor and only 6 MP. The color reproduction on the A100K seems better and more natural, on the V1 the red is typically over-pronounced.
The other, very annoying impression is noise. I read about noise issues for ISO settings above 400 ISO but there were some users that mentioned that you hardly shoot at 800 or 1600 ISO, which I found convincing. However, now, in this typical "home environment" I can see that on some pictures even the noise at 250 ISO is significant, I mean, you look at the picture and one of the very first impressions is that it is quite noisy. You look at the EXIF info of the picture and it tells you that the ISO (I shot in ISO AUTO mode) is 250 or 320. This is really very bad. I didn't expect that I would have a "noise problem" for a typical daylight picture at home even, under certain circumstances, not all pictures, of course.
I will definitely return the A100K. I think I will try another DLSR, maybe the 10MP Rebel from Canon, otherwise I will stick to my V1 or look for a newer model. We realized in the last two days how superb the V1 is, actually, by having this comparison with the A100K ...
Customer Review: Customer Service Awful!
Summary: 2 Stars
Like others have said in their reviews, the camera is decent, but the cusotmer service is horrendous! I purchased the camera in July, 2007 from Ace Photo and the camera arrived very quickly. The problem started when I tried to download my first set of photos-- I couldn't do it automatically as there were corrupt files. I figured it was my memory card so I purchased another one, but had the same problem. And, on the camera, there is an error code for formatting memory cards. So, I called Sony Cusomer Service and I was unable to talk to anyone that had actually seen the camera so they walked me through algorithms that were not at all appropriate for the problem. In fact, they couldn't even find the error code I had in their list. Even so, they made me spend 3 hours on the phone with various agents going through processes that made no sense for the problem I had. In the end, they told me I would need to purchase a memory card from them (becuase they couldn't verify any of the cards I was using would work correctly even though they were Dane-Elect and Sony!) and if that didn't work then I could send the camera in at my own cost for them to repair it. I am amazed that Sony treats customers in this manner... it has definitely made me think twice before purchasing Sony products in the future.Customer Review: very poor build quality
Summary: 1 Stars
I am really frustrated with Sony and my Alpha DSLR, a product with inferior build quality and a customer service that lays the blame on me instead of acknowledging quality problems. I have bought it sometime in 2007 and only had problems with it. After some weeks it just wouldn't turn on anymore and it took Sony several weeks to get it repaired and back to me. Now when I take pictures the resulting file shows a different field of vision than what the viewfinder showed me. Even worse, there is a black right upper corner in every one of my picture. After several tries to get to the right person to help me, Sony told me that any repair would cost a fixed amount of £114.56. Without even knowing what is wrong with my camera. Asking if this functional failure is normal for a Sony product after three years, I was told that this is normal "wear and tear". For me a camera that is expected by the producer not to last longer than the guarantee period of one year, is not worth paying for. My next camera, or any electronics product for that matter, will for sure not be a Sony product. I recommend for everyone planning to buy one of their products to think hard about how long he/she plans to use it for.Customer Review: Timelapse recording
Summary: 1 Stars
This camera has not timelapse recording!!!
(Cameras with a time lapse feature can be programmed to automatically shoot a number of frames over a period of time or with a certain time interval between each frame. For instance, a camera on a tripod in time lapse mode could be set up to shoot frames of a flower opening or a bird building a nest.)