Alpha Fever – Sony A450 Digital SLR
The new Sony Alpha A450 digital SLR has arrived in our inbox just 4 months after the A500, A550 and A850 were announced, reinforcing the message that Sony are committed to taking a serious share of the DSLR market. The latest member of the Sony Alpha family is a cut-down version of the A550 – offering 14 megapixels, SteadyShot image stabilisation and up to 7fps continuous shooting.
The new Sony Alpha A450 digital SLR (DSLR-A450)
What has been sacrificed? Not much. The tilting LCD screen and fast Live View autofocus are the main casualties, but the Sony A450 does have one trick up its sleeve; An impressive 1,050 shot battery life (by CIPA standards).
Looking at the new line-up of APS-C Sony Alpha Digital SLRs is potentially a little daunting – there are so many choices. Here’s a quick comparison table for an overview:
Sony A230 vs A380 vs A450 vs A500 vs A550
| DSLR-A230 | DSLR-A380 | DSLR-A450 | DSLR-A500 | DSLR-A550 | |
| Megapixels | 10.2 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 12.3 | 14.2 |
| ISO Range | 100-3200 | 100-3200 | 200-12,800 | 200-12,800 | 200-12,800 |
| LCD Screen | 2.7″ fixed | 2.7″ tilting | 2.7″ fixed | 3.0″ tilting | 3.0″ tilting |
| LCD Pixels | 230k | 230k | 230k | 230k | 921k |
| Frame Rate | 2.5 | 2.5 | 5 / 7* | 5 | 5 / 7* |
| RAW Buffer | ? | ? | 14 | 3 | 14 |
| Battery Life | 510 | 500 | 1,050 | 950 | 1000 |
| Weight | 452g | 489g | 520g | 597g | 599g |
* 7 FPS available in ‘speed priority’ mode, where the focus & exposure are locked at the start (AF/AE lock).
The Alpha A450 retains the Auto HDR function found in the A550, which combines two successive handheld frames with an exposure difference of up to 3EV. The creative options don’t stop there; Low-light photography is aided with option of ISO 12,800 and SteadyShot image stabilisation, which can compensate for up to 4-stops of light. Add the 9 AF points and 5-7 FPS continuous burst to the mix and you have a potent camera for action photography too.
Have Sony struck gold with the A450? Potentially – the specifications are stronger than the Nikon D5000 and Canon 500D in many respects. The real thorn in the A450’s side is the lack of HD video recording (the D5000 offers 720P and the 500D offers 720p & 1080p), presumably because Sony are concerned about damaging sales of their camcorder range… but will this end up being an expensive mistake?
(8 votes, average: 4.13 out of 5)
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Tweets that mention Alpha Fever – Sony A450 Digital SLR | Warehouse Express -- Topsy.comI can’t see the fascination with HD Video recording on a Stills camera. Whilst the lens quality will be better than most consumer video recorders, surely the ergonomics of an SLR do not suit video photography. I wouldn’t make a decision about an SLR on whether or not it could take videos, in the same way I wouldn’t decide which video camera to buy based on how good the still images it can take are.
d'gromwalJust my opinion for what it is worth.