Sony Unveils Alpha A300 And A350 DSLRs

Sony announces two new Alpha DSLR-A300 and DSLR-A350 DSLRs today for PMA 2008, to be held next week at Las Vegas. They are hitting the cutthroat DSLR market hard, two more new models in additional to the A200 and A700 that just announced earlier this month and last September. Both cameras share similar designs from physical body to features with the exception that A350 is 14.2 megapixel vs 10.2 megapixel.

The new alpha uses an APS-C sized CCD sensor with in-camera stabilization, dual anti dust systems, large 2.7-inch tilting TFT LCD with quick AF live view, and BIONZ® processing engine that capable to push low noise ISO sensitivity up to 3200.

Sony's 2.7-inch swivel-screen combines with a quick AF Live View system that is capable to continuously focus-track subject in high burse mode. That makes me screams out loud, I want one too! It would be a great feature for ground-level shooting, nearly 80 percents of my wildlife images are inches from the ground or water-level and 90 percents are with continue AF mode.

The new Alphas uses BIONZ® processing engine and D-Range Optimizer to produce a rich tonality, vibrant color and fine detailed image even at high iso up to 3200. The in-body stabilizer adds 2.5 to 3.5 stops ability to shoot handheld to avoid motion-blur.

The continuous shooting mode is capable of 3fps on A300 but only 2fps on A350 due to larger image size. They run on lithium-ion battery and supports CF media storage with optional vertical battery grip.

The DSLR-A350 will be the first to ship this March at $800 for body-only or at $950 bundled with DT 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 zoom lens. The little brother DSLR-A300 will be sold with the same bundled lens only coming this April at $800.

[via Sony release]