Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 – better viewfinder with less magnification
Thumbs Up:
Inbuilt image stabilization and wireless flash control; straightforward and simple operation; dual card slot; tiltable LCD; fast single shot and Live View AF performance; SteadyShot indicator
Thumbs Down:
Default settings provide sub-optimal pictures; mid-range viewfinder; small grip
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
The Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 is a 10.2-megapixel digital SLR camera with Live View. It has Super HAD CCD optical sensor, 1.5 view crop factor field, sensor dust reduction, SteadyShot INSIDE Optical image stabilization, optional remote control, and 2x digital zoom. The sensor features are dust reduction (image sensor vibration) and anti-dust coating. The light sensitivity levels are ISO Auto and ISO 100-3200.
The minimum shutter speed is 30 second, maximum is 1/4000 second, and x-sync speed is 1/160 second. The Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 has 40 exposure metering zones, 3 steps auto-exposure bracketing and EV 2-20 (ISO 100) exposure range. The exposure compensation is ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps.
The white-balance is of three types: Automatic, Custom, and Presets. Its presets include Tungsten light, Fluorescent, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, and Flash. The shooting programs are Night portrait, Portrait mode, Sports mode, Landscape, Sunset, and Macro. The special effects include Black & White, Night View, landscape, Portrait, Neutral, Sunset, and Vivid.
The Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 support RAW, RAW+JPEG, and JPEG image formats. It accepts Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick Duo, and SD Memory Card. The still image storage resolution options are RAW JPEG, RAW+JPEG RAW 3872×2592, Fine 2896×1936, Standard 1920×1280, 3872×2176, 2896×1632, and 1920×1088.
The pop-up flash features 10 guide numbers, wireless off-camera control, Flash +/- compensation, and AF illuminator. The flash modes are Red-eye reduction, Rear curtain sync, Flash OFF mode, Slow synchro, Fill-in mode, and Auto-mode.
The aspherical lens are made up of ED glass and feature Minolta A-type lens mounting system and smooth auto-focus motor (SAM). It has 18-55mm focal length with F/3.5-5.6 aperture that features 3x optical zoom. The Alpha DSLR-A330 has TTL phase detection auto-focus, nine zones, and 9.8 inch of minimum focus range. The maximum view angle is 76 degree.
2.7 inches folding display has a format of 230,4000 pixels. The eye-level penta-dach mirror optical viewfinder provides 95% field coverage and 0.74x magnification. It has auto-focus frame and -2.5 to +1 dioptric correction range. The Alpha DSLR-A330 has hot-shoe flash terminal and self timer delay function of 2 and 10 seconds.
The additional features are Automatic display brightness adjustment, RGB primary color filter, Dynamic Range Optimizer, Digital tele-converter, Digital image rotation, USB 2.0 compatibility, PRINT image matching, Eye-start AF system, Inbuilt help guide, saturation control, PictBridge support, LCD Live View mode, Exif Print support, Brightness control, sharpness control, Histogram display, Date/time stamp, DPOF support, and AF lock.
The connector set includes 1×USB, 1×HDMI output, and 1×Composite video output. The software supplied on the disc are Sony Image Data Converter SR, Sony Picture Motion Browser, drivers & utilities disc, and Sony Image Data Lightbox SR. The supported operating systems are Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional/XP/Vista and Apple Mac OS X 10.1.3 or later.
Accessories supplied inside the box are one video cable, a USB cable, shoulder strap, lens cap, dust cap, body cap, drivers & software disc, and user manual.
Razzle Dazzle:
The Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 is 5 inches wide, 2.8 inches deep and 3.8 inches tall and weighs 17.3 ounces. It comes in two colors: brown and black. The grip occupies three-quarter of the complete height. The dSLR is covered with the rubberized texture.
Inside Dope:
The Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 is the modest update over its predecessor the Alpha DSLR-A300. We appreciate the Sony to upgrade the firmware for improving the performance and quality. However, the A330 remains quite similar to the A230. The only difference between them is that the A230 has higher magnification viewfinder than that of the A330. Both shares similar sized 2.7-inch LCD display. In contrast, you can tilt the A330 unit perpendicularly up or down at 55-degree and it offers Live View shooting. The Alpha DSLR-A380 is the higher resolution version of the A330. The Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 comes in two individual kits (each in two colors – black and brown): 18-55mm lens and dual-lens kit of 18-55mm with 55-200mm. Sony is not providing its body-only version at the moment. Like other Sony DSLR camera, you can use the Minolta A mount lens with the A330 camera.
The mode dial of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 provides access to some scene program modes, full automatic, manual and semi-manual exposure mode. You will find the optical viewfinder/Live View toggle on the right side of the model dial. There is Smart Teleconverter (1.4x or 2x digital zoom) button on the top right side that provides identical results of cropping and works only in the Live view mode. You will find the exposure compensation button located on a ledge behind. It is very annoying that you have to move your complete hand to access this button even while shooting.
We appreciate the Sony to provide both Memory Stick Pro Duo and SD card slot with a manual switch to toggle between them in all of its entry-level digital cameras. The dual slots, mini-HDMI and USB connectors are located behind a sliding door at the left side. On the back side, you will find four-way navigation toggle with middle AF button, and Fn button above the toggle. You can use the toggle to pull up the drive mode options, display choices, ISO sensitivity levels and flash options with wireless on/off choice. The drive mode options including self time delay of 3, 5, and 10 seconds. The Fn button allows accessing the both frequently and less required shooting options such as Creative Style, white-balance, D-Range Optimizer, metering mode, AF area, and auto-focus mode. You can set some settings inside the menu system including toggle the image stabilization, flash compensation and image quality.
The viewfinder of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 is mediocre like other in its budget friendly price range. It has lower magnification than that of the A330’s predecessors. It was hard to notice the blink red focus dots, especially on dark objects. The focus lock indicator remains close to center of bottom read out. We like that the SteadyShot scale helps to improve the quality even on shaking.
The Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 is relatively fast. The time from power on to first shot is 0.4 second that is better than 0.4 second of the Pentax K2000, but less than 0.2sec of the Canon EOS Rebel XS. The shot-to-shot average time of the A330 is 0.7 second, which is less than 0.5sec of the Nikon D60 & the K2000. For the DSLR-A330, the shutter lag is 0.6 second in dim light and the 0.3 second in bright lighting. The continuous shooting speed is 2.4fps, which is less than 2.8 of the D60, 2.9 of the Rebel X, and 3.3 of the K2000.
In dim light, the shutter lag is 0.8sec for the Rebel XS, 0.7sec for the D60, and 0.5 sec for the K2000. It becomes 0.4 sec for the Rebel XS and the D60, and 0.2 second for the K2000 in the bright lighting. Overall, the A330 is slower than the Pentax K2000 and is very slow for moving subjects like kids & pets.
The Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 has fast AF in its class, especially for the Live View mode. That is why the A330 delivers better point-and-shoot experience. In contrast, you can see only 90% scene in the Live View that is low than 95% viewfinder coverage. It was a bit difficult to read the text at LCD display in the direct sunlight and while tilting it at different angles. The image stabilization was comparatively good.
The overall picture quality of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 is acceptable. It provides more user-friendly images with default Creative Style, like the Pentax K2000. The A330 provides warm indoor shoots and cool outdoor images. The Dynamic Range Optimizer brings more detail in mid-tones and shadows. It also helps to bring back some clipped highlights and shadow. The lens kits does not provide as sharpness as that with the Nikon Canon models. The noise-suppression profile is average for the A330 in its class. The sharpness starts to decrease at ISO 400, while the color noise begins at ISO 800. The images become more noisy and soft at ISO 1600 and 3200.
Nitty Gritty:
The Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 has better viewfinder and Live View mode. It is a better deal to buy at its budget friendly price range. However, you can get some better cameras like the Pentax K2000 at $200 more.
