Sony Alpha 500

Feature packed DSLR for creative shooters

Sony is a relative newcomer to the digital SLR marketplace, but has used it’s heritage manufacturing in other areas, as well as a well respected brand name, to build up a loyal following. The latest releases from the Sony camp came in the form of the Alpha 850 (a new full frame offering) as well as the Sony A550 and A500. Aimed at the step up DSLR user, the Sony Alpha 500 places itself squarely within the sights of the Nikon D5000 and the Canon 500D, and in doing so, creates a great expectation when you first grab hold.

Out of the box, the A500 feels lightweight and compact. The body has a somewhat plastic feel that isn’t very reassuring if you’re prone to dropping or knocking your camera. The kit lens (an 18-55mm f3.5 Sony optic) continues the lightweight theme, which balances well with the body.

Although the camera is aimed at those with some DSLR experience, it’s clear from the outset that Sony has incorporated enough beginner friendly features to attract some compact users too. For instance the body is littered with dials and buttons that will be familiar to anyone who’s handled a digital compact before. There’s the mode dial on the top plate that gives quick access to the likes of Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Program mode and Manual, as well as shortcuts for six scene modes and an automatic setting. The mode dial is a little of the small side, but is ridged for easier grip and has a definite click when it reaches each mode.

Elsewhere on the top plate there’s a slider that allows users to switch between the optical view finder (which provides 95% frame coverage and a clear shot) and the 3 inch live view LCD. The slider itself needs a bit of force to push, which means accidental knocks won’t cause any problems. Shortcut buttons for D-range – Sony’s dynamic range feature – ISO settings and self timer modes are also all set in the A500’s top plate.

Round the back and one of the most notable features included on the A500 is found. On the 3”, 921k dot LCD Sony’s much praised Quick AF Live View has been incorporated, supporting speedier shooting, especially when combined with the 4fps in Live View (rising to 5fps using the viewfinder).

Another innovative bit of technology is also wedged into the OVF, with eye piece sensors being placed just below. These sense when your eye is close by, shutting off the LCD to remove any distractions. Although this works well, it works a little too well. For users who like to leave the camera on in between shots, the camera can hunt quite a lot as it thinks you’re looking through the OVF when it actual fact the camera is lying against your body. This aside, the Live View LCD and OVF work well together to ensure photographers have every option they could need.

On the back and the camera is dominated by the aforementioned 3” LCD which offers users the choice to tilt the screen up to 90degrees away from the camera body. Great for ultra high or low level shots, although with many of it’s rivals supporting fully flexible, vari-angle screens, this does feel a little halfhearted.

Elsewhere on the back, there’s also a plethora of buttons including shortcuts for menu, playback and delete, as well as a useful Fn button, which users can program to shortcut to their most used features.

Delve into the menu system and the A500 features clear white lettering on a blue gray background. Navigation is pretty straight forward and options change depending on the shooting mode you have selected.

For users who are not sure which mode to select, the Sony has a built in Help Guide, which tells users what settings will be affected when selecting each mode. For more experienced users, this feature can be turned off within the menu system, but it’s a great tool for those wishing to understand the impact of shutter speed, ISO or aperture of their images.

Following on from this, the information displayed whilst shooting can be set to show users shutter speed along a sliding scale – with an action symbol at the fast end, and a static symbol at the slow. The same can be seen on the aperture scale. Another great learning tool for step up users.

But the A500 also has some great features borrowed from high-end models, including noise reduction technologies and ISO sensitivity shooting up to 12800, that aid the camera in low light and handheld shooting situations. The previously mentioned D-range Optimiser feature broadens photographers creative options by allowing captures with a broad tonal range.

Out in the field and the Sony was quick to power up, taking just seconds to be ready, although once a shot was taken the A500 was painfully slow at letting you review. This was due in part to the fact we were shooting both Raw and Jpg files, which would take a while to write to the SD card. Zooming in and around the shot on the LCD showed the Sony to be able to pick up an amazing amount of detail, due to it’s 12MP sensor and Bionz processor. However, colour reproduction was sometimes less than faithful, with the blues especially taking on a much more vivid tone. Not a bad problem to have, although this will depend on personal preference in colour renditions.

Battery levels have been greatly improved on this model too, with photographers making use of the OVF achieving around 1000 shots per charge according to Sony. During our tests we certainly found we were never short of power.

Shooting in the manual modes and the Sony allows the user to have a great level of control over each shot, including being able to adjust aspect ratio and colour space. Within the scene mode presets the camera did well for the most part, producing some great images.

At around the £500 mark for the body and lens, the Sony A500 looks like fairly good value for money, especially when you consider the ever expanding range of lenses and accessories being made for the Alpha system. There’s also plenty of room to grow, with the Sony A700 (now discontinued), A850 and A900 all offering another step up for advancing enthusiasts. It’s also cheaper than some of the cameras it has been built to rival, although it does lack one or two of the features – like movie recording capabilities – that its competitors offer.

For those looking to move up from a compact, superzoom or lower end DSLR, the Sony Alpha 500 certainly offers a lot. The Help Guide and plethora of automatic features will ensure the newcomer won’t be too daunted, but still provides plenty of features to develop shooting skills. The image quality will please most photographers, especially at this price point, although the lack of video might have some photographers looking elsewhere.

Final Verdict Good features and great images but lacking some features of similarly priced rivals OVERALL

Debbi’s passionate about all things photographic: from the latest digital kit to the greatest techniques to capture a scene. She’s been at the helm of the photography portfolio of magazines, websites and more for three years.