Let’s face it, the first thing most people look at when assessing a digital camera is resolution. Megapixels, and lots of them. As serious amateurs and professional photographers will jump to tell you, this is hardly a measurement of quality. None the less, it’s the first thing most consumers see. Sony obviously had that in mind when designing its latest digital SLR camera, the 24 megapixel A900.

At roughly twice the pixel count of many competitors, the A900 is currently the highest resolution digital camera in its class. While this is unlikely to give you sharper prints than, say, a 12 megapixel camera, the additional resolution does capture some incredibly small details you might otherwise miss.

When putting the A900 through its paces, I took several photos of Paisley, the family tabby. Only when viewing those photos later on the desktop did I notice that when zoomed in to actual size, I could see the individual veins of her eyes and clearly make out the window frame and sky reflected therein. That’s getting very close to the impossible zoom-ins they manage on television shows such as CSI; even when you’re throwing that detail away it’s still very, very cool.

On the downside the A900 is not tremendously feature rich. It’s an excellent professional camera and has all the major features you would expect of one, but lacks those nifty extras gadget fans love. You won’t find GPS support, Wi-Fi, video recording or even the Live View feature digital SLRs are beginning to adopt from the compact camera world. While, perhaps with the exception of Live View, such features are generally useless to professional photographers – even scorned for being the gimmicks they are – they do make the A900 a little less attractive to those looking for the newest and niftiest, not just a great camera.

Although the A900 doesn’t have everything, the features it does possess are implemented well. A few of the requisite functions are pretty entertaining, like the high-definition TV output and the included remote control for the shutter and menu system. The interface is easy to learn; you can pick up the camera and start shooting without so much as a glance at the manual. You’re going to have to read every page to really unlock the camera’s full potential, but it’s not something you have to do straight out of the box.

The A900 is clearly a professional digital SLR, but you don’t have to be a professional to buy one. Anyone with a love of photography and a sizeable gadgetry budget should give Sony’s latest a serious look.

HARLEY OGIER

TECH SPECS

A900
Digital SLR Camera
$4999

RESOLUTION: 24.6 megapixels
IMAGE SENSOR:  35.9 x 24.0mm CMOS
VIEWFINDER: 100% frame coverage
LCD MONITOR: 3-inch, 921,600 pixels (VGA), 100% frame coverage
SHUTTER: 1/8000 to 30 seconds, bulb
ISO: 200-3200 (also supports ISO 100 and ISO 6400 equivalent)
EXPOSURE METERING: Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot
MEDIA: CompactFlash Type I/II (UDMA-compliant), Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo, 
PRO-HG Duo
FILE FORMAT: ARW 2.0 
(RAW), JPEG
INTERFACE: USB 2.0, composite video out, HDMI video out
BATTERIES: Rechargeable Lithium-ion
DIMENSIONS: 156 x 117 x 82mm
WEIGHT: 850g without battery or memory card

Contact

www.sony.co.nz

Pros

• Highest resolution in its class

• Well designed and implemented

Cons

• Bit of a ‘boring’ 
professional feel

Verdict

• The ultimate fix for the serious resolution junkie

This review is from Tone issue #74.

What do you think?