First thoughts on my "new" Sony a350
It's amazing how affordable the kit is.
I've started using a new (to me) olympus em1 mark ii which is altogether more exciting in many ways, but the Sony is such good fun to take out, and the lenses available are so cheap!
Not a bad shutter count for a "used" camera!
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I know that this is an A350 thread, but the A390 seems like the same camera with a different grip profile so I'm going to share some notes about it here.
After years of "thinking about it", I finally have my A390 in hand. This isn't a camera that I need, but as the last (?) interchangeable lens camera with a CCD sensor, it's one that I've been really curious about. It cost me $108 and had only 112 actuations on it when it arrived. Also, two newer Kastar batteries. For lenses, I bought a 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.7, and 70-210mm f4, all Minolta lenses, all for $87 shipped. So for less than $200, I have a pretty decent little kit here. That's a big benefit of these A-mount cameras compared to anything else out there.
I can't help but compare this 2011 camera to the Olympus E500 from 2005, which also has a CCD sensor (four thirds only; the A390's is APS-C). The E500 is a joy to hold in my hands. I don't have to use much grip strength when using it and the grip has a shape that is familiar to the Canon 5Diii that I've been shooting with for the past decade. The A390 is much less comfortable, but it's workable and the shutter button is where I want it to be. The A380 must have been terrible in the hands.
The E500 has great back-button focus. From what I can tell, the A390 has much simpler menus and does not have this feature. You can sort of make this work by holding the AF button in the middle of the control pad to focus, and then the camera does not refocus when pressing the shutter button. But it's not a very comfortable way to hold the camera between shots, so I probably won't be using it. The E500's implementation is much less limited.
Both cameras are plastic. The E500 feels more solid and has many more buttons. The A390's live LCD is a great tool, and it's so nice that it articulates. The optical viewfinders between the cameras are comparable. Neither is great. Both cameras have only one dial. The autofocus on the A390 is much faster and inspires more confidence.
On a minor note, I love the sound of the shutter on the A390. It has a nice, definitive crunch to it. I don't like the shutter sound on the E500 much. There's a high pitched whir in the mix, even though it reminds me more of my film camera.
I've shot extensively with the E500, but haven't taken the A390 out yet. Comparing a few initial shots captured in raw, I find the A390's image to be remarkably clean, modern, and perhaps a little soulless at lower ISOs (and amazingly sharp for a CCD camera!). But take it up to ISO 800 and there's a tight, monochromatic noise/grain and a softer looking image, and suddenly it's a much more interesting image to me. At ISO 1600 the shadows start getting a blue cast, but it still looks really nice in B&W. I can't say the same for the E500. Beyond ISO 200, the color noise on the E500 really starts to show up. I'd shoot it in B&W at ISO 400, but that's about it.
I think I prefer the E500's colors. There's something a little unsatisfying about Sony's colors so far. I love older cameras and thus I'm not necessarily looking for a camera with accurate rendition but I loved what I was getting from the E500 right out of the gate. I think what I'm getting from the Sony may be an acquired taste, perhaps I just need to find a workflow/profile that works better for me.
I haven't gotten to go anywhere or do anything in a while, but I'll share a few quick A390 snaps of Fall colors from around my home. Hopefully something more interesting soon.
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Colours look fine to me 🙂 I have yet to see a camera with bad colours, though. I remember everyone saying the Sony A7 had terrible colour, but I had no trouble at all. The worst was the fuji xt2 but that's mostly because raw files were slower to process and I am not patient 🙂 x-trans raws are slow in lightroom on my pc...
I really like the a350, but it's a "like" as in "wow, what a weird quirky gadget!". I love how terrible the viewfinder is, to make room for a second sensor. I love how it's made in Japan, and yet feels incredibly flimsy and creaky. And I especially love that it uses lenses built in the 1980s that still deliver good results, despite being on a crop of the image circle projected. Just super cool, super affordable way to have a fun picture taking device.
Quote from ThePrettyDamned on November 18, 2022, 8:44 pmI really like the a350, but it's a "like" as in "wow, what a weird quirky gadget!". I love how terrible the viewfinder is, to make room for a second sensor. I love how it's made in Japan, and yet feels incredibly flimsy and creaky. And I especially love that it uses lenses built in the 1980s that still deliver good results, despite being on a crop of the image circle projected. Just super cool, super affordable way to have a fun picture taking device.
In total agreement here. I am intrigued by this camera. I'd like to take it into the city for a day to see what I can get (the tiltable LCD will actually help make it useful for street photography).
I have a question for you. The A350 has an AEL button that was later removed from the A390. Are you able to program it for back button focus? After 5+ years of back button focusing, it's something I'm really missing with this camera.
Quote from QuickHitRecord on November 19, 2022, 5:30 amQuote from ThePrettyDamned on November 18, 2022, 8:44 pmI really like the a350, but it's a "like" as in "wow, what a weird quirky gadget!". I love how terrible the viewfinder is, to make room for a second sensor. I love how it's made in Japan, and yet feels incredibly flimsy and creaky. And I especially love that it uses lenses built in the 1980s that still deliver good results, despite being on a crop of the image circle projected. Just super cool, super affordable way to have a fun picture taking device.
In total agreement here. I am intrigued by this camera. I'd like to take it into the city for a day to see what I can get (the tiltable LCD will actually help make it useful for street photography).
I have a question for you. The A350 has an AEL button that was later removed from the A390. Are you able to program it for back button focus? After 5+ years of back button focusing, it's something I'm really missing with this camera.
Ooo I'll look later today for you. I wouldn't count on it, the menu is very basic, but I'll take a look and confirm.
I seldom use back button focus these days, but used to use it religiously. I have back button on my em1 mark ii for when I want shutter release priority and af tracking.
Ael cannot be changed to focus. However, back button focus is turned on by default and cannot be turned off! When you are not in a menu, the rear d-pad is actually able to trigger focus.
I can't imagine these have particularly good tracking af though, so I'm not sure whether back button focus is a useful feature or not. I suppose if you have release priority it is still useful.
Thank you for checking this for me. It sounds like the A350 functions in the same way as the A390, with the AF button overriding the shutter half press.
Here's a quick and dirty noise test between the E500 and A390 (and the GH1, just because I had it with me), all in raw at ISO 800. Take a look at the black parts of the shelf. This is why I am so impressed by the A390. Monochromatic noise! Even my 5Diii can't do that.
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Quote from QuickHitRecord on November 19, 2022, 7:50 pmThank you for checking this for me. It sounds like the A350 functions in the same way as the A390, with the AF button overriding the shutter half press.
Here's a quick and dirty noise test between the E500 and A390 (and the GH1, just because I had it with me), all in raw at ISO 800. Take a look at the black parts of the shelf. This is why I am so impressed by the A390. Monochromatic noise! Even my 5Diii can't do that.
I've never heard that term before, "monochromatic noise" but I think I see what you're talking about - no bright color noise on the dark parts of the image. What makes that difference do you think?
Quote from James Warner on November 20, 2022, 2:07 amI've never heard that term before, "monochromatic noise" but I think I see what you're talking about - no bright color noise on the dark parts of the image. What makes that difference do you think?
Cameras with a pleasing noise profile have been kind of an obsession of mine. It's a characteristic of the final image, and I think it's why I am so drawn to cameras with CCD sensors in particular. If you have a camera with a very pleasing noise profile, then raising your ISO can suddenly result in an image that you like more rather than one you like less. And that can open up new photography possibilities in lower light and faster shutter speeds or smaller apertures.
I perform noise tests with every camera that I buy, video or stills, taking note of how the noise looks in the darker parts of the image. I personally like noise that is fine, random, and without any color that wouldn't be in the actual image. I take note of where those colorful pixels or fixed patterns show up and always stay below that ISO. On both the E500 and GH1, I wouldn't really want to shoot at ISO 400 or higher (with the GH1, it's less of a matter of chroma noise, and more of an issue with the noise appearing blocky rather than fine -- and there's a major green color shift at ISO 800).
The 11-year old A390 has been a surprise to me. I'd happily shoot at ISO 800, which is about as far as I like to push my much higher-end 5Diii. Noise characteristics are not the only thing that I look for a in a camera. But I'd say that they are probably third after ergonomics and color rendering. If I could find a camera with all three, then I'd probably never buy another camera!
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