The A350 has a 40-segment evaluative metering set-up when not using Live View switch it on and the metering changes to a 1200-zone metering system that is very accurate indeed. Another Live View plus is the way the camera meters a shot using Live View. This means you can use the camera in Live View mode just like a point and shoot compact, something not possible with the more usual mirror up Live View cameras.

So, the drawback in terms of framing is ably offset with Sony’s responsive Quick AF Live View. So, framing options are slightly more challenging than some competitors but on the upside, Sony’s Live View does allow the 'normal' use of auto focusing without the usual sequence of press shutter button, wait for mirror to raise, wait for the AF and then wait while the shot’s taken. Two drawbacks become apparent at this point: the pentamirror viewfinder has a frame coverage of 95%, so not brilliant and because the Live View camera cannot 'see' the entire ground glass viewing screen you get just 90% coverage in Live View, most competing models will provide 100% field of view. In other words, you don’t look at the image captured by the imaging sensor. To achieve Live View the A350 uses a tiny CCD camera built-into the reasonably bright pentamirror viewfinder’s housing, which focuses on the ground glass viewing screen to relay that image to the big screen. Sony’s implementation of Live View on the A350 is unlike other makers Live View but is similar in many respects to that employed in Olympus DSLRs. However a downside is the large screen has a mediocre 230,000-dot resolution so looks a little course but it’s bright and clear in most lighting conditions. It doubles as a large information display when not being used for Live View and an orientation sensor ensures the information always the right way round as well, so that’s neat.

And that’s because the camera also has Live View. The A350 sports a high resolution 14.2-megapixel sensor at its core that sits upon a CCD-shift platform to allow both anti shake (called Super Steady Shot) and sensor cleaning features, which vibrate the sensor on that moving carriage when the camera is switched on and off.Īnother standout feature is the camera’s large 2.7-inch LCD, which can be flipped out and tilted away from the body for viewing as a waist level finder for over the head type shots. (Pocket-lint) - Sony has marched on with its Alpha range of DSLRs introducing what now seems to be a full set of cameras from the budget to the top, enthusiast, market with the Alpha 200, Alpha 300, Alpha 350 and of course the Alpha 700 the A350 marks the mid-point in the range.

Sony a350 software