The aperture of FZ28 can be made to vary from f/2.8 to f/4.4. The minimum view distance can be as low as 1cm. The high speed single point autofocus feature is complimented by multi-area focus system. FX28 also has a face detection capability of 15 faces per image. There are also many features available after detecting the face of a person like its possible to make the FZ28 autofocus on a single person even when he is moving around the scene.  

ISO sensitivity ranges from 100 to whopping 6400 in high sensitivity mode. Shutter speed can also be controlled manually. There are also many preset white balancing modes along with the manual mode. FZ28 also has an intelligent exposure system which adjusts itself according to the scene and thus captures natural-looking images and also suppresses blocked shadows and blown highlights. There are 37 screen modes available. Thus, there is one screen mode for every situation that you can imagine, so even you don’t know the correct manual settings you can just select an appropriate screen mode according to the scene.  

Like every good camera, FZ28 also has a red eye reduction feature. The most interesting feature of this camera is that there is an image leveling function which detects whether the camera was tilted at the time of image capture and FZ28 crops and enlarges the image if the camera was tilted. Further, there is an intelligent option available for all novice users. You can just select the intelligent option and camera would automatically adjust the aperture, ISO settings and all other things. Images captured using the intelligent option are as good as those captured by professional photographers. 

FZ28 uses secure multi media cards for storing images and it also supports the latest SDHC types. FZ28 has 50MB in-built memory. Connectivity can be established through USB 2.0, NTSC video output, and HD component video output. It has a 710mAh, 7 volt battery. Bundled software includes everything free that you could find from adobe and other image processing companies. Panasonic does not want to increase the cost of the unit on this ground.

Sony has been on the digital camera scene for some time and has been a leader in that area. But the Sony Alpha DSLR is its first attempt to break into the lucrative DSLR segment of the market. While the camera is branded as “Sony” it is actually from the late Minolta Company that was bought by Sony some time back. Sony has made great effort to build up the line and also add some innovative features to this camera.

DESIGN:

The overall design of the camera is pretty good. Improving on many features of the original Maxxum 5D which is its predecessor. The controls are easy to use and are placed at the right locations so fidgeting around for functions during shooting is not necessary. The camera has a beautiful 2.5 inch LCD display good for playback and menu controls. The Super Steady Shot stabilizer has a dedicated on/off switch that is located on the bottom right of the camera.

The camera is lighter than its counterparts (such as the Canon 30-40D). While it might be lighter on the hands it did feel a little too light especially considering that 18-70mm F/3.5-5.6 Lens was mounted. Other than that the design is pretty solid and users familiar with previous Minolta cameras will find out that the design is pretty reminiscent of previous models.

PERFORMANCE:

The biggest selling point of this camera is the anti-shake control (renamed Super Steady Shot stabilizer) which Sony says has been updated and is much better than the previous versions found on older Minolta cameras. According to Sony Minolta’s CCD shift technology has been updated to 2 to 3.5 stops in leeway. While this is true you should be aware that this is good for still photography and not motion photography. Also it is not fault proof as you will notice that even though the Super Steady Shot stabilizer is very good it’s not perfect and will not beat a standard tripod. But it’s still a worthy competitor to the expensive stabilizers that are offered in Canon and Nikon’s high end lens.

The camera carries 10.2 megapixels which puts it right in the in the class of its competitors. In terms of the ISO the settings range from 100-1600 which is acceptable but leaves a little to be desired.  An option for an ISO equivalent of 3200 would have been a lot better since most DSLR cameras carry this option.

In terms of lens, Sony has made the Alpha compatible with the old Minolta Maxxum DSLR camera’s since they share the same lens mount. Although the majority of lens that were developed for the old Maxxum  DSLR cameras work with the new Alpha series, Sony makes no guarantee that they will and provides no support for any other lens other than the ones that are currently being marketed with the product.

CONCLUSION:

The Sony Alpha DSLR is a worthy opponent and leaves little to be desired both in performance and design. And with a price tag just south of $800 it puts it right in line with the competition.

DSLR PHOTO