Sony A200

Picture Quality / Size Options
The Sony α (alpha) DSLR-A200 doesn’t get very creative in this area. It has the same 10.2-megapixel APS CCD that is in the A100. The A200 has the capability to shoot RAW images, RAW + JPEG, and JPEG images only. It can record JPEGs in fine and standard compression, selectable from the Shooting menu. Image sizes include Large (10-megapixel – 3872 x 2592), Medium (5.6-megapixel – 2896 x 1936), and Small (2.5-megapixel – 1920 x 1280). The format can be switched from the default 3:2 to 16:9. The 16:9 image sizes include 3872 x 2176, 2896 x 1632, and 1920 x 1088. Most digital cameras use a native 4:3 format, but the Sony A200 doesn’t have that at all.

We look forward to evaluating the resolution in our imaging lab. The Sony A100 tested well, and we expect good things from the A200. The 10.2-megapixel resolution is typical of low-end DSLRs. It is a step down from the A700’s 12.2 megapixels.

Picture Effects Mode
One of the latest trends in digital photography is adding Color modes that simulate different types of film. Most digital cameras have Black and White and Sepia modes, but more and more DSLRs are adding options such as Vivid and Portrait. Indeed, the Sony A100 has this, and so does the A200. It places them as a "creative style" option in the Shooting menu. The options are Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Night View, Sunset, Black & White, and Adobe RGB. These Color modes look good, but are only presets. I used the Sunset mode at dawn and it produced gorgeous images of the sunrise, but the images were much more orange than reality. Do you want reality or pictures that are better than reality? That’s the beauty of "creative styles" – and Photoshop.

Photographers who love to spend hours playing in Photoshop will prefer the Adobe Systems-recommended Adobe RGB mode. It saves images in its own color space, which is wider than the standard sRGB. In this same sub-menu there are contrast, sharpness, and saturation controls that can be adjusted on a +/- 3 scale.