Sony DSLR-A230 Review

Sony A230 Overview

Reviewed by Shawn Barnett, Dave Etchells, and Zig Weidelich
Preview Posted: 05/18/09
Review Posted: 10/31/09

Bucking the trend toward greater complexity and higher resolution, Sony has revamped their consumer digital SLR line with a new focus on even greater simplicity, lower-cost cameras, and more affordable beginner optics. Indeed, the three new SLRs, the Sony A230, A330, and A380 share more specifications in common with their predecessors than they do differences, with the main changes occurring in the size, weight, and shape categories.

Resolution for all three bodies is unchanged. The Sony A230 and A330 both have a 10.2-megapixel sensor, and the A380 has a 14.2-megapixel sensor.

The Sony A230's new body design features fewer buttons to avoid confusing the user, and a few tweaks to the Function menu and the Status display. All three cameras are also bundled with a new 18-55mm lens to replace the 18-70mm lens previously used as a kit lens. The new lens design is shorter and lighter, and is the first of the company's new SAM lens line. Standing for Smooth Autofocus Motor, the new electronically linked lenses are designed to be less expensive than Sony's current offerings, while still offering high optical quality.

The Sony A230 includes support for both Memory Stick Duo and Secure Digital cards, with a manual switch to select between the two. Gone is support for CompactFlash, as is now true for most consumer SLRs.

A new Help system joins the improved DRO brought over from the A900 and the Sony A230 and its new brothers have the SteadyShot Inside feature. There are a number of other feature improvements in the Sony A230, including bigger AF points, a new self-timer mode, and even a new optional flash, all of which we'll get to in the User Report below.

The Sony A230 started shipping in June 2009, initially priced at $549 with the 18-55mm kit lens, and $749 with the 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses, covering an 11x zoom range. Be sure to check prices by clicking on the links above right and in the shopping pods below for the latest prices on the Sony A230!

Note: Because these three cameras -- the Sony A230, A330, and A380 are so similar, each of their reviews is a slight rewrite of the other. All test and gallery shots, however, are from each camera. Oddly enough, it turns out that they're each pretty unique in their color rendering, autofocus abilities, and a few other aspects. Of the three, we found the Sony A330 to be the best overall choice.

Sony A230 User Report

by Shawn Barnett

It's been just over a year since Sony shipped their last trio of consumer Alpha digital SLR cameras, the A200, A300, and A350, and already they've revamped the line with a new external design and a greater emphasis on economical features and accessories. The revamped models are the Sony A230, A330, and A380.

Company representatives told us that extensive focus-group research revealed that people wanted simpler SLRs that didn't cost too much, and were lighter and easier to bring along. And among those who bought an SLR, many expressed a desire to buy at least one additional lens for their fancy interchangeable-lens digital camera, but few ever made the purchase, largely due to cost.

These studies clearly had an effect on the company's plans for their consumer digital SLR line, because the new cameras reflect significant change in the areas of weight, size, and simplicity, while the internal specifications remain mostly the same. Company representatives also noted that nearly each item in the cameras was redesigned to improve efficiency and reduce weight, and though the sensors are indeed the same, the new Alphas include a new image processing system.

Look and feel. The bargain model among Sony's consumer line, the Alpha A230 weighs about 1.4 ounces (40g) less than the A330 and A380, at 15.9 ounces (452g) with lens, but without battery or card. The weight is well-balanced, partly thanks to the new lens, but the bodies feel somewhat hollow compared to other digital SLRs in this class.

Much of the weight reduction is due to the significantly trimmed grip on the Sony A230, a smaller Lithium-ion battery, and of course the lack of all the hardware associated with the articulating screen mechanism. Unlike most SLR grips, the Sony A230's stops well short of the camera's shutter release, and the shutter button now appears on the camera's top deck. Everyone on the staff disliked this new design; everyone, that is, but me, and I only accept it because you can easily adjust your grip by balancing the camera's base into the palm of your hand, which puts your index finger in better position to reach the grip, while your pinkie and ring fingers curl around the grip. After a bit of use with one of the heavier Sony lenses, like the Carl Zeiss 24-70 f/2.8 lens, though, I can tell you it puts a strain on these latter two fingers, and makes you miss the rest of the grip. If you don't hold the Sony A230 as I outline above, getting your index finger up to the shutter button is a strain.

It seems Sony was aiming for a more retro look with this design, harking back to gripless film SLRs of days gone by, with their metallic tops and leather-covered bodies. The look is appealing once you get used to it, and those who use a camera strap and the new light SAM lenses will hardly notice the smaller grip.

The grip surface of the Sony A230 has a leather-like texture.

The Control dial now faces forward, just beneath the Sony A230's Shutter release button. The lens release button and AF/MF switch are in the same positions relative to past models. The Sony A230's Alpha logo is now smaller, embossed into the gunmetal-colored top of the two-toned body design. Above that, the mode dial is partially concealed, recessed into the top deck to reduce the chance of accidental activation.

There is still no depth-of-field preview button on the Sony A230.

The Sony A230's new shorter kit lens includes a bayonet mount for a lens hood, but Sony did not include a lens hood in the samples we received. The mode dial is only accessible from the rear and left side of the Sony A230. Sony moved the Power switch from the rear left of the camera's back to a better position surrounding the Shutter release button, a method also used by Nikon and Pentax on their SLRs. Gone is the flash activation button to the left of the lens mount, where it appears on most other digital SLRs. Sony said too many customers never thought to look there, so they've moved it to the Sony A230's rear navigation disk. It's a little more cumbersome to activate now: you have to press the flash button (the right side of the nav disk), then use the up and down arrows to select an active flash mode. Then, once you half-press the shutter release, the flash will pop up.

Note also the substantial thumb grip, which really does help when holding the Sony A230 as I've described.

What also helps your grip is the soft taper Sony applied to the bottom right of the Sony A230, which makes resting the camera in your palm more comfortable.

The back of the Sony A230 shows just how far Sony has gone toward simplifying the interface of the camera. The Display, Drive mode, ISO, and Flash buttons are now integrated into the four-way navigator, and the AE-Lock button no longer exists. That's a clear sign that these cameras are aimed at consumers. Also missing, if you've seen the back of the A330 and A380, is the articulating LCD screen. That knocks quite a bit off the price, it turns out.

The rubber eyecup looks more integrated into the body, but it's still removable like any other eyecup, with an upward tug. The infrared sensor is also still in play, offering both the option to turn off the display when you bring the Sony A230 to your eye, as well as to start up autofocus before you even press the shutter button.

The card write lamp now juts out left of the LCD. Though it's an odd position, it beats being under the thumb, as it was on the A200; and it's closer to the card itself, which is now on the left side.

Ports. All but the power port on the Sony A230 are on the camera's left side, including the HDMI Out and USB ports, as well as the SD and Memory Stick HG Duo card slots. Note also the Memory Stick/SD switch, a manual-only switching method. The whole array is concealed by a sliding pocket door that ducks down and slips inside the Sony A230's body.

Having the memory card slots on the left makes inserting and removing cards a little easier, because you don't have to let go of the Sony A230's grip to make the change, as you do on nearly every other digital SLR on the market. The choice of a pocket door also makes using the video and USB port much easier, thanks to the lack of a rubber door. It's also worth considering, though, that the door is not weather-sealed.

On the Sony A230's right is another port door, covering the DC-IN port. It's much more difficult to open than the pocket door, being of the rubber variety. Note also the camera strap lug, recessed so that it doesn't stick into the palm of your hand.

Viewfinder. Optical viewfinders are usually preferable on most digital SLRs, but the Sony Alpha series has had its shortcomings, most notably it's difficult-to-see AF points. I've always liked how they were angled to match the orientation of each autofocus sensor, but that also made them harder to see in some situations.

Sony has replaced them in the new SLRs, though, with larger round dots. The array is the same, but the visual effect is quite different, and it's now easier to see each point illuminate to indicate the in-focus areas.

Because of the secondary live-view sensor, the Sony A380 and A330's viewfinder magnification is smaller than the A230's: 0.74x vs 0.83x, respectively, so you get a bigger optical viewfinder image with the Sony A230 than you do with the more expensive models.

Sony A230 Interface

Menu. The Sony A230's menu is very easy to use, functioning like a tabbed menu and a scrolling menu. When you get to the bottom of the first tab's list, it automatically switches to the top of the next tab. This design makes it easy to scan through the items looking for what you need. If you see that a given tab isn't what you need, regardless of where you are in the list, you can press the left or right arrow to move between tabs. It's a little confusing if you've been using a Nikon, where pressing the right arrow often selects a menu item, but it's not hard to get used to using the center button instead.

Function Menu and Help Guide display. Pressing the Sony A230's Fn (Function) button brings up a simple menu for adjusting most of the important items in both Record mode and Playback. Just use the Arrow pad to navigate to the desired option and press the center button to select your mode. If you stay on a given item for a moment, a plain-text explanation of each item pops up.

Likewise, as you turn the Mode dial, an onscreen display wheel appears on the left, with text and a sample image to explain each mode. The Help Guide display can be disabled in Setup menu 1.

Status display modes. Sony has also added several display modes to the Status display. In addition to the standard display, which includes a large selection of camera settings, the Sony A230 has a simplified version, available when in full Auto modes, giving you only the small amount of information you need. (Screenshots at right were taken from the HDMI output, so they appear different from some of the others here.)

A new graphical display on the Sony A230 attempts to illustrate how moving in either direction on the shutter speed or aperture scale will affect your images, with a scale that changes in size from large to small as you move from long and large settings to shorter and smaller settings, respectively. You can also change screen colors. Finally, when you turn the Sony A230, the display rotates with it, re-orienting the entire arrangement (not shown).

Sony A230 Lens options

The Sony A230 is compatible with an array of new Sony lenses, and also with all Maxxum and Alpha lenses.

Accessories. Sony has also continued to expand their accessory offerings for the Alpha line, with new cases, wraps, lens bags, grip straps, a flash, an LCD cover, and an LCD shade.

Our favorite accessory is the new small flash, which lays flat across the camera top for easy storage, and powers on when flipped up. The flash head inside the unit turns to face upward for bounce shots, and a diffuser pivots into place for wider shots. Called the HVL-F20AM, the new flash retails for $129, and uses two AAA batteries to keep the weight down. The Sony Alpha cameras have full control of the flash for through-the-lens exposure.

Another good idea is the thick cloth wrap with a shock cord that protects the Sony A230 while it's in a bag. Just lay the camera in the cloth with the lens facing the corner with the shock cord, and start folding the rear and side corners in. Finish with the shock cord, and wrap it around the back, under the body and stretch it around the lens. Viola! A protected camera. I think I'll buy several of these to protect review cameras, as well as my own personal cameras.

The lens cap pocket seems a little fastidious to me, but it's not a bad idea if you like a place for everything and everything in its place. The handstrap is probably the most important new accessory, given the Sony A230's minimized front grip. It's quite similar to a camcorder handstrap, with a soft, spongy fabric against the back of your hand; the only bit I don't like is the large mounting block that screws into the tripod socket on the bottom, which makes the Sony A230 a little less stable when placing the camera on a flat surface.

Missing from the accessory list for the new cameras is any mention of a battery grip, and there are no additional contacts up inside the battery compartment. That's unfortunate, because battery life from the internal battery has dropped compared to the Sony A200, due to a new, smaller NP-FH50 battery pack. CIPA rating for the Sony A230 is 510 shots. That's down significantly from the A200's 750 shots.

Shooting with the Sony A230

After spending a little time with all three of Sony's consumer Alphas, I was more impressed with the pictures than I was with the user experience. It's not that it was a bad experience, there were just a few nuisances that bothered me; otherwise all three cameras were very easy companions. There's a lot I like about the Sony A230 from a design perspective, like the recessed Mode dial, the power switch surrounding the shutter button, and the fairly simple button layout. And the card/connector door on the left side is inspired. Overall it's a simple camera to use.

But getting the flash activated is about as cumbersome as I've ever seen, and Menu and AV buttons are mounted on the slant between the back panel and top deck, requiring you to adjust your hold completely and use your right or left index finger to activate them.

Though I do appreciate the light weight of all three cameras, they also feel hollow and plastic, not the more rock-solid feel I'm used to from other digital SLRs in this class. The shutter sound is at least quiet, and the shutter button breaks crisply, so you can learn when it's about to go off.

The grip is just fine once you learn to rest the right side of Sony A230 in your right palm and wrap your last two fingers around the grip. Fine, that is, with the reasonably lightweight 18-55 and 55-200mm kit lenses. Snick on something heavier, and you'll quickly be looking around for a monopod to support the imbalanced combination. So if you're thinking of one of those nice Carl Zeiss optics, check out the Sony A500 or A550.

I shot a little soccer with the camera, and its maximum framerate of 2.4 frames per second was too slow for the job. It's amazing how much slower 2.4 is than the 5 and 8 fps I'm used to shooting. You can't get even the same formation as kids move across the field at that speed, and these are five-year-old kids. The camera just wasn't built for that, and you won't really find much better performance at the competition's 3 fps, so let's just say that these cameras really aren't meant for sports photography. You can do anything if you're good, of course, and have or develop excellent timing, but if you're looking to catch the right moment by holding down the shutter, you'll be disappointed.

Autofocus did fairly well tracking my soccer subjects. There were a few blurry moments, where the camera focused on the background, but surprisingly few compared to some cameras I've used.

I found the autofocus system to be reasonably good at getting the AF point right in most of my shots, but we didn't have as much luck in the lab, where a few targets had to be reshot over and again to get the focus set properly.

Most of my shooting around town was easy and relatively predictable. I like the menus and general ease of the Sony Alphas. They just work and get out of your way. The menus are straightforward, tabbed designs that work just a little differently than some, but though they're tabbed, they also wrap around to the next tab once you get to the bottom of the first; it functions like one long menu.

Regardless of your mode, the Sony A230 is easy to shoot with. Once or twice I missed the Live view mode, like when I wanted to shoot from an odd angle, but I generally prefer the optical viewfinder anyway, so I was fine with the Sony A230.

Eye-start AF, while a smart feature that turns on the autofocus system as you bring the camera to your eye, just wastes battery when I use the camera, because I either hold it in my right hand or switch from left to right, which keeps the lens buzzing to life all the time. Thankfully you can turn it off.

I'm happy that they changed the AF points inside the viewfinder, because they're much easier to see. They used to tell you something about the orientation of the outer points, which was technically helpful, but they were harder to see. When you're trying to compose an image, nothing's more important than positive confirmation of focus before you press the shutter.

The new 18-55mm kit lens is a closer match to the competition's lens, and reduces the overall length of the Sony A230 when compared to the old kit with the 18-70mm lens, but I do miss the optical quality of the older lens. We got three different copies of the 18-55mm lens, and one stood out with better performance in the corners and the center, so naturally I shot with that one.

Ultimately, I think the Sony A230 is a pretty good starter digital SLR, but only some of the changes made it better than the A200; others removed some utility. I'd rather have a flash popup button and a more traditional grip, for example.

Image Quality

Most digital SLRs will produce a reasonable ISO 100 shot, so I like to push them and see what they can do at ISO 1,600 with the extra noise reduction off. Recent advances in sensor technology and noise reduction have made ISO 1,600 look a lot more like ISO 100, but there are still cameras whose quality starts to fall apart at this setting. I also chose 1,600 because I like to be able to shoot at this level when indoors and at night, and I prefer to do my noise reduction on the computer.

Sony A230 versus Canon XS at ISO 1,600

Sony A230 versus Nikon D3000 at ISO 1,600

Sony A230 versus Sony A380 at ISO 1,600

Detail: Sony A230 vs Canon XS, Nikon D3000, and Sony A380

Sony A230 Print Quality

The Sony A230's printed output is pretty good, with a fairly even approach across the ISO spectrum. ISO 100 shots are very slightly soft at 13x19, but only on close inspection; otherwise they look quite good.

ISO 200 shots are soft enough at 13x19 inches that I reduced the resolution to 11x14 with much sharper results. ISO 400 shots also looked good at this size, and ISO 800 shots are quite usable, if only a touch soft.

ISO 1,600 looks good at 8x10, which was surprising, since we saw the quality fall apart at 100 percent onscreen. Which is why we do the printing. ISO 3,200 was a little rough at 8x10, though, yet quite usable at 5x7.

So overall, the Sony A230 made very good quality prints with low noise and good color.

For more on image quality, see this review's other tabs, particularly the Image Quality and Optics tabs.

Analysis. Describing the Sony Alpha A230 and its siblings comes down to a relatively short list of what's new: a smaller, simpler body design, a new kit lens, a few tweaks to the menus and display screens, a new Self-timer mode, and a few other feature tweaks, plus some new accessories pretty well sums it up. The most surprising omission from Sony, one of the world's largest image-sensor manufacturers, is any new technology in the sensors, let alone a resolution increase. We don't believe that's a requirement, as 10 and 14 megapixels is just fine in this market, it's just surprising.

Since Sony's stated goal is to change the kind of consumer they attract and serve, concentrating on affordable lenses and accessories makes a lot of sense. Sony may also try to stick to a schedule of annual upgrades in an effort to stay ahead of the competition, whose products have historically been on an 18-month product cycle.

Shortcomings of the Sony A230 include the small grip, lack of a depth-of-field preview method, no Live View, no movie mode, shorter battery life than its predecessor, and a very slow continuous capture rate of 2.4 frames per second, which makes it a poor choice for action photography.

In technological terms, the Sony A230 doesn't make any monumental leaps, though it is one of the cheaper models on the market.

Image quality from the Sony A230 is about the same as the A330, but with a slightly reduced ability to render yellows and greens. That's odd, because technically they should have the same sensor and image processor. Printed quality was good, producing a good 13x19-inch print at ISO 100, and a good 11x14 out to ISO 400. Even ISO 3,200 was usable at 5x7.

The Sony A230 also had more trouble focusing in low light than the A330, and its flash range was not as good either, both bad signs for indoor photography. So though the A230 is cheaper, we're leaning toward the Sony A330 as our choice for the discerning consumer photographer.

Sony A230 Basic Features

• 10.2 MP Super HAD CCD delivering resolutions as high as 3,872 x 2,592 pixels
• 3x Kit lens, 18-55mm (27-82.5mm equivalent), f/3.5-5.6
• Optical viewfinder
• 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD Screen
• ISO Sensitivity: 100 to 3,200
• Shutter speeds: 30 seconds to 1/4,000 second
• 2.4 frames per second continuous capture
• Secure Digital or Memory Stick Pro Duo memory card slots
• NP-FH50 Lithium-ion battery
• Dimensions: 5.03 x 3.8 x 2.7 inches (128 x 97 x 67.5 millimeters)
• Weight: 15.9 ounces (452g), without lens, battery or card

Sony A230 Special Features

• Super SteadyShot in-camera image stabilization offers from 2.5 to 3.5 stops of compensation
• Bionz Image Processor
• Dynamic Range Optimizer: Normal DRO improves detail using standard gamma curves for fast shot-to-shot response time. Advanced DRO adjusts dynamic range area-by-area. Improved algorithm from Sony A900
• Anti-Dust Technology
• Auto Pop-Up Flash with four main operating modes and a variable Slow-Sync function
• External, proprietary flash hot-shoe for Sony accessory flash units
• Built-in support for wireless TTL flash exposure with certain Sony flashes
• Eye-Start Autofocus System
• 9-Point Center Cross AF Sensor
• Auto and Manual focus options with Single and Continuous AF modes
• 40-segment honeycomb metering system, plus Center-Weighted and Spot metering options, with AE Lock function
• Scene Selection Modes: Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports, Sunset, Night Portrait, and Flash-off
• Creative Style Settings
• sRGB and Adobe RGB color space options
• RAW and JPEG file formats
• Contrast, saturation, and sharpness adjustments
• Adjustable White Balance setting with presets and a manual option
• Index and Slide Show Display
• High-Resolution Thumbnails for PhotoTV HD Viewing
• Help features explain Function menu items and capture modes
• USB 2.0 High-Speed cable and interface software for connecting to a computer and downloading images
• HDMI output
• DPOF (Digital Print Order Format), Exif 2.2, Print Image Matching III and PictBridge compliant

In the Box

The Sony A230 ships with the following items in the box:

• DSLR-A230 body
• DT18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 SAM zoom lens (if purchased as a kit)
• Body cap
• Lens caps
• Lithium-ion battery (NP-FH50)
• Battery charger
• USB cable
• Eyepiece cover
• Shoulder strap
• CD-ROM
• Instruction manual
• Warranty card

Recommended Accessories

• Extra battery pack for extended outings
• Large capacity Memory Stick Duo PRO or SDHC/SD memory card. These days, 2-8GB cards are inexpensive.
• Small camera case for outdoor and in-bag protection

Model Differences

The table below summarizes the differences between the three small consumer Alpha models.

Sony A230 Conclusion

Sony's complete physical redesign of the A200 and A300 series digital SLRs brought with it a slight weight loss, a new card/connector door, and a good power switch relocation, but also came with a significantly reduced grip and the loss of the easy-to-use flash activation button. The redesign also included a new 18-55mm zoom lens, whose shorter length reduces the overall profile of the cameras.

Internally, there were few enough changes that we didn't expect a lot, but were nevertheless pleasantly surprised by the high print quality across the Sony A230's ISO range, with its 10-megapixel images capable of producing very good 13x19-inch prints at the lowest ISOs. Viewed onscreen at 100%, the image quality seemed to drop off pretty dramatically from ISO 800 up, but our printing showed the ISO 800 shots were still usable printed at 11x14 inches. That's quite good. ISO 1,600 and 3,200 shots were also usable straight out of the camera, producing good 8x10 and 5x7-inch prints, respectively.

The new autofocus screen on the Sony A230 is a welcome change, and we also like the new graphical status screen that shows the available range of shutter speeds and apertures for a given scene. We're also happy to see that the menu is about as simple as it was in last year's models, because they were just right. Autofocus speed is fast, but the frame rate is too low for sports shooting, at 2.4 frames per second.

However, there were a few shortcomings in the Sony A230 when compared to the Sony A330, including a slight color difference among yellows and greens, poor autofocus performance in low light, and reduced flash power lead us to prefer the Sony A330. For just $100 more, you also get a remarkably fast Live View mode and a tilting LCD; but we think the better indoor performance you'll get from the Sony A330, both with and without flash is why you should spend the extra money over the A230.

While we like the A230 for its simplicity and good image quality, and think it's priced well enough, we think most consumer photographers should opt for the Sony A330.

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