Sony Alpha DSLRA300K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization with DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens

I've had my fair share of point and shoot camera experience, dabbling in small Olympus and Pentax cameras as well as trying out more advanced, full-featured Canons, Samsungs, and Casios, but I was tired of taking mediocre pictures with compact cameras featuring small sensors. This A300 is my first digital SLR and I went through tons of research to finalize my decision on this model. The other models I considered were the Canon XS and XSi, the Olympus E510, and the Nikon D40x. The Sony Alpha 300 is a superior camera to those listed above for the following reasons:

1. IN-CAMERA IMAGE STABILIZATION VIA SENSOR SHIFT. While I intended to use a tripod every now and then, I realize that my shooting will predominantly be handheld, and image stabilization is important. It roughly allows you to shoot at a shutter speeds 4 times slower than one can while holding a camera. For example if you can typically keep a camera steady for 1/40 seconds, you won't have a problem with a 1/10 shutter speed with IS on (not exactly, but a good rule of thumb). The Canon XSi had IS, but it was in the lens. IS in the lens works well, but makes the lens bulkier. With the Sony A300, you don't need to get an expensive lens with IS. That would've been the case if you go with Canons and Nikons.

2. MINOLTA A-MOUNT LENS SELECTION. Yeah, yeah, I realize that Canons and Nikons have huge libraries of lenses. But the Sony Alphas have the Minolta A-mount lenses at their disposal. This means cheap lenses (featuring IS, see above) with quality lens glass. And by cheap, I mean cheap! A must-get is the Minolta Maxxum 50mm f/1.7 prime lens. When the Alphas were introduced you could get these for as cheap as $50! Now they're upwards of $100, but try finding a lens with an f/1.7 aperture for the other cameras (with IS!!!) at that price! Great lens for low light conditions. Another must-have is the Minolta beercan telephotos (I don't have it yet but it's on my shopping list!). On top of that, Sigma and Tamron both make lenses for all aperture and price ranges for the A-mount.

3. LIVE VIEW AND LCD TILT. Live View may be a gimmick to some, but I feel you can be more versatile when shooting when the camera isn't pressed to your face. Shots in the air and shots close to the ground are a breeze with the tilt screen. Almost all photo magazine publications rave about the Live View that Sony Alphas have. This was one of the reasons I chose the A300 over the A200. I know that the optical viewfinder is smaller than most (around 80%?) but that doesn't bother me. The Live View feature was important enough to scratch the Nikon D40x from consideration. I suggest you go to your local electronics or camera store to see first-hand how well this camera operates.

4. IMAGE QUALITY. I hear complaints that the A300 doesn't perform well in high ISO settings. I think it performs superbly. For a good picture, you'd like something under ISO400 anyway. Nikons outsource their sensors to Sony, so if Nikon cameras have great quality I would tend to believe that Sony's Alpha series won't be too shabby either. The 10MP is good enough for me. According to benchmarks, the A300 is a bit faster than the A350 at the highest resolution, but if I had the resources I wouldn't hesitate to grab the A350 over the A300. As far as color and quality goes for A300 pictures, I've been very pleased. Well-exposed shots feature vivid color. The A300 color settings can be customized to your liking in the camera. All the pictures I've taken with sub-par color or exposure have usually been my fault, not the camera's.

5. ERGONOMICS AND DETAILS. The A300 isn't too light nor too heavy. The Canons are very light and I feel like it's a bit harder to hold a steady shot when you don't have a solid camera in your hands. The menus are simple and straight-forward. The proprietary hot shoe may not work with Nikon and Canon flash systems, but it's mechanically sturdier (Sony took Minolta's great design) and is compatible with Minolta Maxxum 7000i and 5000i flashes, among others. The lens mount on the camera and the kit lenses are steel, which is way better than the plastic mounts that the entry level Canons and Nikons feature.

6. ISSUES SO MINUSCULE THAT THEY DON'T BOTHER ME. Using the kit 18-70mm kit lens and the built-in flash will result in a slight shadow from 18mm up to approx. 25mm. I suggest either use an external flash, or zoom higher than 25mm. It's not a big problem at all. It's only at wide angles. As stated, The optical viewfinder is smaller than most, but fine for me. Support for the Alpha series isn't as good as Canons and Nikons in camera pro shops, and the customer service usually don't know a lot about these models.

I got this camera for a steal of a deal. The camera kit with 18-70mm lens, and another 75-300mm Sony SAL75300 lens, a free Epson photo printer, a photography for dummies reference book, and some freebies from Snapfish all came out to $599 plus tax! It hasn't been 20 days since I've had my A300, and the picture count has already surpassed 1,300! It's such a pleasure to use that I hate putting it down. I can't wait for my next vacation so I can use this amazing piece of machinery! If you choose the A300, you will be very pleased and I guarantee you won't have buyers remorse!

I compared this camera with the Nikon. Live View was the deciding factor. This camera is great. Pictures are super clear. I have not had much time to use all the features but many think that the photos were taken by a professional. I shot on auto mode! Sports shots come out great, the clarity and speed are really wonderful for an amateur photog.

Downside, you can get some shadow as the flash pops up quite low and can cause shadow with the lens.

I recommend getting the accessory kit with the extra battery as I am always forgetting to charge it.

I received this as a Christmas present. Within 3 days of having this camera I had taken almost 600 pictures. I have owned many cameras (pentex, kodak, etc... ) NONE were this good. You really have to try to get a blurry picture. I was changing the zoom and took a pic and it still came out clear. I tried everything and kept it on the auto setting for type of pics and it was always clear. I am not a camera buff and it will take me some time to learn all the features, but so far so good. I would highly recommend this to someone without a lot of picture taking knowledge that just wants a good camera like I did.

I have been using various sony cameras right from P9, P10, some fancy handy types which came out as limited editions and lately using DSC-H1 past 2 years now. I decided to buy a new series alpha of sony and is when I finalized the A300 and bought. The contrast, clarity, liveliness on the true colours is all that is lacking in A300. My DSC-H1 is excellent comparing to A300. The pictures from A300 look as if somebody has set an extra film of colour which ruins the results and photos look like they have been stored for many years. I am talking of clicking the photos in either "P" mode or "Auto" mode. So not as expected. Otherwise, the look of the camera, price, some extra features are not matcahable with other brands. Sony stays quiet exclusive in those terms.

I purchased my SONY Alpha 300 several months ago. Since then almost 75% of my pictures are bad using the flash. This is not due to the plastic guard the attaches to the front of the lens. If it was the guard, the shadow would occur all the time. I don't think the Sensor is bad because the shadow occurs when using the flash...strange. The shadow is a black arc that appears at the bottom 1/4 of the image. I am waiting for a response from Sony on the cause. Regardless if they can fix it, I have a lot of good pictures that have been ruined. Maybe SONY should add Photo Shop in camera package to fix the bad pictures. I should have went with a proven camera, such as Canon or Nikon.

To be fair...
If you're lucky to purchase the camera without this problem, Congrats. I would otherwise rate the camera 5 Stars. The images are awesome. I purchased the camera after reading a Mag review stating the Menus blew away the competitors. Since I am new to digital SLRs the Menu ease of use was a big deal. The Menu is easy to use, I hardly used the users manual.

Just beware when buying this camera...are you confused now?
From my experience this camera is 1 Star.