Sony Digital SLRs

Sony has developed their digital SLR lineup to be a leader in Live View performance and price. They were a bit late to the video game, but, true to their company's technological excellence in the field of HD video cameras, have come on strong in that area.

Another of Sony's strengths is the fact that they are constantly updating thier lineup. As a comsumer, don't fall in love with an entry-level camera from Sony and pine over it for six months before buying it. It won't be there, but will have been replaced with a newer model.

On the less-than-stellar side of things, Sony is able to be so competitive on price because their specifications generally come up a bit short compared to comparable cameras. That's not all bad, though, especially if you need an inexpensive camera that is still very good.

Trust me on the issue of Live View. They have the best implementation. It's as easy as looking at the monitor and taking the photo. Most other dSLRs have clunky Live View implementations and confusing Live View autofocusing options.

I also have personal experience working with Sony dSLRs. I have used a Sony Alpha 300 since May of 2008 and have never regretted buying it. It's not the most advanced camera, and it's AEB feature stinks, but it's been incredibly useful and takes great photos.

Technically, the new crop of cameras (A35, A55, A65, and A77) are not dSLRs because they do not have a reflex mirror inside that bounces light up to the viewfinder and then flips up out of the way to let light hit the sensor when you take a photo. The term "reflex" in dSLR inicates that the mirror moves. Instead, they have translucent mirrors that are stationary. There are a lot of ramification to this. On the "pro" side, the cameras have fewer (and hence less breakable) moving parts, shoot faster, and don't shake as much. Another consequence is that the camera does not have a traditional viewfinder. Instead, it has an electronic viewfinder in addition to Live View on the LCD monitor. For most other purposes, the cameras act the same as traditional dSLRs, however.