Sony’s Alpha A290 and A390 DSLRs More than Rumors

June 9, 2010 By Geoff Duncan

Rumored for months, Sony has finally unveiled its Alpha A390 and A290 DLSR 14.2-megapixel cameras...although it's still coy about price and availability.

Sony’s A390 and A290 DLSR cameras have been the subject of rumor, speculation, and leaked information for several months, so it’s a little anticlimactic now that Sony has officially announced the cameras and detailed their specifications. The A290 and A390 are designed to serve as entry-level DSLRs for photographers frustrated with teh limitations of standard point-and-shoot cameras and who want an inexpensive way to get into the world of interchangeable lenses and (when needed) complete manual control of a shot. Both offer a 14.2-megapixel resolution, live view LCD viewfinders, HDMI output, and creative and automatic options that should make the cameras comfortable to users from the point-and-shoot world while easing them into the DSLR universe.

That said, the A290 and A390 are essentially upgrades to Sony’s existing A230 and A380 DLSRs: in addition to the 14.2 megapixel sensor, the cameras feature an updated button layout, 2.7-inch LCD viewfinder (the A390 has a tilt-out display for angled shooting), support for Bravia Sync to connect up to Sony Bravia televisions, the capability to shoot down to ISO 3200, and a new grip design. The cameras feature an Eye-Start autofocus (which kicks in the camera’s autofocus capability when it senses a users has put an eye to the viewfinder), along with a built-in pop-up flash. The cameras also sport an onscreen graphics display to help folks new to the DSLR world understand how shutter speed and aperture adjustments impact their shots.

Sony hasn’t officially announced pricing and availability information, but reports have both the A290 and A390 going on sale in July in the United States, with the A290 starting at $499.99 and the A390 starting at $599.99.

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Doug at 4:54am 21st June 2010 Looks good with the Nikon style on/off switch around a much better shutter button. Not sure they have improved the LCD info as it was already a very good menu system. What they need to have worked hard on is Image quality as 400 ISO and above are very grainy. Fortunately the inbuilt anti shake allows you to shoot at a lower ISO most of the time anyway. Also the 18-70mm kit lens was just too soft. With 14Mp you need a better lens. Hope the 18-55mm is up to it. Be nice if they offered a 16-85 (or more) mm with great optics as a kit lens. More Mp does not necessarily mean better images. My 4.6Mp Sigma SD14 creams the images from my a350. Hope the SD15 has anti-shake and larger buffer.