Sony 14.2 Megapixels Alpha DSLR-A380 Review by dpreview With Rating 7.5/10

Currently priced at $769 (down from $849 about a month ago), the Sony Alpha DSLR-A380 is the most high-end of three simultaneous new releases from Sony, alongside the A230 and A330, and is designed to appeal to both first-time DSLR buyers and enthusiasts. It directly replaces the previous Sony Alpha DSLR-A350, which was released last June and shares many of the same major features as its predecessor. These features include a 14.2 million-pixel CMOS sensor and a unique 'Quick AF Live View' mode, but all in a newly designed, lighter body. The camera also comes with pull-out LCDs and HDMI video out for previewing images on a HDTV.  dpreview today posted a review of the camera, giving the camera an image quality rating of 7.5 out of 10. Here is the conclusion of the review:

"Unlike two of its arguably most direct competitors, the Canon EOS 500D and the Nikon D5000, the Sony A380 does not offer video capture nor does it come with an on-screen 'Quick control' type user interface, something that has pretty much become a standard on all recently introduced SLRs. The rest of the feature set and specification is, next to the competition, not particularly impressive either. While the 14.2 megapixel resolution is still more than competitive and the output at base ISO is generally good, the frame rate in continuous shooting is pretty slow, the high ISO performance isn't quite on the same level as the rivals and the battery capacity is poor. Where the camera shines though is in live view operation where, due to the dedicated live view sensor, it delivers significantly faster live view AF speeds than the competition which allows you to use the camera in a 'compact camera' style and benefit from DSLR AF speeds at the same time.

At base ISO the A380 performs very well and delivers good detail and natural if slightly vivid colors. Default output is a little soft. Shooting in RAW can definitely gain you some extra detail, especially in low contrast areas of the frame where some careful sharpening in RAW conversion will get you a good amount of additional detail. Where the camera starts to struggle is at higher sensitivities. It's not horrible in low light but it's not on the same level as its current direct competitors. That's not really a surprise as the A380's sensor and imaging pipeline are virtually identical with the A350's which was launched in January 2008 - an eternity in digital imaging terms. The sensor is noisier than the competition to start with and this is exacerbated by the A380's heavy-handed approach to noise reduction which blurs a lot of detail but also results in unsightly chroma noise blobs.

If you shoot mainly at base ISO, in live view and Auto mode the Sony DSLR-A380 is worth a closer look. For everyone else the camera can only become a consideration if its price drops significantly. At the Sony's price point there are currently several better alternatives available."... [Source]