Sony Alpha 230

The new Sony Alpha 230 has a lot to live up to as the Sony Alpha 200 is a former DP Gold Award winner!

The first noticeable difference with the Sony Alpha 230 is in the design with the shutter release button and scroll wheel being relocated to a more ergonomic place. The rear and top-plate have also been simplified with some of the buttons now placed more traditionally on the D-pad, which gives the 2.7in LCD a little more space to breathe. That’s the good news, but the bad news is the angular handgrip cuts into the fingers and is uncomfortable. Under the bonnet not much has changed – the 10.2Mp sensor remains, as does the ISO 100-3200 sensitivity range and 9-point autofocus system. There’s Sony’s sensor-shift SteadyShot INSIDE image stabilisation, which works with any lens, and there’s a double anti-dust system, too. Although the 2.5fps continuous shooting is a little sluggish, performance is generally solid and for beginners the Function menu under the Fn button is an intuitive way to change basic settings.

WE LIKE...
Price
Image Stabilisation
Function menu

WE DON’T LIKE...
No Live View
The new handgrip