Sony Alpha 850 at a glance:

  • 24.6 million effective pixels
  • Full-frame CMOS sensor
  • Approx 98% viewfinder
  • 3in, 921,600-dot LCD screen
  • SteadyShot Inside
  • Dynamic range optimisation with bracketing
  • Street price approximately £1,650

Sony isn’t in the habit of dabbling in markets, so when it decided to start manufacturing DSLRs it gave itself a head start by acquiring Konica Minolta’s photographic business. Since then it has had an aggressive pricing policy, which has helped it achieve the number three position in the DSLR sales league table.

It is an especially popular brand with young photographers who respect the Sony name having spent their adolescence using PlayStations, listening to Walkmans and watching Sony televisions.

However, as well as feeding the expectations of Sony devotees, the company wants to please the Minolta followers who have continued with the Minolta A mount (now rebranded as the Sony Alpha mount), while at the same time enticing experienced photographers away from its competitors.

Sony hopes that the new full-frame Alpha 850 will be a significant step towards winning a larger slice of the DSLR market.

This camera is remarkably similar to the company’s top-of-the-range model, the Alpha 900, but the price is significantly lower.

Features

Like the Sony Alpha 900, the Alpha 850 has a CMOS sensor with 24.6 million effective pixels and approximately the same dimensions as a 35mm film frame. This pixel count puts it on a par with the D3X from Nikon and just ahead of the likes of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II or even the EOS-1Ds Mark III, both of which have 21.1 million effective pixels.

Naturally, to make the Alpha 850 a little less expensive than the Alpha 900, Sony has had to make a few compromises. The most significant of these is a reduction in the maximum continuous shooting rate, which is 3fps on the Alpha 850 rather than the 5fps of the Alpha 900.

Neither the Alpha 900 nor the Alpha 850 is really intended as a sports photographer’s camera, and I suspect for many prospective buyers this is not a huge sacrifice.

The 2% reduction in the viewfinder coverage (now 98%) may also not concern photographers using APS-C-format cameras that offer around 96% coverage. Although I am sure they would like a 100% viewfinder, 98% coverage is probably close enough for many.

Unlike most other manufacturers, Sony rather generously includes the infrared RMT-DSLR1 Remote Release with the Alpha 900. This is an optional accessory with the Alpha 850, and it retails for around £26.99.

In other respects, the Alpha 850 is just like the Alpha 900. Sony has not taken the opportunity to introduce a Live View system to its full-frame DSLR. However, the LCD screen still measures 3in across the diagonal, and its 921,600 dots (307,200 pixels) should ensure that the menu and any images look nice and crisp.

Those wishing to check the impact of setting changes on their images prior to their capture must use the Alpha 850’s Intelligent Preview system. Once activated in the Custom menu, this allows an image to be captured, but not saved, when the depth of field preview button is pressed.

The impact of changing settings such as the white balance and exposure are displayed on the resulting image. Once the preferred look is found, images may be captured and saved in the usual way.

Not surprisingly, but nevertheless a little disappointingly, Sony has also not made it possible to record the highest quality JPEG images (Extra Fine) simultaneously with raw files. As with the Alpha 900, the Alpha 850 can only record Fine JPEG images at the same time. Ideally, I would like the option to specify the quality of the JPEGs that accompany raw files.

Aided by Apical, Sony has led the way with in-camera dynamic range optimisation, and the Alpha 850 has the same Dynamic Range Optimizer as the Alpha 900.

In addition to the Automatic and Standard options, the system may be turned off or set to one of five levels of effectiveness in the Advanced Levels mode.

Sony users will be pleased to learn that the company hasn’t made any compromise with the SteadyShot Inside system found in the Alpha 850, as it is the same as the one in the Alpha 900. As such, it is claimed to extend the safe handholdable shutter speed range by up to 4EV. I generally find that it is good for around 2EV or 3EV extensions in most situations.

Given its status as a marginally edited version of the Alpha 900, there are no shocks with the specification of the Alpha 850. As Sony is a respected manufacturer of televisions, games consoles and video cameras, it surprises me that the company hasn’t produced an enthusiast-level DSLR (full-frame or APS-C format) that features either Live View or video technology.

Build and handling

The recent restyling that has been bestowed upon Sony’s lower-level DSLRs has not been applied to the Alpha 850 as it has the same angular looks of its full-frame forebear. It’s not unattractive, but it is unlikely to draw too many admiring glances, either.

At 850g without batteries or memory card, the Alpha 850 is 
a little heavier than both the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and the Nikon D300S. Despite the weight, I like its solid, no-nonsense, robust feel.

Reassuringly, there are no creaks or squeaks when the Alpha 850 is gripped and squeezed firmly, and 
the camera feels comfortable in my grasp. Rubberised coatings on the deep ergonomically shaped finger 
and thumb holds provide just enough grip to keep the camera from slipping in the hand, and the camera’s contours seem to guide my right index finger to the shutter release button.

Although the exposure compensation and drive mode buttons on the top plate are within easy reach of my finger when it’s over the shutter release, the white balance and sensitivity control are not. These buttons are a little further back on the top plate and I am unable to reach them without adjusting my grip.

Part of the problem is that the camera strap lug gets in the way of my index finger in its journey from the shutter-release button to the white balance or sensitivity controls. In fact, they are more conveniently reached by my right thumb.

Reaching up to the top of the camera while looking at the setting options on the rear LCD doesn’t feel especially natural at first, although it doesn’t take long to get used to it.

The remaining buttons and dials 
are fairly sensibly arranged. I particularly appreciate the dials that enable the user to switch metering and focus modes. Along with the main mode dial, they provide enough resistance to prevent them from being accidentally knocked out of position on a frequent basis.

Although it isn’t the most customisable camera on the market, there are a few ways in which the camera can be set up to the user’s preferences.

The Custom (C) button, for instance, can be set to access the image quality, Creative Style or D-Range Optimizer options. I chose to use it to reach the Creative Style settings, as this enables me to switch quickly to recording monochrome JPEG files when the mood takes me. It is rather strange, however, that this option should be activated via the Recording menu rather than the Custom menu.

Similarly, the option to save up to three collections of settings for later recall via the main mode dial is also found on the fourth screen of the Recording menu.

As the Alpha 850 has no Live View or video modes with additional options that clutter up the menu or require controls, the camera is relatively straightforward to get to grips with. Nevertheless, it would be nice to have a personalised menu screen to which the most commonly required menu settings could be saved.

Image: The strong graphic lines of highlights and shadows in this scene made it a good monochrome subject. I shot it using the Alpha 850’s default B/W Creative Style settings with the aspect ratio set to 16:9 to emphasise the converging lines

White balance and colour

Image: While both these images are attractive in their own way, this early morning frosty 
scene actually looked somewhere between the two almost opposite versions

While images from the Sony Alpha 850 are quite pleasant, when the automatic white balance setting is used they tend to have a colour cast that reflects the lighting conditions at the time. This isn’t entirely desirable: even though it retains the atmosphere of the moment, the images have a little more atmosphere than was actually there at the time.

For instance, shots taken towards either end of a sunny day, when the light starts to take on a warmer colour, are quite yellow. Conversely, images taken in very overcast conditions have a distinct blue tone. While this isn’t especially surprising, as cameras are traditionally more sensitive to the different light colours than our eyes (or rather our brains), other manufacturers’ white balance systems often produce more neutral images in these types of situations.

When the light-specific white balance settings are used, the Alpha 850 does a better job of getting colours right. While shooting under thick cloud, for instance, the daylight white balance does a better job than the automatic setting, but the most accurate results are produced using the cloudy setting. Thankfully, Sony hasn’t chosen to give images taken in these conditions a warm brown cast as some manufacturers seem to. Early on a frosty, sunny morning, however, the daylight setting produced blue images, while the automatic setting gave them a warm, golden look. The true picture is somewhere in between, but both sets of images have their own appeal.

As usual, there are a number of looks that can be applied to JPEG images on the Alpha 850. The Standard setting is a good starting point, and is suitable for most occasions, but the B/W (monochrome) is also useful, especially when shooting raw and JPEG files simultaneously. In addition, there are Vivid, Neutral, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Night View and Autumn Leaves options. The last three are sub-settings of the Landscape setting. The Vivid and Landscape settings are useful for creating punchy landscapes, but in most situations I would be more inclined to shoot raw images and process them to get the look I want.

Metering

Although it is backed up by centreweighted and spot metering modes (covering around 1.5% of the scene), I used the Alpha 850’s 40-segment evaluative metering almost exclusively throughout this test because it proved to be very reliable.

As you would expect, there are a few situations that can fool the camera into under or overexposing, but for the most part it puts in a good performance. When shooting towards a bright, misty sky, I was impressed to find that the foreground was not as underexposed as I expected.

Furthermore, using the Dynamic Range Optimizer enabled more of the foreground detail to be brought out than I could actually see at the time.

In tricky lighting conditions, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the histogram view as the Alpha 850’s LCD screen tends to make dark subjects look brighter than they are. If the image alone is used to gauge exposure, there is a danger that the exposure compensation facility may be used to reduce the exposure 
when it is not actually necessary.

Autofocus

Like the Alpha 900, the Alpha 850 has nine user-selectable AF points, with a further ten supplementary points that cannot be manually selected. The central point has a dual cross sensor for added sensitivity.

Although the 3fps maximum continuous shooting rate may not 
lend the Alpha 850 to sports photography, most enthusiast photographers want a camera 
that can be put to a variety of uses. 
In reasonable light conditions the Alpha 850’s AF system is swift 
and decisive. When shooting a local rugby match under a heavily laden 
sky, the less-sensitive peripheral 
AF points were a fraction slower to pull the subject into sharp register than the central point, but I didn’t experience much hunting when 
using the continuous AF mode.

Although there are three modes available for selecting the AF area to use – Wide, Spot and Local – there are very few occasions when I would use the Wide option. This method allows the camera to select any of the 19 available AF points and takes control away from the photographer. With team sports such as rugby, it tends to latch on to the nearest potential subject – another player or referee, perhaps – rather than the real point of interest. It could, however, be useful when photographing subjects such as birds, which move unpredictably against a clean background.

In its Spot mode, the AF point is locked to the centre. While this may be useful on occasions, it makes more sense to use the Local option, which allows the user to select any of the nine available AF points using the mini-joystick multi-direction controller. A quick press of this is enough to select the central AF point. I found this controller within easy reach of my right thumb and have no problem selecting the appropriate AF point when the camera is held to my eye.

When light levels fall to the point when the maximum sensitivity setting (ISO 6400) is required to allow movement-freezing shutter speeds (and on an overcast day at this time of year that seems to be around 3pm), the Alpha 850’s outer AF points become too slow to use when shooting action so it’s best to stick with the central point. In its continuous mode it does a respectable job of keeping up with the action provided the selected AF point is kept over the subject.

Resolution, noise and sensitivity

These images show 72ppi sections of images of a resolution chart, still-life scene and a grey card. We show 
the section of the resolution chart where the camera starts to fail to reproduce the lines separately. The higher the number visible in these images, the 
better the camera’s detail resolution is 
at the specified sensitivity setting.


As the resolution chart images show, the Alpha 850 has the same impressive ability to resolve fine detail as the camera it is based on, the Alpha 900. Thanks to its class-leading pixel count it is able to resolve lines further along our chart than almost all other cameras. This makes the Alpha 850 especially attractive to landscape and macro photographers who want to be able to extract the maximum amount of detail from a scene. It’s just a shame that the camera doesn’t offer a Live View image on the LCD screen, as this would really make it a firm favourite with these photographers.

Although the Alpha 850 has a full-frame sensor, a pixel count of 24.6 million 
requires very small photosites and noise 
is therefore an inevitable risk. When the high-sensitivity noise-reduction system 
is turned off, JPEG files taken at ISO 6400 have the highest level of noise in the red channel that we have measured to date.

The other channels are also pretty noisy at this setting. Despite these high levels, though, I prefer the results captured 
when the high-sensitivity noise-reduction system is turned off, as the JPEG images are sharper and have more detail. Although images taken at ISO 6400 have plenty of coloured speckling visible, there is no banding in my images and the Extra Fine JPEG files don’t require any post-capture sharpening.

Interestingly, given our laboratory-based noise measurements, which match the results found with the Alpha 900, my images don’t have significantly more red speckling than 
they do green and blue at ISO 6400.

Dynamic range

It is often feared that dynamic range will be a casualty with densely populated sensors, but the Alpha 850 has a range of 12EV, which puts it on a par with most high-end DSLRs.

It is also possible to extract a lot of detail from the shadows with a curves adjustment or by using the Dynamic Range Optimizer (D-RO). There are seven settings available 
for the D-RO, in addition to ‘off’. In its Standard setting, the D-RO adjusts contrast across the entire image. However, in the Advanced Auto and Advanced Level settings, the camera analyses the scene and brightens parts of the image selectively.

There are five settings available in the Advanced Level option. Using too high a level results in artificially flat images as well as increased noise in shadow areas. Consequently, level five is best reserved for very high contrast situations and I mostly used level three.


Understanding the graph: This graph shows the brightness values recorded by the test camera when it is used to photograph a stepped graduation wedge. The wedge has transmission values in 1⁄2EV steps ranging from 0 to 12EV.

The camera’s exposure is set so the 12EV section in the wedge has a brightness value of 255. Software analysis of the image then determines the recorded brightness values of all the other steps and calculates the camera’s dynamic range.

 

Gamut

This graphic indicates that the Alpha 850 can reproduce the majority of the Adobe RGB gamut in the red, magenta, purple, blue and cyan areas, but as is often the case it struggles to capture the full subtlety of the range of greens available.

Even the more restricted sRGB gamut is slightly clipped in the green area.

LCD and viewfinder

Mode dial
Up to three sets of camera settings may be saved 
and accessed via the 
three custom options 
on this dial

Eye sensors
These sensors detect when the camera is held to the eye and turn off the LCD screen, but unlike some other Sony DSLRs the Alpha 850 doesn’t feature Eye-start technology, so they don’t trigger the AF 
or metering systems

LCD screen
With 921,600 dots, this screen is very crisp and provides a clear view of both the menu and the images being reviewed

Custom button
As well as accessing the histogram view when reviewing images, this can be set to access the Creative Style or D-RO options

Unusually today, the Alpha 850 has no Live View or video technology, so this section focuses solely on its viewfinder and LCD screen.

I have no complaints about the 3in LCD, as its 921,600 dots (307,200 pixels) ensure reviewed images (and the menu) are crisp and clear with plenty of detail. When the magnified view is used to check captured images, 
it is possible to see whether the subject 
is sharp as well as assess the level of noise in high-sensitivity images. It’s just a shame that the screen cannot be used to assist with manual focusing before 
the image is actually captured.

The Alpha 850’s viewfinder offers a 98% field of view. Even though this isn’t much less than the 100% of the Alpha 900, it is noticeable. When shooting a still life I took several test shots and had to adjust the camera’s position a few times before I was completely happy with the composition. Of course, in many situations any unwanted objects at the image edges can be cropped out.

Although the Alpha 850’s viewfinder is bright and clear, I find that the corners of the viewfinder housing often obstruct 
my view and I have to adjust my eye position carefully to avoid vignetting. This is also an issue with the Alpha 900 and I thought Sony would be able to address this with the Alpha 850’s small finder, but clearly it cannot.

The competition

Image: Nikon D3X

Apart from the Sony Alpha 850 and 900, the only other digital 
SLR that offers 24 million pixels is the Nikon D3X, which is almost 
three times the price of the new Alpha camera.

Among other things, the additional cost buys Nikon’s superb 51-point AF system, Live View capability (with autofocus) and a maximum continuous shooting rate of 5fps. 
It’s a great camera, but the cost puts it well beyond the reach of most 
enthusiast photographers.

The most likely non-Sony competition for the Alpha 850 is the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

Image: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

This camera has more extensive weather sealing and customisation options, as well as Live View, HD video recording technology and a marginally faster continuous shooting rate of 
3.9fps. Low-light shooters will also appreciate the Canon camera’s sensitivity extension settings, which give a maximum ISO equivalent of 25,600.

However, it doesn’t offer in-camera image stabilisation or wireless flash control.

Our verdict

I am a little confused by what Sony is doing at the moment. The company started out with such determination to shake up the DSLR market and seemed set to introduce all sorts of new and exciting features, yet it has failed to include technology such as Live View and video recording in its higher-level DSLRs.

We are told that the company is ‘looking at’ including video in its lower-level DSLRs, but that Live View is not something Sony considers important to the high-end user. Given the Alpha 850’s high pixel count and its ability to record a high level of detail, it could be very attractive to studio, still-life and macro photographers, many of whom could benefit from a Live View system.

Apart from the introduction 
of an image-combining auto HDR mode in the Alpha 500 and 550, it’s most recently introduced DSLRs don’t offer a great deal more than earlier models. While this is also true of the Alpha 850, its attractive street price means it offers enthusiast photographers something they 
really want: an affordable full-frame digital camera with a very capable sensor. Its AF system may not be 
quite up to the specification of 
Nikon’s enthusiast-level DSLRs, and it doesn’t have the same level of customisation as some of its competitors, but it is a good all-rounder with high build quality, and it deserves the attention of enthusiasts.

Sony Alpha 850 – Key features


Mirror lock-up

When vibration needs to be avoided, the mirror lock-up facility is useful. It can be accessed via the drive mode control button. Those who choose not to buy the optional remote release will appreciate the fact that the self-timer also lifts and locks the mirror automatically when the shutter release button is pressed to set the timer running.

Wireless flash
Although the Alpha 850 has no built-in flash unit, it can be set to take wireless control over flashguns such as the Sony HVL-F58AM. This makes for much more flattering portraits than using a hotshoe-mounted flash.

Advanced Auto D-RO
In its Advanced Auto mode, the Dynamic Range Optimizer analyses the image and selectively brightens the shadows to a level that it determines automatically. Those wishing to take control over the degree of shadow brightening that is applied should employ the Advanced Levels option. Alternatively, D-RO bracketing is available via the drive mode control. This records three images each time the shutter release is pressed and can be set to apply a large or small shift in the effect.