The α230 allows you to enjoy photography with true ease as the lightest, most compact digital SLR in the α series. It’s not light on features, however, with 10.2 megapixel effective resolution, SteadyShot INSIDE image stabilization, and Creative Style settings that allow you to take full control of your photography experience. And don’t worry if you’ve never used an SLR before. Assistance is built right into the camera, with a new on-screen Help Guide and Graphic Display to help you capture those special moments.

Sony’s 10.2 megapixels a230 is the world’s lightest DSLR featuring an APS-C sized image sensor and in-body image stabilisation. Its compact size makes it great for trips away when you want to grab superb pictures without taking up extra space in your luggage. Control layout on the camera has been revised with fewer buttons, so even first-time DSLR users needn’t feel intimidated by the creative options on offer.

Confused by photo jargon? Help is at hand with a friendly new interface on the camera’s clear, bright 2.7-inch LCD screen. Choose from any of six Scene Selection modes that adjust settings to suit any subject. The on-screen Help Guide explains your selection, complete with a sample image to demonstrate the results you’ll achieve.

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Reviews

Sony A230 Review by photographyblog.com

The A230 is the third and final new entry-level Sony DSLR that we’ve reviewed, and as with the more expensive A330 and A380 models, it’s a clear step backwards when compared with its predecessor, the A200. Offering no significant new features and featuring a less usable design, it seems that the A230 has favoured form over function, with all three of our reviewers questioning the logic of Sony’s re-design.

The Sony A230′s immediate forebear, the Alpha A200, was a somewhat chunky but generally well designed DSLR that offered good handling and ease of use thanks to its sensible user interface and intuitive ergonomics. With the arrival of the Alpha A230, it has been replaced by an undeniably smaller and lighter but at the same time much less conveniently designed camera that is frankly uncomfortable to hold and sometimes frustrating to use. That’s a real problem for a camera which promises to offer improved ease of use and handling.

The A230 also suffers in comparison to its bigger brother, the A330. If you do actually like this camera’s design (definitely try before you buy), then the A330′s excellent Live View system and tilting LCD screen are well worth the slight price premium, despite the slightly reduced optical viewfinder coverage. For us the A330 hits the sweet spot between the value of the A230 and increased megapixel count of the A380, although we still can’t strongly recommend it as all three models share the same handling flaws.

As with the A330, instead of purchasing the new Sony A230, you’d be much better off tracking down its predecessor the Alpha A200 or its higher-resolution sibling the A350, which offer the same or better features in a well-designed and ultimately easier-to-use body. The Sony A230 is clear proof that new does not always equal better…

Sony Alpha A230 review by imaging-resource.com

Sony’s complete physical redesign of the A200 and A300 series digital SLRs brought with it a slight weight loss, a new card/connector door, and a good power switch relocation, but also came with a significantly reduced grip and the loss of the easy-to-use flash activation button. The redesign also included a new 18-55mm zoom lens, whose shorter length reduces the overall profile of the cameras.

Internally, there were few enough changes that we didn’t expect a lot, but were nevertheless pleasantly surprised by the high print quality across the Sony A230′s ISO range, with its 10-megapixel images capable of producing very good 13×19-inch prints at the lowest ISOs. Viewed onscreen at 100%, the image quality seemed to drop off pretty dramatically from ISO 800 up, but our printing showed the ISO 800 shots were still usable printed at 11×14 inches. That’s quite good. ISO 1,600 and 3,200 shots were also usable straight out of the camera, producing good 8×10 and 5×7-inch prints, respectively.

The new autofocus screen on the Sony A230 is a welcome change, and we also like the new graphical status screen that shows the available range of shutter speeds and apertures for a given scene. We’re also happy to see that the menu is about as simple as it was in last year’s models, because they were just right. Autofocus speed is fast, but the frame rate is too low for sports shooting, at 2.4 frames per second.

However, there were a few shortcomings in the Sony A230 when compared to the Sony A330, including a slight color difference among yellows and greens, poor autofocus performance in low light, and reduced flash power lead us to prefer the Sony A330. For just $100 more, you also get a remarkably fast Live View mode and a tilting LCD; but we think the better indoor performance you’ll get from the Sony A330, both with and without flash is why you should spend the extra money over the A230.

While we like the A230 for its simplicity and good image quality, and think it’s priced well enough, we think most consumer photographers should opt for the Sony A330.

Sony Alpha A230 Digital SLR Review by ephotozine.com

For an entry level model, the Sony Alpha A230 looks pretty good and performs well. I love the UI giving as little masterclass as you use it. It will probably be more subliminal but if it teaches the user more about photography then surely that can ony be a good thing?

It’s styled nicely and is smaller and lighter than the previous model, the Sony Alpha A200. While the smoother, more fluid design isn’t my personal cup of tea, I can see the appeal to users who like their equipment to be ultra modern.

For users who want to move up from a prosumer or superzoom bridge compact but don’t want a huge camera hanging from their necks, this is a perfect solution.