The Sony α290 (DSLR-A290) is a

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

entry-level digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) introduced in 2010. The 14.0

megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sm ...

α290 is available in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in two kit versions, one with a DT 18-55mm SAM (smooth-autofocus-motor) Sony

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

and the other with the same DT 18-55mm SAM lens and a DT 55-200mm SAM Sony lens. The Sony α290 has a 9-point AF system and takes all Sony α/

Minolta was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta Co., Ltd., which is also known simply as Minolta, was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It made the first integrated aut ...

AF mount lenses. The 14.0 megapixel APS-C (23.5 mm × 15.7 mm) sized

CCD sensor A charge-coupled device (CCD) is an integrated circuit containing an array of linked, or coupled, capacitors. Under the control of an external circuit, each capacitor can transfer its electric charge to a neighboring capacitor. CCD sensors are a ...

has a max

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

of 3200, however when using ISO 800 the photos start to get noisy and 1600 and 3200 have very bad noise. The Sony α290 has a

BIONZ BIONZ is a line of image processors used in Sony digital cameras. It is currently used in many Sony α DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Image processing in the camera converts the raw data from a CCD or CMOS image sensor into the format that is st ...

image processor and can take approximately 2.5

frames per second A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

. The Sony α290 includes Creative Style, or preset color settings;

BRAVIA Bravia (stylized as BRAVIA) is a brand of Sony Visual Products Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, and used for its television products. Its backronym is "Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture". All Sony high-defi ...

Sync with a built in HDMI plug, and anti-dust technology. The Sony α290's anti-dust system is a charge protection coating on a low pass filter and image-sensor shift mechanism. The α290 also features Sony's

SteadyShot SteadyShot is the trademarked name of the integrated image stabilisation technologies used in Sony video camcorders, DSLR cameras, mirrorless cameras and on Sony Xperia smartphones and tablets. Different versions of these technologies are known as ...

INSIDE in-body stabilization. The Sony α290 takes the Sony NP-FH50 rechargeable battery and can take about 500 photos on a full charge (according to Sony). The viewfinder on the Sony α290 has a 95% field of view and has .83x magnification (with a 50 mm lens at infinity) is arguably superior to its

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

, the Sony α390, which is almost the same camera except its bigger-tilt screen and

live preview Live preview is a feature that allows a digital camera's display screen to be used as a viewfinder. This provides a means of previewing framing and other exposure before taking the photograph. In most such cameras, the preview is generated by m ...

. A disadvantage to the Sony α290 is its proprietary

hot shoe Canon EOS 350D Hot shoe Proprietary hot shoe used by Minolta and older Sony cameras (Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D">Sony.html" ;"title="Minolta and older Sony">Minolta and older Sony cameras (Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D) A hot shoe is a mounting poin ...

, or where an external

flash unit A flash is a device used in photography that produces a brief burst of light (typically lasting 1/1000 to 1/200 of a second) at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene. A major purpose of a flash is to illuminate a ...

attaches. The Sony α290, like all other Sony Alpha DSLRs, has the

iISO flash shoe iISO (intelligent ISO) flash shoe (aka "reversed" hotshoe) is the unofficial name for the proprietary accessory flash attachment and control interface used on Minolta cameras since the i-series introduced in 1988, and subsequently Konica Min ...

. The Sony α290 officially succeeded the Sony α 230, and brought about the return of several features. It also includes a new "HELP" system, to assist new users. Like the α230, the α290 will take both a

Memory Stick PRO Duo The Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, originally launched by Sony in late 1998. In addition to the original Memory Stick, this family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity an ...

or an SD/SDHC card. The camera weighs approximately without the

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

, memory card, lens and other accessories and has the approximate dimensions of 128 mm × 97 mm × 86 mm (W/H/D). The Sony α290 has a standard

USB 2.0 Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

port along with its mini HDMI port. The camera sends a review image to HDMI output immediately after taking a photo. There is no need to switch to playback mode to review. The

flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...

on the α290 is a standard pop-up with a recycling time of approximately 4 seconds. The hot shoe is, like most other Sony Alpha camera, a proprietary iISO.Sony-Style: Sony α230 single lens kit Specs
/ref> The Sony α290 has a capability to work with infrared remote control and also wired remote. Remote control is sold separately, and is enabled through the Drive mode menu by selecting 'Remote Commander'. The Sony α290 has a capability to take power from AC Power Supply, model AC-PW10AM. This power supply is sold separately.

References

External links

* http://mhohner.de/sony-minolta/onebody/a290 * http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/26318/sony-alpha-290/ {{Konica Minolta/Sony DSLR cameras

290 __NOTOC__ Year 290 ( CCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerius and Valerius (or, less frequently, yea ...