Sony’s A37 SLR paints a pretty picture

16.1 Megapixels
ISO100 – 16000 equivalent
Dolby movie sound recording

Sony is one of those companies that rarely does anything wrong. And its latest Digital SLR camera- the A37- is certainly on the right path.

As an upgrade to the A35, the A37 won’t rock your world, however since I never tested the A35, I looked at the A37 with fresh eyes, and I must say, I liked what I saw.

16.1 Megapixels
ISO100 – 16000 equivalent
Dolby movie sound recording

Sony is one of those companies that rarely does anything wrong. And its latest Digital SLR camera- the A37- is certainly on the right path.

As an upgrade to the A35, the A37 won’t rock your world, however since I never tested the A35, I looked at the A37 with fresh eyes, and I must say, I liked what I saw.

Coming with what has been claimed is the fastest shooting mode in its class, the A37 was fun to use.

Much like Canon’s 600D, this Sony snapper has just about everything you would want- 16.1 megapixels, CMOS Sensor, an auto / manual focus and enough settings to ensure that no matter what or where the image is, you can capture it with the A37.

My testing consisted of mainly night shots. This was because I figured that if the camera can perform well in little or next to no light, it should be a worthwhile contender for just about any other photographic condition. And it did not disappoint.

Set up was, as you would imagine with nay Sony product very easy. Date, time zone and off you go. There are plenty of other attributes you can change with the A37 like aspect ratio, ISO, and usual array of modes and settings. However being an SLR means that in many ways, its like point and shoot on steroids- just find your target and snap away.

Measuring in at 125 x 92 x 85 mm and weighing 510 grams with battery & SD card, the A37 is not a camera one shoves in their pants and off they go. In fact, its is a bit bulky and as such, using the neck strap is highly recommended as the hand grip moulding to me seemed made for smaller hands.

It is also a plastic-bodied camera with a 2.7-inch LCD monitor. This was one of the few things I didn’t like about the A37. Call me old school, but the feel of plastic when taking photos still does not imbue me with a sense of thrill.

However this was soon forgotten when I realised the LCD can tilt- meaning no more glare interference issues.

Going to the front of the camera, the A37 comes with a 18-55 mm lens kit as standard and is able to use a lot more lenses on the market. This makes good sense since a few years ago , Sony took over lens maker Konica Minolta, meaning when it comes to the A37, you’ll be spoilt for lens choices.

For those that like to take movies with their camera, then you wont be disappointed with the A37. With the ability to take HD (1080 x 1920) video along with recording Dolby stereo sound, the A37 does the trick.

Let me say, the movie sound and image output is no better or worse than some other SLRs I have played with, so on that point alone, the A37 does well.

All in all, Sony’s A37 SLR has been configured to be non-threatening for those more used to point and shoot cameras and as such, is a very smartly designed ‘stepping stone’ camera enabling just about anyone to become a semi-pro snapper.

What I didn’t like about the A37? Firstly, as mentioned earlier, I hate this move to all-plastic bodies and about the only other compliant I had was with battery life.

Sony says you should get anywhere from between 450-500 shots per charge. I got 382– but then again, I figure much like mobile phones these days, the more apps you have running, the lower the battery life.

Price: $699

Pros: easy to use; made for beginners and semi-pros alike

Cons: plastic body, a bit power hungry

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Branko Miletic