Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 14 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5.5Mb.

When you marry a sensor with a high pixel count to a standard kit lens there's always a question mark over whether the combination is truly capable of resolving all those self same pixels. For us, though there are plenty of subtleties of tone across the images from the Sony A390, occasionally they could do with being a tad sharper.

While such gripes can of course, to an extent, be 'put right' with subtle application of Photoshop's Unsharp Mask at the processing stage - or simply fitting a top-of-the-range Carl Zeiss branded optic - images also suffer from the very common complaints of barrel distortion at the lens' widest setting and pixel fringing, evidenced when zooming in close between areas of high contrast.

Still, when left on its default settings the A390 delivers a naturalistic array of colours, suggesting white balance is reliable, if grey featureless skies will inevitably result in underexposed foreground detail when shooting JPEG.

Considering its target market the Sony A390's ISO performance isn't bad - with on-board noise reduction implemented that is. OK, so image noise is noticeably lurking in the shadows at ISO 800, but by ISO 1600 noise reduction has kicked in, reducing the effects without smoothing out surrounding detail to a ruinous degree. At ISO 3200, as expected noise is more evident again and detail softer, resembling an Impressionist dot painting when zooming right in. But like those self same old masters, draw back from the image and everything comes back into sharp, clear focus. While Sony may not be pushing the envelope like Canon and Nikon when it comes to superior performance in low light, the A390 gives an adequate showing.

Noise

There are 6 ISO settings available on the Sony A390. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:

JPEG	RAW
ISO 100 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)
ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)
ISO 1600 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)	ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are soft at the default sharpening setting. You can change the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default look.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

File Quality

The Sony A390 has 3 different image quality settings available, with Superfine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

14M Fine (4.56Mb) (100% Crop)	14M Normal (3.21Mb) (100% Crop)
14M RAW (18.6Mb) (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Sony A390 handled chromatic aberrations very well during the review, with limited purple fringing mainly present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the example below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)

Flash

The flash settings on the Sony A390 are Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow sync and Rear flash sync, with Red-eye reduction available in the Main Menu. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (18mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (18mm)
Flash Off - Telephoto (55mm)	Flash On - Telephoto (55mm)

And here are a couple of portrait shots. Neither the Auto setting or the Red-eye reduction mode caused any amount of red-eye.

Flash On	Flash On (100% Crop)
Red-eye reduction	Red-eye reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Sony A390's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds and there's also a Bulb mode for even longer exposures, which is excellent news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 4 seconds at ISO 200.

Night Shot	Night Shot (100% Crop)

Dynamic Range Optimizer

D-Range Optimiser (DRO) is Sony's solution to improve shadow detail in photos taken in contrasty light.

Off	Standard
Advanced

Creative Styles

There are 7 Creative Style preset effects that you can use to change the look of your images.

Standard	Vivid
Portrait	Landscape
Night	Sunset
B/W

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Sony A390 camera, which were all taken using the 14 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Sony A390 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Sony RAW (ARW) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

As of February 2025, we are no longer providing full size sample images or videos for download.

Please contact us if you have any feedback on our new policy.

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Flash Raised

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Info Display

Rear of the Camera / Live View

Tilting LCD Screen

Tilting LCD Screen

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Sony A390 represents one of the most minor upgrades that we've ever seen, effectively adding a better handgrip to last year's model. The A380 didn't really add much to the A350 model that it replaced, so the 2010 Sony A390 is effectively still using 2008's technology, and is subsequently looking dated compared to the competition.

The Sony A390 still doesn't offer HD video like those rivals - quickly it seems, becoming something of a must at this price. And it's an omission that feels odd given its manufacturer's expertise elsewhere with the moving image. The recently announced A580 and A55 models finally introduce video to Sony's DSLR range, providing even less reason to consider the A390. Also particularly off putting is the fact that the build of the A390 looks and feels a lot more plastic than its Canon or Nikon rivals.

While Sony hasn't brought a great deal that's new to the party between the A380 and A390, at the very least here is a DSLR that you'll be quite happy to take out with you for a day's sightseeing when you might have otherwise plumped for a less satisfactory compact for the sake of its perceived lightness and convenience. With kit lens and strap attached its portability is such that your shoulders and neck won't be aching at the day's end.

Also in the A390's favour is its competitive price, with lots of retailers currently offering the 18-55mm kit at under £450 / $550. When many high-end compacts and in-between mirrorless system cameras are officially starting to creep into this price-bracket, the A390 suddenly makes a lot more sense.

Still, we can't shake off the feeling that the A390 is the camera that Sony should have released last year. As a new 2010 model, it's more of a stop-gap until the new generation of video-capable DSLRs hit the shops, and as that day is now imminent, we'd advise you to hold onto your cash for the "proper" 2010 Sony DSLRs.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	3.5
Ease-of-use	4
Image quality	3.5
Value for money	3.5

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Sony A390 from around the web.

Specifications

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