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HWM+HardwareZone.com Editor's Choice Tech Awards - Part 2

By Team HardwareZone - 13 Feb 2010

Best Entry-Level DSLR Camera

Best Entry-Level DSLR Camera

For our entry-level DSLR category, we were looking at models that offer beginners an easy introduction to photography while providing decent performance and features. At the same time, the prices have to be reasonable, without having them to break a sweat over the cost.

Nominees

  • Nikon D3000
  • Olympus E-450
  • Sony Alpha 330

And the Winner is

The Sony Alpha 330 is our best entry-level DSLR camera.

While it might be the heaviest out of the three, the Sony Alpha 330 looks, well, the tackiest, given its predominantly plastic build. However, it compensates by being the most user-friendly. Aside from the standard interface, it comes with illustrations (for example, the range of available shutter speed is represented at the slow end with a stationary figure, while the fast end is depicted with a running figure which makes it easy for beginners), with elaborate explanations to boot.

It is also the only one with a cool tilting LCD screen that accommodates shooting at difficult levels and has a built-in sensor shift that changes accordingly depending on whether you are shooting in portrait or landscape.

Scoring Breakdown
Criteria/Model Nikon D3000 Olympus E-450 Sony Alpha 330
Physique 8.0 8.5 7.5
Features 8.0 8.5 8.0
User-friendliness 8.0 8.0 8.5
Performance 7.0 7.0 8.0
Value 7.0 8.5 8.0
Overall 7.0 8.0 8.0
Price S$988
  • S$888 (Single Lens Kit)
  • S$1048 (Twin Lens Kit)
S$899

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

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