Sony SLT-A35K

The camera is generally very well made. Although only in the manufacture of plastic has been used, it looks very high. Through the rubber coating of the grip on the right side of the camera, they can be kept very stable and not slippery.
The only weak point in the processing of the covers of the USB, HDMI and Microphone connector. The look cheap and can not really open well.

Service

The Basic Operation works the same as with most cameras. A dial it first sets the mode in which you want to shoot. Then may (depending on the shooting mode) via the menu additional settings (eg the setting of the ISO value). In manual shooting mode, the values ​​for aperture value and shutter speed can be set via another dial.
The controls on the camera are almost all placed so that they can be operated without changing the grip while taking pictures. The only exception is the Depth of Field Preview (depth of field button), located on the right side of the camera under the lens and is reasonably comfortable to operate only after some period of acclimatization.
The biggest difference to other cameras is the electric viewfinder. It allows, among other things, that in the viewfinder, in addition to the actual image, more information can be displayed. This includes the currently set aperture value and shutter speed.
Also, the histogram can be displayed. After image capture you also have the option to check the captured image directly in the viewfinder. So it is possible to take whole picture series, without having to take your eye away from the viewfinder. I find this very handy.
Another useful feature of the electric viewfinder is that it displays the image exactly as it is added later, including all set image effects.

Image Quality

The quality of photos, even with the kit lens that exploits the capabilities of the camera only in the beginning, very good.
The very fast and fail working autofocus ensures that the pictures are always sharply the areas which should be sharp.
Through the image stabilizer, by the way, is in contrast to many other cameras in the camera itself and not the lens, it is only at very incorrect settings to Bildverwacklern.
Noise occurs up to an ISO value of 1600 practically never. A value of 3200, it adheres well within limits. Do you need an even higher sensitivity to light is recommended to use the mode Hand-held Twilight '. Here are directly taken consecutively at high sensitivities six images. These six images an image is then calculated, from which the noise is largely removed. This works surprisingly well.

Video function

The camera takes videos in AVCHD or MP4 (H.264) format at a resolution of 1080i on. According to the manual, the maximum recording length for a video is 29 minutes. Due to the high heat development during video recording, the camera must then cool down until further pictures can be recorded.
The quality of the videos is good. But in low light there is image noise, and during rapid camera turns the image blurred slightly. Otherwise, the recording quality is very fine.
However, when using the internal microphone, the noise of the autofocus and image stabilizer are incorporated, which interferes with quiet recordings. If quiet scenes to be included, an external microphone should be used so better.

Conclusion

The Sony SLT-A35K is, especially in the category of entry-level cameras, highly recommended. A serious flaw I could not find the test. The very good image quality, the video function, the huge range of functions and the good workmanship and operation make the camera a real alternative to the classic entry-level cameras from Canon or Nikon.