Sony Alpha DSLR-A500

image by Todd Evans (Image rights)

The Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 belonged to the attempt of Sony to establish "middle-class" models in its Sony α system. The attempt failed since the engineers forgot the depth-of-field control button, a "must have" for any serious amateur SLR or DSLR. Thus on the one hand the camera became a star for HDR fans since it offered an HDR-mode to produce "high dynamic range" images. On the other hand it was like a properly made successor of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A300, with highly light-sensitive 12 Megapixel CMOS image sensor instead of 10 MP CCD sensor.