Touchscreen on the Sony A850?

The rear monitor on the Sony Alpha A850 is not touch sensitive. All interactions with the camera's firmware, thus, have to be entered through buttons and dials on the camera body. While this method of operating a camera might not be as intuitive as a touch interface and requires the photographer to memorize the functions of the external controls, it avoids accidental setting changes from unitentional contacts with the screen.

In terms of size and resolution, the rear LCD of the Sony A850 measures 3.0 inches and offers a resolution of 922,000 dots.

Back side of the Sony A850 with LCD

As can be seen from the rear-side image, the 3.0-inch LCD occupies a large part of the backside of the camera. For comparison, the diagonal on a standard credit card measures 4 inches.

Camera to camera comparisons

The Sony Alpha A850 is a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera that was revealed to the public in August 2009 and is equipped with a full frame sensor. It offers a resolution of 24.4 megapixel. In the United States, the camera was initially launched at a price of $1,999.

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The table below compares the rear screen specs of the Sony A850 to those of several similar cameras. Additionally, the table includes some information on other core features, such as the viewfinder, shutter, flash, and image stabilization system.

LCD and Other Feature Comparison

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Mech Shutter Speed	Shutter Flaps (1/sec)	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Sony A850	optical	Y	3.0 / 922	fixed	n	1/8000s	3.0/s	n	Y
2.		Nikon D750	optical	Y	3.2 / 1229	tilting	n	1/4000s	6.0/s	Y	n
3.		Sony A7	2400	n	3.0 / 1230	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	n
4.		Sony A7 II	2400	n	3.0 / 1230	tilting	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
5.		Sony A7 III	2359	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
6.		Sony A7C	2360	n	3.0 / 922	swivel	Y	1/4000s	10.0/s	n	Y
7.		Sony A9	3686	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	20.0/s	n	Y
8.		Sony A77	2359	Y	3.0 / 921	full-flex	n	1/8000s	12.0/s	Y	Y
9.		Sony A99	2359	Y	3.0 / 1229	full-flex	n	1/8000s	6.0/s	n	Y
10.		Sony A99 II	2400	Y	3.0 / 1229	full-flex	n	1/8000s	12.0/s	n	Y
11.		Sony A900	optical	Y	3.0 / 922	fixed	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
Note: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

In case you are interested in seeing how this camera compares to another one, just make your choice using the following search menu. Alternatively, you can follow any of the listed hyperlinks for comparisons that others found interesting.

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