Should You Buy This Camera

Sony Alpha 850

DSLR · Sony A · released 2009-09-25
Lowest now
$409
Steep discount -80% vs MSRP
Pricing by source ↓
MSRP at launch
$1,999
Sep 2009
Inventory
4
across 2 sources

Near the 90-day low

How we compute this

Close to the 90-day low. Within $15 of the 90-day low of $394. 20% of the $1,999 MSRP. Prices are down 7.9% over the last 30 days.

Lowest now
$409
MSRP
$1,999
vs MSRP
-80%
90-day low
$394
All-time low
$394 (Jul 22, 2026)
30-day trend
-7.9%
Observed across 2 sources · 35 days of history in last 90 · Methodology

Sample photos

Real-world photos taken with this camera, grouped by EXIF data on Flickr.

Browse shots on Flickr

Specs

Brand
Sony
Family
Sony Alpha (A-mount)
Category
body
Body type
DSLR
Mount
Sony A
Sensor
Full Frame
Megapixels
24.6 MP
Lens type
Sensor family
Sony FF 24.6MP CMOS (A850/A900)
Autofocus
Phase Detection
AF system
Sony phase-detect (A-mount)
IBIS
Weather sealed
Max video
Max native ISO
Weight
Dimensions
Body material
Released
2009-09-25
Status
discontinued

Autofocus & action

AF system
Phase detect
Focus points
9 phase-detect
Subject detection
Human face
Burst (mechanical)
3 fps
Buffer
16 RAW / 34 JPEG
Pre-burst capture
No
Card slots
2 (CF + Memory Stick Duo)
Sensor readout
Standard CMOS

Full-frame DSLR (2009); 9-point AF with f/2.8 dual center cross sensor; face detection available; no Eye AF.

Latest pricing by source

Each row is a direct observation from the seller. How this works.
Source Condition Price Listings Observed Link
bh
good
→ good
$475 1 Observed 11h ago view listing
mpb
good
→ good
$409 2 Observed 11h ago view listing
mpb
excellent
→ excellent
$499 1 Observed 11h ago view listing

Price history

One point per day per (source, grade) pair, connected with lines. Hue marks the source; lightness within a hue marks the condition (darker = better grade). The dashed line is launch MSRP.

See Methods notes #1.1, #1.2, #1.3.

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More in this family

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Appears in

Curated lists where this camera currently qualifies. Each list ranks members by deal score.

Similar cameras

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Compare with another model

Compare 3+ cameras
Family
Model
Methods

How we compute each section

References on each chart link down here. More notes will land as new sections grow.

1. Price history

#1.1 · Grade buckets
Each seller publishes their own raw condition labels (e.g. "Excellent+", "Like new minus", "Bargain"). Those are normalized to a small bucket set: mint, excellent, good, fair, poor, and unknown. The "Latest pricing by source" table above shows both the raw label and the normalized bucket so you can audit any individual mapping.
#1.2 · Missing days
A point is only drawn on a day when a snapshot existed for that (source, grade) pair. Lines connect across gaps so a series with sparse sampling still reads as a single trend, but absence of a point does not mean a stockout: it means we didn't see a listing at that grade that day.
#1.3 · Color encoding
Hue carries the source: terracotta = mpb, sage = keh, cobalt = B&H, honey = ebay. Lightness within a hue carries the condition: darker means a better grade (mint and excellent are darkest; poor is lightest). The dashed ink line is launch MSRP, included as a reference even though it isn't a price observation.