Performance
The speed of the camera wasn't too shoddy, as it took a mere second to start up and shut down. In burst mode, the A100 shot at 2.85 frames per second.
The colors I got from the A100 were quite natural. There was no added vivid effect to make it look more consumer friendly and the reds, yellows and oranges were extremely sober. Even the light gradients were captured beautifully, with all the little color changes accurately.
Sharpness levels were spot on. The 10 megapixel resolution brought out all the wanted and the unwanted details from edge to edge.
I particularly found the results I got from the camera's night mode preset very impressive. Though you would definitely need a tripod for the long shutter speed, the end result is worth it. But when I manually turned the sensitivity level to over ISO 400 I found the results a bit noisy.
Overall there isn't anything I can point out to and call bad in the A100, but still when I compare it to the results I got from the Pentax K10D (another DSLR in a similar price range), I feel this one falls a bit short on overall image quality. Even the Canon EOS 400D's CMOS sensor did a slightly better job with the contrasts and colors, eliminating the need for post processing.
Why pay 60 bucks if you can get it abroad for less... I just picked it up in the US [I'm visiting my folks in Chennai now] with an 18-70 lens for $699. Got great reviews from pop photo and for the price there, it is really a steal compared to the DX40 which is yet to get discounted 
