Sony Alpha SLTA55V DSLR with Translucent Mirror Technology and 3D Sweep Panorama (Camera Body only) (Black)
by Sony
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: SonyModel: SLTA55V
Color: Black
Product features:
- Translucent Mirror Technology accelerates AF performance
- Continuous 10 fps shooting with continuous Phase Detect AF
- Worlds1st consumer HD video camera w/ cont. Phase Detect AF
- 16.2 megapixels with Sony's Exmor HD APS sensor
- 1080/60i Full AVCHD or 1080/30p movies Embedded GPS
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony Alpha SLTA55V DSLR with Translucent Mirror Technology and 3D Sweep Panorama (Camera Body only) (Black)
Customer Review: Great upgrade from a bridge camera
Summary: 5 Stars
I first bought the A33 camera but returned it to upgrade to this Sony Alpha SLTA55.
Some background will help others understand my comments: I had a Panasonic FZ30 for five years. I liked everything about that camera except it had its limits and that was what I was looking for - something that would be at least an equivalent but remove the limits. For your reference the FZ30 is an 8mp camera with a 35-420mm fixed lens, swivel 2" LCD, built in flash. It is considered a "bridge" camera that falls between mega-zooms and DSLRs. So I'm not coming from a position of having a DSLR with many more features or a full frame sensor. I enjoy photography but just for casual and family use, no publishing for me. Just snapshots.
The three things I was looking for specifically were better image quality, better video, and better low light capability. The Sony Alpha A33/A55 definitely addressed those issues, and there are a bunch of very interesting features I wasn't looking for but am glad to have.
First this camera has an ASP-C sized sensor, the same size used in many larger DSLR cameras. It isn't "Full Frame" but it is way larger than my Panasonic FZ30 sensor. That larger sensor made all the difference in the world when it comes to photo quality. At 14 megapixels in the A33 and 16 megapixels in the A55 I find the image quality is so good I haven't felt the need to sharpen any of my photos on the PC. Also I can now crop (zoom) on the PC and still have a high quality image.
The low light capability of this camera is superb. I now can take good photos in low light where my FZ30 couldn't even perform. It goes all the way to ISO 12,800 (the FZ30 went to 400), and can mimic 25,600 in a hand held twilight mode that I find works quite well.
As far as video this camera is also superb.
So it solved the three issues I had with the older camera.
I really don't like changing lenses. I had that experience 30 years ago with a Canon A1 film camera and don't want to do that again. So I purchased the Sony 18-250mm (27-375 equivalent) zoom lens and that I just leave on all the time. This means I can go wide angle to zoom over a 14X range, never change lenses, and don't have to worry about the pesky sensor dust problem of interchangeable lenses.
This camera is about 1/2 pound heavier than my FZ30 but after a while I didn't notice that. With the Alpha 18-250 zoom lens it is just about 2 pounds. It isn't without its faults though. First Sony simply made the grip too small. It is annoying but I'll live with it. Second, as with a lot of digital cameras in this genre, the sensor can overheat and shut the camera down. This might happen on hot days when you are trying to shoot long videos. Videos of 2-3 minutes are no problem. I don't take videos longer than that so this isn't an issue for me.
There are lots of comments about battery life being short but it is longer than my FZ30 so I'm happy. I found on a two week vacation in France that I never had to use the spare battery in my pocket once. I took over 1,200 photos over 10 days, sometimes 300 in one day, and never ran the battery down below 50%.
Pros:
- Very fast auto focus.
- Translucent mirror technology allows focus during video.
- Awesome low light performance
- Awesome video
- Very useful "handheld twilight mode" to take handheld photos in very low light. Takes 6 shots and combined them.
- Awesome High Dynamic Range (HDR) feature that brackets three shots and assembles them. This was great in France when the sky had clouds with bright sunlight on the edges that blew out the highlights. The HDR mode took three shots and combined them, lessoning the sky highlights and improving the detail of the darker sections of the scene. I used it a lot.
- 6/10 frames per second, great for moving objects like kids or sports.
- Panorama mode (but I don't use this much)
- Too many other features to mention (see review on dpreview.com)
- Very sharp and clear 3" LCD
- Much better EVF than my FZ30
Cons:
- Small grip - and there is no good reason it couldn't have been larger without compromising the compact nature of the camera.
- Not good if you intend to take long videos.
Should you buy the A33 or the A55? In my opinion, and for my use, I think the A33 would have been fine. I did the upgrade for one reason only and that was some charts that showed the low light noise was less on the A55. You get 2 more mega pixels but I just don't think that is important.
The A55 has a GPS feature that marks the images with the location coordinates but I found this feature didn't work well. As with any GPS it takes time to sync up with satellites. However if I turn the camera on, take three or four quick shots and turn it off the GPS never syncs and it records the wrong location.
The A55 goes up to 10 frames per second while the A33 goes to six. I suppose there are a few instances when that might make a difference.
More Sony Alpha SLTA55V DSLR with Translucent Mirror Technology and 3D Sweep Panorama (Camera Body only) (Black) reviews:
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1 2 3 4
Description of Sony Alpha SLTA55V DSLR with Translucent Mirror Technology and 3D Sweep Panorama (Camera Body only) (Black)
Capture your perfect moments with the world?s first Translucent Mirror Technology DSLR enabling simultaneous focusing and capture. Continuous shooting is an amazing 10 frames per second, complete with continuous auto focus. Auto focus is also visibly faster in Live View and HD Movie modes.Digital SLRs
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