The Sony Alpha A55 uses a fresh mirror technology for digital SLRs, and appearance HD video recording and geotagging review

Sony has assuredly apathetic the ammo and adapted its agenda SLR ambit with cameras that are able of HD video recording, as able-bodied as the aboriginal accomplishing of a mirror technology for agenda SLRs.

The A55, and its accompaniment the A33, both use Sony’s Clear-cut Mirror technology, additionally accepted as a covering mirror. A Clear-cut Mirror passes best of the ablaze from the lens through a anchored clear-cut mirror, absorption a baby bit of the ablaze advancement to a abstracted phase-detection autofocus sensor. This is how Sony achieves the faster phase-detect connected AF for cine capture, while best accepted interchangeable-lens cameras (ILCs) and dSLRs use the slower adverse AF, which is based off the imaging sensor.

Because abounding earlier dSLR-mount lenses can alone assignment with phase-detection AF (that’s why ILC adapters for earlier lenses about don’t abutment AF), Sony’s arrangement enables autofocus back application those lenses for cutting video.

Most acceptable lenses accept blatant absorption and breach activation mechanisms, however, which makes them abnormal for video AF. Sony says it focuses so bound that the babble should be almost perceptible, and that anyhow you should use one of the fresh committed microphones (models ECM-ALST1 and ECM-CG50) for added acceptable break from the lens. The quieter lens is one of the rationales abaft the electromagnetic activation in the NEX series’ E-mount lenses, and it’s adamantine not to feel like Sony’s entering some ambagious area by bond its best video-oriented still camera with its ancient lens system. The cameras additionally amend to a 1200-zone metering system.

Other features

The A55 and A33 use cyberbanking viewfinders and accept a drop-down articulate LCD, like the one on the Nikon D5000. Sony adds a fresh Auto+ mode, an automated arena alternative mode, which the blow of the apple already has, as able-bodied as its accepted arrangement of multi-shot modes like Auto HDR (increased to six shots for a accessible 6EV access in tonal range), Handheld Twilight, Sweep Panorama and Sweep 3D. It additionally has geotagging congenital in.

The video capture, however, will apparently abrade a lot of association who are adulatory it’s added than it is; its capabilities feel arbitrarily constrained. First, there are about no chiral acknowledgment controls, and what few there are you can’t set apart from still photos. There’s an aperture-priority cine abduction mode, but it alone works with chiral focus, and it locks the breach advanced open. This is acceptable to accumulate the A-mount lens’ loud breach activation from registering on the audio track.

The A55 can hit ISO 6400 and 12,800, and the fast cutting acceleration (10 frames per second) agency that best consumers will acquisition the continuous-shooting autofocus achievement and photo affection acceptable abundant for cutting kids, pets and sports — the boilerplate dSLR trifecta. Accumulate in apperception that a fast (30MB/sec) SD agenda will accomplish a big aberration in your access achievement experience.

Outlook

The A55 will be accessible from September for AU$1249 as anatomy only, AU$1399 with an 18-55mm lens, or AU$1699 with an 18-55mm and 55-200mm lens. Stay acquainted for our abounding assay soon.

The fixed, cellophane mirror in the fresh Sony SLT alternation of interchangeable-lens cameras.

In what is–seriously–the worst-kept abstruse of the summer, Sony clearly appear the aboriginal associates of its avant-garde fresh alternation of cameras, the Alpha SLT-A33 and SLT-A55V, which are the aboriginal cameras to absorb clear-cut mirrors. I, forth with about 15 added reviewers, got a adventitious to shoot with the cameras–as per our action CNET footed the bill for my cruise rather than Sony–and accept sample photos and some basic assay of the photo and video affection and ergonomics of the cameras.

Also accepted as a covering mirror, a TM passes best of the ablaze from the lens through a anchored clear-cut mirror, absorption a baby bit of the ablaze advancement to a abstracted phase-detection autofocus sensor. This is how Sony achieves the faster phase-detect connected AF for cine capture, while best accepted interchangeable-lens cameras (ILCs) and dSLRs use the slower adverse AF, which is based off the imaging sensor.

One doesn’t necessarily charge to use a mirror to absorb appearance detection, though; for example, Fujifilm’s contempo F300 EXR and F800 EXR point-and-shoots use a phase-detection arrangement layered over the angel sensor. Because abounding earlier dSLR-mount lenses can alone assignment with phase-detection AF–that’s why ILC adapters for earlier lenses about don’t abutment AF–Sony’s arrangement enables autofocus back application those lenses for cutting video.

Most acceptable lenses accept blatant absorption and breach activation mechanisms, however, which makes them abnormal for video AF. Sony says it focuses so bound that the babble should be almost perceptible, and that anyhow you should use one of the fresh committed microphones (models ECM-ALST1 and ECM-CG50) for added acceptable break from the lens. I didn’t get a adventitious to analysis Sony’s audio claims. The quieter lens is one of the rationales abaft the electromagnetic activation in the NEX series’ E-mount lenses, and it’s adamantine not to feel like Sony’s entering some ambagious area by bond its best video-oriented still camera with its ancient lens system. The cameras additionally amend to a 1200-zone metering system.

The A33 has a acceptable dSLR analog, the DSLR-A560, appear at the aforementioned time, which replaces the A550 and A500. Here’s Sony’s accepted sub-$1,000 Alpha lineup:

The SLTs assume to attempt added with the dSLRs than they do with their ILC cousins, the NEX-3 and NEX-5 for a array of reasons, including the aggregate lens mount, size, speed, and user interface. Unlike the NEX models, the SLTs accept cyberbanking viewfinders–probably the best I’ve anytime used. But while I adulation EVFs for cutting video, and that’s one of the things that accord the SLT models a absitively advantage over the A560, which contrarily has a agnate set of video capabilities, there are still trade-offs amid EVFs and optical viewfinders back it comes to access shooting. Alike the best EVF can’t brace bound abundant to acquiesce for animadversion or calmly afterward the subject. There are abstruse limitations that anticipate the use of a acceptable TTL optical viewfinder with this mirror design, though; while the mirror can animation abundant ablaze for the phase-detection sensor, it’s not acceptable to brighten a viewfinder and you don’t appetite to alter abundant added from the imaging sensor. A activating AF tracking approach would absolutely be advantageous here, but I doubtable Sony’s extenuative that for an alike added big-ticket model.

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