[Closed] Sony Alpha 55 SLT camera

It gets good reviews. Never seen a build quality complaint before. The 18-55 is actually excellent for a kit lens and is highly regarded. There is more than version of the Tamron. Have a look at [url= http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/index.asp ]Dyxum[/url] for lens reviews.

[url= http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/sony-a55-preview.shtml ]Interesting review of the a55 at Luminous Landscapes.[/url]

The a37 has just been announced and the a57 is rumoured to be announced soon by-the-way.

If I'm talking about the right camera, then I think they've compromised on the a37 to squeeze a 16mp sensor in and lost the articulating screen amongst other things. Don't know about the a57, although the a77 is highly anticipated.

I'm looking at the base Tamron initially due to cost, although really fancy the 18-270mm PZD as an all round option, but it's nearly £500

If its video you are after and assuming you don't own a heap of Sony lenses atm

then you might want to look at the GH2

As far as video is concerned of course, for the time being the GH2 is in a class of its own.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/PanasonicDMCGH2/page21.asp

If I'm talking about the right camera, then I think they've compromised on the a37 to squeeze a 16mp sensor in and lost the articulating screen amongst other things. Don't know about the a57, although the a77 is highly anticipated.

I mentioned it because the a55 will be discontinued soon so prices may drop. But I guess they're already heavily discounted so not a big deal.

I don't think there's much wrong with the tamron. Don't forget there's a near endless supply of Minolta lenses on ebay, so cheap, high quality lenses are easily available. Just avoid used Sigmas.

If its video you are after and assuming you don't own a heap of Sony lenses atm

then you might want to look at the GH2

A GH2 with 14-140mm kit lens is £1300... 😯

1049 from warehouse express for the GH2 with 14-140mm kit

but yes its not cheap.. but then that lenses is one of the specific video lenses

Panasonic Lumix GH2 + 14-42mm Lens is going for about 719.00

which is more comparable in price to the Sony Alpha A55 + 18-55mm Lens Kit for about 599.00

whatever you buy do have a look at this site at some point during in your quest for the best price

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/

You really would have to have a strong preference for video for the GH2 to come out on top though. The a55 is significantly better as a camera.

I have both a A200 and an A55. As with most things there will be lovers and haters but the only 2 things I found that take some getting used to on the A55 are its small size in your hand and the Electronic view finder although this is great for viewback without using the main rear lcd screen.

I think its a great little camera.I mainly photograph moving objects and use either old Minolta beercan lenses 70-210 and 75-300 or a Sony 75-200 f2.8.

No experience of Tamron lenses I'm afraid.I read that older Sigma lenses have to be rechipped (free of charge) to work with the A55.

As mentioned Dyxum is a great site for Sony alpha info.

[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/31852911@N07/ ]My Flickr photostream[/url]

No experience of Tamron lenses I'm afraid.I read that older Sigma lenses have to be rechipped (free of charge) to work with the A55.

This will be my first DSLR (although not technically an SLR), so I doubt size, or the EVF will be a problem. The EVF is supposed to be very good though with over a million dots.

You will read some extreme criticism of EVFs from traditional photographers but it's largely a "what you're used to" thing. I have an a900 which has the best OVF available and an Olympus e-p2 with a good EVF. I'm very happy to use the Olympus EVF - I prefer it for manual focus.

Whoops

I stand corrected on the Sigma thing.

5thE is also correct on the view finder issue, the evf is fine as is an optical one its just a bit weird when you are swapping betweendifferent cameras.

Although you have nothing to compare it to size wise (its not that much smaller it just feels different) it's important to go into a shop and try holding different cameras before you buy as many people have tried the A55 and cannot get on with the small size of it compared to a normal size DSLR, again maybe another "what you are used to" thing and so not an issue.

Beware getting into cameras/lenses because as with bikes and most other hobbies it can get expensive.Lens envy is a terrible thing you know

At Thruxton the other weekend on my left.....
[img] [/img]
and to my right...
[img] [/img]

Sony have just released a firmware update for A33/55 according to Dyxum.com

I played with an A55 in a shop the other day. The viewfinder looked awful - all rainbow stripey buts on the edge of things. Now I'm sure it was faulty, but it makes you wonder if it's reliable enough.

I had a play with an A33 in a shop yesterday and the EVF seemed fine. Saying that, I'm not used to a viewfinder at all.

There were people bemoaning the firmware update on DPR the other day, saying it didn't address the issues they wanted addressing. Still think I'll be buying an A55 though.

might be worth looking at this preview

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/sonyslta35/

The Sony SLT-A35 marks the second wave of Sony's radical SLT design, and does so in a way that offers to put the technology into more people's hands. This entry-level model incorporates almost all the features of the original A33 and A55, but includes what Sony promises is an improved 16MP sensor and handful of extra processing options. The only real losses are the articulated rear screen and $50 from the MSRP of the 18-55mm lens kit, compared to the A33, taking it down to $699

--------------------------------

The A35 gets a redesigned version of the 16MP CMOS chip featured in the A55, with Sony promising improved power consumption. This improvement should not only improve the camera's battery life compared to its predecessors, but also offer improved heat characteristics - extending the duration of video clips the camera can capture before any risk of overheating occurs. It can now shoot for 29 minutes per shot, rather than the 9 that the A55 can manage with SteadyShot switched on

I was going to buy a Sony before I ended up with Olympus, and if I were buying again it'd be close run thing between Sony and Pentax.

Conqueror - Member

might be worth looking at this preview

The A35 has a fixed (non-articulating) LCD screen - instant deal killer I'm afraid.

Hmm.. yes.. articulating screen is massively useful for me.

Bought an a55 for the wife recently, really happy with it. The evf is nice, as mentioned for playback, but you can display all info and navigate menus through it too. The articulating screen is great, although dont use the screen nearly as much as i thought since everything can be done in the evf. Build quality seems fine, no complaints. Autofocus in liveview miles ahead of the other cameras i was looking at, including some considerably more expensive. It's our first slr-type camera, and i'm glad i chose this one. Bought mine in the states with an 18-250 lens, which is great for our purposes.

i've been looking at getting an upgrade from my a300 and considered the a55 and the a580. If and when i do go for one it will be the a580 as the picture quality is the most important thing for me.

the way I see it is once you get about a compact size you may as well DSLR because it's going to need to be put in a bag anyway. I hear the new kit lenses are very good.

that said i'm not knocking the a55 at all

Really happy with my A33 fwiw.

it will be the a580 as the picture quality is the most important thing for me

I did a lot of research before picking the a55, also looking closely at the a580 including a bit of pixel peeping, and am not sure why you think that a580 is superior in terms of IQ. I certainly couldn't tell the difference (I am a total noob, but I have eyes). In my opinion any IQ inferiority of the a55 vs the a580 is manufactured by photo hacks who have a professional interest in making up or magnifying these infinitesimal differences so they have something to waffle on about.

Buy the a580 because of the optical viewfinder, or because it's cheaper, or because it feels better in your hand. Fine. But the IQ angle is bs.

In my opinion any IQ inferiority of the a55 vs the a580 is manufactured by photo hacks who have a professional interest in making up or magnifying these infinitesimal differences so they have something to waffle on about

You sure you're a noob? You just summed up 80% of the entire consumer photography industry 🙂

I've read a lot of your posts over the last few months, molgrips!

i could tell a difference, actually it might not be IQ as such but i prefered the colours from the A580 and thought overall the picture looked better. might have been the settings but i tried to make most things equal.

it's not a massive thing and maybe i should have shot in RAW to compare but i'm not really that anal about things. as has been said on here many times there doesn't appear to be a bad mainstream camera around anymore.

I've read on photography forums that the A580 has a very, very slightly better IQ and high ISO performance, but not enough to get excited about. Where the A55 wins is live view.

i could tell a difference, actually it might not be IQ as such but i prefered the colours from the A580 and thought overall the picture looked better. might have been the settings but i tried to make most things equal

From what I've read, some cameras with similar sensors have their metering set up slightly differently, which can make the pics look better or worse depending on preference.

I've read a lot of your posts over the last few months, molgrips!

And you listened to them? Fool! 🙂

And you listened to them?

No, I read them.
Only agreed with and assimilated a miniscule proportion, mind you. 😀

Hehe 🙂

New 25mm pancake arrived the other day... nice it is too.