SLT a55

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Dr. Harout
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SLT a55

Unread post by Dr. Harout »

Let's begin a new topic. Though I guess this should be either in a new section called SLTs or expand Sony Alpha 100-900 to ... just Sony Alpha Cameras. It's up to DK to decide.
Anyway, some of us already have it, that is the a55 with or maybe without GPS (my son has it, it's the a55v) and we may express our thoughts/feelings/attitudes etc toward the a55. We all know that DK is preparing an article for BJP, nevertheless let us emphasize and discuss things we like/dislike in the a55.
I'm still studying that camera but there are already some points that I like very much (shall mention here).
DK, IanC and Edrice have expressed already in different topics some aspects of it.

So here goes:

* a very light camera specially if mounted with a SAM lens (my son and I have already 2 SAM lenses, SAL30M28-SAM & SAL85F28-SAM). Lightness of a camera is needed, say, when on a long hiking, mountain climbing when every extra weight counts (I know, NEX is much lighter)

* I like very much a feature called "focus magnifier" which is very helpful specially when using manual focus lenses or AF lenses in manual focus mode (quite possible other DSLRs share this feature, but it's a good thing to have it here).

Will continue the list later on with brief points in each post.
Last edited by Dr. Harout on Sun Dec 05, 2010 10:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
A99 + a7rII + Sony, Zeiss, Minolta, Rokinon and M42 lenses

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Ian C
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by Ian C »

Excellent idea!

Likes:
* Agree, very light camera, excellent for light weight camera rigs for my car photography venture.

* Super fast 10fps + great continual autofocus speed for tracking fast moving objects.

* FULL HD Video Recording.

* 100% Live View Coverage with a superb articulated screen, I LOVE how perfect that works for me! no more cropping! Also the way the LCD can face the back of the camera to protect it from scratches, GENIUS!

Dislikes:
* Short battery life.
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bakubo
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by bakubo »

Dr. Harout wrote:* I like very much a feature called "focus magnifier" which is very helpful specially when using manual focus lenses or AF lenses in manual focus mode (quite possible other DSLRs share this feature, but it's a good thing to have it here).
Yes, my old Minolta D7i EVF had this feature also and I used it a lot. It really made MF much easier and I liked that feature a lot.
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Birma
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by Birma »

Congratulations to your son Doc, and you :D . It sounds like a very interesting camera to have in the family.
Nex 5, Nex 6 (IR), A7M2, A99 and a bunch of lenses.
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edrice
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by edrice »

Yes, the battery life is a negative. I always get at least a 2nd battery for a body but will probably pick up a 3rd for the A55 to be sure. I have been able to shoot almost all day with my A350 and still have room left over for more shots, but after watching the percentage steadily decreasing in a short amount of time with the A55, I see where I might easily get through two in a day.

Still it's worth it to me for the smaller, lighter body. It's a smaller. lighter battery too.

Ed
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bakubo
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by bakubo »

edrice wrote:Yes, the battery life is a negative. I always get at least a 2nd battery for a body but will probably pick up a 3rd for the A55 to be sure. I have been able to shoot almost all day with my A350 and still have room left over for more shots, but after watching the percentage steadily decreasing in a short amount of time with the A55, I see where I might easily get through two in a day.
I read somewhere recently that someone's A55 battery experience was that after it had been used and recharged a few times it held more power and could be used longer than the first few times. Let us know if that is what you see.
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edrice
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by edrice »

I didn't see this thread earlier when I posted the last EVF/polarizer entry in the astronomy thread but I mentioned that with today's sky that polarizer operation was normal and that the AEL solution may only be valid under certain situations. The more I use and learn about the EVF and it's capabilities, the more I become enamored of it and impressed with some of the solutions it presents. Maybe the downside is that I'll become so dependent on it that when I do use an OVF again I'll feel as if I'm missing some something and need a crutch.

I tried Auto HDR and it works well. Can I do better job doing it painfully manually with my A350 (or A55) and combining the results with Photoshop or Photomatix and tone-mapping? Yes, of course, but this does a decent quick-and-dirty job and gives a suitable jpg with greater dynamic range than the single shot jpg is capable of. Haven't used it extensively yet. I'm still low in the learning curve. For some reason I was expecting the multiple shots to be slower. I don't know why with a 10fps capable camera, but still I was surprised when it fired the HDR shots off rapidly. The scene disappeared from the finder after pressing the shutter button but it was quick and message appeared informing that it was processing the image. That didn't take too long.

I have to say that I'm having great fun with this one experimenting with it's capabilties. Haven't tried the sweep panorama yet. Currently short on free time but checking it out in fits and starts.

At first when I hung the 16-80 on it, because of the light body it seemed a little nose heavy. But as with anything else, I'm now accustomed to it and it seems perfectly normal now. I can only imagine how the NEX would have felt.

I was looking hard at the NEX when it first came out but the adapter with A-mount lenses and lack of functionality with those lenses was too much of a compromise for me. So this seemed like a very viable alternative and it's turning out to be exactly that, and I think a better one than the NEX.

BTW, I still haven't seen any ghosting yet, or if I have, I didn't know it.

Ed
Last edited by edrice on Fri Oct 29, 2010 4:15 am, edited 2 times in total.
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edrice
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by edrice »

bakubo wrote:I read somewhere recently that someone's A55 battery experience was that after it had been used and recharged a few times it held more power and could be used longer than the first few times. Let us know if that is what you see.
I was wondering about that. I'm kind of into rechargeable batteries of all sorts and there are some interesting characteristics with various types, so I'll definitely monitor that and see how it acts. Thanks for the heads-up.

Ed
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UrsaMajor
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by UrsaMajor »

bakubo wrote:I read somewhere recently that someone's A55 battery experience was that after it had been used and recharged a few times it held more power and could be used longer than the first few times. Let us know if that is what you see.
That is certainly the technical description of the characteristics of that general type of battery, so it would not surprise me for that to be the case. On the other hand, I have never encountered any noticeable gain in capacity myself for batteries of that type that I have used, so I've always wondered if the amount of improvement was more theoretical than real. I'll be interested to hear what A55 owners say about their own real world experience.

With best wishes,
- Tom -
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Dr. Harout
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by Dr. Harout »

Cons:

* you always get to the top of the menu, no possibility to get to the previous page in the menu

* one control dial (like e.g. a100 etc. ), so in M (manual) you have to press a button + turn control dial

* no HSS (1/160s maximum. Anyway, not a major drawback)


Pros:

* very quick and responsive AF in all aspects (so far)
A99 + a7rII + Sony, Zeiss, Minolta, Rokinon and M42 lenses

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Neonsquare
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by Neonsquare »

UrsaMajor wrote:On the other hand, I have never encountered any noticeable gain in capacity myself for batteries of that type that I have used, so I've always wondered if the amount of improvement was more theoretical than real.
It could also be just the simple fact that typical "after-buy usage patterns" are quite different from how the cameras are used later. :D
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by Neonsquare »

Dr. Harout wrote:Cons:
* one control dial (like e.g. a100 etc. ), so in M (manual) you have to press a button + turn control dial
hm... I'm not sure if this use case is really such a big contra to me. Besides of perhaps mixing what dial controlled what, one still would have to "re-adjust" grip between the different dials - pressing a button or not doesn't seem to me like a big problem here. I think a second control dial would be more practical as soon as another thing besides of shutter or aperture comes into play (perhaps ISO? Flash exposure compensation?).
Dr. Harout wrote:Cons:
* no HSS (1/160s maximum. Anyway, not a major drawback)
Correction: No HSS with internal flash. It actually does HSS very well when using an HSS-capable external flash (like Metz 48 AF-1).
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by David Kilpatrick »

You may like to add, as a con, that if you do shoot a 10fps raw sequence neither the rear screen nor the viewfinder will be available for use AT ALL for a rather long period after the shots. It's slightly disconcerting....

David
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by Neonsquare »

@David
Hm... sounds weird. My A55 absolutely doesn't show this behaviour. I can shoot the buffer full of RAWs in 10FPS then it slows down. If I get off the shutter the liveview is still active and live. I can immediately start another sequence - which will of course be shorter because the buffer has not yet cleared. All the time the liveview is active and live.

Update: I think I know whats going on. Maybe you have the image preview activated? Image preview on the SLTs is one real con for me. Even In single shot mode the delay is to big and in 10FPS mode it leads to a black out of the liveview over seconds. If you deactivate it the A55 will behave alot better (as I described).
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Re: SLT a55

Unread post by David Kilpatrick »

Yes, I had 2 second review turned on when doing my first sequence tests. Later on, I turned it off, and also switched to using JPEGs only. I still had a few problems with speed of response of the viewfinder when lifting the camera for a new sequence (I did half an hour of a local football match). Overall, I think it works better than any other system I have used under the same conditons, but I don't think many professionals would appreciate the small delays involved. Those can lose a key shot.

David
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