SLT A57 thoughts and ramblings...

[bfitzgerald]

Ok I'll update this as I go alone I'm shooting from the hip, and as you expect I won't be pulling punches either
I will leave the EVF to last because I'm still getting used to it and lots of other stuff to comment on.

Starting off with build, perfectly fine for this class of camera satisfactory feel, nice grip at the front and rear rubber. Quite comfortable no major issues here. Sony's plastics are a bit improved over previous models some more substance to them. I found the A200 a bit "smooth" and hollow feeling though again I never had any problems with it falling apart when I had it. So they've improved a bit in the hand with this model.

Camera size this is fine for me, I would not want to have a smaller body as that would cramp things up a bit too much.
The strap is slightly better than the A200 one not as super cheap/stiff feeling far from amazing but it's "ok" for what it is. You don't get a hot shoe cover (nor anywhere to store one on the strap as no eyepiece cup), I have these knocking around so no big deal.

Manual for the camera is printed on incredibly cheap feeling paper (almost as if you want to take it to the toilet and tear strips off!) It's ok as a quick reference guide but quite poor if you want to get in depth with the camera. Sony have not really improved here, they don't explain areas very well and I can't see it being useful for either new or more experienced users. I won't harp on too much it's just a manual and I don't really care, just as a package it does not impress (either in the hand or in substance of what is printed in it) I get the "eco" aspect of paper and stuff, it just does not leave a good impression!

The supplied 18-55mm SAM having spent a bit more time with it than the previous ones is perfectly fine as a kit starter lens. This one seems a bit quieter than other ones I tried motor noise wise, but it is far from silent or as quiet as the AF-S Nikon's I've used (they are not silent either despite the name)
Optics wise it's a lot better than the awful Sony 18-70mm's I tried, in a shoot out with the "good" Km 18-70mm I found the KM better in the centre and right side..with the Sony better on the left, but not as good other areas. It has less CA..than the KM, close focus on the Sony is quite good better than most kit lenses I have tried.

DK is correct to say if you have a good copy of the 18-70mm, then you have no need to replace it with this. But it's a least usable and half decent for a kit lens.
The SAM motor will be audible when shooting video with the built in microphone as it is with the screw drive lenses, it's a bit quieter than the screw drive but not hugely so. Sony are still using the cheap "sauce tray" instead of a proper rear lens cap, this smacks of penny pinching to me (Pentax do it too) though at least you get a proper body cap (Pentax give you some awful thing that falls off) As per other kit lenses no hood..but a we know most never used it anyway.

I'll take a break and carry on a bit later!

[bfitzgerald]

I'll move onto body controls next. I've used quite a few different bodies in the last year or so, and this one is again a bit different, though fairly logical in most ways.
Top deck is has the exposure comp button and ISO button, found it a bit strange to have a exp comp button on top with a front dial camera (usually you'd have a rear dial only with that arrangement) or have the exp comp button on the back. Not a big deal but something that I noted.
The Pentax/Nikon on/off switch well used both makers and this is ok as it is..difference v the older Sony A5xx models is the front dial is placed so you won't turn the camera off when rotating it, front dial also angled which is more comfortable than the Nikon's I've used.

I've no problems with the drive/display/WB being mapped to the rear pad other makers do this and it can work ok and at least gives you quick access to these settings. Not sure that the picture effect should be on there though I can think of more useful things (flash mode for example)
On the other buttons you can customise the AEL button to quite a few things (including spot metering if desired which is good) and a previous grip of mine!
The movie button I set only to work when the movie mode is selected, this means the button is of no use when shooting stills. Same for the zoom button, if you are shooting raw it becomes useless bar when you are reviewing images. The biggest offender is probably the ? button which brings up a newbie type guide (fine I can understand that being here) and in review it deletes images. It would be better to have this as a user set button if desired, so we have 3 buttons on the camera which are not very useful in stills shooting that should be customisable and are not.

I would have liked to see both buttons able to be used for other functions (ie user set) in addition I liked the "Pentax green" button on their cameras, Sony should shove an "Orange" button on the top deck which has plenty of space for a button like this (just behind the exp comp, and ISO button) which is entirely user set. You can set the ISO button to something else (but would you want to?) you can also set the DOF preview to a few other things (most likely candidate is the focus magnifier) Overall it's decent enough handling wise but could be improved with a bit more work from Sony.

Quick note I've picked up a few things from using Nikon and the flash raise button is one example. On the Sony it just raises the flash (as you would expect) but I would have liked to see it used if you either have the onboard flash raise or an external flash mounted, such as hold the flash button in and rotate dial= flash exp comp, or even flash mode. Small touches like this can improve a camera no end and provide quick access to some settings. Sony need to refine their controls and logic here to make better use of the controls they have available.

Main mode dial on the left feels fairly resistant to accidental changes and sensibly they have not tried to cram loads of scene modes on there. A separate SCN position brings those up. I've not really explored the so called intelligent auto modes as I don't use these on cameras, I don't care if they are there as I can avoid them. As per usual scene modes have very limited user adjustments, for example you can't change WB or adjust exposure. Not just a Sony thing but I feel it's not the best way to get users to explore them, default to normal exposure and AWB etc, but allow user changes makes more sense to me. Overall controls are decent but with room for improvement (esp in dual functions and customisation) tactile feel is ok on the buttons no complaints here.

[bfitzgerald]

Moving onto the Fn button it's well placed so you will use it esp with your eye to the viewfinder. Main menu's are as previous models ie perfectly ok and logical enough broken into categories.
One point to note is that you have to hit the main menus to change between jpeg/raw/raw+jpeg. This is a bit strange as you have the Fn menu with the fairly gimmicky "auto port framing" mode. Far better to have something like the jpeg/raw settings and image size etc) in the Fn menu. Sony made a weird choice here.
You can set the main menu to remember where you were last time, that helps a bit. The Fn menu also remembers where you were last.

Going to the back LCD it's good contrasty and has a sensor to auto brighten up in daylight quite impressed with this display overall. The tilt could be useful for waist level shooting, but is not fully articulated. I'm fairly neutral on swivel/tilt LCD's it's never really been a priority for me. The mechanism feels solid enough, only extended use will show how that holds up to things.

Viewfinder, well it's open to debate on a few points. It is great you can overlay loads of information, I tend to prefer a cleaner less cluttered look. I find the bottom info panel below the LCD in the VF is not as good as it should be. You have the usual AF confirm dot, aperture and shutter speed..but a +/- 3 stops exp comp scale is too big and takes up too much space IMO. Worse there is no indication of flash ready, or HSS or flash mode or metering modes unless you are in the full display mode. IMO this stuff should be on the bottom row by default. It's not a deal breaker, but an oversight IMO if you don't want the cluttered display you are left with less information than you should be.

VF is big..and for an EVF quite good, but I feel the back display invites you to use it more. Outside the EVF is less contrasty than I expected (which is good) details wise it's ok, but IMO it can't compete with an optical viewfinder here. I could see the EVF getting some acceptance from penta mirror viewfinder users (it's a lot bigger but not as detailed) for Penta prism users again whilst bigger it's a harder sell as the look of the EVF is quite different. I'm still trying to get used to this the obvious pro's and cons have been discussed almost to death. So far I would say I can use it and it won't get in the way in most situations. The focus peaking is great, as is the focus mag option..manual focus is dead easy I could see this getting some use for those MF lenses you'll have a great hit rate.

On the other hand it is quite different to an optical finder, less immediate, and I've not quite got used to it. Inside it's not bad actually until light levels really drop..then it lags quite a lot, for normal shooting inside the lag isn't so bad but still a bit. If this has any practical problems I won't know until I use it for a serious shoot. It probably won't in most cases (ie in a church/wedding) There is noise on the EVF in low light too, it was distracting at first..less so now. As a ballpark figure I would say in order to please penta prism VF users Sony would need to up the resolution quite a bit say 5-6x what is here. It's loads better than the EVF's on those cheapie bridge superzooms, but if you said which would I prefer then I would take a Sony A mount OVF camera if it were available to me.

But I can work with this..and considering previous frustrations with other makers I have to to learn to live with a few things if I'm to use A mount with current bodies. I said once before that EVF's bring as many problems as they do solutions and in some ways that's right and I've not changed my mind. You gain some nice stuff WB to see live, actual DOF shown, excellent MF capabilities, exposure simulation etc etc. Yes some nice stuff level, overlays, histogram. You lose the instant no lag effect, the detail is less than an OVF, battery life around the same as the Km5d CIPA I think..it's ok really, but half what I get out of the Nikon's I used. Regarding the DR the highlights are better in this EVF than in previous ones, there is some blocking of shadows but not as much as the A77 VF I tried before (hard to compare directly that seemed more contrasty) It's really a different way of shooting, and a bit early to see if it causes problems, or solves problems.

I'd like to see an option to just review images on the back LCD not in the EVF, I have to turn this off because seeing your last shot might make you miss the next one.
I also noted that the Auto ISO can't be user set, IMO this is a mistake. Whilst I'm ok with the 100-3200 auto range (logical for this sensor) there are times you want to limit it more or maybe even nip it up a bit. The VF displays Auto ISO until you half press the shutter, this should display the set ISO full time IMO. Other areas such as bracketing are the same Sony thing from years past. I don't use this much, but I know some do and 0.7 +/- isn't great Sony seem to be using this as a way to differentiate between models..ditto with DMF which is sadly not available.

I don't consider these major issues, but stuff that Sony should look at esp the Auto ISO levels.
I will move onto performance in the next section

[Andy B]

The strap is slightly better than the A200 one not as super cheap/stiff feeling far from amazing but it's "ok" for what it is. You don't get a hot shoe cover (nor anywhere to store one on the strap as no eyepiece cup), I have these knocking around so no big deal.

Manual for the camera is printed on incredibly cheap feeling paper (almost as if you want to take it to the toilet and tear strips off!) It's ok as a quick reference guide but quite poor if you want to get in depth with the camera. Sony have not really improved here, they don't explain areas very well and I can't see it being useful for either new or more experienced users. I won't harp on too much it's just a manual and I don't really care, just as a package it does not impress (either in the hand or in substance of what is printed in it) I get the "eco" aspect of paper and stuff, it just does not leave a good impression!

I never use the shoulder straps provided by Sony, as I prefer neoprene straps. Not sure how much money Sony saves by not including hot-shoe covers, but I buy them several at a time cheap from China, and my Tamrac strap has two small pouches in which to store memory cards and hot-shoe covers.

I almost went blind trying to read the grey print on the Instruction Manual. The A57 Handbook on the CD-ROM is much more detailed and useful. Too bad Sony didn't provide that in print form, as it's easily overlooked on the CD-ROM and not camera-bag friendly.

[bfitzgerald]

Thanks I'll actually take out the CD rom and have a look. I thought the manual was a bit basic.
I won't make a big thing out of provided camera straps and hot shoe covers, these vary from other makers too (Nikon straps are ok, the Pentax ones are too narrow IMO)
The rear lens cap well that's penny pinching gone too far I think. I suppose they think "250,000 kits with no rear lens cap = $$/££ saved"

[Headcell]

Thank you for your comprehensive thoughts. I generally agree with them, though I am quite happy with the button assignments. Even the ? button.

I love the peaking feature in manual focus - this makes videoing much easier. Something else to note is that there are two Steady Shots: one for photos, one for video, and they appear to be independent of each other. That is a very useful feature for me as I bought the A57 as a replacement for my camcorder. However, it's such a great camera that it will replace my A580 (which I have put up for sale).

[David Kilpatrick]

Barry - thanks for a very comprehensive review of the camera. I hope plenty of people manage to drop in here and read it. I still like the 16 megapixel sensor best and if the A57 had been equipped with GPS, I'd have bought one to replace my A55 - just to get the superior viewfinder. as the A55 makes such bad use of its 'real estate'.

David

[pakodominguez]

Not sure how much money Sony saves by not including hot-shoe covers,

Sony is not providing the hot shoe cover on lower end cameras not because they want to "save money" but because non-initiate potential customers kept asking "can you fit an external flash on it?"

[bfitzgerald]

I never bought that one about the hot shoe cover!
On the controls it's just my own take and about making better use of the buttons and controls that are there. Whilst I had frustration with Pentax and Nikon, I did see some good ideas from both makers. None of the stuff so far is "wow grrrr deal breaker levels" just quirks and niggles, and yes other makers have their own ones too.

Carrying on a bit performance, start up is fine by me no serious issues here. Eye to VF lag..I did try the A77 early firmware and it was notable and I assume that was fixed there is no issue on the A57 there is a very slight delay, but nothing I would imagine would cause you a problem. You can set the eye start AF on as well, but as previous bodies I find it gets set off carrying it around.

Image quality is as you expect very decent with the 16mp sensor, I would not be scared to use ISO 3200 or at a push ISO 6400 with a decent exposure. Jpegs, well that's another story and Sony have much to do here still. Even on low there is too much NR going on for my tastes I've said before they should copy Nikon and other makers have a range of settings from high to off/very low. At the lowest levels just go after the chroma noise and lay off the grain like noise. You might be ok with them at lower ISO levels, I'd steer well clear of the jpegs at higher ISO. Nikon's jpegs are vastly better in low light esp on recent models.

Few other areas metering seems consistent bar in low light levels where I got better results using CW metering. I see Sony call their multi segment metering "evaluative" just like Canon do! I'd encourage Sony to not copy cat Canon or other makers multi zone is just fine (think of a snazzy metering name if you wish!) In low light levels the multi segment metering is a bit underexposed for me, sometime by around a stop or so.

This time you have a proper DRO, not just the Auto that did nothing on the A200 up to level 5. The DRO is decent..though I think Nikon's ADL is a bit better (as it helps hold highlights too) But good to see you have the non crippled DRO available here.

Eyecup I don't wear glasses, but the eyecup is a hard plastic type affair and I can't say I care for it much. Better to have a softer real rubber one.
AF as I have said feels fast, and accuracy is good even in lower light levels so far no issues to report I feel it's a lot more consistent and accurate than the other makers I was using.
Flash seems fine so far I have not done extensive tests but with the onboard and the Metz seem just fine. I'd watch the Auto ISO on this though as I feel the Nikon's I had were better at dialling down the exposures at faster apertures or higher ISO levels.
No complaints buffer wise quite decent for this model in fact better than some models costing more. But as you know I'm not much of a fps shooter or action guy. Memory write times seemed pretty fast to me.

One other niggle it's those annoying "Sony" warning screens that pop up. So you press the zoom button in Raw and you get a nice little message, or press the playback button very quickly after taking a shot and you get a warning about the image being written to file..or other buttons saying similar things. Sometimes it's best to say nothing! I would hope Sony would pick up on that less hand holding please it's annoying as hell!

I'm not much into movies as you know, but I did try some on the D7k and yes the Sony is better overall, has more options and stereo sound v mono. I'm not sure you'd find the phase detect AF much use with normal lenses and sound recording on camera..you will def hear the AF motor noise unless you're at a rock concert or using a SSM lens. I would imagine most would find the focus peaking and MF in video a far better option.

Also worth noting is a cash back offer in the UK not sure about other regions but that makes it a fairly decent price overall. I would say yes I like it..I don't think it's a gold award camera though, even leaving aside the mixed EVF feelings there are some areas for improvement esp jpegs and some controls. It's a pretty good one and a decent price so overall yes I like using it, and I imagine most would too. Liking a camera at this stage (esp considering my previous experiences) is a fairly good recommendation!

I might add a few shots later on to show some points..but that kinda wraps up my overall feelings

[bakubo]

Sony is not providing the hot shoe cover on lower end cameras not because they want to "save money" but because non-initiate potential customers kept asking "can you fit an external flash on it?"

That's a good one! They should stop including a body cap too so customers won't ask if you can fit a lens to it. Maybe leave off the battery door too.

[Dr. Harout]

Barry, I'm glad for you and now you can say the nightmare is over.
Recently my sister-in-law's husband consulted for the purchase of a camera. My advice was 3-4 cameras among which the a57. He made a good inquiry on all those and settled on the a57.

[pakodominguez]

Sony is not providing the hot shoe cover on lower end cameras not because they want to "save money" but because non-initiate potential customers kept asking "can you fit an external flash on it?"

That's a good one! They should stop including a body cap too so customers won't ask if you can fit a lens to it. Maybe leave off the battery door too.

you can not imagine how ignorant people can be...

[bakubo]

you can not imagine how ignorant people can be...

Oh, I can imagine it, but it does make me laugh that Sony used that as the excuse. If that was all there was to it then Sony could just put the cover in the box, but leave it off the body so when people look at the camera at the store or open the box they can see the flash shoe. Companies can do what they want to try to make an extra 3 cents on each body. I get that. I do laugh though at the kinds of excuses they come up with when challenged on it. I suspect Sony sells the cover as a separate item though, probably for more than 3 cents though.

Olympus, even on their expensive lenses, don't include a lens hood. They at least include lens caps. They sell them for a bunch of money, but fortunately I discovered that you can get clones from China off of ebay for peanuts. I bought them for my 9-18mm and 14-150mm (designed specifically for those lenses) and they are probably just as good as the Olympus ones since they are certainly as good as my Sony, Minolta, Tamron, Sigma, and Canon lens hoods. Shipping from China was even free and no sales tax. I haven't heard if Olympus's explanation is that customers were confused in some way if the hoods were on the lens so that is why they don't include them. Of course, some other companies don't include lens hoods either, but usually it is the cheaper lenses. These 2 Olympus lenses are about $600 each.

I suspect that Sony flash shoe covers from China can be bought very cheaply on ebay.

[David Kilpatrick]

Henry, you must have seen all those guys who wear their baseball caps backwards and have their lens hoods reversed permanently...

David

[bakubo]

Henry, you must have seen all those guys who wear their baseball caps backwards and have their lens hoods reversed permanently...

True, I have seen them. Pretty often right around here. I pray though that everything in our society isn't aimed at the least common denominator. Although, more and more it seems like that is the way we are heading.

It sort of reminds me of the movie Idiocracy a few years ago:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy

Speaking of lens hoods though, several weeks ago an old friend from Texas came to Hawaii for a one week cruise. Her time was fully booked with the cruise and tours while on Oahu, but one morning we walked over to her hotel and had a chance to meet her for about 45 minutes before her tour bus arrived. She had bought a new Sony superzoom digicam (the type that sort of looks like a mini-DSLR) for the trip. She took it out of her purse and then took out a very big, bulky lens hood too. She had no idea what the lens hood was, but it was in the box with the camera so she thought she should bring it on the trip, just in case. Just in case of what I never quite figured out since she didn't have a clue what it was or even that it could be attached to the end of the lens. I showed her how to attach it and I explained what it was for, but it almost made the camera twice as big and wouldn't fit easily into her purse. I suggested that maybe she should just not worry about it and leave it in her suitcase. I was surprised that Sony included it with the camera though. Get with it, Olympus!