it's classified as SR1 which is probably fake rumors

wahahaha, then ur answer is

hahahaha.... btw, if iso1600 noise in A7 is not a concern/acceptable, i doubt any additional/new features in A55 are really required in photography or will help in photography... in A700, all the basic is there, and the additional from A700's feature is far more useful, like dual dail, WL commander on F58, the smart navi GUI thingie, and intelligent preview thingie (dunno whats it call)


are those really necessary in photography? hehehe well,..... (below)

instead of looking at A55, pls reconsider A580 (or A560) which is A550 replacement. the spec mode is par with A55/A33 respectively.

i doubt the a750 will have 10-12fps... its not really one of the areas that sony needs to improve on.
im hoping for better grip, better iso performance and HD Recording for the heck of it.

btw, isn't a700 in a completely different level with the SLTs?

hmm... he's asking which one is better mah... then i mean better from the way that it has gps, bla bla bla... it may not be necessary but it's definitely a bonus for a dslt/dslr. hahaha...

---

Added on September 4, 2010, 12:54 ambtw... the rumour... date of announcement 12/9??? Is that possible? 12/9/2011??? hahaha

This post has been edited by IwanAGP: Sep 4 2010, 12:54 AM

hahaha, true true... bonus... but no necessary better worrr... coz those are extra features, not improvement over oldder technology

but still.... i hope he will try consider the A560/580 lorrr... since they are bound to replace A550... and about the same spec with A33/55, just the video capability diff.

how bout image quality when comparing A560/580 to A33/55?

There is only 2 main things im looking into for A55 compare to A700.

1. Video recording with Phase autofocus
2. superior ISO performance compare A700..

Others things like tilted LCD liveview is meanly for Video..

The Rest A700 is sufficient enough for me. I love the solid magnesium body the most.

A560/580 not released yet. How to make comparison?? Even they have the same sensors(A560/A33 & A55/A580). But DSLT got 1/3 stop light loss disadvantage compared to DSLR. Dunno whether that will make a difference in IQ. hahaha...

seriously... for me... nothing. 1/3 stop is nothing. its so minor that its neglect able....

hmm... Don't know. There's comments on this in like 2~5 pages before this. I'm just restating it. hahaha...

too late to enter camera area ><" hope 550 replacement won come out so soon at least feel a litt happier XD

kuro, dont worry, money worth when u learn photography 6 month before the A560, those experience and knowledge cant beat with mere model changes.

lencent: The ghosting/tearing is colorful and occurs when panning with high-contrast situations. Not something that would turn me off the camera though, it just reminds me of Robocop vision.

ProX: Refer to my earlier posting about the Sony Retail prices in Malaysia. Yes the 18-55mm can focus pretty close but not as close as a true macro - just make sure you zoom to the 55mm end to get maximum magnification.

ieR: Intelligent Preview is only on the A850/A900.

Smart Navi GUI is made redundant with the interface to the left and right of the EVF and LCD (like the A550.)

The A560/A580 adds some things that were missing on the A550 - mirror lock up on 2 second timer, DOF preview, and shutter release without lens (to allow Aperture Priority with M42 and other unchipped lenses.)

clivengu: Honestly, the A55 is solid enough for me. So is the NEX-5.

IwanAGP: 1/3rd of a stop is the difference between F11 and F13. Or F1.4 and F1.6. You tell me if that is a lot.

How possible is a33/a55 to have a VG?
doesnt it look to small?

even mine also don't have..
defeat the purpose using the small battery i guess..

i think they should design VG for the a33/a55 and a290/a390. or at least 3rd party people should make
if not no purpose at all they made the a290/a390 unless to attract entry level market

This post has been edited by mastering89: Sep 4 2010, 06:42 AM

I went for the Sony Power of Digital Imaging launch at Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside Hotel, Malaysia on the 2nd of September 2010, where they launched a few products simultaneously. Of course, I really was there for the A55. And the NEX-VG10. And the Zeiss 24mm F2.0.

None of these shots were with the A55 - some of them will have EXIF data. I'll post the A55 shots later.


Sony NEX-VG10 with Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Active OSS.


With the Sony E 16mm F2.8 pancake, it looks like a regular Handycam with an undetachable mike.


I have to say, I am not sure exactly which market this is for - the Handycam market, or the pro market? Videographers were gushing over the quad spatial mikes, but I'm not too sure they are excited about the video spec.

And yes, you can control aperture, shutter and gain (in steps of 3 decibels) in video.

The Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Active OSS is fantastic! The Active OSS makes it much like the Handycams. The Sony NEX-VG10, because it has the same sensor as the NEX-5, also exhibits very little rolling shutter.


Here's the SLT-A55V with Sony Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 24mm F2.0 ZA SSM. This is the exact combination I want to get! The 24mm is light and balances well, and the A55 grip is good in my hands.

The A55, however, had very obvious rolling shutter. Also, the RGB tearing is obvious in the EVF when you're pointing at a high contrast scene (people standing against pier) and you're panning.


A55 with Zeiss 24mm F2.0 with the Sony A900 with Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D) on the right.


In sunny Putrajaya, the event organizers were chilling in front of the fan.


Malaysia notably did not launch the A560 and A580. I was looking forward to seeing it do contrast detect AF!

The A560/A580 bring back the depth of field preview button, mirror lock up with 2-second timer and shutter release without lens. Oh and video, which the A550 does not have, and 3D Sweep Panorama, Sweep Panorama, 6 EV Auto HDR, Multi-frame NR, Hand-held Twilight, 15 AF points (with 3 cross-type), losing only the Smart Teleconverter button.


The lakeside was chosen to show the A55's AF tracking capabilities with sports. A55 and A33 bodies were chained to a table, equipped with the 70-200mm F2.8G SSM, 70-300mm F4.5-5.6G SSM and 70-400mm F4-5.6G SSM.

However, this was shot with the A900 and screw-driven Zeiss 135mm F1.8, which was more than able to track with the center point. It is not even a 100% crop!


The Sony Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 24mm F2.0 ZA SSM is everything I ever wanted - an extremely close-range focusing wide-angle lens with Zeiss sharpness and contrast, wide open! This was shot with the A900 and the subject is an A55 with Zeiss 135mm F1.8.


The A55 does have Release w/o Lens so you can use your unchipped adapted lenses (e.g. M42 mount) in Aperture Priority mode. Thank you Sony for reintroducing this in the NEX-3/NEX-5/NEX-VG10/A33/A55/A560/A580!

A cutaway of the A55 (or was it the A33, since there was no GPS label on the left?) How does the mirror look like?


Let's enhance!

What happens to translucent mirrors that get touched? They get donated to science. Yep, it does appear to be a thin membrane.


Another shot. It does not appear to be completely flat (but it could have lost tension or could be a prototype.)

Now I have no idea how you'd fix backfocus/frontfocus if it happens...


The electronic viewfinder. Note that the flash pops up in front of the hotshoe.


The TX9 with 3D Sweep Multi Angle, which works as advertised! You do a normal 3D Sweep Panorama - but when you view the picture you can tilt the camera to simulate you moving around the subject.

However your sweep should not be at a complex angle or it will have a warped tilt. I totally forgot to try Background Defocus mode, though!


Yes, people at Sony do read DPReview!

Later, at the media question-and-answer session, I asked:

"Will the future advanced models have translucent technology?"

Naoi Sudo, Managing Director of Sony Malaysia, said:

"Once it is well accepted in the market, why not, we will definitely continue. This is a first step for us. But we cannot promise all the models will be like this in the future.

We are expecting that this will be one of the most important technology in the future."


The S-Frame launched that day also plays AVCHD videos! So it's like... an iPad without the apps and phone. It uses batteries instead of being connected to a wall socket all the time.


Of course, Sony also makes bigger wall-socketed photo frames...

In the distance, I spotted something not many paid attention to.


The Sony 35mm F1.8 DT SAM! This was shot on the A33 at F1.8, which was on -2 EV ISO200 JPG only and I forgot to check. So I brought it back up in Photoshop.


100% crop. Effectively, bringing up the -2 EV shot made it ISO800. This was a JPG. Go easy, pixel-peepers!


The 35mm at close focus.

There was also the Sony 85mm F2.8 SAM, but unfortunately they had locked it in the glass display case so I didn't get to try it.

I tried to record a video with the 35mm F1.8 DT SAM but the A33 wouldn't let me - probably because I was running out of space. So I couldn't find out if the SAM motor is quieter, and whether the SAM mechanism in manual focus makes a gear-ish sound. (My friend wants a 50mm F1.4 because manual focusing a Sony 50mm F1.8 DT SAM is audible on the NEX.)

On the A55, I tried the 10 FPS mode with my Zeiss 135mm F1.8 - no problems tracking a walking subject and no dropped frames. However it loses steam after 28 frames and starts writing. If you burst just 5 frames and stop, it will start writing also. So it is critical that you know when to start.

I don't remember setting Focus Priority or Release Priority, but it seems that 10 FPS works in Release Priority. Then again I was testing it on a wakeboarder and 70-400mm F4-5.6G SSM - so the waves will register as 'in focus' and the camera will fire anyway.

More to be posted soon!