sup guys~

going to cover Miss Kbu event later.. some miss malaysia 2007 will be there...any tips?

The A55 have a mechanical shutter. Look at the videos carefully and you will notice that there is actually shutter movement in the mirror box. The limit of how fast a camera can shoot photos (i.e. the fps) is governed more by the flipping mirror rather than the shutter. So if the mirror no longer flips, then the maximum fps can be increased more easily.

btw, do yo know that the Minolta Dynx 9xi has a maximum shutter speed of 1/12000s?

don't believe me? check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minolta_9xi



This is a FILM-era camera, but it has a state-of-the-art carbon reinforced shutter blades to achieve the amazing shutter speed, unmatched even to this day in a consumer grade dslr.

No shutter speed and aperture to adjust (like what we do on aperture/manual/shutter mode)

so certain creative effect will be limited like slow shutter can deliver some motion blur effects and aperture obviously can be easy control the DoF field and brightness which what some semi-pro videocam does

i think sony will go bankrupt real quick if they give full manual control in video mode on an entry / mid level camera like these.... I think the A33/A55 combo is just a first batch of products launched to test the market for new technologies and to provide indication on the direction Sony will need to take in the future.

so it's follow the largest aperture? would be depends on lens then..

does the new A5xx or A7xx came with that manual control?

This post has been edited by 8tvt: Aug 26 2010, 10:34 AM

If I know that answer, Sony would have to kill me....

zstan: Apparently, you can change the AF point while looking through the EVF. Press the AF button and move the D-pad about.

Phase Detect AF is fast because it sees the subject from both left and right eyes, and knows exactly how far to adjust.

Contrast Detect looks at the contrast and keeps adjusting the focus until maximum contrast is detected. It cannot know immediately where to turn the lens to.

No man, all SLRs use Phase Detect. Only the newer other-brand dSLRs use Contrast Detect when in Live View or recording video. The NEX and all mirrorless cameras use Contrast Detect also.

Apparently, the A560/A580 also can use Contrast Detect, which makes it the first Alpha dSLR to use this - but there is no report on how well it performs.

1/3rd light loss is not much! It's the difference between F2.4 and F2.8. Or F1.4 and F1.6.

The A560 is pretty much the A550 with video, without any loss in functionality (as far as we know). So if you don't want video, go ahead and get the A550.

But yes, lwliam and kysham have already explained correctly, just agreeing with their points.

shootkk: Apparently, the EVF is as big as a FF viewfinder. We'll see.

Yes, macro will benefit from an EVF as you get DOF preview with gain up. An OVF will be significantly darker.

Sweep Panorama and 3D Sweep Panorama, by the way, are fixed at 1/500th of a second shutter speed or faster. This prevents any sweeping motion blur artifacts, but certainly underexposes in low light.

You're supposed to lose 1/3rd of a stop in the EVF (or rumored OVF in future models). How much darker is it?

All Alphas come with the stock Type G screen. They show DOF for as bright as F3.5 - meaning even if you put a F1.4 lens you will see DOF of F3.5.

Also, a F1.4 lens and a F3.5 lens will appear to be equally bright on the Type G screen.

So, to see the same amount of darkening that a translucent camera gives - put a F4.0 lens on your A850. The difference between that and a F3.5 lens, is how much darker the translucent mirror will be!

(To be honest, you can't see the difference sometimes on a Type G even when you zoom a lens from wide to tele, making maximum aperture move from F3.5 to F5.6.)

The Type M screen for A850/A900 however has a base of F1.4 meaning that when I put a F4.0 lens it already looks very dark! However I get the DOF of F1.4 in the viewfinder. Thus the Type G is more suited for darker lenses and the Type M for manual focus primes. A F1.4 lens on Type G and Type M appears to be equally bright.

Another question is, if we can lock up the mirror of the a55 and shoot to get that extra 1/3rd of a stop.

longpants: Some people want video in A-mount and an OVF. The A560/A580 is for those people. It uses contrast detect AF in video though and we don't know how the performance is like (hint: every other dSLR has laughable CDAF.)

ReasonableThanatos: No the mirror stays down.

IwanAGP: Don't confuse the mirror sound with the shutter sound. The NEX and a55 shutter sound is real.

razorboy: I predict that the A560 will be the same price as the A550 when released (RM25xx), while the A580 will be RM400 more (for the extra 2 megapixels, 10 FPS and GPS.)

goldfries: But the a55 can AF in video fast LOL!

wingster: The A560/A580 has Contrast Detect AF. Let's hope somebody bothers to review this instead of the a55 taking all the limelight. But yeah, only the NEX-VG10 gives aperture/shutter/ISO control in video.

kysham: I've seen a 9xi get disassembled - they use 2 shutters to achieve that shutter speed; 2 coming from different directions.


1/12000th of a second shutter speed and 1/300th of a second flash sync speed.


The smaller mirror which directs light to the AF unit.


Each little pair of grilles is a phase detect AF line sensor. You're looking at 4 AF sensors.

More pictures here:
http://www.glaringnotebook.com/default.asp?id=1013

yeah, i had seen photos of the shutter mechanism of the 9xi too.... but I just don't know where I had seen them. Not the photos you had just posted though. I think I saw it in an old camera magazine or something.

fast or not, i still don't like it. cos AF you know it can hunt. and hunting when recorded on video is NOT GOOD. at least not to me la.

hehe. 550D got manual mode also i haven't use. been using auto mode and still liking it.

video mode need what shutter speed? shutter is open once to do recording all the way.

Pic Spam

Sony Alpha National Zoo Challenge by niznoprob, on Flickr

albnok : I'm not so much concerned about the viewfinder's brightness. I'm more concerned about the light that actually gets to the sensor. With the one third light loss, will it mean that a F3.5 lens will now give a F4 exposure on the sensor? Doesn't that mean the images will be underexposed by one third of a stop for every lens? How to compensate for that? Boost the exposure after the pic has been recorded? What about noise?

goldfries: I would agree that hunting and the camera deciding to focus elsewhere is an issue in video hence we must learn it well and keep monitoring to avoid misfocus.

The shutter speed does play a vital role in video - the most natural motion comes from having a shutter speed twice the speed of your framerate i.e. 25fps needs 1/50th of a second shutter speed to look best. Any faster and it looks very digital, and slower it looks swooshy.

Some video cameras use a rotary shutter where the opening cannot be adjusted hence shutter speed is constant.

noprob: Bear wants honey to go with milk LOL!

shootkk: It would be 1/3rd of a stop noisier because less light comes.

Though the question is, if that 1/3rd matters, as when looking at RAW performance, the Canon 5D MkII is 1/3rd of a stop better than the A850/A900 and the Nikon D700 is 2/3rds of a stop better. Really, it's not that far in RAW (the difference is in the Nikon and Canon JPG engines.)

I wouldn't be too concerned with the noise performance since they are using the new EXMOR HD sensors which are supposed to have better noise performance anyway. You win some, you lose some....

well yea, theres no all-in-one superb perfect DSLR (or anything) out there... as far as i know


ahpingko: if u sell ur a550 + kitlens at rm2k... it would be kind of overpriced for a used set. haha.. since now the price is really cheap edy.

we can set manual focus right?

you make me laugh.. Please read up on your science 1st ya..

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Added on August 26, 2010, 4:01 pmand its petroleum, not petrol.

This post has been edited by lwliam: Aug 26 2010, 04:01 PM

Hi all camera pros, this is the first time I started to learn to take photo using DSLR. And now I'm still thinking which DSLR camera I should get....

Firstly, Canon is out... straightly. Cause I don't like the quality of photo. So now left Nikon and Sony. At first I was thinking of D90, then I read the details of this DSLR and found out this camera has been produced since 2008 . I worry that the D90 will be kicked out in few months time.

And recently Nikon release new DSLR which is D3100, and Sony produced quite a number of DSLR, A55, A33, A560 and A580. My budget is between 2k to 3.5k. I am hoping for the intermediate level DSLR cause I worry beginner camera will not last long ( less functions to play with ). And those Sony new DSLRs' price are not yet revealed. ( I'm sure some of you guys roughly know the price ). So anyone can recommend? Should I go for Intermediate DSLR now or wait for the new DSLR release around Oct or Nov? I really hope u Sony fans will help me so I might become a Sony fans

just wait for A55, A33, A560 and A580 reach our shore.. trust we for this..

preety good camera if u dun mind the noise for high ISO. i also still use A200 now..

Poison time !

If you can wait for a little then get the A580. It should be in your budget and it's an intermediate level DSLR that will be able to meet your needs.


The A200 has been discontinued for quite some time so you probably can only get it second hand. It's a great little cam to start your journey into the realm of DSLR with.

Pros:

- Feature packed including wireless flash.
- Cheap. Second hand prices are dirt cheap now but you gotta find a seller first.
- Nice comfy grip.

Cons:

- No more warranty as most second hand units will be out of warranty.
- High ISO noise is nothing to shout about.

If you're looking to get a new cam then perhaps you can check out the A290.