Sony Alpha DSLR-A550

APS-C, 14 MP, 3"
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        Summary Sony DSLR-A550

        Prices Price
        Body only
        Unknown
        Kit
        Unknown
        Score Snapsort rank
        Among similar cameras
        #n/a of 6
        Specifications Key specs
        Sensor size
        Help APS-C 23.4x15.6mm
        Screen resolution
        Help 921k dots
        Megapixels
        Help 14 MP
        Movie format
        Help None
        Screen size
        Help 3"
        Light sensitivity
        Help 12,800 ISO
        see all specifications
        Lenses Lenses
        Browse Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 lenses at LensHero
        Sony Alpha DSLR-A550Sony Alpha DSLR-A550

        gallery

        Explore our gallery of 7 sample photos taken by the Sony Alpha DSLR-A550.

        Pros

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        The Sony DSLR-A550 vs other recent entry-level DSLRs

        Continuous shooting Rapid fire Help
        7 fps
        Battery life Above average battery life Help
        950 shots
        Screen flips out Flip-out screen Help
        Great for movies
        Storage slots More storage slots Help
        2

        Cons

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        The Sony DSLR-A550 vs other recent entry-level DSLRs

        Low light performance Noisy at high ISO Help
        807 ISO
        Color depth Little color depth Help
        21.9 bits
        Movie format No movies Help
        None
        Screen size Below average sized screen Help
        3"
        Touch screen No touch screen Help
        More buttons
        Weather sealed No weather sealing Help
        Need to shelter it from weather
        Autofocus contrast detection autofocus Help
        slower focusing
        Shutter lag Longer shutter lag Help
        184 ms shutter lag
        Announced Old Help
        August 2009
        Light sensitivity (boost) Lacks boost light sensitivity Help
        None
        Viewfinder coverage Below average viewfinder coverage Help
        95%
        Thickness Thick Help
        3.3"
        Popularity Not so popular Help
        Among snapsort users
        Overall image quality Low overall image quality Help
        66.0
        Dynamic range Very narrow dynamic range Help
        11.8 EV
        Screen resolution Low resolution screen Help
        921k dots
        Viewfinder size Small viewfinder Help
        0.52x
        True resolution Lower true resolution Help
        14 MP
        Autofocus Manual focus only Help
        None
        Lens availability Slightly fewer lenses available Help
        126 lenses
        Viewfinder Uses battery, see less detail Help
        Pentamirror
        GPS No GPS Help
        Missing geo-tagging
        Size Quite large Help
        Professional size (137×104×84 mm)
        Built-in focus motor No focus motor Help
        Won't autofocus with all lenses
        Fastest shutter speed Slow shutter speed Help
        1/4000 of a second

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        Appearance

        front photo of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A550back photo of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A550angle photo of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A550

        Discussion

        Sony Alpha DSLR-A550
        Alpha DSLR-A550
        Sony

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        Showing 4 comments

        Avatar for Juanfra Valero Cara Juanfra Valero Cara (9:43 PM, May 13, 2013)
        It has phase detect AF, not contrast AF. Please fix.
         
        Johnmcmillin (4:44 AM, April 27, 2011)
        I got a similar a500 recently as a cheap panorama maker. As a happy user of Sony's higher-level cameras, I wanted their Dynamic Range Optimizer feature, and this was the cheapest model that had the full feature. Also, I demanded a consistent Kelvin WB setting, which I don't find in Nikon's consumer-proced models. The a5xx series has those helpful features, but they left off one other thing I counted on-- a focus button. On the A500, and perhaps its relatives, there's no way to switch AF on or off except for the switch at the lens mount, which is clumsy to access with the camera mounted vertically on a rotator. Aimed at a blank wall, the AF locks up the camera. So I turn off AF completely for my pans, using it as a MF camera. How's that for 21st-Century progress?

        That's just one of the un-ergonomic, misguided choices made in the design of this camera. You almost wonder if it was crippled to make the parallel A33/55 series of EVF SLRs look more desirable, sending Sony's clientele in the company's favored direction? But the camera still has a little appeal. My a500 has a very nice senor, with improved high ISO and longer DR than my A700. The A580 is supposed to be even better. On any day, I rather give back that fraction of image quality for the build quality, complete controls and better VF of the a700, though.
         
        Avatar for Mark Feeney Mark Feeney (2:48 AM, November 12, 2010)
        Hi, stevenom. Cool link, but the camera it references is the newer Sony SLT-A55. Those model numbers are pretty close!
         
        Avatar for Steven Steven (1:54 AM, November 12, 2010)
        This is one of the two cameras included in Time's The 50 Best Inventions of 2010:

        http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2029497_2030652_2029799,00.html