Customer Reviews

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

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My original in-depth A550 review was done long before the A580/A560 and A55/A35 came out. They are game changers. This is still an A550 review, but it won't mean much unless I provide some context relative to the new designs. I'm going to summarize the key differences first so maybe you can avoid the long, in-depth discussion of features that follows. If you decide to skip over most of the info, you might just glance at the last two or three paragraphs before moving on.

The A580 and A560 are in essentially the same shell as the A550 and A500. They build on the technology of those designs. The biggest difference is the addition of HD movie shooting. The still-camera differences include marginally increased resolution (A500 = 12.3 megapixels, A550 = 14.2, A560 = 14.2, and A580 = 16.2). This is no big deal except for bragging rights. Be aware that Sony makes its own sensors and makes sensors for some of its competitors. Given Sony's obvious corporate priority on DSLR market share, we have to believe that they won't sell their very best to competitors.

The A580/A560 includes some new features relative to the A550/A500: mirror lock-up on self-timer, which may make a difference for ultimate sharpness on non-hand-held shots; depth-of-field preview, so you can see how much of a scene is in focus before you shoot; a new "hand-held twilight mode," which will significantly reduce low-light noise, may reduce blur and camera shake effects, but may only make sense for near-motionless scenes; and 3D panorama, which will allow you to sweep across a scene and "paint" a wide, panoramic frame.

There are other upgrades, which Sony claims will enhance features that already exist. These include better/faster autofocus, and a very significant improvement to the HDR mode. The autofocus speed on the A500/A550 does not, for me, need improvement so I don't know how to evaluate that upgrade. The in-camera HDR is a trick of reducing loss of detail in shadows while simultaneously reducing white-out of ultra-bright parts of the picture. It only works on static scenes, but it already works well on the A500/A550 (it's one of my favorite Sony exclusives). The use of three frames will double its potential dynamic range advantage as well as make it more practical. I have a more in-depth discussion of the feature later.

If you will make good use of the movie feature, the choice between the one-year-old technology and the new technology is a no-brainer: buy the new. For still-pictures alone, the new technology is easily worth an extra $150 to me personally. An extra $250, however, is a resounding MAYBE for me just based on still-camera differences. I say that, because I've done a wide range of work with the A550, and I absolutely love the camera just like it is. Sometimes better is the enemy of good-enough. I also have an A850, so I can make direct comparisons to it. At the time of this review, the A580s are hard to find, and where they are available, they come only with the kit lens, and vendors are asking over $800. The A560s, a very attractive compromise, aren't even on the market yet.

So what about the A35 and A55? They are not true DSLRs, because they don't "reflex" the mirror. The mirror is partially reflecting, or "translucent," with 30 percent of the light going up to an electronic viewfinder's (EVF's) sensor while 70 percent goes through to the main sensor. The mirror is stationary: it doesn't flip up for picture taking like an SLR. This eliminates mirror slap noise and vibration altogether, but there is no true optical finder, and the main sensor loses light input. They do, however, do an excellent job of shooting movies with autofocus; they are smaller and lighter; and they are quieter than DSLRs. I've tried an A35: the EVF is excellent and can display more info than you can get in an optical finder's window. The loss of light to the sensor equates to loss of 0.514 stop; one third of the effective area of the lens' front optic is lost to the sensor; or, stated one more way, it is equivalent to increasing your lens f-number by 20 percent. (Please, before you disagree, look up the formulas: there are logarithms to base 2 involved.) There is no general loss of contrast, but one reviewer reported measuring image ghosting in the A55. The ghosting will show up as a very thin bright line on the dark side of a bright-dark interface in a picture. The ghosting was down 200x in intensity from the main image (meaning Sony has done a good job of coating the mirror glass.) Message: it is unlikely to matter. Beyond this point, discussions of differences between the A550 and the newer models will be mostly confined to the A550/A500 versus the A580/A560.

In the first version of this review, I wrote that the A550 was ahead of every other camera on the planet (except the A500) in three areas that are critical to non-professionals:

1. low light performance - it is excellent out to ISO 6400 (Pros care about this too.) The A550 is better in this regard than the A900. The A560/A580 "hand-held twilight" feature will further improve noise reduction in dark areas of your pictures of near-static subjects with no loss of picture detail.

2. fast-focusing live view with tilt screen, which is slightly better than two other Sony offerings (350 and 300) and beats all other brands like a drum. Sony has enhanced the fast focusing in the A560/A580, but it's impossible to know how much the enhancements matter in real-world use without testing.

3. high dynamic range (HDR) feature, which, for stationary subjects, will bring images out of the shadows with full detail, like you won't believe. The longer exposure of dark areas will reduce grain. Going to three frames definitely makes this even better in the A560/A580 as I'll explain later.

The following are negatives on the A550 that I pointed out in my original version of my review. I'm now adding comments about the A560/A580's impact on these issues:

1. no mirror lock-up on the A550, not even with the self-timer. Locking up the mirror eliminates any blur-inducing vibration associated with "mirror slap" when pictures are taken. You don't use mirror lockup in hand-held shooting, because it blinds both the viewfinder and live view. The A560/A580 has preliminary lockup on self-timer shots, which, for me, all but eliminates this shortcoming. The A55/A35 eliminates this problem altogether.

2. no program shift, although there is a very useful manual-mode shift, which is often overlooked altogether by professional reviewers. The new designs did not remedy this shortcoming.

3. no depth-of-field preview. The A560/A580 does have depth-of-field preview.
So of my three original superlatives, two out of three have definitely been enhanced with the A560/A580, and the third has as well, at least at the specification level. The new models have also eliminated two out of three of my originally identified shortfalls in the A550. The only outlier is the lack of program shift.

Lately, I've noticed some bloggers bashing the A550 for not having an ISO 100 setting. The A580/A560 has it. We photographers are conditioned to believe that ISO 100 is what you use (when conditions allow) to get the very lowest-noise shots. When we see the A550 not having an ISO 100 setting, we jump to the conclusion that it is not a serious pro-sumer camera. We are wrong when we do that. The ISO of the A550's native sensor is 200, and there would be no benefit in grain or noise reduction by going to 100. What is the A580's native ISO? I don't know, but the A580/A560 manual, which I downloaded, leads me to believe the native ISO is 100. I do know that the professional-grade A900 has an ISO 100 setting, but that sensor is native-200, which means that going to ISO 100 amounts to "throwing photons on the floor." It's equivalent to using a (very high quality) 50 percent neutral density filter. Come on, bloggers, how many of you have really ever used a neutral density filter? In the A550, Sony refused to design its settings around photographers' incorrect pre-conceptions about optimum sensor performance. (There must come a point when more light is no longer better, and nothing in physics says that the point must be ISO 100. It could be 200, 100, 50, 25 or whatever. After all, with all the new anti-shake technology you could often shoot at ISO 25.) Did Sony give in to users' pre-conceptions in the A580? We'll find out later when we learn more about the senor. In the words of Forest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."

The rest of this review will explain the six features identified above and their associated benefits and liabilities, point out some other key discriminators, provide recommendations for sources of additional information, and offer suggestions for accessory purchases. I'll note one other important item that the professional reviewers, to a man, got wrong about the A550. Finally, and you may want to skip ahead to this, I'll cover the differences between the A550 and the A500, from one real-world user's perspective.

There are three kinds of potential buyers for this camera: those who already own a Sony or a Minolta autofocus SLR (digital or film), those who own another brand of autofocus SLR, and those who would be newcomers to autofocus SLRs but typically already have compact digital cameras. Most of the first group is pretty much already in Sony's pocket, because they have sunk cost in lenses and accessories that they can use on the A550/A500 or a newer model. The second group will be a very hard sell because they're fully vested in another brand. The third group is wide open, and the obvious opportunity for Sony's DSLR brand growth. This is exactly why Sony has put so much emphasis on the live view capability. Very few compact cameras now have optical viewfinders. These owners are accustomed to framing their shots in a video display on the backs of their cameras (which is what live-view means), and they are not likely to buy a big, clunky, expensive camera that won't do live view as well as what they already have. This group is also likely not to know that they should care about mirror lockup, program shift, or depth-of-field preview (even though those things do matter), so Sony felt safe in leaving those things off of the A550.

I've said that Sony is targeting the DSLR newcomer here. Does that mean that the A550 is an entry-level digital SLR? Absolutely not. This is a serious camera. And speaking as one who spent 30 years with Nikon-professional and Hasselblad film cameras, I have to say that the SLR snobs should wake up and smell the live-view coffee. There are many, many situations in which live view is a vastly superior way to set up a shot. I predict that in five to seven years, all DSLRs - even the pro models - will have live view capability like the A550. It was just ahead of its time. When that time comes, I'll be first in line to buy a pro model that won't be obsolete in five more years like today's pro offerings will.

So what's the significance of the three superlatives that I cited first?

The capability out to ISO 6400 means you can shoot in lower light. It affords a faster shutter speed that will facilitate the use of longer (i.e., telephoto) lenses without a tripod and deliver fast-action shots with less blurring. Alternatively, you can get greater depth of focus and/or get by with a smaller, lighter, and cheaper lens (i.e., with larger f-number). The terrific built-in anti-shake stabilization, coupled with the low-light capability will allow you to sit in the den and shoot Fido without a flash. No more pet red-eye! It also means you can sit in your den with the owner's manual (or better yet, with the books that I recommend here) and learn the camera pretty much inside-out, working in available light. All of this is inherent in the A550. I also have an A850 (full frame pro model) that I use regularly. Its low-light capability is inferior to the A550/A500 and A560/A580, not to mention even the A35/55.

In addition to near instantaneous focusing (in decent light), the live view screen is bright and has extraordinarily high resolution. You can set up the shot better; you get a better review of what you've shot; and you have a better idea of whether you need to reshoot. The tilting screen allows you to shoot over crowds, shoot over fences, shoot from waist level, and shoot from floor/ground level without having to lay down to do it. It's extremely handy for macro work. You'll also find yourself using the tilting screen in ordinary circumstances. (The A560/A580 has up-down tilt; the A55/A35 adds side-to-side as well.)

Some have complained that this camera does not have an LCD readout on top. The flip-up screen does help compensate. This is one missing feature on the A500/A550 that Sony did not try to squeeze into the A560/A580.

Other DSLR brands, with the exception of Olympus, have totally pathetic live-view focusing capability. That's an understatement. And even Olympus does not have the tilt screen. (Nikon actually has tilt like the A55/A35, but they don't have the fast-focus live view.) BTW, any DSLR will focus fast and allow you to squeeze off a shot much faster than a point-and-shoot when you use the optical viewfinder. With this camera, the difference is that you can have it both ways, and both ways will yield way faster focusing than a point-and-shoot. These first two features alone, on an otherwise good camera, should be sufficient to persuade the DSLR newcomer to get an A500/A550 or an A560/580. But there's much, much more.

What about this HDR thing? When you turn on this mode, the camera shoots two frames in succession at differing exposure levels (you can set the difference). (The A560/580 shoots three frames.) It then superimposes the pictures, replacing dark areas in the low exposure with corresponding areas from the higher exposure. This camera, like others, has a mode called dynamic range optimization (DRO) that selectively adjusts contrast to improve shadow detail. DRO works because the camera's sensor captures a raw image that has roughly 4 stops more dynamic range than jpeg. So when the camera converts the raw image to jpeg, it has captured detail that can be brought out by DRO. HDR beats DRO, changing the actual exposure by shooting multiple frames, producing shadow detail that is sharper with less grain than DRO. You might wonder if you would have a problem holding the camera steady enough to capture two frames (or three for the A580/A560) for overlay. With the built in stabilization and the image correlation algorithm, the camera will take care of it. The only catch is that moving objects will produce a double (or triple) image, so you will only turn on HDR when you are shooting near-static scenes. Also, since HDR lightens the dark areas of the photo, you won't want to use HDR on static scenes when you need strong contrast between light and dark areas. There are two key benefits to the A580/A560 triple-frame implementation. Instead of a max spread of 3 stops between 2 frames as on the A550/A500, there can now be 6 stops over three frames. This is huge. Second, the camera records the center unaltered image as well as the overlaid image. This is valuable in case something in the scene moves between frames -- at least you have one good picture. It also covers you if you forget to turn off Auto HDR.

What are some other significant features?

The A550 will take an SD card and a Memory Stick simultaneously. You have to throw a mechanical switch to go from one to another. SD cards will give you about the same speed and storage as memory sticks for about half the price, so having the SD option is valuable. I keep my A550 loaded with both. It just means I have a deeper built-in magazine and something to fall back on in case of a problem with one storage device.

The A550 will shoot up to 7 frames per second, which is world class. It has a buffer that will allow you to shoot 15 or 20 shots at that rate before it slows down. (The A500 is slower and has a much smaller buffer. The A580 and A560 also shoot 7 fps.) As the A550 is firing and filling your buffer, it is dumping from the buffer to your memory stick or SD card. A faster stick/card will give you more shots before the buffer tops out. If you're not shooting rapid fire, you can get by inexpensively with a Class 4 SD card. Also note that some SanDisk Class 4 models (see, for example, SanDisk Ultra II 16 GB Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card SDSDRH-016G-A11) are as fast as other brands' Class 6. I've tried Class 10 cards, and they provide no shooting benefit beyond Class 6 on the A550, indicating that the camera does not take advantage of the extra speed. Of course, Class 10 will upload faster to your computer. For the A550, your best camera performance for the money is the SanDisk Ultra II Class 4.

The A560/A580 models both shoot at the 7 fps speed, but the A560 has a smaller buffer, so that it can only shoot about a third to a half as many high-res shots at high fps before it tops out and has to slow down.

The professional reviewers like to whine that changing settings requires you to go to a whole new screen on the A550. Not true if you are shooting in live view. One of the live-view display options has the critical settings around the outside of the live-view frame. To change any of them, just push the function button and you can navigate and change the ones on the sides of the frame (11 or 12 of them) just like that. It goes to show that pros (and other SLR snobs) just don't seem to "get" live view. There are several layers of reasonably intuitive menus that will take you to the full complement of settings, and they do, of course, change the screen. Some of the pros whine that there are not enough paths to the settings. (There are multiple paths to ISO, frame speed and auto delay, DSO/HDR, and exposure compensation. You can get to the other most-important settings very quickly through the Fn-button menu. Are these guys slow studies or what?) When you first get your A550, put it in live view mode (using the slide switch on top), then push the DISP button until you get the view with the settings arrayed around the outside. Next, push the Fn button and navigate from one setting to the next, and you'll get a brief description of what each setting is. This is a quick way to learn the layout or refresh your memory if you've been away for awhile. You may want to turn off the pop-up descriptions after you learn them, because they can get in the way.

Here's another trick that I've learned: There is an array of 7 buttons that you can reach with your thumb without changing your hand position on the grip. Once you push a button, you can make the associated adjustment (partially in some cases and fully in most) with the "thumb wheel" using your forefinger. Then, lightly pushing the shutter button finalizes the setting. You can also just re-push the button you started with to finalize the setting. With practice, this really increases your agility, giving you instant command of the most critical settings. If you're in a hurry, you can make a change and finalize it by firing a shot. Any adjustment that you make through any pathway can be set by firing a shot. You don't have to push an "okay" button ever, if you don't want to. The bottom line here is that you can make these adjustments one-handed without taking your hand off the camera or your eye away from the viewfinder or screen. It takes considerable practice, but it can make all the difference in getting or missing a critical shot.

What about the three A550 negatives I mentioned at the start?

When an SLR fires, it flips up the mirror before it opens the shutter. This can cause vibration that can matter on longer exposure times. All pro cameras and many pro-sumer models have mirror lockup, which temporarily ends your ability to use the view finder (and in some if not all cases, the live view). I used it regularly on my 35mm and medium-format film cameras. The advantage is that when you take the shot, there is no vibration imposed by the mirror. This is the kind of thing you do with the camera on a tripod, and Sony specifically says not to use image stabilization when you're using a tripod. The A500/A550 design does not have lockup - it does not even flip up the mirror early in timed auto mode (which really annoys me). The A560/A580 does flip up the mirror early in timed auto mode, which, for me, would solve the problem. Unfortunately for me with my A550, I like to carry a bean bag in my pocket as a portable tripod. (I even use it to brace the camera against posts and walls.) At least with a tripod, the camera is bolted down, which should reduce vibration - not so with the bean bag, so maybe in that case it's best to leave stabilization on. I can't prove that any of my shots have suffered from lack of mirror lockup, but it's a very good feeling on that very special shot to be able to lock up the mirror. When you shoot hand-held, it isn't practical to use mirror lockup anyway. I mentioned that Sony has reduced the weight of the mirror to minimize induced vibration. Some of the pros seem to forget that APS-C cameras like the A550 have much smaller- and lighter-weight mirrors naturally than the old 35 mm film SLRs and the full-frame DSLRs. In the old days (the way old days), the big full frame mirrors really banged against hard stops when they flipped up. Modern engineering has applied damping, which is like banging the mirror into a pillow, and has again reduced the production of vibrations. The mirror-induced vibration penalty, when it occurs at all, will be much less in a modern APS-C camera than in an old full-frame camera. Is adding the early flip-up in the A580 just another bow to photographer preconceptions?

Program shift would allow you to take the camera's program choice of aperture and shutter-speed setting and quickly and smoothly shift the program to other aperture-shutter combinations of equivalent exposure. (For the technology-savvy, it's like an instantaneous shift from Program mode to Aperture Priority or Shutter priority, while starting at the initial Program mode settings.) With the A500/A550 (and also with the A580/A560), you can't do that. You can, however, do a "manual shift." This accomplishes a similar purpose but only in manual mode and not with the camera's programmed exposure. Program shift is a nice feature, and I wish the 550 had it, but it's no show-stopper. (Note that the full-frame A900/A850 professional models do have the feature.)

No depth of field preview means for the A550/A500 that you have to shoot a test shot to tell what the level of focus is for objects at differing ranges from your primary focal range. What you see without depth-of-field preview is the worst case for depth of field, showing what you would get with the largest aperture setting of your lens. This is helpful for precise manual focusing, but not good for getting a look at the ultimate focus distribution of your actual shot. For example, if you want to throw the background out of focus in a portrait, and you don't want to use your widest aperture setting, expect some trial and error. Depth of field preview is not 10 percent as important on a digital camera with a high-res display as it was on film cameras. It's not as important on APS-C cameras as on full-frame, because depth of field starts relatively big and then gets bigger at higher f-numbers on APS-C. I've used depth-of-field preview hundreds of times on full-frame cameras, but I could have done without it, even using film. And BTW, when you use depth of field preview with the lens stopped way down, the optical viewfinder can become so dim that you can barely see what's in or out of focus anyway. I really believe that some of the pros haven't noticed that this feature ain't such a big deal on APS-C digital cameras.

Stuff you should consider buying:

Gary L. Friedman's Complete Guide to Sony's Alpha 500 & 550. There are three version: the full color hardcopy, the B&W hardcopy, and the pdf. If you're not sure about the A550, consider going to Gary's site and paying $25 for the pdf download. Once you get past the "golly gee" Dick and Jane business at the front of the book, you'll find almost 500 pages of the most thorough treatment of this camera available, with a pretty decent course in digital photography woven in. Even if you don't buy an A550, you'll be a smarter buyer after Gary's book if you're less than a seasoned DSLR user. Gary writes the best books on cameras out there. I read his book on the A900 and initially decided NOT to buy the A900 based on that read. (The A900 has no live view at all and no built-in flash. The next generation Sony pro camera will probably at least have live view. Also, the super high resolution of the current full-frame A850 and A900 will become cheaper fairly soon if the trends of the last 20 years hold true. I decided to spend the big bucks on full-frame Zeiss and G-lens optics, which will hold value much better than any camera body.) At the time of this review, Gary is working on a book on the A35/A55. Once he finishes, he should be able to quickly knock out one on the A560/A580 by starting with his A500/A550 book; most of the work will be adding a chapter on video.

If you want a more compact and portable reference book, consider Magic Lantern Guides: Sony a500/a550 by Peter K. Burian. It's cheap and good. See my review on it. You can learn the camera way faster with Peter's book than with the manual. (But do try to ignore the fact that Peter seems confused about whether the A500 and A550 have program shift.)

You will need something to use to clean the sensor when it gets dust on it. Unless you install just one lens and never take it off, the sensor will get dust on it. At a minimum, get a Giottos Rocket Blaster Air Blower - Red (Large) 7.5" AA1903. Friedman doesn't agree with me, but get one anyway. Then consider a VisibleDust Brite Vue Sensor Loupe - VisibleDust 3468822, an Arctic Butterfly SL 700 Sensor Brush, a LensPen SensorKlear Loupe Kit w/SensorKlear II, and/or a Digital Survival KIT - Sensor Swab Type 2 (w/Eclipse). (Note that Friedman says you should only use E2 fluid. SensorKlear, who produced E2 fluid, now says that after two years of testing, they've proven that their Eclipse fluid is just as safe as E2 on sensors like the A550's. They are phasing out E2.) Don't get all these accessories! Just get the blower and check the others out. I especially like the VisibleDust Sensor Loupe, and I'd by the cheaper version of the two available on Amazon.

As an aside, I think I'd better tell you what I've learned about cleaning the sensor. First turn the camera body face down and switch it on and off a few times, which shakes the sensor. If that doesn't work, insert a well-charged battery, turn the body face down, and switch the sensor clean mode on and off a few times. It isn't documented, but that gives the sensor a better shake (like an ultrasonic cleaner) than the on-off shake - I only know because I can feel it. If that doesn't work, be sure you have a well-charged battery (or put it on an external power supply), turn on the clean mode, remove the lens or body cap, hold it face down, and use the blower. By holding it face down, you have better odds of causing debris to fall out of the camera. If the blower doesn't work, consider the other options I listed previously. The blower has always worked for me so far. [Update: I later did have to use a brush.] If you are klutzy with delicate instruments, and the blower doesn't work, take it to a camera shop. You have to be very careful about poking around the sensor. Never use a sensor brush on anything but the sensor so you don't pick up any contamination on the brush. The only exception might be on a squeaky clean filter if you want to test the brush's condition before using it on the sensor. Also, if your Arctic Butterfly brush seems loose or falls apart the first time you turn it on, just push it back together to assemble it properly. Some were shipped without being properly assembled. (Hard to forgive, considering the price.)

Get one spare battery and consider getting a charger with a camera DC supply built in. The DC supply is nice when you need to work on your sensor, but it is not essential. The charger that will handle two batteries is especially nice, because you can leave batteries in it indefinitely without concern about over charging. Read the manual carefully on this subject, BTW.

I strongly recommend against buying batteries not made by Sony. Learn from my mistake: I bought two third party batteries and both had problems. One would never charge to a sufficient voltage to turn out the "charging" light on the Sony charger. On the two-battery charger, the displayed messages were messed up with both of the batteries. Nothing I could do would make the batteries show a full charge when placed in the camera. Finally, the batteries lasted about half as long as the Sony batteries. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Twenty dollars saved on a battery can shut down hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment.

If you get a separate flash, get lithium (non-rechargeable) batteries for it or either NiMH or NiZn rechargeables. I have the HLV-F20AM and the HLV-F58AM flashes and I love them. I advise, however, that the A500/A550 built-in flash is quite capable, providing good, even illumination. Of course, it can't do bounce, it can't operate off the camera, and it has much less power.

For lenses, I bought the Zeiss 24 -70mm f/2.8 Zoom , the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G-Series Compact Zoom (it isn't really compact), and a used Minolta 17-35G. I bought these before my A850, partly because I knew I'd eventually get a full frame camera. The Zeiss 16-35mm f/2.8 Zoom has a wider aperture and marginally better optical performance than my used Minolta option, but the Minolta is lighter weight and somewhat less expensive. Otherwise, my three lenses are the best available zooms in their ranges for Sony. The Zeiss 24-70 (which is available for some other camera brands) is possibly the best SLR zoom lens made, period. I expect you'll want to start with much more affordable choices, however. I strongly recommend the Sony DT 16-105 as a rock-solid performer at a much more reasonable price. This lens is compact and practical and is my walk-around lens on the A550. Of course, it, like all DT lenses, will not support a full-frame camera like my A850. Search Amazon for Sony DT 16-105mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens. Others to consider are the basic kit lens and the Sony DT 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom, which won't be quite as strong in overall optical performance as the 16-105, but offers the very popular super zoom range at a low price. The ultimate walk-around DT lens is the Zeiss DT 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5, but it's pricey, especially given its zoom range. Zeiss and Leica make the best camera optics in the world, bar none, and I speak from experience. (I'm a Ph.D. experimental physicist, so I understand this stuff, too.) The Sony G-series represents the (non-Zeiss) Sony premium line, inherited from the Minolta premium line. Do check out Friedman's recommendations for some very affordable used Minolta lenses. I can vouch for the fact that some of them are very, very good. Another upside is that Sony builds shake-reducing image stabilization into the camera instead of into the lenses, so these older lenses get the full benefit of stabilization. The downside is that their focal lengths were chosen for full-frame use, and they are

I'm happy with this camera. However, the development of digital cameras is very fast so the camera is likely to be behind cutting edge in a couple of years. I bought this camera because it is not that expensive, so one can always upgrade. Some good and bad things:
- Steady shot makes it possible to take very sharp pictures at 1/15.
- Quite decent performance up to ASA 800. I can go up to ASA 12,800, which results in noise, but also sharp pictures in very low light. If you, like me, hate using the flash, this is great. I'd rather have grain than flat flash light.
- Very sharp live viewfinder. I cannot do without this facility anymore. Not many higher-end DSLR cameras have this function yet.
- The autofocus does not work that well in low light. However, the Manual Focus Live Viewfinder function is very good when using manual focus in low light and low contrast settings. Even if it is very dark the scene is lit up in the viewfinder and manual focusing becomes easy. Still it is very annoying that the camera doesn't have some kind of infrared focusing in darkness. The manual focusing works but it is also not that quick and it requires the LCD screen mode (not the viewfinder mode)
- The camera could be better prepared for HDR (high dynamic range) photography. There is a built in function taking two shots (great!). This works okay if you don't use the 'auto' setting, which just give a very small adjustment. In high contrast settings (or if you use PC software) you need three or four photos. However, taking bracketed exposures in 1 or 2 EV steps is not possible. I can do bracketed exposures in 0.3 or 0.7, so Sony is clearly holding back on performance for the next model in 2010 (bad!).
- The camera fits okay in my standard male sized hands. Bigger might fit better but it is also nice that the camera is not bulky.
- Information panel is informative, except for ASA level when using ASA Auto setting. It would have been very nice to know what ASA level the camera decide to use when in Program mode. ASA is as important as aperture and shutter speed.

If you buy this camera, skip the 18-55 lens and go for the 18-250 lens instead Sony SAL18250 Alpha DT 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 High Magnification Zoom Lens w/Lens Hood. That is a good allround lens, a bit slow but an amazing range, 27-375mm equivalent. I actually don't find a 200mm zoom that useful, but when you can go up to 375mm new opportunities open up. If you want to spend some more, get the 50mm f/1.4 Sony 50mm f/1.4 Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera. That lens will function like 75mm, which is not optimal but that is really the only chance of getting a wide open aperture lens. (Sony also sells a 35mm f/1.4, but that is very expensive and has received poor reviews.) The advantage with the 50mm f/1.4 lens is that it is full-frame so it can be used when you later upgrade to a fullformat camera.

I would also recommend getting Sony Alpha RMT-DSLR1 Camera Remote (Black). This is both cheaper and more functional than the wired remote Sony RM-S1AM Remote Commander for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera. See my reviews of those products

I sold my A300 in anticipation of the A550 and I am very happy with that decision. The A500/550 are targeted towards the A300/350 user base and upgraders from the existing A330/380. This is not meant to be a replacement for the A700 as some review sites had been wishing for. I am extremely pleased with the camera up to this point (about a month as of this review).

The improvements over the A3xx series in my view are:
1) Much improved LCD - it is much sharper than the A3xx series and also the A500
2) High ISO is also much improved over the A3xx series cameras
3) FPS is much faster and makes this camera much more suitable for catching action shots than the A3xx series
4) Improved button layout
5) SD card compatible (subjective)
6) Easy to use menu system
7) Built in HDR
8) Better built in flash
9) Exposure is spot on and colors are great

The not so good
1) Power switch takes some getting used to. It is in a position much like Nikon and Pentax cameras which is not familiar for existing Minolta/Alpha users. It took me a few days to get used to the power switch being near the jog dial, but I have adjusted and it is not a big deal any more.
2) No video - I do not care much about this, however it is a feature that helps sell cameras and Sony needs to step up here to help increase marker share in the dSLR arena
3) Lack of MLU (Mirror Lock Up) - again this has little value to me, but is a selling point at least to the more advanced user base
4) Lack of Program Shift - another one that is a feature the more advanced users would like to have that was in the A300/350 granted it was clumsy to use

Overall I am enjoying my camera immensely. The LCD and Built in Stabilization make differentiate this camera from Nikon and Canon and make this a great choice for me. I have had 3 previous Minolta Maxxum cameras in the late 1980's - 1990's and Sony in my opinion is doing a good job. They have more work to do and need to make cameras that have a wow factor to win more market share and these cameras are a good step in the right direction. Once Sony adds video and some of the more basic missing features, the critics will quiet down...

I can remember sitting in an outdoor cafe in St. Martin on the French side with my Canon EOS film camera on the table. I was alone, looking out over the bay in Marigot, wishing I was on one of the sailboats going out to sea, when a man asked if he could join me. It's not what you think, all the other tables were full with couples or more. I was the only one dining (actually drinking) alone. So I told the portly Dutch guy, "Sure, no problem."

He sat down, immediately pointed a small digital camera out to sea and snapped a few shots, then he showed them to me on a small LCD screen. Damn, I thought. Digital photography just might catch on.

And it did, but I didn't make the jump from film to digital until the the summer of 2006, six years after I'd met that guy in Marigot. Why, it took me so long, I don't know. The laundry room I'd converted into a dark room, maybe. I was a pseudo, photo taking stuck up snob, who thought film was better, probably. I was an idiot, certainly.

My ex, also a photo taking snob, got the house, the darkroom, my heart in the divorce and I threw in all my gear and moved to a condo by the beach. Huntington Beach, where I could see the ocean from my front door. Lots of surf there. You can see Catalina on a clear day and the pollution makes for gorgeous sunsets. The sunrise on the water is gorgeous, too.

And because there was no room for a darkroom in my small condo, I decided it was time to go digital and I bought a new Sony Alpha 100. And I liked it. Rather than upgrade the body year after year, I concentrated on lenses and I have a lot now. But my Alpha 100 body got long in the tooth, so I upgraded to an Alpha 550 and wowza, this is a camera.

Bigger pictures, 14.2 megapixels, a bright three inch LCD. The resolution is so good you can even read it in bright sunlight. The live view is great, but there is no video which you can find on Canon and Nikons, but I don't do video, so I don't miss it. The camera accepts both SD cards and memory sticks.

This camera has bells, it's got whistles. Built in IS, which helps keep the price of the lenses down, five frames per second shooting with auto focus, seven without. Want face detection? This camera has it. Smile detection too, though I believe that's overkill and I don't use it. I could go on and on about this cameras features, but all the bells and whistles in the world wouldn't be worth a hill of beans if it didn't deliver and this camera really delivers. For me it comes down to noise, because I do a lot of low light shooting. I got noise at 800 ISO & above on my Alpha 100, but not now. Shooting at 6400 ISO and you don't see any noise. You can shoot 12.800 and it's barely noticeable, depending what you're shooting.

And this camera just feels right in your hands. They say this isn't a professional camera because it's not full frame. Well, that's just crazy talk, because if you can't full fill your photographic dreams with this camera, you can't call yourself a pro.

I also upgraded to this camera from the DSLR-A300, hoping for some evolutionary changes improving on what was already a solid and reliable entry level camera. I am an experienced shooter, like to manually control exposure, and tend to shoot a lot of wildlife and action shots, as well as low light photography. The A550 was perfectly suited to my needs - ergonomically, a wonderful fit similar to the A300 but with better button control and menu functionality. Image quality as good at low ISO as the solid A300, but a whole different league at higher ISOs (I was able to use up to ISO1600 on the A300, whereas I can comfortably push to ISO6400 with the A550). Autofocus is very fast and accurate, tracking focus on moving subjects quite good, continuous frame shooting is blazing fast at 5fps with focusing or 7fps without, LCD is beautiful, optical viewfinder finally even with competitors, stabilization even more effective, advanced dynamic range much more useful with 5 settings and auto, and the HDR function not only useful for dynamic range, but also as a tool to use image stacking for lower noise and greater detail at higher ISOs. The battery life is amazing, and kudos to Sony for displaying battery life in accurate percentages on their entry cams unlike competitors. The live view is simply the best available on the market, period. I shoot mostly OVF, but on occasion where I need live view, the quick live view mode functions as would any P&S camera in the world - no delay in focus or shutter speed at all. This is 100% functional live view for the average user, not a specialized slow tripod-only type live view as is common elsewhere. For those who DO want that manual focusing ability and accuracy, the MF Live View mode provides that option, with up to 14x zoom on the excellent 920K LCD providing utmost accuracy even in near-total darkness. I bought this camera body-only, as I already had the excellent Sony 18-250mm F3.5-4.5 lens, as well as a Sigma 30mm F1.4, Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5, Tamron 200-500mm F5-6.3, and Minolta 50mm F1.7. Those looking for a semi-pro camera will likely find the A550 too limiting in overall controlability and a few key features for particular types of pro or enthusiast photography...but those looking for either an excellent entry-level DSLR camera, or a suitable upgrade for a basic entry-level DSLR camera, may find the A550 to be a marvelous choice.

I had a Sony Alpha 350 and a Canon 50D. The Sony Alpha 550 totally outperforms the Sony Alpha 350 in all aspects (low-light performance, autofocus speed, autofocus points/system, features, design, etc). The Alpha 550 also outperforms the Canon 50D in terms of low-light performance: the Sony alpha 550 creates beautiful and noiseless pictures in low light at ISO 800: the Canon 50d is "noisy" at ISO 800 and above. The HDR technology of the Alpha 550 is amazing and again, above the Canon 50D. Live-view focusing is also amazing,allowing to to autofocus right from the screen, not like the painfully slow Canon 50D (which takes 2-4 seconds to autofocus and interrupts your image to do so). Finally, the Alpha 550 offers an awesome menu with tutorials so you can browse through all your settings an know exactly which setting to chose, and also, face detection makes autofocus and correct focusing near perfect. You will never regret to use this high-end DSLR.

I have had this camera for about 2 weeks now. I love it.

I love the following features:
1. Brilliant clarity of images
2. Great low light performance ( I do not need flash most of the time)
3. Easy to use (simplified menu choices)
4. Beautiful live view functionality and LCD screen
5. Ability to use cheap Minolta lenses to achieve gorgeous pictures.
6. Built in Image Stabilization
7. Shutter smile technology is cute

Everywhere I go, my friends and family are now asking me to take all the pictures for them !

Sony A550 has a lot of good features that make you to want to own one especially at such a low price offered from Amazon. I purchased one and got very excited, took hundreds of shots. I like landscape type of photography. Most shots were take near lakes, rivers, streets, and mountains. I have used Minolta 50mm F1.7 prime, Sony SAL-55200, and Sony SAL-1870 (I barely use it due to low IQ, I need a decent wide angle lens). I use Aperture Priority most of the time. The features that I like are
1) live view and tilt screen
2) manual focus check
3) good button arrangement except on/off switch button (this is personal, some other people like most pro may think button arrangement is a con).
4) high resolution screen
5) good flash (I usually don't like to use flash and I still don't. But I tried a few shots and get very satisfying result.
6) shot at low lighting condition
7) high shooting speed (continuous shots)
I'm not going to list all of good things here. Just view others reviews if you want to hear all good things. I want to mention something that I'm disappointed: overexposure and noise. Among hundreds of photos I took, quite many are over exposed. It appears random and is difficult to predict when and why they are over exposed. I've seen some of online reviews. They said if taking pictures of sky, it's likely to be overexposed. It's maybe true, but not hundred percent true. Pros have suggested to do exposure adjustment. I guess it works, but you have extra work to do every time or every scene. If it's always overexposure, it's the best solution (but why the manufacturer didn't do this at the first place). Since it's unpredictable, you have to check the exposure every time and it can be difficult if you are under a bright sunlight. By the way, I do take photos using RAW format. So extra work have to be done afterward. I still can tolerate that by just working on selected photos. But for correctly exposed photos, noise in shadows becomes problem. I took some buildings in streets, shadow area has a lot of noise especially red objects. I got a great deal from Amazon but really struggled with the quality of photos. Maybe I got a bad body. By the way, this brand new camera has dust on sensor and always has a spot shown 'in sky'. This is not the main reason that I finally return the camera after debating myself, but it does influenced me and make me doubt the quality control in Sony's plant. A550 and A500 are made in Thailand, not in Japan anymore.
Overall, it should be a great camera for people like shooting sport events, or shooting in low light conditions (I guess noise is expected in these conditions any way). For still object photography, you maybe like me, like the quality of ISO 100. I'm still keeping my A200 for now. I'm considering to buy an A500 (some review does recommend A500 over A550) or wait longer for next model, or maybe Sony will fix A550 problem in their firmware update. I'm open to hear anyone's suggestion.
The things I don't like:
1) Noise, ISO 200 is not as good as ISO 100.
2) steady shot switch is built in the menu instead of a switch button
3) no mirror lock (I guess Sony purposely not to have this feature to target speedy shooting people. Mirror lock is not important for them)
4) not so intelligent auto exposure
5) doubtful quality
You're welcome to make comments on my views if you have owned an A550 or A500. Thanks.

(11-9-2010) Sony will release A580 and A560 in Oct. 2010 and early 2011, respectively. These two models have Full HD Movie shooting function and ISO 100-12800. Their 15-point phase-detection autofocus and 3D panorama also sound attractive. I'm looking forward to having one of these. B&H is currently taking pre-order.
(1-2-2011) I have had a A580 for almost one year, I'm very happy with A580. I am so glad that I made the right decision of returning A550 and got A580. See my sample photos at [...]

After trying the sony a550 at a photo show I finally bought one. Have to say
The seller Shutterbug is Excellent. Fast shipping and brand spanking new Camera.
I have been a Nikon user for years and own many Nikons including th D90.
This A550 has a more solid build then the D90 and has the flip out screen.
The face detection and the smile detection is awesone. The iso noise is below
the D90 but is very close. The color with the a550 is right on.
I'm very impressed with this Sony A550 and is a buy with all the features and the
HDR is fantastic!

I got a Sony A550 (body only), and tested it with a Sigma 28-300mm (42-450mm equiv) lens. My main photographic activity is wildlife, nature and surfing shots, at a minimum of 200 yards. I print at fairly large sizes, usually 16x12 or 20x15in.

One test of long-range photographic equipment is to shoot license plates at long range. If a license plate is legible at 300 yards, there will be pretty good detail in a surfing or animal picture taken at the same range. The other factor I consider, besides detail, is the overall smoothness and quality of the final image.

I compared the A550 images to those taken with a Fuji S100, a so-called "point-and-shoot." (I say "so-called" because the Fuji, like most single-lens super-zoom cameras, has more manual user control than the A550, and any DSLR can be used in "Automatic" mode.)

On paper, the A550 appears superior to the S100.
The Sony A550: 14+mp, CMOS sensor, APS-C size.
The Fuji S100: 11+mp, CCD sensor, 2/3" size (less than half the APS-C size).

At full zoom (400mm equivalent for the Fuji, 450mm equivalent for the Sony), both cameras captured legible license plate numbers at similar distances in the zone between 300-450 yards. But the Fuji created smoother images: both straight and curved lines of objects were smooth, and surrounding foliage was crisp and clear.

I normally shoot at ISO100 in daylight, to keep noise at a minimum. But the Sony A550 has a minimum ISO of 200 (I've been told this indicates that ISO 200 is the optimum setting for the sensor) so I couldn't go below that with the Sony. The Fuji S100 has a minimum setting of 100, so I used that, as I usually do. I didn't see much noise difference between the two cameras at those low ISO levels, but there was some.

The lighting conditions (passing clouds) were a bit irregular--but of course they were irregular for both cameras--and I was trying to adjust to having to shoot at ISO200 and other intrinsic differences in the two cameras, but I'd have to say that all in all the Sony didn't do any better, in terms of IQ and overall picture quality, than the Fuji. Maybe the difference is in the lens quality, but the Sigma lens I was using is generally well-regarded, and in the opinion of some users is better than the comparable Sony lens.

I also compared partial zoom (150mm equivalent) shots of palm trees against a cloud-strewn sky and sea. Here, the results were even more in favor of the Fuji.

Both cameras were set at about the same shutter speed and aperture. In fact the Sony was set a little faster, and the aperture was a little smaller, which should have resulted in less blur and greater depth of field.

The Fuji is much more clear and focused throughout the image. The most distant palm trees in the Sony images were not in clear focus, although trees at an intermediate range (about 75 yards) were. This could be a lens problem, and I'm going to try another lens in a couple of days when it arrives. But so far, Fuji wins on sharpness and focus.

The Sony palm tree images were really noisy. Because it was late afternoon and cloudy, I had to use ISO400 to keep the picture from being underexposed. (The next lowest choice, ISO200, made it too dark.) I didn't want to shoot slower, because the cameras were hand held. And aperture was limited by the extended zoom lens. So as of now, the Fuji S100 wins on noise. And also on ability to get enough light at 1/4 the ISO.

I'm going to give it another try in the next couple of days; wait for the weather to improve, and try to get some action shots and some breaking waves and see if there is a way to get better pictures. I bought the Sony A550 primarily for the faster burst mode and higher burst limit. (The Fuji has a burst of about 3.7fps at full resolution, with a 7-shot limit. The Sony shoots 5fps (continuous autofocus) or 7 fps (single focus only) with a limit of 24 JPEG "fine" or 116 JPEG "standard" images.) But I have to ask myself: what's the point of faster burst, if the pictures aren't as good?

My belief is that the Fuji S100, with its 2/3" sensor, and whatever lens system they used, somehow hit upon a formula where the lens and the sensor complemented each other perfectly in terms of optics.

I have to say that I've never been a "true believer" about the intrinsic inferiority of "P&S" cameras. Even the term--which is inaccurate and mildly condescending--displays a bias; the fact is that you can operate any DSLR on a P&S basis, and any super-zoom on a full manual basis. Lord knows there are some truly awful super-zooms out there, but that's due, I think to cramming too many megapixels into small sensors, and going too far with the zoom lenses. It appears that in the price range that most consumers are willing to pay, 12x to 15x zoom--or a bit higher--is about as far as manufacturers can go and still keep image quality within an acceptable range. As far as "P&S" sensors vs. DSLRs and their APS-C sensors, I understand the optics issues, and obviously if you spend a couple of thousand dollars or more on the body, and another couple of thousand on the lens, your DSLR is going to be better. But that's apples & oranges. The Fuji S100 cost about $600 new. The Sony A550 + zoom lens was about $900. At this point, the Fuji is keeping up very well. Plus it has video.