Name: Sony Alpha DSLR SLT A55 Translucent Mirror Digital Camera, 16.2 Megapixel, Quick AF Full HD Movie, Live View with Phase Detection, 15-Point Autofocus
Brand: Sony
SKU: ISOSLTA55V
Price: 499.00 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 4.55 (29 reviews)

Sony Alpha DSLR SLT A55 Translucent Mirror Digital Camera, 16.2 Megapixel, Quick AF Full HD Movie, Live View with Phase Detection, 15-Point Autofocus

Sony SLT-A55

Sony

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Sony Digital SLR Cameras

Sony SLT-A55 

Top Rated Gear: Sony Alpha DSLR SLT A55 Translucent Mirror Digital Camera, 16.2 Megapixel, Quick AF Full HD Movie, Live View with Phase Detection, 15-Point Autofocus Model: Sony A55, Resolution: 16MP

I've had this camera for almost two years. Yesterday it just cut out on me. I've read that other users had this problem resulting in a costly repair. I love the camera but I was expecting more life out of it before I had any problems.

Eventual problem

I am not a professional, just like taking pictures.
I take mostly landscape and wildlife photos. I also
do alot of macro shots of flowers, bugs etc.
I recently bought a second A55 Sony body.  I wanted
to be able to put another lens on it, so I wouldn't
have to keep changing lens all the time.  Once I was
familiar with the camera I loved it.  It is not heavy,
and has alot of great features.
If I had one complaint it would be, getting use to the 
small grip it has.  I was use to the Sony A100 before
I got the A55.I would reccommend but phasing out for
newer models!

Camera of the Year 2010 - Love it!!!

Purchased to upgrade to an APS-C sensor camera.  Far preferred the DSLT approach to an outdated flipping mirror.  Lens is a great all around zoom from wide angle to long telephoto.  Battery life is a small challange, but bought a package of 2 spare batteries and a travel charger for a trip to Italy.  Worked great.  One in the camera, one spare, one charging.  AF challanged at full zoom, but easy to address by focusing closer then zooming out, which AF always held.  Used different settings to take the same pictures, had a very high success percentage with that approach.

Great Package Deal

very fast focus and shutter.  great all in one lens.  auto focus is great for shooting video but camera will overheat very fast 2-3 mins, short clips is great.  10fs will not miss anything.  
Be sure to buy extra battery and car charger, cuz batter life sucks

easy to use and gets a pretty good photo

This set is very good for traveling. However, 2 sony batteries are not enough for a day trip. VDO recording is interrupted due to overheating after 5 minutes shooting. Don't buy it if you want to shoot lots of VDOs.

good camera, very short battery life

Have been using for wedding and vacation shooting since May 2011. Love the sweep panorama for doing a bridal party shot. My customers love it when I present an 8x24 group shot as a thank you for their wedding business. The 16mp is more than enough for the enlargements and handles well in all situations.

Great New Technology

I find this camera very easy to use and the resulting pics are great. My only compaint is the on / off switch location and action makes it easy to turn on / off by mistake.  Good battery life.

great camera

Advance innovations with internal HDR, sweep panoramas, and many other leading features.  Very reasonable price for all that it offers.

Deserving of "Camera of the Year"

great camera at low price. Just love 10fps and panarama capability

This camera is fantastic!

Sony has been very smart to continue
most featyres pioneered by Minolta

great camera.-- minolta lives

Having owned big dslr with heavy lenses is always an hassle during travels. Lugging around pounds of equipment while walking around France whole day or any other cities is such a pain. Coming from big grip cameras handling the A55 was awkward and uncomfortable at first but after weeks of daily use it's the opposite. Eventually I sold all my big cameras and lenses and went to the lighter one. A55 + Sal 16-105 and 70-300G was the perfect combo for me.  Now I enjoy more photography and liveview is very useful, in fact my usage of this feature is 85% (as I avoid the casual photographers pose, peeping through OFV, it's a magnet to pickpockets in some third world countries) though the image in EFV is huge. One thing annoying is the battery life but solved when I bought an extra battery. Don't believe to those people in the internet that bashes this camera because of loss of light due to translucent mirror blocking the sensor. It's only a half stop, in real life shooting and printing it will show no difference. Don't also believe pixel peepers because they don't really shoot and most of them don't own this camera. ISO 3200 hundred is still very useful though the highest value I use is 1600. There's also a lot of fun features such as HDR, face detection, smile shutter, sweep panorama, posterization effects, 10 frames per second for sports and a lot more to discover. Buy this camera, AF is amazingly fast compared to it's peers, and I'm sure you'll gonna enjoy it! Life is too short lets buy the most enjoyable things that will make us happy, A55 is one of them hehehehe!

perfect portable dslr

I had decided to upgrade my camera from a point and shoot sony to a more traditional 35mm body digital with interchangable lenses.  I had reached the point where I was hampered in the shots i wanted to take by the limitation of a smaller fixed lens camera.

I have used it on one small vacation to prepare for a trip I am taking to Egypt.  I am very impressed with the ability to switch from auto settings to programmable modes.  The panarama mode is a fun add-on.

I few minor suggestions.  It can be challanging to switch from color to B/W mode.  I will probably take everything in color and change in my editor.  However, B/W work is aided by being able to compose the picture in b/w.  A sepia mode would also be nice, but not as critical as an easy to use B/W mode.  Finally, the spring-loaded lens cap can be difficult to hold on to when removing if you have large fingers (picture a flying lens cap while on a rock prometory and a frantic snatch to grab it).  I will have to jimmy rig a connector from the cap to the lens or camera body to prevent that from happening.

All in all, i am very happy with the purchase.

Prof. features, but kind to newer users

I am a real estate photographer by trade - all types of photography by hobby. The camera is more compact & lighter in weight than other DSLR's in its class - makes it easier to carry around. The LCD display is fabulous (as it was in the R-1!) - great macro with the stock 18-55 lens - buy a good macro & I'm sure wonders will never cease!

Good Job, Sony!

Have used for 3 weddings and a fireworks show. Everything I needed to capture fantastic memories. 10fps and the panoramic feature allowed me to present the newlyweds with images that left them nearly speechless.

Fantastic New Technology

I have 2 small kids doing all kinds of sports. The phase detection autofocus VDO and 10 fps allow me to take great pictures and VDO.

Great camera!

I like the potential built into this technical wonder. The weight savings alone for me, as I am older, is a boon to my photography, as I carry my camera often, wherever I go.  Point and shoot camera's do not have the quality or versatility this unit delivers, and at a modest price.  Sony has really advanced in the field very rapidly, and has unlimited potential with their developing product line.

Technical wonder in unique amenities .

Have used this product in all my travels, famjily situations, etc. No problems thus far after several thousand pictures.

Great new system

I purchased the Sony A55 to replace my aging Konica-Minolta digital camera because I wanted superior extreme low light performance and better resolution; also, my Konica-Minolta accessories work with the Sony alpha series cameras.

Features that I really like:
     Shutter action is very fast compared to my old camera.
     Very good low light performance in the "Auto" position. I took some photos of my house at night (10:00). The Sony A55 did a surprising good job without flash.
     Panoramic shots are very good even when the camera is hand held.
     Indoor photos taken with ambient light are very good and superior to my old camera.
     The Sony A55 is light and compact.

For general shooting, I cannot say anything bad about this camera - only good.

I've been doing cave photography for 43 years. With cave photography it is often necessary to use off camera strobes to avoid back scatter from water droplets and/or fog which is very often present. The only light sources I have to illuminate the subject for framing and focusing are my helmet mounted headlamp and a bright LED flashlight. This combination worked well with my old Konica-Minolta digital camera when operating in manual mode. The Electronic View Finder (EVF) on that camera switched from a color image to B&W in extreme low light thus enabling me to frame my shot and focus. Unfortunately on the Sony A55 the EVF goes black in low light when shooting in manual mode with off camera strobes. The work around to this problem is to rotate the selector switch on the top left counter-clockwise one position from M. The EVF then becomes bright enough to frame the subject. Once the subject is framed move the dial back to the M position. Focusing in extreme low light is a problem. Even though I carry a laser range finder and can accurately measure the distance to the subject, the 18 to 55 mm lens supplied does not have a scale on the focusing ring nor does the EVF display the focusing distance as the Konica-Minolta does. I suggest purchasing this camera with a lens that has a focusing scale in feet or meters if one plans to shoot in manual mode.

If you plan to use a polarizing filter, be sure to select a lens on which the filter mount does not rotate as the lens focuses and/or zooms.

I admit that my  cave photography is not the norm. If you plan to shoot outdoors at night and use an off camera strobe, you may want to consider my comments above.

In low light situations this camera very good in auto mode but poor in manual mode without getting somewhat  creative.

Overall - Sweet camera!

Sweet camera

Along with my Sony G 70-400 lens, this is great for my bird photography hobby. It has very fast focus with the lens unlike my old Sony camera. I love having both the HD video and panarama mode on one camera. So far I haven't found any cons. Love the GPS so I can see where I took a photo.

I love this camera!

I was worried about the viewfinder at first, but now I love it.  The electronic viewfinder allows for the whole menu to be displayed while still looking at the subject.  Focus is very fast and the camera itself can improve some of the photos you take.  I haven't yet tried all the functions of this great camera.  Given the extent of the possibilities, it will probably take a while to do so.

Great, great camera!

I was very excited about this camera.  All the reviews made it sound like the second coming.  Initial testing was promising.

In my work I frequently deal with difficult light conditions that are beyond my control.  This camera, and more particularly the non-traditional electronic viewfinder, suffered in these adverse conditions.  The viewfinder was overwhelmed by bright light or glare, to the point where it was practically unmanageable.  This would be a problem with other cameras as well, but in my experience is still manageable with a traditional prismatic viewfinder.

I found the autofocus to be slow and not as solid as the AF on Nikon and Canon cameras that I have used.

The camera didn't feel very solid.  For my purposes this made me uncomfotable, as I use the camera in harsh conditions.

On the plus side the camera was lightweight, and the images were solid.  There were many great features that would be perfect for any user from casual to pro, so long as they can control the environment and won't subject the camera to the kind of beating that I would.

I don't think that the camera should be discounted because of my review.  I use cameras in very harsh and difficult conditions, which would tax any camera.  Unfortunately, this camera was hobbled moreso than other cameras I have used.

Not a good camera for me.

This amazing camera has replaced my other SLR and Video camera.

Amazingly easy to use

I have been through the whole nine yards as far as
camera's go, SLR's,Point and shoot's, Photo courses.
This camera, in a very short time has made me feel like a PRO.
My in-door shots are suitable for frameing, my out of door shots are unbelieveable.
5 Stars for this SONY 55VL.

Awsome capabilities

I use this camera for many nature photos, anywhere from panaromic to macro. The only fast action shots I have taken so far were of my German Shepard running in the yard. They came out great. I haven't had it but a week and can not wait to get some articheture photos. I owned an older Sony DSC-H1 prior to this camera, and wanted to stay with Sony. I did compare other brands, and still stayed with Sony. I am very glad that I did. This camera does not dissapoint.

Great Camera!

This is a great, easy to use, high quality camera

Excellent!

This is a quantum leap from my A-100.  Love the movable viewfinder and the movies are first rate.

So far it's exceeded my expectations.

Not for studio use. Studio setups do not currently work properly with it, although there are workarounds. It is a great camera with much to offer, though a little more manual control and a higher build quality would be nice additions to a later version of this camera.

Small but quite a package.

Being a previous user of an A700 the new A55 is a big step forward, it is sharp, great image quality, light and easy to use. The only big problem here is that the electronic viewfinder (awesome)cannot work independently from the LCD. 

Being that the case when I tested it with my Interfit studio light and set the camera to the settings for shooting with the softbox and umbrella the LCD goes almost black and therefore the viewfinder as well so you need to shoot blind.

I called Sony and there was no way to fix that. Hey, is an electronic viewfinder. I returned it to the place I bought it and ordered the A580 from Sony with a optical viewfinder in hope the problem would be solved.

If you don't shoot in studio this camera is great. Otherwise consider the A580.

Great camera, not good for studio work!

My Best thoughts on this camera is that it was designed for small hands & some of the control buttons are really simi-out of reach to use without letting go with your right hand. I purchased this as an upgrade for one of my other Sony cameras & find my hand cramping up when used for a long shoot due to the extremely small grip for the right hand. Some of the buttons to make adjustments with while taking & reviewing photo's are in very undisirable locations without removing your hand from the camera to depress the buttons. I ran a short Video as a test of the camera & was able to shoot 4 minutes & 37 seconds before the warning light came on saying that the camera was over heating. According to the booklet, once the warning light comes on you have Very little time before the camera shuts it's self off to keep from causing damage to the camera it's self. 
Other than these few things this seems to be a Very Nice camera & am Glad I decided to purchase it; even though I've only had this camera for 2 days today. I shot one photo shoot & took more than 600 pictures on a sigle battery, due to the fact that I was not using live shot mode nor a few of the other added convience features that are on the camera. Very Impressive camera for its Price, Well worth the extra 100 dallors for the 55 version with the 18-55 lens. The lens is Very fast & clear.