A Quick Hands-On with the New Sony a55 (VIDEO)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was fortunate enough to be at Sony Headquarters in Manhattan on Tuesday when the Sony a560, a33, and a55 were unveiled. There had been a massive amount of online speculation leading up to the release of the a33/55 because of their translucent mirror technology. This technology had been used on some previous film cameras, but it never made enough of a difference for people to take the cameras seriously. However using a translucent mirror with a digital interchangeable lens camera unlocks enormous potential at a very attractive price point. ($850 with 18-55 lens) Here is a short video and my first impressions.

The gorgeous 3" HD articulating LCD

Based on my first few hands-on interactions with the a55, I can say that I am very impressed. Right now the a55 is the best "bang for your buck" deal out there. The $5,000 (body only) Canon EOS 1D Mark IV is the only other interchangeable lens camera on the market that can keep up with the a55's amazing 10 frames per second burst.

Look, I am not saying the Sony a55 is a replacement for a professional body because it isn't. However, no other camera offers as many high-end features in such a small package. Here are the basic specs again. Sony a55 Sensor: 16MP EXMORHD (CMOS) ISO range: 100-12800 Video: 1080i video with continuous phase detection AF AF: 15 AF points, 3 cross-type Burst: 10fps Additional: Built in GPS tagging for stills and video, Sweep Panorama (3D), Auto HDR, Multi-Shot Noise Reduction LCD: Fully articulating 3" 921K (Wide 16:9 aspect ratio) Viewfinder: electronic 1.15M dot 100% coverage Price: $850 with 18-55mm lens

You look at this camera on paper and it just blows you away. There are some minor quirks that bothered me. For example, you cannot turn High ISO noise reduction off. You can only set it to "AUTO" or "WEAK". Hopefully this can be addressed in a firmware updated. I will need to shoot with this camera for a week before I can make any other statements about it. Stay tuned. Sony was kind enough to lend me a NEX-5 mirrorless camera for the weekend. I will be shooting away with it, so check back next week for a complete review, videos, and more. This is a new product for us and since I wrote such an extensive review of the Olympus E-PL1. I want to see how the NEX compares!