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Sony Alpha A550 DSLR reviewed: new tricks, new trade-offs
It's been a long haul since it was officially announced way back in August, but we're guessing there's a good number of folks that have been waiting for Digital Photography Review's take on Sony's Alpha A550 DSLR before making their final decision on the camera. Thankfully, the site has now come through with a usually thorough review, which unsurprisingly finds that while there's a lot to like, there's also a few notable trade-offs with this challenger to the likes of the Nikon D90. On the upside, the camera packs quite a few features not seen on many of its competitors, including two different live view modes, built-in HDR options, 7 fps burst shooting, and reportedly great image stabilization, to name a few -- all of which add up to make this was DP Review calls "the best APS-C camera Sony has produced since the Alpha 700." On the downside, however, the site found that the A550 sits somewhat uncomfortably between the low and high-end, with its slightly stripped down controls turning off pros, and its rather weak performance in auto mode potentially being a problem for beginners. That doesn't prevent the camera from receiving fairly solid recommendation though, which hinges on the caveat that folks know what they're getting into.
Sony debuts Alpha A850, A550 and A500 DSLRs
Sony's really hitting two sweet spots this morning with its new (or, newly confirmed) full-frame A850 (pictured) and mid-range A550 and A500 DSLR additions to the Alpha family. The rumors were basically dead on, with the A850 offering a slight reduction to the A900's skillset while keeping on the exact same 24.6 megapixel sensor -- and nabbing a $1,000 or so price cut in the process (it's now landing at around $2,000). The A550 and A500, meanwhile, fill in any perceived gaps in the Alpha line with 14.2 and 12.3 megapixel sensors, respectively. They also both score tilt-out LCDs akin to the poorly-received A380, with the A550 sporting a much higher resolution screen than its sibling. Still, even with the other minor tweaks present, we're not sure how reasonable the $200 price difference between the two cameras is: the A550 goes for $950 ($1050 with a kit lens), while the A500 hits at $750 ($850 with a kit). The glaring omission in all of these cameras, of course, is video recording -- something that Sony's various competition is sporting in a majority of these pricepoints. A head scratcher, to be sure. Read - Sony Alpha A550 and A500 Read - Sony Alpha A850 Read - Sony Alpha A550 hands-on preview
Sony Canada hints at Alpha A500 series of DSLRs
All we've got are these model numbers to go by, but it's pretty clear that Sony's cooking up a new series of Alpha DSLRs. The screengrab above (which we replicated ourselves) comes courtesy of SonyStyle Canada's registration page. A field populated by a well-meaning, yet misguided soul since Sony has yet to announce DSLRs carrying the A500, A500S, A550, A550S monikers. It's just a guess, but Sony's lineup has a glaring omission when compared to the competition in the consumer DSLR space: HD Video.[Via PhotoRumors and Dyxum]
Canon beefs up its line of budget PowerShot cams
Canon's really loving on the budget set, with them ZR and DC camcorders it released a couple weeks ago, and now a trio of PowerShots that go ultra-easy on the pocket book. The new A-series cams include the PowerShot A550 and A460, which go for $200 and $150, and sport 7.1 megapixel and 5.0 megapixel CCDs, respectively. The new cameras, which should be available mid-February, feature 2-inch LCDs, 4x optical zoom lenses and the fancy DIGIC II image processor for speedier performance and less battery drain. Both cameras are SDHC compatible, feature AiAF "smart" autofocus, and the A550 can pull off 30 fps VGA video, but that's about all that's going on here -- no image stabilization for this kind of mula. Canon's also introducing an A450 model to certain markets, which mirrors the A460 other than an inexplicable 3.2x optical zoom. More reasonably, Canon is also tossing a pair of AA batteries and a 16MB MMC card into each box, so you or the technophobe buddy of yours you end up buying one of these for should be able to start shooting right away. Peep the other two cameras after the break.[Via LetsGoDigital]
