Sony A55 and A33

In the last couple years, interchangeable cameras become smaller and smaller. Panasonic and Olympus launch mirrorless system camera, Samsung launched NX system, Sony launches super mini NEX system.

Now, even there are so many options for small camera with big and interchangeable sensor, these mirrorless system has several problems. It’s auto focus speed system is not as good and fast as DSLR camera, lack of quality viewfinder, and bad interface.

Several days ago, I notice that Sony will launch a camera that will solve most of this problem. These two new cameras, Sony A55 and A33 will use Pellix design, which might be a groundbreaking design because it will get the best of both worlds, mirrorless and traditional DSLR.

sony-a55-alpha

Here are some specs leaked:

Sony A55

16 MP / APS-C Sensor
3 inch 910k resolution, swivel LCD
Electronic viewfinder, 1.44 m dots (the best so far)
15 AF points, 3X center, two 2X type
ISO 100-12800, quasi-ISO 25,600 ‘Multi-frame NR’ option
Full HD 1080i movie recording 25/30fps, up to 29 minutes, or 9 minutes if Steadyshot is ON
Movie recording is limited to 2GB/shot
10 fps continuous shooting (Expsoure-aperture lock), 6 fps continuous shooting
SD card / memory stick
built-in GPS
socket for external microphone (useful for video recording)
Price: $650-900

Sony A33
Most are the same as above, but A33 has a few differences

14 MP sensor
7 fps AE-AF lock, 6 fps continuous shooting
No built-in GPS

Potential advantage of Pellix camera design:

High continuous shooting speed
Fast continuous auto focus in video recording, good to track subject moving about 30-40 mph (still) 50 mph (video)
Significantly smaller than regular DSLR camera
No viewfinder black-out when capturing picture (unlike mirrorless system)
Compatible with SLR lenses without having to use adapter
Better interface compared to NEX system
Better image quality compared to micro four third system

Potential disadvantages:

Limited buffer (32 jpg/3 second) for continuous shooting and it takes a long time to clear
Difficult to keep track of subject in viewfinder when fast continuous shooting mode
No manual exposure control in video recording mode
When recording video, lens must be used at maximum aperture
Only automatic exposure mode works when shooting at 10 fps
A bit harder to balance longer/heavy lens
Losing some light (about 1/3 stop), because the Translucent mirror reflects a small percentage of the light to the AF sensors

Not a problem:

Dust and reflection due to translucent mirror design: special coatings have been applied to the mirror to deal with these

There are interesting insight from Miserere about the technology:

The problem I see is that the SLT camera might be a solution to a quickly disappearing problem. As some of the latest MILCs have proven (such as the Panasonic G2 or Samsung NX10), contrast-detect AF can be fast, and is likely to keep improving with each new iteration thanks to its inclusion in the rising sector of mirrorless cameras. Once contrast-detect AF is capable of determining distance to subject, it will not only be fast, but smooth also. We may see cameras with such an AF system as early as this Autumn at Photokina 2010. When this happens, what will be the point of SLTs?

Miserere – from Enticing the light

Alphamountworld is a bit disappointed with A33

I don’t see a speed advantage or, hit rate advantage here much if at all.

The reason is clear. The little devil is Sony’s AF system (for both stills and video), which is clearly snappy but definitely not using the full capability of the technology. If the AF system were faster and more sensitive, then you’d have one heck of a sports shooting still camera here that could in theory keep up with tracking moving subjects better.

So the excitement I felt about Translucent technology that initially sparked my interest into this camera has faded considerably in use. My advice to potential buyers would be to wait for Sony to upgrade the AF system to the point where it can really use this brilliant technology properly, and give Alpha a distinct and clear advantage. That is unless you really want continuous auto focus in video, which works pretty good. This leads me to my next impressions on the AF system in general.

Imaging Resource reviews Sony A55, quite complete with user reports and +/- comparison table.

Will this new design prevail? We’ll need to wait until it was officially released and tested for drawbacks.