Sony α550 DSLR Camera Body

Simply Awesome!

Pros: fast, easy to use for first timers

Cons: a little heavy

This is my first professional camera and it was ready to use right out f the box. I would reccomend this camera to anyone! it takes brilliant pictues and the tilt screen is awesome for those hard to get shots. Kuddos to Sony!

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Great Upgrade from Sony DSC-F828

Pros: Very Fast,

Cons: Cost

I don’t normally write reviews, but my love of photography has prompted me to communicate my thoughts. My first 35mm camera was a Minolta Maxxum 5000 that I bought in 1986. I had two lenses with my old Minolta camera (28-85mm and a 75-300mm). I used this camera for years and occasionally still do. In 2005, I broke down and bought a Sony DSC-F828 and have been very pleased with this camera for the past 4 years. Recently, I began to shoot more pictures in RAW format as I really liked being able to tweak the photos at home instead of in the field to set the exposure for variable conditions. The only problem with the F828 was the speed at recording the raw images. I tried faster memory cards but came to the realization it was the camera’s processor that was the limiting factor. This can be really frustrating when you are trying to capture wildlife such as birds of prey in flight. This Christmas I bought the Sony a550 with the SAL-18250 lens. What a wonderful combination. This camera is very quick even with standard memory cards. I can shoot in rapid succession 7 shots, then wait a couple of seconds and shoot another set. This is very nice when trying to shoot wildlife. I can’t wait to try it out in one of our National Parks this summer. Other than the image stabilization which is also very nice, the speed of the camera’s processor is worth the upgrade by itself. In summary, the a550 is just as fast as my old 35mm film camera, except instead of having to reload film after 5 volleys (36 shots), I get to keep shooting. The wide angle using the SAL-18250 lens is the same as my old Minolta at 28mm and the maximum zoom is better than 300mm equivalent of my 35mm film camera. As a result this single lens effectively replaces the need for the two lenses I used with my 35mm film camera. It is also very nice to be able to connect my old Minolta lens to the Sony body. When I connect my 75-300mm Minolta lens to my a550, I effectively get about 450mm of zoom, which is very nice for distance shots. On my F828, I almost always shot using the LCD screen. Not the case with the a550. While you have the option to do so, I find it much more convenient to move the camera back up to my eye and shoot through the crystal clear view finder, the way a camera should be. The F828 had a LCD screen viewfinder that was somewhat grainy and difficult to focus manually. The reaction time was also slow and you could lose the object too easily. The Sony a550 corrects this issue as you are looking through the lens so there isn’t any electronic processing delay. As a final note, the a550 shoots is a different RAW format that my F828. At first, this concerned me as Adobe Photoshop CS4 didn’t immediately recognize it. However, after downloading the latest Adobe Camera Raw plug-in to version 5.6, Photoshop was able to read the new format. This was a free download from Adobe, so it should be an issue. In summary after only two days of using this camera, I am greatly impressed with the Sony a550 and have no regrets whatsoever with this purchase. I would recommend this camera to anyone who has a love of photography. Hopefully later this year, I will post some wildlife pictures taken with the a550.

needs a firmware update to be a great choice

Pros: manual focus live view, hi speed continuous shooting

Cons: limited exposure bracketing settings

Exposure bracketing settings are limited to .3 or .7 EV with 3 shots. This camera needs a simple firmware update to bring it to at least 2 (hopefully 3) EV with 3 or 5 shots.

Love my Alpha

Pros: Great features, Fast, Awesome pics, Easy to use, love the tilting display

Cons: A little heavy, no video

This is my first DSLR coming over from my minolta 35mm and a cannon PTS digital. Tha A550 is easy to use right out of the box, has great features that allow all or no control of your shots, and takes amazing pictures. The adjustable display is great for taking some tricky angle shots and the live view gives that 35mm feel. From the beach northern woods this spring fishing or the NC beach this summer it has taken full rich pictures inside and out. And a bonus for me all my Minolta maxxim lense work great with my alpha. If your looking for a nice mid level dslr I would recommend the 550.

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Less than an hours worth of use...

Pros: an overall good camera except that

Cons: the capture button fell off

I finally began to shoot with my new a550. I was really enjoying the cameras capability and diversity, until the capture button fell off! I've less than an hour of use out of this camera and it is now useless. For the money I would have said the a550 is great but now all I can say is don't waste you money on a poorly made plastic camera. For the money go for the Nikon D700; its construction is superior. The trade off is that the Nikon D700, while comparable in price only has 12.1 megapixels and takes up to 5 frames per minute verses the 14 megapixels and 7 frames per minute that the Sony a550 boasts. While the Nikon D700 has slight disadvantages, anyone will see the ultimate value in having a well-built camera (that works) to Sony’s a550 that falls apart 35minutes out of the box!

Average, certainly not outstanding

Pros: numerous settings to allow the user to tweak how the picture is going to be recorded

Cons: too much compression of the jpeg files even in the highest quality mode, slowest iso is 200, poor exposure control using

The A550 is an OK camera but it is nowhere near as good as the A700. It is advertised as a 14 megapiixel camera with improved sensor and picture quality which is why I retired my A700. I shoot in "fine" mode which is the highest quality jpeg mode available and most of my files are less than 5 MP because Sony has set the firmware to compress files by 5%. ik'm aware the 14 MP file is only generated when shooting in RAW mode, but the A700 had an extra fine setting so the 10 MP sensor produce 7.5 to 8.2 MP jpegs because the compression was only 2%. Picture quality is mediocre even in RAW format, the images are almost fuzzy. I just shot a dodgeball tournament and found that the exposure control couldn't cope with scenes where the flash was aimed directly toward a wall 30 feet away or into a corner, every shot was washed out. Where the angle of the shot wasn't toward a wall or into a corner the esposure was perfect. Fortunately I still have my A700 so the A550 is going into storage awaiting a firmware update (this is a hint Sony) and A700 back into service.

Great upgrade for DSLR-A350 users

Pros: Higher ISO performance, hi-res LCD tilts 90deg down, better button placement, better Fn screen layout, built-in HDR

I shot with an A350 for 10 months. While it's a really great camera it has a few short comings that I found limiting. Sony seemed to have read my mind and fixed or improved every single one of my concerns: - I can shoot at ISO 800-1600 without seeing any significant noise (With the A350 I didn't like to shoot above ISO 400), - The LCD screen is higher resolution and tilts 90 deg down (vs 45deg with the A350), - Manual focus check (puts a 7x or 14x image on the LCD screen for fine focus adjustments) - AEL button moved next to thumb where it's needed, Smart teleconverter button moved farther away since it's not used as much - Fn screen layout more intuitive - Built-in HDR function - thank goodness Sony kept the same big grip as the A350 and the same 14 megapixel count. All together, the A550 is my A350 with all the short comings fixed. The A550 is a long-term keeper for me.

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Over exposed issue

Pros: Good vivid colors / Exposure issues

Cons: Exposure issues

I got my 550 some months ago, and I have been very happy with it, nevertheless is frequently that some pictures are over exposed, i shoot most of the time in "auto", so the problem is with the camera, not with my own settings, I am waiting of there is a firmware that fix this, despite of this issue the colors are great even better than Nikon in my opinion, I am watinig sony make also a better 70-200mm 2.8, I think the current one is old technology, so Sony what are you wating for..?

Awesome!!!!!!

Pros: Superb performance

Cons: Remore control & USB connector access doors too fragile

I had a Minolta Maxumm 7xi with various lenses and I had been looking for a digital camera that would accomodate these lenses, I first bought an a350 and used it for 3 months but when the oportunity came to purchase an upgrade I opted for the a550 and it is awesome, great pictures and features. You can be sure that I will be upgrading to an a850 or a900 as soon as possible. Great work guys, keep up the good work.

Great Job Guys and Gals at Sony

Pros: This Camera Can Take Two Pictures at The same time and merge them for great Highlights and Shadows

Cons: Cannot do this on RAW Images

I haven't Had This Camera for very long not even 24 Hrs and Already love this Machine. It will take two Images at the same time and Merge them for a one picture and Gets Great Highlights and Great Shadows I have only Shot a few pictures with it but the Quality of them is remarkable!!!!!!!. They have also given you a choise of SD Cards or Sony Cards I also like the fact that you can use the Large View Finder for more then just what settings you have you can use it to take your picture and to focuse on. I Have used a Sony Alpha 100 Camera until Now and have loved it so far And Still Do Love it But this NewCamera you put out.So much Thought went Into this Camera Like I Said Great Job Guys I used to Shoot with Manolita Cameras And Still Have all My old Len's and they Fit My Old A 100 Camera I hope I can do the same with my New Camera I am sure it will Great Job Guys Great Camera John Ward

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