Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Sony officially announces the A33 and A55 SLT

Well, the rumours are true!  Sony did have more than a media preview, they made a press release on their A33 and A55 DSLT!  It is not exactly a DSLR as it is now a Digital Single Lens Translucent!  What does that actually mean to you and me? In layman terms, the SLT have a “translucent” mirror that lets 70% (in this particular case) of light to pass through to the sensor, and the other 30% to your viewfinder.  In other words, instead of the mirror needing to swing out of the way to allow for exposure, it remains fixed.  This allows for the phase-detection auto-focus capability (which somewhat differentiates new DSLR class cameras now from compacts).

A33 SAL55200 SAM

Although it would mean that the brightness of the view finder will be significantly reduced (i.e. dark), this technology allows for quick continuous shooting of up to 10 fps with the more precise phase detection auto-focus mechanism.  How this will actually fare, I have yet to get my hands on it.

Although it is a small camera, it comes with a 3” any angle high resolution LCD that actually gives a 100% coverage!  Sweep panorama and auto-HDR has become standard for Sony, so they are included now.

Both the A33 and the A55 are much smaller in size than a traditional DSLR and they are similar in size with the A230, A330 and A380 siblings.

A55 Body

In a nutshell

  • A55 (16MP) and A33 (14MP)
  • Auto-Focus Full HD Video, 1080i
  • 10 fps
  • ISO100 – 12800 (can be extended to 25600)

Coupled with SAM lenses, this camera tries to be both a still and a camcorder.

1 comment:

kuanhoong said...

Digital Single Lens Translucent.. what a name