A33 vs. A55

[DiverDan]

I went one of my local camera stores, searching for a replacement for my aging Rebel XT, and the Sony A33 and A55 caught my eye. So I asked the salesman to look at them. Instead of comparing the two, he just pushed the A55 on me. Telling me about how great it is, instead of comparing it to the A33. So, what are your thoughts on the A33 vs. the A55, is the A55 worth the extra money? Where does the A55 excel? Is the A33 any better in certain areas?

If it helps, the primary use of the camera will be for shooting sports, both indoors and outdoors. Also, just for an everyday snapshot camera. So basically, I need good iso performance, and plenty of manual modes.

Thanks in advance.

 

[o hey tyler]

Uh, you probably don't want an EVF for shooting sports. I wouldn't consider either of those. The refresh rate doesn't bode well for fast moving subjects.

If I were shopping in your position? I'd look at a 60D. You won't have to sell your current lens lineup either.

 

[ConradM]

Uh, you probably don't want an EVF for shooting sports. I wouldn't consider either of those. The refresh rate doesn't bode well for fast moving subjects.

If I were shopping in your position? I'd look at a 60D. You won't have to sell your current lens lineup either.

Posting in the Sony sub forum to tell people not to buy Sony cameras?

 

[ConradM]

DiverDan, if you can swing it, the a55 is the better camera, especially for sports. 10 fps in continuous drive mode...

I've been using my a33 to shoot my kids skating and I couldn't be happier.

 

[o hey tyler]

Uh, you probably don't want an EVF for shooting sports. I wouldn't consider either of those. The refresh rate doesn't bode well for fast moving subjects.

If I were shopping in your position? I'd look at a 60D. You won't have to sell your current lens lineup either.

Posting in the Sony sub forum to tell people not to buy Sony cameras?

I pay very little attention to what forum the post is in when responding. I use the 'new posts' feature.

And yes, I will recommend against a SLT camera for shooting sports. Because it's not practical, or useful. The fact that it has 10FPS is not the "selling point" for sports.

From Wikipedia:

Advantages and Disadvantages vs DSLR

Advantages:

• Continuous phase-detection autofocus even during video, live view or continuous shooting mode
• Lack of camera shake due to mirror movement
• No viewfinder blackout while taking photograph
• Shorter shutter lag
• Exposure value, white balance and other settings can be easily and directly verified on the electronic viewfinder (and thus tweaked) before taking a picture.

Disadvantages:

• Less light reaching sensor, due to portion of the light being reflected to phase-detection autofocus array (approximately 1/3 EV or 21% in current designs).
• Refresh rate limited by the time it takes the sensor to form an image; in low light this causes severe stuttering of the viewfinder image when panning (e.g. if it takes 1/4 sec for the sensor to gather enough light to form an image then the EVF updates at 4FPS).
• No real-time viewfinder update at high shooting rates, the viewfinder shows the last picture taken instead of where the camera is actually pointed; mostly a concern with fast-moving subjects(Note: Some DSLR's do not update the image at all, as mirror is up when shooting. However, some will give you a gimps of what is being shot as the mirror and shutter reset for the next shot.).
• The EVF has far less dynamic range than the sensor, so the EVF does not properly show what will be captured.
• The bright light of the EVF in current implementations can cause eyestrain when used over long periods and can affect dark-adapted vision, causing temporary nyctalopia (Adaptation (eye)#Insufficiency).
• Over a period of time, the mirror surfaces can become soiled. As a result of this the mirror scatters the light rays and degrades the recorded image.

When shooting sports, the bolded areas are what I'd be concerned with.

 

[dxqcanada]

The A33 has an older sensor.
The A35 is the updated version ... same sensor as the A55.

I have had no problems with using the A55 EVF under low lighting situations, nor any issues with taking pictures of moving subjects.

You can read this user's blog: The Picture Desk: Almost one year with the Sony A55 and this is what I've learned

 

[ConradM]

Uh, you probably don't want an EVF for shooting sports. I wouldn't consider either of those. The refresh rate doesn't bode well for fast moving subjects.

If I were shopping in your position? I'd look at a 60D. You won't have to sell your current lens lineup either.

Posting in the Sony sub forum to tell people not to buy Sony cameras?

I pay very little attention to what forum the post is in when responding. I use the 'new posts' feature.

And yes, I will recommend against a SLT camera for shooting sports. Because it's not practical, or useful. The fact that it has 10FPS is not the "selling point" for sports.

From Wikipedia:

Advantages and Disadvantages vs DSLR

Advantages:

• Continuous phase-detection autofocus even during video, live view or continuous shooting mode
• Lack of camera shake due to mirror movement
• No viewfinder blackout while taking photograph
• Shorter shutter lag
• Exposure value, white balance and other settings can be easily and directly verified on the electronic viewfinder (and thus tweaked) before taking a picture.

Disadvantages:

• Less light reaching sensor, due to portion of the light being reflected to phase-detection autofocus array (approximately 1/3 EV or 21% in current designs).
• Refresh rate limited by the time it takes the sensor to form an image; in low light this causes severe stuttering of the viewfinder image when panning (e.g. if it takes 1/4 sec for the sensor to gather enough light to form an image then the EVF updates at 4FPS).
• No real-time viewfinder update at high shooting rates, the viewfinder shows the last picture taken instead of where the camera is actually pointed; mostly a concern with fast-moving subjects(Note: Some DSLR's do not update the image at all, as mirror is up when shooting. However, some will give you a gimps of what is being shot as the mirror and shutter reset for the next shot.).
• The EVF has far less dynamic range than the sensor, so the EVF does not properly show what will be captured.
• The bright light of the EVF in current implementations can cause eyestrain when used over long periods and can affect dark-adapted vision, causing temporary nyctalopia (Adaptation (eye)#Insufficiency).
• Over a period of time, the mirror surfaces can become soiled. As a result of this the mirror scatters the light rays and degrades the recorded image.

When shooting sports, the bolded areas are what I'd be concerned with.

I tried shooting in continuous today with my dogs in the backyard, it shows the last pic taken but it's so fast I had no trouble tracking them while they played tag. I imagine that it's only easier with the a55.

 

[Omofo]

I would take that wiki info with a grain of salt. "Refresh rate limited by the time it takes the sensor to form an image; in low light this causes severe stuttering of the viewfinder image when panning (e.g. if it takes 1/4 sec for the sensor to gather enough light to form an image then the EVF updates at 4FPS)"

Who's going to pan or shoot action shots at 1/4? absurd!!!!!!!!

The only foreseeable problem with either camera, would be noise issues at high iso levels(above 1600). There is some slight lag in the evf, but the fast shooting rate makes it negligible. I find it easier to use the lcd when shooting fast subjects.

10fps allows me to get some great shots

 

[Omofo]

 

[Omofo]

 

[Omofo]

 

[ConradM]

Nice shots Omofo! What settings those for those pics?

 

[ConradM]

Here's a pic I took of my 8 year old doing a boardslide last saturday...

I didn't even think to use continuous drive mode as this was my first time trying action shots.

 

[o hey tyler]

I would take that wiki info with a grain of salt. "Refresh rate limited by the time it takes the sensor to form an image; in low light this causes severe stuttering of the viewfinder image when panning (e.g. if it takes 1/4 sec for the sensor to gather enough light to form an image then the EVF updates at 4FPS)"

Who's going to pan or shoot action shots at 1/4? absurd!!!!!!!!

Who's going to have to re-read the wikipedia statement that you quoted? Or do you not understand it? 1/4s isn't the shutter speed being used. It's .25s that it takes to activate the EVF in low light because it needs enough light hitting the sensor for it to display. As opposed to AS SOON AS THE MIRROR comes down on a DSLR, which is like .01 seconds. It's a huge improvement if you're shooting sports with not a lot of light.

So next time, exercise some reading comprehension.

 

[DiverDan]

Rather than continue to argue amongst yourselves, what are the major differences with the A33 and A55?