Sony ha aggiunto due nuove reflex alla propria fascia consumer, si tratta della Alpha a550 e della Alpha a500.
Questi due nuovi modelli, si collocano al di sopra delle ultime entry level Sony a230, a330 e a380, aventi caratteristiche inferiori. Le reflex, hanno funzioni che si spingono molto in alto, sono dunque da considerare , per chi cerca alternative più economiche alle reflex semiprofessionali Nikon e Canon.
La a550 ed a500, differiscono nella risoluzione dei sensori CMOS, rispettivamente di 14,2 e 12,3 megapixel e nella raffica da 7 e 5 fps.Grazie al nuovo processore d’immagine Bionz la sensibilità è espandibile fino a 12800 ISO. Anche su questi corpi è presente la classica stabilizzazione del sensore SteadyShot. Il display snodabile di entrambe le reflex è da 3 pollici, sulla a500 offre 230.000 pixel mentre sulla a550 ben 920.000. Il mirino copre il 95% del fotogramma. Il sistema di messa a fuoco è di 9 punti. Le nuove Alpha offrono un doppio slot di memoria in grado di supportare sia schede SD/SDHC che Memory Stick Duo. I prezzi destinati al mercato americano sono di 750 dollari per la A500 e 950 dollari per la A550. Riportiamo di seguito la scheda tecnica:
| Sony DSLR-A550 | Sony DSLR-A500 | |
| Suggested selling price (With 18-55mm lens) |
$950 $1050 |
$750 $850 |
|---|---|---|
| Body material | Plastic exterior | |
| Sensor | • 23.4 x 15.6 mm APS-C Type CMOS Exmor Sensor • RGB Color Filter Array • Built-in fixed low-pass filter • 14.6 million total pixels • 14.2 million effective pixels |
• 23.5 x 15.6 mm APS-C Type CMOS Exmor Sensor • RGB Color Filter Array • Built-in fixed low-pass filter • 12.9 million total pixels • 12.3 million effective pixels |
| Image sizes * | 3:2 • 4592 x 3056 (L) • 3344 x 2224 (M) • 2288 x 1520 (S) 16:9 • 4592 x 2576 (L) • 3344 x 1872 (M) • 2288 x 1280 (S) |
3:2 • 4272 x 2848 (L) • 3104 x 2072 (M) • 2128 x 1416 (S) 16:9 • 4272 x 2400 (L) • 3104 x 1744 (M) • 2188 x 1192 (S) |
| File qualities / formats | • RAW (.ARW) • RAW + JPEG Fine • RAW + JPEG Standard • JPEG Fine • JPEG Standard |
|
| Dust reduction | • Charge protection coating on low-pass filter • Sensor-shift dust reduction mechanism |
|
| Lenses | • Sony Alpha lenses (also compatible with Minolta and Konica -Minolta AF lenses) |
|
| FOV crop | 1.5x | |
| SteadyShot INSIDE | • CCD-Shift ‘SteadyShot Inside’ system • Claimed equivalent to 2.5 – 3.5 steps in shutter speed |
|
| Auto Focus | • TTL CCD line sensors (9-points,with center cross sensor) • EV 0 to 18 (ISO 100) detection range • Predictive focus, Focus Lock |
|
| AF area selection | • Wide AF area • Spot AF area (center) • Focus area selection (any of 9) |
|
| Focus modes | • Single-shot AF • Continuous AF • Automatic AF • Manual focus |
|
| AF assist illuminator |
• Yes (using built in flash) • Range approx 1m – 5m |
|
| Eye-start AF | Yes, selectable from menu | |
| Shooting modes | • Programmed AE (Auto, Flash off, P) • Aperture priority AE • Shutter priority AE • Manual • Scene Selection |
|
| Scene modes | • Portrait • Landscape • Macro • Sports • Sunset • Night view/portrait |
|
| Sensitivity | • Auto (ISO 200-1600) • Manual ISO 200- ISO 12800 in 1 EV steps |
|
| Metering modes | • Multi-segment (40 segment Honeycomb pattern) • Center-weighted • Spot |
|
| Metering range | • TTL metering • 40-segment honeycomb-pattern SPC • EV 2 to 20 (Multi-segment / Center-weighted) * • EV 4 to 20 (Spot metering) * (at ISO 100 with F1.4 lens) |
|
| AE Lock | • AEL button (customizable, hold or single-press) • Half-press shutter release |
|
| AE Bracketing | • Single or continuous bracketing • 3 frames • 0.3 or 0.7 EV steps |
|
| Exposure compen. | • -2.0 to +2.0 EV • 0.3 EV steps |
|
| Shutter | Electronically-controlled, vertical-traverse, focal-plane Shutter | |
| Shutter Speed | • 30 to 1/4000 sec • Bulb |
|
| Flash X-sync | • 1/160 sec | |
| Aperture values | Depends on lens, 0.3 EV steps | |
| DOF preview | No | |
| White balance | • Auto • Daylight • Shade • Cloudy • Incandescent • Fluorescent • Flash • Color temperature/filter (2500 – 9900 K) • Manual (Custom) |
|
| White balance fine tuning | • Auto (none) • Preset WB: -3 to +3 • Fluorescent WB: -1 to +2 • Color temperature WB: G9 to M9 (Magenta to Green) |
|
| White balance bracketing | • 3 exposures • Hi / Lo level selectable |
|
| Dynamic range optimizer | • Off • D-Range Optimizer (Auto, Lv 1-5) • Auto HDR (Auto, Ajustable up to 3 EV betwwen 1.0-3.0 EV in 0.5 EV steps) |
|
| Color space | • sRGB • Adobe RGB |
|
| Color modes | • Standard • Vivid • Portrait • Landscape • Sunset • B&W |
|
| Image parameters | • Contrast (-3 to +3) • Sharpness (-3 to +3)) • Saturation (-3 to +3) |
|
| Noise reduction | • Long exposure for exposures longer than 1 second • High ISO NR at ISO 1600 or higher • User controllable: On / Off |
|
| Viewfinder * | • Eye-level fixed optical glass pentamirror • Spherical Acute Matte focusing screen • Magnification approx. 0.80x * • 95% frame coverage • Dioptric adjustment (-3.0 to +1.0) • Eye-relief 19 mm from eyepiece, 15 mm from frame* • Eyepiece cup removable • Viewfinder info bar |
|
| Live view (Quick AF Live View) * | • Dedicated live view sensor (pentamirror tilt system) • 1200 zone evaluative metering • Sensitivity 1-17 EV* • 90% frame coverage • Exposure and white balance simulation • Face Detection and Smile Shutter* • Smart Teleconverter (x1.4 / x2.0 slectable)* • Display: Histogram, eal-time image adjustment display (White balance, Sunset/ B&W of Creative Style, Exposure Compensation) |
|
| Live view (MF Check Live View) * | • Live View with CMOS sensor Exmor • Metering varies according to shooting mode • 100% frame coverage • Display: Real-time image adjustment display (White balance, Sunset/ B&W of Creative Style, Exposure Compensation) • Zoom (x7.0/x14.0), Grid line display |
|
| LCD monitor * | • 3.0 TFT Xtra Fine LCD • 921,600 dots • Auto Brightness Control (auto setting in 2 steps) • Manual settting in 5 steps |
• 3.0 TFT Clear Photo LCD Plus • 230,400 dots • Auto Brightness Control (auto setting in 2 steps) • Manual settting in 5 steps |
| Flash * | • Built-in pop-up flash (manual release) • Metering: ADI, Pre-flash TTL, Manual flash control • Guide number 12 (ISO 100/m) • Angle of coverage 18 mm (35 mm equiv.)* • Flash sync 1/160 sec |
|
| Flash modes | • Off • Auto • Fill Flash • Rear Sync • Slow sync • Wireless/High Speed Sync. |
|
| Flash Bracketing | 3 exposures in 0.3 and 0.7 EV steps | |
| Flash compensation | -2.0 to +2.0 EV in 0.3 EV steps | |
| External flash (optional) | • Sony HVL-F58AM • Sony HVL-F56AM • Sony HVL-F42AM • Sony HVL-F36AM |
|
| Drive modes | • Single-frame • Continuous • Speed-Priority* • Self-timer (10 or 2 sec) |
|
| Continuous shooting |
• Approx 5 fps max (4 fpsin Live view) • Speed- Priority: 7 fps max • RAW: Up to 14 frames • RAW+JPEG: Up to 7 frames • JPEG (Fine): 32 frames • JPEG (Standard): 116 frames |
• Approx 5 fps max (4 fps in Live view) • RAW: Up to 6 frames • RAW+JPEG: Up to 3 frames • JPEG (Fine): 12 frames • JPEG (Standard): 58 frames |
| Self-timer | • 10 sec • 2 sec |
|
| Orientation sensor | Yes, for shooting, playback and control panel display | |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (mass storage, Multi-LUN or PTP) • DC-IN • Remote terminal |
|
| Remote control | • Wired: with optional RM-S1AM or RM-L1AM | |
| Video out | • AV (Selectable NTSC or PAL) • HDMI • ‘PhotoTV’ HD settings applied with BRAVIA. |
|
| Storage | • SD/ SDHC • Memory Stick Pro Duo / Pro HG Duo • Supports FAT12 / FAT16 / FAT32 |
|
| Power | • NP-FM500H Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (1650 mAh) • Battery charger included • Optional AC adapter • Batter life Approx 950 shots with viewfinder, 480 in Live view mode (CIPA standard) |
• NP-FM500H Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (1650 mAh) • Battery charger included • Optional AC adapter • Batter life Approx 1000 shots with viewfinder, 520 in Live view mode (CIPA standard) |
| Vertical grip | • Yes (model tbc) | |
| Dimensions | 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.5 x 4.2 x 3.9 in) | |
| Weight (body) | 599 g (1.5lb) | 597g (1.5lb) |
Via | Dpreview
