Camera Labs

Gordon will or wont agree with you when he has the model for reviewing;)

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

I've seen YouTube videos in which the live view does not stop during high speed sequences, but rather it flits through several (but not all) of the moments as best it can -- enough to keep track of a skiier or whatever.

From what I've seen on YouTube, when shooting video, the autofocus of the A55V is almost too fast in jumping from one distance to another.

Other cameras that take a second or two to focus on a new object almost emulate the speed of a manual, purposeful focus change.

But the way the A55V lurches to the new object is so sudden and lurching that it would have to be edited out. I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I guess good, but it means that people who shoot video will really have to start using manual focus if they'd rather leave in the shifts.

Example of how the sudden shift in focus is just too fast for the mood:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk0LdLyZf1w

If I was to go for the A55 with twin kit lens and also get the 50mm/1.4, would that be a good start? Or am I better to go body only and get the 50mm/1.4 lens and maybe another lens without blowing the budget out too much?

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Aidan Hill. com
Nikon D7000 | Nikon 70-200MM f/2.8G VR II | Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM | Tokina 11-16mm F2.8| iMac 27" | MacBook Pro 13" | Crumpler 6 Million Dollar Bag |

Will Bueche you are rignt, artistic effect of focusing from one to second is mostly I think achieved by manually focusing but for keeping action in focus will help lots in movie and still.

I am seriously looking at the A55 as compared to the new Lumix Z100. For me, the interchangeable lens and have the ability to manual focus with a focus ring (instead of a jog wheel) are both big pluses. Also the continual video AF is a huge benefit over a traditional DSLR like the T2i. Where am I going wrong?

If you intend to do a lot of video work, while not using the largest aperture of the lens (say, f/8 instead of f/5.6 at 400mm or so), you'll have to focus manually: you won't have the fast phase-detection AF anymore...I hope Sony will add contrast-detection to the A700-successor, so one could work with the aperture closed a bit (for more DoF)...

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Sony α77V/VG-C77AM/α350/18-70/70-400 G SSM/NEX-5/18-55 OSS/Lowepro Pro Trekker 600 AW/CompuTrekker AW/Nova 140 AW/Street & Field gear/Toploader Pro 75 AW. And a huge wishlist...

My photos on Flickr...

NEW! Sony Alpha SLT-A33 detailed results preview!

Hello everyone, I've been testing the A33 for some time now, but won't be able to complete my full review for a few more weeks. But since I already have pretty much all of my results, samples and movies ready, I thought, why wait?!

So I've published my most detailed preview in terms of results, with pages for resolution, high ISO noise, Handheld Twilight and HDR modes, along with our sample images gallery (several of which are available to download), and our movie samples page (all of which can be downloaded!).

In fact in terms of image quality results, the only obvious ommission is the new Multi-frame NR option, which I'm leaving for the final review. The final review will also obviously have the design, features and verdict pages completed.

I hope you find the results so far useful - remember, it's not a full review yet, just a preview, based on results from a final production model.

Thanks Gordon.
But I have one question: What makes the A33 and A55 really special from the A550? The A550 could also focus very fast in Live View due to the secondary sensor. Do you say that because of that secondary sensor wasnt good enough they made a whole new system? They could just made the A550 with video, then you still have fast AF in LV.
Or am I just wrong?

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

Hi Ruben, the difference with the A33 / A55 is they are using their main sensor to deliver the live view, so you get 100% coverage and the chance to record movies, AS WELL AS getting phase-change AF. On the A550, the secondary sensor only delivered an approximation of what you'd subsequently capture, and it also didn't support video.

Ok, thus the point is that the new series could fast AF in movie mode? And of course that coverage problem...
Sony is going the right way at the moment

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

Looking at various samples, I think A55's high ISO is a little better than A33, despite more megapixels.

Hi,

Looks like a new, good idea that will please many people. However, there seems to be a serious negative to his SLT cameras:
While the camera is shooting at 10fps, the viewfinder seems to remain blank. So, until the burst is complete, you have no idea of what you are looking at. Also, later the camera needs about 50 seconds to process the burst. Though this may vary from card to card, what I basically mean is that it needs a long time. And while processing the burst, it uses its complete processing power, so even playing back images can't be done, or is just too slow.
Meaning that by the time we know that what we have captured is what we want or not, it may to too late! In case of a traditional reflex mirror, we can get "flashes" of the image in the viewfinder. But here since we are totally blank to the scene, it may feel more like firing in the darkness with no way of confirming where we are shooting.

This is based on some reviews I read, so don't know how much of it is true. If the viewfinder does remain blank, I wonder how we could come with moving subjects even with a 10fps burst rate?

Jinay.

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A picture is worth a thousand words, but a photograph should make you say just one - "WOW!"

Canon EOS 550D + 18-55mm Kit Lens + Canon 75-300mm III USM + Filters.
Panasonic Lumix FZ35

My Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdm_01/

If I remember correctly, it isn't blank. It does give an impression of what you're photographing, but it's different from an OVF. Rather hard to explain, I suggest looking through it for yourself at a store . I've already said it a couple of times - no matter how appealing these SLTs may be, they have certain disadvantages. Battery life, small body dimensions,...

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Sony α77V/VG-C77AM/α350/18-70/70-400 G SSM/NEX-5/18-55 OSS/Lowepro Pro Trekker 600 AW/CompuTrekker AW/Nova 140 AW/Street & Field gear/Toploader Pro 75 AW. And a huge wishlist...

My photos on Flickr...

I hope you also get A55 to review. It's worth the extra $100. GPS, 10 fps, 16 MP, and despite the extra 2 MP, high ISO is (slightly) better than A33. Probably brand new sensor design.