Image courtesy Quesabesde
Quesabesde (Click here to read the google english translation) wrote a new Sony A57 hands-on. And David K. from Photoclubalpha (Click here) shared his thoughts about the A57: “Everyone has been saying – we’d love an A77 or even an A65 with the 16 megapixel sensor. Or we’d love an A55 upgraded with the better viewfinder. So what do Sony deliver? Neither…“. And a first impression post has been written at Photocomment (Click here).
On SonyAlphaRumors 51% of the readers like the new A57 while other 25% said they cannot judge yet and the rest said that they didn’t like the camera at all (Click here to see the full A57 news coverage and the poll at the bottom of that post).
If you think you need that camera here are some USA preorder links:
A57 Body Only: Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStoreUSA (Click here), BHphoto (Click here).
A57+18-55mm lens: Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here), SonyStoreUSA (Click here), BHphoto (Click here).
77 Responses
Please, no SLT hate…
Y not spend a little more time on ff, Sony…
I think the A57 is a way to test out 1-2 little features without releasing them in a more expensive body. Clear Image Zoom and Auto Portrait Framing come to mind. Plus you have to provide value over the A55. Sony is using these APS-C bodies as a gateway drug to the eventual FF.
You’re too kind, but you may be right. Otherwise, it looks like a race to the bottom.
So, was the A57 the BFN (big effing news) that Sony was supposed to unleash on March 14?
If so, I say BFD.
Can someone explain to me, why gps is so important for a camera? Even d4, d800 and 5dm3, 1dx don’t have it…
+1
I don’t see much of a point in the GPS, I don’t use it often enough on my A77. I could easily live without it. Then again, my opinion doesn’t represent all A77 (and cameras with in-camera GPS) owners.
I have a feeling that he’s just trolling around. #justsaying
When you are old and have alzheimer, you will appreciate the feature that tells you where you have taken your pictures.
It’s even more valuable to nature-photogs, who wander around and take pictures. In some situations it’s vitally important to know exact coordinates where your specimen-picture is taken.
I’m okey with you about this. But still, if you really need gps then you can buy an external gps device or use your cellphone for example…
If anyone believes GPS is important enough to spend the extra, then go buy the A65!
If you don’t need it, thats fine, but honestly you should understand why journalists and nature photographers would find this feature extremely useful. An external GPS doesn’t geo-tag your images in the metadata, and using a cellphone would obviously be annoying and cumbersome as fuck.
I would use the feature when I went out shooting in the nature, but or professional event and wedding photography it isn’t 100% necessary for my work- it would still be handy to keep track of good spots to take pics of at certain venues.
hahaha… so here is the problem!
Journalists need GPS, sony put it!
Pro and Studio Photographers need tethering, sony say hell yeah 😀 lol…
I travel for my company and I find the GPS in the A77 immensely useful. Not only am I carrying a world-class APS-C body, I have a way to map precisely where I am. I’ve taken pictures of nothing just to get the coordinates so I could send them to a map program to get directions. I’ve gotten away with not carrying a real GPS and the space in my bag has freed up. It’s not turn-by-turn, but it is enough to find where you are if all you have is a laptop and an offline map program.
@ecor1
With all due respect sir, If you are indeed old and having Alzheimer’s you should be working your brain more to keep it alive and prevent further brain degradation.
I think there are much more benefits from GPS as from stupid portrait-crop-o-mat stuff. GPS is not only for journalists and nature-pros. – geo-data is a very useful filter in image archive software, so everyone can have a great help from this tool who has more as 1k images and travel a bit farther as only to the next wedding-place. *roll eyes* The comments like “buy an external gps” or “use your cellphone” are stupid trolling. With the internal gps-module you’re saving place and mobility and you needn’t to synchronise each time images-meta with gps-data.
It’s for sure bad that sony still provides no tethering for pros. but A57 is the entrance-camera and is just the wrong address for this critics. The gps is much more important here, especially if the older model A55 has one. Stupid and close-fisted decision from Sony to replace it with brainless stuff like portrait-crop…
About the tethering: I really don’t understand why it’s such a problem for Sony, isn’t it just a software add-on? Perhaps there are some smart geniuses outside to just hack this issue? Like Vitaly Kiselev with GH1/2?
edit: a bit wrong placed comment
I don’t personally think it’s overly important but i’d far prefer gps over a auto portrait cropping feature. Given you can get the gps feature on some sony compact cameras it’s a pity the dslr line doesn’t also have it as standard
However what’s really at issue is whether the evf has improved enough and I suspect the answer is a big fat no.
I really love GPS in a camera. It grants location info for every pic, so that when I open them in Aperture, I know where each pic has been taken; my library is of more than 25,000 pics and I’m “just” 39yo, so I’m glad to know that I won’t need to worry about this anymore.
Yes, my cellphone also tells me where I am, but in no way it’s going to store the info into the RAW/JPEG file…
Personally, it is very useful when I’m traveling, which is quite often. Also, if you are into the outdoors, it is time consuming to pinpoint where you were on the hiking trail, for example.
However, they could have implemented GPS by selling an accessory module, as others do.
+1!
My opinion:
They had only to keep the A55 body and improve it with:
– OLED viewfinder
– The optimized/improved 16Mpx sensor (as 5N)
– Correct problems of overheating (Numerical stabilization)
Than… It should be a Best seller.
Instead of that…
… They delivered the actual A57.
OK…
To be optimistic…
I would say…
There is some hope for an A55n 🙂
+1
Another point they could have improved is the delay with flash.
Wouldn’t people just complain about the body not feeling solid…
Wouldn’t people complain that the body is too small and the pinky finger is left hanging?
Wouldn’t people complain about the short battery life?
You’ll find that no matter what you deliver, you will get whingers.
Where that brand new A57 is better then say Nikon D5100 ?
Year ago LCD electronic viewfinder was something quite extra, now we have OLED viewfinders, so LCD is a step back.
10 frames per second is the only thing where A57 is better, but D5100 offers 4 fps. You can live with that as well.
“Everyone has been saying – we’d love an A77 or even an A65 with the 16 megapixel sensor. Or we’d love an A55 upgraded with the better viewfinder. So what do Sony deliver? Neither…“
He did not even explain why he made that statement. The way I see it, it’s pretty much an A65 with a 16MP sensor and an A55 with better EVF. Or am I missing something here?
Yeah I agree. I do not understand the statement. They delivered a 16mp sensor with body similar to 77. He probably but poorly refers to the fact the 57 does not have as good an EVF as the 77 and dropped the GPS. I cannot believe he thought he was going to get a 77 with a 16mp sensor for that price. It actually seems like a nice entry level camera. I will still wait for the FF.
I think I get his point. Some would love to pay MORE for A77 body with Nex-5n sensor (me too). They value high ISO IQ and smaller file size THAN 24mp
picture. I end up having both A77 and Nex-5n but I would prefer having one camera made of a77 body and 5n sensor. I also think many Nex7 owners might similarly think this way.
It is not an A65 with 16Mpx…
It is a downgraded A65 with 16Mpx: EVF quality is major issue.
The revolution from A33/A55 in 2010: SLT Technology and Compactness
The revolution from A77/A65 in 2011: The new EVF
A57 has gained none of them…
Just my opinion.
I thought the compactness was nice, but there was so many complaints from people who said their hands were too big to comfortably hold the camera so Sony addressed the ergonomics of the body based on these complaints. I guess these sasquatch shooters make it difficult for people with normal size hands. I do think Sony should have put the EVF from the 77 in the 57 and been done with it. Actually let us go one step further and say the 65 should have been the 16mp sensor and we would not even needed the 57 at all. Then we could concentrate on the next FF and surprise the world with an earlier release.
Someone on dpreview said he has an a57 and the EVF is comparable to a77. So I really don’t understand the statement either. Has David played with an a57 yet to arrive to that conclusion?
Wow, that photo of the A57 makes it look humongous. But I’m sure it’s just perspective.
David rate A57 too much in A77 context, which is at least two stages up.
Of course same a55 EVF is wrong decision.
The A57 EVF is far better than A55. The actual resolution is 1.44 million pixels on A57 vs. 1.00 million on A55. Some early online reviewers indicated that the A57 EVF is so good that it’s almost indistinguishable from the A77/A65 EVF.
A55 really feels too cheap. A65 is nice but sensor has too much pixels. So this a67 is very welcome. I d like to see a nex 7 with that sensor too.
The A57 has an EVF close to the resolution of the A77 / A65 and according to reports the difference is hardly noticeable.
I hope it is true…
But, from the specs:
Sony A55 and A57:1.44 Mdots LCD
Sony A65 and A77:2.50 Mdots OLED
I must agree with Photoclubalpha
The EVF of A57 is probably smaller in size than the A77 EVF, so it can be that both have almost the same dpi .. the A57s one is just a bit smaller.
This is their mid-level camera. It is not a higher level camera than A55. It is just replacing that. It lost GPS on the way but gained:
– Better ergonomics for most
– Better battery life
– Slightly better EVF
– Massively improved JPEG engine!
I am surprised no one is mentioning this yet. It is hugely improved.
In summary, It is a slightly better camera than A55 it replaces. What is wrong with that?
So what if Sony didn’t exactly produce the camera you designed in your mind?
And Admin, I totally give it to you that the photos of A57 were indeed correct. Kudos. I was wrong (sorry:)
But it is worse for travel because of
– Bigger size
– More weight
– No GPS
Battery life is a minor argument. You can always have a second battery.
You can loose “that” shot cause you runned out of battery and needed new one. 😀
Tho more seriously, bigger size isnt con, but pro. A55 isnt much fun with 70-200mm lens or bigger.
GPS is something I dont care about, unless it starts screaming when someone steals it. 😀 (that would be useful GPS feature..)
According to your theory you would have lost “that” shot every 36 pictures in analogue photography. But there were great photographers that were able to manage this and took great pictures!
Now we are talking about battery life of 380 versus 550 pictures. Doesn’t really make a big difference. Certainly doesn’t justify an 8 percent bigger and 24 percent heavier body!
Personally I’ve carried both a55 and a65 bodies around with the same lens, and i think both seem VERY light in all honesty.
If you think that a slightly bigger camera that ways a fraction more than the a55 is so awful, maybe reconsider your position as a “photographer”
From what I can see, many people on this thread have travel preferences- which i can understand
But my brother has this canon 1d with battery extension on the bottom- it’s the heaviest camera i’ve ever used, and biggest one i’ve ever seen. And he travels with it without complaining ever.
I think it’s all personal. If people want to complain about the physical properties that is one thing- but to me it’s all about performance / value.
I’ll let you hold your position though.
I traveled around with my a200 that doesn’t have GPS, bigger and heavier than a55. My buddy traveled around with his 5DMKII, which is a LOT heavier and much bigger than a55. Just because it doesn’t suit you doesn’t mean it’s worse for everyone else. Nothing personal but your argument is also minor to some of us.
?????? “- Massively improved JPEG engine!” ?????
I just looked at the A57 gallery of imaging-resource, but what I see there (even the 80-200 F2.8 pics) doesn’t convince me that SLT can be really sharp or that JPEG has improved. Sorry but my old A550 looks almost sharper and I feel more ans more confirmed to change ship!
You shoot in JPEG?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHA!
After all your crying that you are going to Canon and that the matrix with 18Mp (that matrix was the only reason why I didn’t go to 7D in past) better then 16.1mp and choosing what? What??!! 600D? Oh yes, that exactly the camera that can couse to sombody to switch the system…and now you are going to switch system for jpeg??? I have a question for you. Are you fill good? May be you have some permanent stress in your life or you eat some thing not good…?
I like the Canon colors and bokeh on many test images, that’s why I tend towards Canon, and for the last generation of cams at low ISO I don’t manage to get much more details out of RAW than JPEG, so for an amateur DxO or Lightroom are no longer necessary and I don’t want to spend all that time to convert all the pictures. Price of 600D (or maybe 60D) is my upper limit for a body as anyway bodies are to be replaced every 1-2 years. I tried A65, I don’t like it’s EVF, and as no A600 is coming I must look elsewhere, Sony forces me, not I myself, that’s the stress I feel at the moment 😉 …and honestly does anyone find that these imaging-resource A57 gallery images are sharp ????
Canon colours? You mean magenta?
Oh please, stop that stories about Canon color from somebody imagies. You personaly saw Canon colors converted by default?
“Night of the Living Dead”! You convetring RAW only for details? You can receive from jepg more details at iso 800 then from RAW? I have no A65/77 but I have 5N with extermal viewfinder that must be identical or very closee to two those.
And I have A580…one girl, frend of my wife have 600D. I can’t say thet A580 OVF can’t be used after NEX EVF, but it clearly smaller. And yes A580 much better choice then 600D.
I can understand that somebody didn’t like 24mp matrix. I am too. But A57 must be better balanced camera if you really need fast AF, if not – there is no better solution than NEX-5N.
“I like the Canon colors”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAA!!
HAAAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAAAAHAHAHAA!
Wow what a bunch of whingers some people are. As has been said, much better jpeg engine, better ergonomics, better battery life. Looks a damn good camera to me.
Oh boo-hoo, no GPS. Yeah you really need that when looking at a picture of the Eiffel Tower in years to come to remind you exactly where it was you took that picture…
I don’t remember remember Sony marketing this camera as a travel camera…. What’s up with the lack of gps?
Is there anyone that cares to comment about image quality?
I’ve read several reviews that speak highly about the quality of this image compared to the competition.
The website image resource has posted images that can be compared to other cameras in the same price range.
Good job Sony, now release a SLT full frame that equals or betters the Nikon D800
Yup, what’s wrong with the lack of gps? Is it the gps that’s taking pictures?
A camera without a GPS is a complete rubbish. Don’t you know that already? :))
Dude pretty strong words. I started with film and I don’t see the need of gps. Us photographers really care more about shooting pictures.
I have a strong feeling that qwerty was bring sarcastic #justsaying
Ooopppsss… sorry, my bad. Yeah i definitely agree with you on that one. We can live without the 10-12 fps and the manual video controls but PLEASE dont take away our gps.hehehe
TEH GEEEE PEEE SSSSS!
I NEED GEEEE PEEEE SSSSSES!
OTHERWISE NO PHOTOS!
Travel? Sony has your ass covered with the NEX range, asking for a compact DSLR for travel is like asking for an economical hummer to take the kids on the school run.
GPS – Schmee Peee Esss
Unless I’m in a forest taking pictures and get lost and can use GPS in conjunction with the LCD to navigate my way out. It is of no use to me –
Point is, everybody is not wanting to geotag pictures to have it saved in the metadata or to return there in the future to get an updated picture. There will probably be a shopping mall or highway when you go back there anyway 🙂
The a57 will probably be my next camera to replace my Maxxum 7D. I think it will prove to be a nice upgrade. As far as GPS is concerned, I’ve never had that feature on a camera, so it will not be difficult to miss something that I’ve never had. The “portrait” feature will like be turned to OFF and forgotten, as I had earned a living as a wedding/portrait photographer for 22 years, and probably have a fair idea how to do that. If I were still a working pro, I would likely wait for the FF offerings from SONY, but any camera that I buy from now on will likely be passed on to my little grand daughter, as she shows signs of being bitten by the photo bug. Right now, for me, I just want something with good image quality, and something that I can still use in the studio when the mood hits me. Has anyone reported anything yet about the behaviour of the a57 view finder when the thing is hooked up to a set of studio lights? I would be interested in hearing if it goes dark like the a55, or if it will react as the a65 and a77 in the studio. It seems that all cameras made by all of the camera makers are loaded with features, some of which t I would likely turn off at the start and forget about them. I’m glad to see that SONY made another 16 MP camera that is a bit larger than the a55, as I found it just a tad too small, and could not configure my fingers to do the gymnastics needed to operate it smoothly. I will certainly give the a57 a good look even if it is considered by some as being a beginners camera. Just give me a real nice 12 x 18 print off of my Epson R1800, and I’m a happy camper. Happy shooting all…..
I turn off the GPS to save power on the A77, can take approx 800-900 shots easily.
If I can remove it, I would sell it!
I’ve seen a video where its said that the “studio-functionality” is improved. you can choose if the evf is dark or brightened-up
They simply want to cut production cost. As technology advances, sometimes producing new product is cheaper than keep producing old product (a55).
Reality Check!
Sony: Ok, here is the A55
Idiots: The body is too small, battery doesn’t last long enough, EVF isn’t that good!
Sony: Ok, we increased the body size, removed the GPS and added a bigger battery. Replaced the EVF with a better one and kept the pricing similar.
Idiots: The body is too big, there is no GPS, we want OLED and body motor at the same price point!
Sony: Why don’t you then buy the A65?
Idiots: Because… It isn’t the A57…
Sony: But isn’t that want you are asking for?
Idiots: But the body is too big…
Sony: But you wanted it larger!
Idiots: We want it small now!
Sony: Ok, go buy the A55!
Idiots: But the body is too small!
Reality Check!
Canon: Here is the 550D
Idiots: Praise GOD! But others has a flippy screen!
Canon: Here is the 600D, we just added a flippy screen and double the price.
Idiots: Praise GOD!
Reality Check!
Sony: We are going to release a APS-C 24MP sensor.
Idiots: We don’t need that much pixels! The megapixel race is over! You are stupid Sony! I am going to sell everything!
Nikon: Here is a 36MP Sensor that Sony made!
Idiots: Praise GOD! We have been waiting for that 36MP for ages!
I really like your comments 😉 Sony is doing so many things right, and a lot of people complaining just to have something to complain about..
Reality Check! haha good ones mate!
Thanks!
After reading a lot of posts on this forum… I am glad Sony doesn’t listen to us.
Is it just me or does that guy holding the A57 in the picture have borderline girly nails!
If you look carefully, these are girly fingers, too…;-)
Isn’t that wat’s happening al the time at SAR. For about two weeks I started to read the rumors only and stopped reading the comments. Andrea does some great work with this website but most people only come here to complain about everything.
He says there will be no Batterygrip 🙁
http://photocomment.net/news/first-impressions-sony-alpha-a57-guest-post/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC5rKPlgXSU
α57 from Sony: Official Video Release