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Old 06-28-2011, 08:41 AM
 
Location: Dallas, TX
31,767 posts, read 28,703,513 times
Reputation: 12341

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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheViking85 View Post
Ah, yeah the live view drains the battery. I'm using the viewfinder on mine now, probably been on for a total of 3-4 hours since yesterday and had around 80-100 shots done, reviewed and for the most part... deleted, hehe. Currently have 85% battery left on my rig. Not using the live view unless you absolutely need it really improves battery capacity.

Other than that, how do you like it? It's on my wish list, but I don't know if I should wait for whatever they come out with next or not. The HD video and 6-10 fps does tempt me though.
I'm really liking the camera. The one thing I regret is getting the kit lens. It sucks in more ways than one. Should have gotten just the body as I already had a decent collection of lens and am planning to add to it.

I had been using 8 GB SDHC Class 10 for playing with the camera and thought it was a fast camera for most practical purposes. Then last night, I received Sandisk's 16 GB SDHC (also Class 10) Extreme and the camera appears to be faster! Auto-focus speed is fantastic, and the manual focus's friendliness may get me back into using it more (a reason, I am considering a couple of used after market primes which won't afford the luxury of auto focus).

Simply put, it is an excellent camera.
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Old 06-28-2011, 12:23 PM
 
4,500 posts, read 12,270,388 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EinsteinsGhost View Post
I'm really liking the camera. The one thing I regret is getting the kit lens. It sucks in more ways than one. Should have gotten just the body as I already had a decent collection of lens and am planning to add to it.

I had been using 8 GB SDHC Class 10 for playing with the camera and thought it was a fast camera for most practical purposes. Then last night, I received Sandisk's 16 GB SDHC (also Class 10) Extreme and the camera appears to be faster! Auto-focus speed is fantastic, and the manual focus's friendliness may get me back into using it more (a reason, I am considering a couple of used after market primes which won't afford the luxury of auto focus).

Simply put, it is an excellent camera.
Good to hear, the kit lenses tend to be rather.... not good. When I bought my camera I got it with the Zeiss 16-80mm and a 70-300mm Sony "generic", I spent so much money that they threw discounts right and left.

I'll definitely have to look more closely into it then.

Thanks for the review.
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Old 06-28-2011, 12:45 PM
 
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,809 posts, read 34,424,526 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheViking85 View Post
Good to hear, the kit lenses tend to be rather.... not good. When I bought my camera I got it with the Zeiss 16-80mm and a 70-300mm Sony "generic", I spent so much money that they threw discounts right and left.

I'll definitely have to look more closely into it then.

Thanks for the review.
This is very good to know about the lenses. Thank you, both!
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Old 06-28-2011, 02:30 PM
 
Location: West Michigan
12,082 posts, read 38,702,294 times
Reputation: 17006
Actually the kit lenses for the Sony are not the worst I have used, but they are not the best either. You can get some very good photos using them, but they do have their limitations. I have a couple of the new kit lenses (the 18-70 and the 18-55 SAM) and frankly while not that great wide open, they do an acceptable job stopped down a little. The color is a bit flat, but better than the Canon kit lenses I have used the last couple years (most of my family shoots either Canon or Nikon products with me being the black sheep and shooting Sony.) The older Minolta Auto Focus lenses are better built and give much better color, while being cheaply priced. Plus with the in body stabilization, the old lenses are just as stabilized as any new lens you might buy for the Sony camera bodies. That is one reason (of many) I really like the Sony cameras. Unless the lens is fully manual, it is stabilized and you don't have to make that choice when buying a new one. I have found like new lenses on the used market for less than $25 each and they work great. Just keep your eyes open and don't get in a rush to find a particular lens.
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Old 06-28-2011, 03:06 PM
 
Location: Dallas, TX
31,767 posts, read 28,703,513 times
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Yep. And I’m planning to pick up an Industar-61 L/Z and a Jupiter-37a tonight and it will be interesting to see how the A55 performs with either of these lenses. Unfortunately, test results with these lenses will have to wait until I can get the M42 adapter. The camera does very well with a Sigma 70-300 that I have had for ten years, and of course the pretty good prime in Minolta 50 mm/1.7. In fact, I just might perform a comparison between the Sony 18-55 SAM (kit lens) and Minolta 28-80 mm from my old SLR to see how the two identical spec lenses stack up against each other and will post the results here.
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Old 06-29-2011, 08:04 AM
 
Location: West Michigan
12,082 posts, read 38,702,294 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EinsteinsGhost View Post
Yep. And I’m planning to pick up an Industar-61 L/Z and a Jupiter-37a tonight and it will be interesting to see how the A55 performs with either of these lenses. Unfortunately, test results with these lenses will have to wait until I can get the M42 adapter. The camera does very well with a Sigma 70-300 that I have had for ten years, and of course the pretty good prime in Minolta 50 mm/1.7. In fact, I just might perform a comparison between the Sony 18-55 SAM (kit lens) and Minolta 28-80 mm from my old SLR to see how the two identical spec lenses stack up against each other and will post the results here.
My everyday walk-around lens is a 28-85 that is from 1985. Great little lens. My son who shoots an a230 uses my old 35-70 f:4 a lot.
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Old 06-29-2011, 12:22 PM
 
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,809 posts, read 34,424,526 times
Reputation: 10256
I've continued researching while you talk. The A560 is available. Ritz/Wolf cameras carries it. As with everything coming out of Japan right now, quantities are limited.

I'm going to go to Best buy (The closest place that carries the A55 & check out the A55. The A 560 is supposed to be the same size. If I like the A55 I'll call the closest Wolf camera store & he can get me the A560.
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Old 07-04-2011, 04:59 PM
 
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,809 posts, read 34,424,526 times
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I ended up getting the A55.

I'm working on setting it up. I'm actually using the manual, which I rarely do. Is it just me or is this written like they assume that you've set up a digital SLR before?
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Old 07-05-2011, 08:57 AM
 
Location: Dallas, TX
31,767 posts, read 28,703,513 times
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Congratulations! I finally got a chance to put it to some extensive use this weekend at a party, taking almost 500 pictures and a couple of videos in a day. Looking forward to giving a closer look to the shots this evening. Used Aperture mode for most shots, a few in full manual and may be a couple in auto mode (including a sunset, just to try that). The feature that came in really handy was 10 fps shooting. This was a surprise 100th birthday party with relatives from all over the USA (almost 80-90 of them) and it was great to capture virtually every expression with the surprise. The other feature, and I really like it, is the multiframe high ISO shot (the auto night shot portrait which takes six shots and combines them into one picture, no flash necessary.

The one thing I don't like is that many of the auto mode selections put flash in "auto" mode with no override. However, a convenient way to override was having external flash sitting on it in off position (Sony's entry level flash is quite compact and does a reasonable job, including bounce).

And, I got to play with one of my my newly acquired old lens (Jupiter-37A) as well. From a glance, it looks like a fantastic lens. Superb bokeh and sharpness (but using it requires full manual control, including focusing which the A55 handles exceptionally well). I will post some pictures later this week.
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Old 07-05-2011, 09:51 AM
 
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,809 posts, read 34,424,526 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by EinsteinsGhost View Post
Congratulations! I finally got a chance to put it to some extensive use this weekend at a party, taking almost 500 pictures and a couple of videos in a day. Looking forward to giving a closer look to the shots this evening. Used Aperture mode for most shots, a few in full manual and may be a couple in auto mode (including a sunset, just to try that). The feature that came in really handy was 10 fps shooting. This was a surprise 100th birthday party with relatives from all over the USA (almost 80-90 of them) and it was great to capture virtually every expression with the surprise. The other feature, and I really like it, is the multiframe high ISO shot (the auto night shot portrait which takes six shots and combines them into one picture, no flash necessary.

The one thing I don't like is that many of the auto mode selections put flash in "auto" mode with no override. However, a convenient way to override was having external flash sitting on it in off position (Sony's entry level flash is quite compact and does a reasonable job, including bounce).

And, I got to play with one of my my newly acquired old lens (Jupiter-37A) as well. From a glance, it looks like a fantastic lens. Superb bokeh and sharpness (but using it requires full manual control, including focusing which the A55 handles exceptionally well). I will post some pictures later this week.
Thanks, that gives me hope.

Years ago in broadcasting we used to dread new Sony equipment because of the manuals. However, their consumer manuals seem ok (well, I never read manuals unless I get stuck on something).

I decided to set the camera up using the manual so that nothing was skipped or overlooked. It's driving me nuts. I think I have it figured out now, though. I think it's not sequential.
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