The Sony A33 (A55) Not is not exactly What I expected .... the good and not so good
First of all this camera is a great movie camera with continuous auto focus and an good photo camera.
The reason I say good and not great is because if you intend on shooting in any of the 3 auto modes you are not going to get great photos the same as you would get with a Canon T1I, T2i or canon G10. But the photos are more predictable in auto than with the Canon's
The kit lens is good, does not have much range but works well even though its a cheap kit lens. Better than the t2i
The body is plastic therefore light
The fold down LCD is a winner although a little small.
Viewfinder is a real treat giving you the same read out info as the LCD
Switches automatically back and forth from LCD to viewfinder as you place your eye close or take it away from the viewfinder.
Or you can easily switch between LCD screen and viewfinder by pushing the LCD/viewfinder button.
If you have a big lens or a lens hood the flash may cast a shadow in your photo
I have large hands but the body is very comfortable to hold
Controls are easy to reach but again these cameras are are far to complicated than they need to be need, but that is where technology takes you.
I did not see the battery life as being an issue My G10 is much better.
Charging takes 4 hours per battery so get yourself a another battery and maybe an extra charger.
I specifically bought the a33 because I did not want the GPS sucking the life out of my battery as I learned on a Panasonic Z10.
My travels do not take to normal tourist data base gps way points so I felt it was of no use to me. Another thing to break down
Used Minolta AF lenses work great and are half the price as new Sony ones and are of equal or superior quality. Many of the Sony lenses on Amazon are just rebranded Minolta lenses.
The a33 and a55 uses Steadytshot an in camera stabilization
Lenses for this camera are not stabilized which is good and bad
Good because the lenses are cheaper and lighter
Bad because the stabilization in the camera is not as reliable as say Canon
When you take a photo you cannot just press the shutter all the way down quickly.
You have to press halfway wait for the steadyshot indicator to drop to one bar, wait for the focus beep and then press all the way
Canon seems quicker?
The A33 could be less noisier (photo wise not sound wise) than the a55 because it packs less pixels on the same size sensor
An Azden SMX-10 mic $65 from Amazon is a great accessory. It takes the mic out of the body to minimize the focus noise of the lenses and adds stereo.
Alert the hot shoe on this camera is a proprietary one meaning you need an adapter to hook on a regular shoal For $12 the Seagull SC-5 Hot Shoe Adapter to Standard Flash Shoe with PC Connection for Konica Minolta Maxxum & Sony Alpha Digital SLR Cameras works from Amazon
At about 10 minutes of using the video it shuts down from overheating and you cannot film until it cools and then it will only go for a few minutes and will shut down again. I luckily only shoot short clips so its not an issue but Sony made a statement below.
Sony has issued a statement concerning an overheating issue with the new Sony A55 and A33 translucent mirror cameras.
The problem arises from the CMOS sensor overheating in certain temperature ranges. Sony has put together a chart that provides an idea of max recording times under certain environmental conditions. You can check it out on the web. They have no solution only shoot less than 10 minutes with stabilization on.
Image stabilization is a big problem for shooting long clips.
5D Mark II and 7D cameras shutdown from overheating also so it's nothing unique to Sony.
This review could also be for the a55 since they are almost identical except for a55 --
* gives you faster continuous shooting,
* GPS
* higher megapixel.
* price
and a few other minor things
I have come to admire this little piece of techno. I have so many Minolta lenses that I purchased from ebay that I have purchased a second a33 so I must give it a 5 although there is always room for improvement and nothing is perfect.
On Ebay you can get a
Minolta 50MM F/1.7 prime for circa $73
Minolta 100 mm f/2.8 Macro The sharpest lens Minolta has ever made for less than $300
Minolta 100-300 APO Zoom $220
Be careful of the new 8mm Fisheye from Korea that is marketed for Sony under different names for $230-$330 It is not compatible with a33 or a55
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