- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- Sony SLT A65
- Nikon D5100
- Nikon D5200
- Nikon D3200
- Sony SLT-A37
Rated 100% by by J.-Sullivan (Jun, 2012)Beside the AVCHD movie capabilities, I find it very nice that an internet-ready MP4 option at 3Mbps is available in addition to a 14Mbps MP4.
- 16 MP
- APS-C CMOS
- 3" LCD
Released August, 2010
Rated 78% by by c|net (Nov, 2010)The geotagging on the A55V works seamlessly; as far as I could tell it didn't add any performance overhead and accurately tagged the photos.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Sony SLT A57 compared to the Sony SLT-A55
16 MP
APS-C
Rated 78% by by c|net (Nov, 2010)For point-and-shoot upgraders who want better video, the A55V gets a qualified recommendation; the quality is pretty solid, it can autofocus well enough for casual use (albeit loudly-you'll definitely want to use a hot-shoe microphone), and the interchangeable-lens system means you'll be able to put on a long zoom lens for shooting your kids' sports or school plays.
megapixels
| 0 MP | 16 MP   | 20 MP |
SLT A57 by Photography Blog (Jun, 2012)The Sony A57 can shoot full-resolution 16.1 megapixel pictures at up to 12fps whilst maintaining continuous auto focus and auto exposure, an incredibly fast rate for such an inexpensive camera.
SLT-A55 by Photography Blog (Feb, 2011)The Sony A55 can shoot full-resolution 16.2 megapixel pictures at up to 10fps whilst maintaining continuous auto focus and auto exposure, an impressively fast rate for such an inexpensive camera.
sensor size
SLT A57 by John (Feb, 2013)The a57's APS-C sensor has comparatively good sized individual sensors, which is just one small part of all of the tech working together in the a57 to result in great video and picture quality.
SLT-A55 by Photography Blog (Feb, 2011)Image quality is very good, with results from the APS-C sensor rivalling the DSLR competition and in most cases surpassing the Compact System Camera alternatives, especially if you're after shallow depth-of field effects.
body size
132 x 98 x 81 mm
124 x 92 x 85 mm
SLT-A55 by P.-GOKARN (Nov, 2010)The tripod is really bad, does not stand to the weight of the camera.
focus points
| 0 | 15 | 20 |
SLT A57 by Photography Blog (Jun, 2012)As with Live View, continuous phase-detection AF is possible whilst shooting movies on the A57, a distinct advantage over most DSLR cameras and fast enough to rival Compact System Cameras like the Panasonic Lumix GH series.
SLT-A55 by Photography Blog (Feb, 2011)The shutter-release has a definite half-way point, with the focus points (a choice of 15) rapidly illuminating green in the viewfinder and a confirmation bleep signaling that focus and exposure has been determined and the user is free to go on and take the shot.
Performance Real world tests of Sony SLT A57 vs Sony SLT-A55
DxOMark image quality
SLT A57 by David-Melges--O-toole-fanatic (Apr, 2013)Color, sharpness, noise control.....the a57 has EXCELLENT image quality.
SLT-A55 by c|net (Nov, 2010)The camera also includes Sony's usual assortment of multishot modes like Auto HDR (increased to six shots for a possible 6EV increase in tonal range), Handheld Twilight, Sweep Panorama, and Sweep 3D.
DxOMark low light performance
SLT A57 by Ong-Chi-Hang (Jan, 2013)The handheld twilight mode also enables great night pictures without using tripod.
SLT-A55 by Photography Blog (Feb, 2011)The main downside of the A55's EVF system occurs indoors in low light, as it has to "gain-up" to produce a usable picture, resulting in a noticeably grainier picture.
continuous shooting
SLT-A55 by c|net (Nov, 2010)The standard burst mode clocks at about 6.1 frames per second; its Continuous Advance Priority AE mode is rated to hit about 10 frames per second, but you forgo the ability to control shutter speed.
battery life
550 photos
350 photos
SLT A57 by Jo (Mar, 2013)I saw other reviews that took off "stars" because of battery life, so I'm not sure what their trouble was, but the battery that came with my camera has done very well so far.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the SLT-A55
| Much higher definition video | HD video | vs | HD video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great video; great for displaying on a large flat panel TV | |||
| Marginally more recently announced | Mar, 2012 | vs | Aug, 2010 |
| Announced date over 1 years later | |||
| Faster rapid fire | 12 fps | vs | 10 fps |
| 20% faster continuous shooting; Take photos in rapid succession to capture motion | |||
| Shoots video in 24p | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; For that film look | |||
| More photos per charge | 550 | vs | 350 |
| 200 more shots; Longer battery life | |||
| Significantly more highly reviewed by consumers | 92.19% | vs | 85.82% |
| Around 10% more highly reviewed by consumers | |||
| Better dynamic range | 13.0 ev | vs | 12.4 ev |
| Almost the same | |||
| More color depth | 23.4 bits | vs | 23.0 bits |
| Almost the same | |||
| Thinner | 81 mm | vs | 85 mm |
| Almost the same | |||
Advantages compared to the SLT A57
| Includes a GPS | Yes | vs | No |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somewhat common; Records the location of your photos automatically | |||
| Lighter | 500 g | vs | 618 g |
| Around 20% lighter | |||
| Smaller | 124 x 92 x 85 mm | vs | 132 x 98 x 81 mm |
| Around 10% smaller | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Sony SLT A57 | Sony SLT-A55 | ||
 |  
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Rated by 87 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Ray--A-Reader (Dec, 2012) Rated 100% by by Beka (Oct, 2012) | Rated by 24 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Nouran (Sep, 2011) Rated 100% by by THECLARKS (Nov, 2011) Rated 100% by by Mimi1234 (Oct, 2011) | |
sensor
Sony SLT A57 | Rated 90% by by Photography Blog (Jun, 2012)Noise doesn't rear its ugly head until ISO 3200 for JPEGs, although the A57 does apply some pretty aggressive noise reduction to keep the files clean, resulting in some loss of finer detail.
Sony SLT A57 | Rated 100% by by Beka (Oct, 2012)The shooting speed is excellent, at least twice as fast as rivals and a57 has a HUGE BUFFER SIZE (21 raw+jpeg) that takes fast shooting experience to a higher level.
Sony SLT A57 | Rated 100% by by luke (Apr, 2012)the resolution of the slt a57 is better at iso 3200 and above.
battery
Sony SLT A57 | Rated 100% by by Derrick (Apr, 2012)The a57 uses the larger M size battery, the same newer battery for the a100.
lens
Sony SLT A57 | Rated 90% by by Photography Blog (Jun, 2012)The A57's top plate features the aforementioned shutter release button encircled by an on/off switch that visually apes the zoom levers found on some compact cameras.
Sony SLT A57 | Rated 80% by by Merto (Jul, 2012)Instead of a flipping mirror, the a57 uses a semi-transparent one that doesn't need to flip which enables this $700 camera to take rapid 8 (full control), 10 (aperture control), and all the way up to 12 (cropped resolution) frames per second.
Sony SLT A57 | Rated 100% by by John (Feb, 2013)If you know what you want from both a visual and a technical perspective and have the right lens for it, the a57 will get you there.
viewfinder
Sony SLT A57 | Rated 100% by by luke (Apr, 2012)I may be crazy but I cannot tell the difference in the oled viewfinder and the supposed lesser tech slt a57 viewfinder.
Sony SLT A57 | Rated 100% by by Ray--A-Reader (Dec, 2012)If you prefer to use the viewfinder, the electronic viewfinder on this unit is improved from the a33/a55, and most people say that it is very adequate for a camera in this price range.
Sony SLT A57 | Rated 90% by by Photography Blog (Jun, 2012)The A57's electronic viewfinder may not be as detailed as the one used by the A65 and A77 models, but it still has enough resolution to rival and even beat a more conventional optical viewfinder.
white balance
Sony SLT A57 | Rated 100% by by Beka (Oct, 2012)While White Balance colors and contrast are very good, sony a57 still fails to get as clean and detailed jpegs as the sensor allows.
Sony SLT A57 | Rated 100% by by 1inventor (Dec, 2012)White balance metering has been fixed on the A57 unlike the A55 which varied a little more than I like in the same sequence of shots.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | Sony SLT A65 Much less delay taking photos |
 | 2 | Nikon D5100 7-way tie: Largest screen |
 | 3 | Nikon D5200 Best image quality as rated by DXOMark |
 | 4 | Nikon D3200 Fastest to start up |
 | 5 | Sony SLT-A37 4-way tie: Most detailed video recording mode |
 | 6 | Canon EOS 600D Highest resolution screen |
 | 7 | Sony Alpha DSLR-A200 Largest sensor |
 | 8 | Sony SLT A58 Newest |
