New Sony a57 DSLR Camera (Revised)

Information of Sony a57 was collected from the web for reference only. This camera was announced in March 2012. The Sony Alpha 57 DSLR camera replaces the Sony a55, which provides a 16.2 megapixel sensor, 1.44 million dot electronic viewfinder,  full HD video and tiltable LCD.

Sony a57 DSLR Camera Features:

• 16.1 MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
• Translucent Mirror Technology
• 12 fps with Continuous Autofocus
• 15-Point Autofocus with 3 Cross Points
• Full HD 1080p with AVCHD 2.0
• 3.0" 921,600-dot Tiltable LCD
• Auto Portrait Framing
• Clear Image Zoom
• ISO 100-16000
• Tru-Finder EVF

Sony a57 DSLR Camera Official Commercial:

Sony a57 DSLR Camera Hands On:

Detail Review by Photographblog:

Photographblog Concludes the Sony a57 review with rating of "Highly Recommended".  Here is the extract of the ratings: 

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4
Image Quality	4.5
Value for money	4.5

Sony a57 Specifications

Camera

• Lens Compatibility : Sony A-mount lens
• Lens Mount : Sony A-mount
• Camera Type : Sony A-mount interchangeable lens digital camera

Optics/Lens

• Lens Type : A-mount 18-55mm zoom lens
• Lens Mount Type : Sony A-mount
• Aperture (Max.) : f/3.5 - 5.6
• Aperture (Min.) : f/22 - 36
• Focal Length (35mm equivalent) : APS-C 35mm eqv. 27mm to 82.5mm
• Filter Diameter : 55mm
• Lens Groups-Elements : 8 elements, 7 groups
• Minimum Focus Distance : 0.82ft (0.25m)
• Aperture Blade : 7 blades (Circular aperture)
• Aspheric Elements : 2
• Lens Weight : 7.4 oz (210g)

Focus Control

• Focus System : TTL phase detection AF (CCD line sensors)
• Focus Points : 15 points (3 points cross type)
• AF Modes : Single-shot AF, Automatic AF, Continuous AF, Manual Focus
• Focus Area : Wide, Spot, Local (15 local areas selectable)
• Focus Sensitivity : -1 EV to +18 EV (at ISO100 equivalent)
• Focus Features : Predictive Focus Control, Focus Lock
• AF Illuminator : Built-in flash, Range: approx. 3' - 15' (1m-5m)

Flash

• Flash Compensation : +/-2EV in 0.3EV steps
• Flash Coverage : 18mm (focal-length printed on the lens body)
• Recycling Time : Approx. 3 sec.
• Flash Bracketing : 3 exposures in 0.3/0.7 EV steps
• Flash Metering System : ADI, Pre-flash TTL
• Flash Modes : Auto, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync., Hi-speed sync., Red-eye reduction (on/off selectable for Autoflash and fill-flash mode), Wireless
• Flash Type : Built-in, Pop-up Auto
• Guide Number : 10 (in meters at ISO100)

Weights and Measurements

• Dimensions (Approx.) : Approx. 5-1/4 x 3-7/8 x 3-1/4” (132.1 x 97.5 x 80.7mm) (W/H/D) excl grip & lens mount
• Weight (Approx.) : Approx. 1lb 5.7 oz (618g) (w/battery & media) Approx. 1lb 2.9 oz (539g) (excl battery, lens & media)

Service and Warranty Information

• Limited Warranty Term : 1 Year Parts & Labor

Imaging Sensor

• Imaging Sensor : Exmor™ APS HD CMOS sensor (23.5 X 15.6mm)
• Processor : BIONZ™ image processor
• Anti Dust : Charge protection coating on Low-Pass Filter and Image Sensor-Shift mechanism
• Pixel Gross : Approx. 16.7 megapixels
• Effective Picture Resolution : Approx. 16.1 megapixels
• Focal Length Conversion Factor : 1.5x
• Color Filter System : RGB primary color filters

Viewfinder

• Type : 0.46" Xtra Fine EVF (Electronic viewfinder) (1,440,000 pixels)
• Diopter Adjustment : -4.0 to +3.0m-1
• Field of View : 100%
• Magnification : 1.04x (with 50mm lens at infinity, -1m-1 )

Exposure System

• Metering : Advanced 1200-zone evaluative metering
• Metering Modes : Multi-segment, Center-weighted, Spot
• Metering Sensitivity : -2EV to 17EV (at ISO 100 equivalent w/ f/1.4 lens)
• Exposure Compensation : +/-3.0EV?1/3EV steps)
• Exposure Settings : iAuto (AUTO), Superior Auto (AUTO+), Program Auto (P), Aperture priority (A), Shutter-speed priority (S), Manual (M), Sweep Panorama (2D/3D), Continuous Advance Priority AE, Movie, Scene Selection
• Scene Mode(s) : Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports action, Sunset, Night portrait, Night View, Hand-held Twilight
• Picture Effect(s) : 11 types (15 variations): Posterization (Color, B/W), Pop Color, Retro Photo, Partial Color (R,G,B,Y), High Contrast Monochrome, Toy Camera, Soft High-key, Soft Focus, HDR Painting, Rich-tone Monochrome, Miniature
• D-Range Optimizer : Yes: (Auto, Level, Off)
• Auto Exposure Lock : Yes (AE Lock button)
• Color Temperature : 2500 - 9900 k with 15-step each Magenta/Green compensation (G7 to M7), Amber/Blue (A7 to B7)
• Creative Style : Standard, Vivid, Portrait , Landscape, Sunset, Black & White, (Contrast (-3 to +3steps), Saturation(-3 to +3steps), Sharpness(-3 to +3steps))
• Exposure Bracketing : Bracket: Cont./Bracket: Single, /1/3EV, 2/3EV increments, 3 frames
• ISO : Still images: AUTO (ISO 100 - 3200)/ISO 100 - 16000 (1 EV step), Movies: AUTO (ISO 100 - 3200 equivalent)/ISO 100 - 3200 equivalent (1 EV step) ; Multi Frame NR (up to ISO 25600)
• Noise Reduction : Long exp. NR: (On/Off, available of shutter speeds longer than 1 sec.) High ISO NR: (High, Normal, Low) Multi Frame NR: (Auto/ISO100-25600)
• White Balance Mode : Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Warm White, Cool White, Day White, Flash, Setting the color temperature, Custom

Advanced Features

• Advanced User Interface : Easy-to-understand Graphic Display and on-screen Help Guide User-friendly function menu
• Anti Motion Blur : 6-image layering
• Auto High Dynamic Range : Yes, (Off/On, Auto Exposure Difference, Exposure difference Level (1-6 EV at 1.0 EV step)
• Sweep Panorama : Yes (2D/3D)
• Face Detection : Off, Auto, Child Priority, Adult Priority (up to 8 faces detectable)
• Smile Shutter™ technology : Yes - Off, Slight, Normal, Big
• Tracking Focus : Yes
• Image Stabilization : SteadyShot INSIDE^TM image stabilization

Power

• Battery Type : InfoLITHIUM® NP-FM500H (7.4V)
• Number of Still Images : Approx. 550 images with viewfinder, 590 images with LCD monitor (CIPA standard)

Recording

• Media Type : Memory Stick PRO Duo™/Pro-HG Duo™ media; SD, SDHC and SDXC memory card
• Color Space : sRGB, AdobeRGB
• Still Image Mode : JPEG (Standard, Fine), RAW, RAW+JPEG
• Still Image Size 16:9 : L size: 4912 x 2760 (14M) M size: 3568 x 2000 (7.1M) S size: 2448 x 1376 (3.4M)
• Still Image Size 3:2 : L size: 4912 x 3264 (16M) M size: 3568 x 2368 (8.4M) S size: 2448 x 1624 (4M)
• Panorama Still Image Size : Horizontal Wide: 12,416 x 1,856 (23M) Horizontal Std.: 8,192 x 1,856 (15M) Vertical Wide: 2,160 x 5,536 (12M) Vertical Std.: 2,160 x 3,872 (8.4M) 3D Sweep Panorama: Horizontal Wide: 7152 X 1080 (7.7M) Horizontal Std.: 4912 X 1080 (5.3M) 16:9: 1920 X 1080 (2.1M)
• Video Format : AVCHD / MP4 (MPEG-4 AVC (H.264))
• Video Mode : AVCHD: 1920 x 1080 (60p/28Mbps/PS, 60i/24Mbps/FX, 60i/17Mbps/FH, 24p/24Mbps/FX, 24p/17M/bps/FH) MP4: 1440 x 1080 (30fps/12Mbps), VGA: 640 x 480 (30fps/3Mbps)
• Video Resolution : 1920x1080
• Video Signal : NTSC color, EIA standards
• Audio Format : Stereo Dolby Digital (AC-3) / MPEG-4 AAC-LC
• Microphone/Speaker : Built-in Stereo Microphone

LCD Display

• LCD Type : 3.0” TFT Xtra Fine™ LCD (921,600 pixels) w/TruBlack™ technology
• Angle Adjustment : 180 degrees from the camera back, leftward rotation in 270 degrees with LCD monitor facing forward
• Brightness Control : Auto/Manual (5 steps between -2 and +2)
• Coverage : 100%
• Live View : Continuous Live View (LCD/EVF Auto, selectable)
• Real-time image adjustment display : Yes(On/Off)
• Histogram : Yes (On/off)
• Grid Display : Yes (On/off)
• Customization : Grid, Histogram display, Digital Level Gauge, Grid Line, Magnified display for playback

Drive System

• Burst Buffer : [Tele-zoom] Fine: 23 images/Std: 25 images [Priority AE] Fine: 23 images/Std: 27 images/RAW & JPG: 18 images/RAW: 21 images [Cont.] Fine: 25 images/Std: 29 images/RAW & JPG: 19 images/RAW: 21 images
• Continuous Shooting Speed : Tele-zoom Cont. Advance Priority AE: Up to 12 fps; Cont. Advance Priority AE: Up to 10 fps; Cont. shooting Hi 8 fps/ Lo 3fps (Speed may vary depending on shooting conditions and memory card in use)
• Drive Mode : Single-shot, Continuous shooting (Hi/Lo selectable), Self-timer (10/2 sec delay selectable), Bracket: Cont./Single, White Balance bracket, Remote commander (RMT-DSLR1 Sold Separately)
• Flash Sync Speed : 1/160 seconds
• Self-timer : 2-sec. or 10-sec. delay,
• Shutter Speeds : Still:1/4000 to 30 seconds, bulb Movies: 1/4000 to 1/4 (1/3 step), up to 1/60 in AUTO mode
• Shutter Type : Electronically-controlled, vertical-traverse, focal-plane shutter

Interface

• Microphone Input : Yes (3.5 mm Stereo minijack)
• Accessory Shoe : Yes (Alpha)
• BRAVIA® Sync™ : Yes, via HDMI with compatible BRAVIA HDTV
• DVDirect : Yes, via USB
• HD Output : HDMI (TypeC mini)
• Memory Card Slot : Single card slot: Memory Stick PRO Duo™/Pro-HG Duo™ media - SD, SDHC and SDXC memory card
• PhotoTV HD : Yes, with BRAVIA Sync™ enabled HDTV and HDMI cable
• USB Port(s) : USB2.0 Hi-speed (mass-storage, PTP)

Software

• Supplied Software : PlayMemories Home, Image Data Converter Ver. 4
• Operating System Compatibility : Windows XP SP3 (64-bit and Starter Editions are not supported,Windows Image Mastering API(IMAPI)Ver.2.0 or later is required to use the function for creating discs.) Windows Vista SP2 (Starter Edition is not supported) Windows 7 SP 1; Mac OS X(v10.5-?10.6) (Image Data Converter only, PlayMemories Home is not Mac compatible)