Sony A55 Review
Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 16.2 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5Mb.
The Sony A55 produced images of excellent quality during the review period. The Sony A55's has an extensive and very usable ISO range of 100-12800. ISO 100-800 is noise-free, whilst ISO 1600 and 3200 produce more than acceptable results, and even ISO 6400 and 12800 are OK for emergency use. Chromatic aberrations are very well controlled, only appearing in areas of high contrast.
The effective Dynamic Range Optimizer function extracts more detail from the shadow and highlight areas in an image, without introducing any unwanted noise or other artifacts. The High Dynamic Range mode combines two shots taken at different exposures to produce one image with greater dynamic range than a single image would produce. It only works for JPEGs and for still subjects, but does produce some very effective results.
The 16 megapixel images are a little soft straight out of the camera using the default creative style and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera sharpening level. The built-in flash worked well indoors with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds and the Bulb mode offering lots of scope for creative night photography. The built-in SteadyShot anti-shake system works well when hand-holding the camera at slower shutter speeds.
Noise
There are 8 ISO settings available on the Sony A55. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:
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ISO 100 (100% Crop) |
ISO 100 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 200 (100% Crop) |
ISO 200 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 400 (100% Crop) |
ISO 400 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 800 (100% Crop) |
ISO 800 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 1600 (100% Crop) |
ISO 1600 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 3200 (100% Crop) |
ISO 3200 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 6400 (100% Crop) |
ISO 6400 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 12800 (100% Crop) |
ISO 12800 (100% Crop) |
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Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting. You can change the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default look.
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Original (100% Crop) |
Sharpened (100% Crop) |
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File Quality
The Sony A55 has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.
| 16M Fine (4.43Mb) (100% Crop) | 16M Standard (3.18Mb) (100% Crop) |
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| 16M RAW (23.8Mb) (100% Crop) | |
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Chromatic Aberrations
The Sony A55's 18-55 kit lens handled chromatic aberrations very well during the review, with limited purple fringing mainly present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.
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Example 1 (100% Crop) |
Example 2 (100% Crop) |
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Flash
The flash settings on the Sony A55 are Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow sync, Rear flash sync. and High Speed sync., with Red-eye reduction available in the Main Menu. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
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Flash Off - Wide Angle (27mm) |
Flash On - Wide Angle (27mm) |
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Flash Off - Telephoto (82.5mm) |
Flash On - Telephoto (82.5mm) |
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And here are a couple of portrait shots. Neither the Auto setting or the Red-eye reduction mode caused any amount of red-eye.
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Flash On |
Flash On (100% Crop) |
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Red-eye reduction |
Red-eye reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night
The Sony A55's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds and there's also a Bulb mode for even longer exposures, which is excellent news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 20 seconds at ISO 100.
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Night Shot |
Night Shot (100% Crop) |
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Dynamic Range Optimizer
D-Range Optimiser (DRO) is Sony's solution to improve shadow detail in photos taken in contrasty light. There are 4 different levels and an Auto option.
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Off |
Auto |
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| Level 1 | Level 2 |
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| Level 3 | Level 4 |
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| Level 5 | |
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High Dynamic Range
High Dynamic Range Optimiser (HDR) is Sony's solution for capturing more contrast than a single exposure can handle by combining two exposures into one image. There are 6 different EV settings and an Auto option.
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Off |
Auto |
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| 1EV | 2EV |
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| 3EV | 4EV |
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| 5EV | 6EV |
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Creative Styles
There are 6 Creative Style preset effects that you can use to change the look of your images.
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Standard |
Vivid |
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Portrait |
Landscape |
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Sunset |
B/W |
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Sweep Panorama Mode
The Sony A55 allows you to take panoramic images very easily, by 'sweeping' with the camera while keeping the shutter release depressed. The camera does all the processing and stitching and even successfully compensates for moving subjects. The main catch is that the resulting image is of fairly low resolution.
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| Download the Full Size Image |
3D Sweep Panorama Mode
The Sony A55 also offers a 3D Sweep Panorama mode. If you're lucky enough to own a compatible 3D HDTV, download the sample below to experience the full 3D effect.
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| Download the Full Size Image |
Sample Images
This is a selection of sample images from the Sony A55 camera, which were all taken using the 16.2 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.
Sample RAW Images
The Sony A55 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Sony RAW (ARW) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).
1/640s · f/5.6 · ISO 100
75mm
Download original
1/500s · f/8 · ISO 100
75mm
Download original
1/100s · f/8 · ISO 800
82mm
Download original
1/320s · f/5.6 · ISO 100
82mm
Download original
1/100s · f/8 · ISO 800
82mm
Download original
1/50s · f/11 · ISO 100
27mm
Download original
1/400s · f/8 · ISO 100
52mm
Download original
1/40s · f/16 · ISO 100
27mm
Download original
1/30s · f/3.5 · ISO 200
27mm
Download original
1/100s · f/5.6 · ISO 400
82mm
Download original
1/125s · f/8 · ISO 12800
60mm
Download original
1/60s · f/8 · ISO 6400
60mm
Download original
1/30s · f/8 · ISO 3200
60mm
Download original
1/15s · f/8 · ISO 1600
60mm
Download original
1/50s · f/8 · ISO 100
27mm
Download original
Sample Movie & Video
This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920 x 1080 pixels at 25 frames per second. Please note that this 16 second movie is 33Mb in size.
As of February 2025, we are no longer providing full size sample images or videos for download.
Please contact us if you have any feedback on our new policy.
Product Images
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Front of the Camera |
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Front of the Camera / Flash Raised |
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Front of the Camera |
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Isometric View |
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Isometric View |
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Isometric View |
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Isometric View |
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Rear of the Camera |
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Rear of the Camera |
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Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed |
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| Rear of the Camera / Turned On |
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| Rear of the Camera / Function Menu |
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| Rear of the Camera |
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| Rear of the Camera |
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| Top of the Camera |
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| Bottom of the Camera |
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| Side of the Camera |
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| Side of the Camera |
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| Front of the Camera |
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| Front of the Camera |
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| Memory Card Slot |
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| Battery Compartment |
Conclusion
The Sony A55 turns conventional design on its head to provide what is in many ways a better user experience than traditional DSLRs can achieve, at a price point that Canon and Nikon must be worried about. If you can overcome your reservations about electronic viewfinders, the Sony A55 is a great choice for both beginners and more cautious enthusiasts alike. If you don't need the 2 extra megapixels, built-in GPS or 3 frames per second faster continuous shooting mode, the cheaper A33 is also well worth considering.
The A55's translucent mirror and EVF open up a world of possibilities for Sony, with headline grabbing burst shooting speeds, fast auto-focus for both stills and video, and 100% scene coverage, all for the price of a mid-range DSLR. There are some limitations of this ambitious design, most notably the almost complete inability to pan with your subject, limited creative control over movies, and rather noticeable jumps in focus if using continuous auto-focus during video recording, but overall the first-generation A55 feels remarkably mature.
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. Noise doesn't rear its ugly head until ISO 3200 for JPEGs, although the A55 does apply some pretty aggressive noise reduction to keep the files clean, resulting in loss of fine detail. The myriad of creative effects such as HDR, Dynamic Range Optimisation, creative styles and the innovative sweep panorama mode help to get the most out of the A55.
Despite its cutting-edge internal design, the Sony A55 is a wisely more refined version of many other Alpha cameras in terms of handling, offering a tried and trusted approach with few real drawbacks that both new DSLR users and the more experienced will warm to. The Sony A55 is a great marriage of new and old, competitively priced to take on the best that mid-range DSLRs and Compact System Cameras can offer, and surpassing both in many ways. Highly Recommended.
| Ratings (out of 5) | |
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| Design | 4 |
| Features | 5 |
| Ease-of-use | 4 |
| Image quality | 4.5 |
| Value for money | 4.5 |
Review Roundup
Reviews of the Sony A55 from around the web.
dpreview.com »
The company has rejected the traditional DSLR design and instead created a hybrid that, like a compact camera, is from the ground up built around live view, but one that is also capable of offering full-time DSLR-style phase-detection autofocus. The combination means they can offer features such as phase-detection AF during movie recording and extremely fast continuous shooting rates (10 frames per second on the A55), previously unthinkable at this price.
Read the full review »
imaging-resource.com »
Just three months after launching the NEX-3 and NEX-5 single-lens direct-view (SLD) cameras, Sony takes its interchangeable lens offerings in yet another direction with the Alpha SLT-A55, and SLT-A33. Instead of being mirrorless, the new digital cameras employ a "translucent mirror," more commonly known as a pellicle mirror. This advanced translucent mirror remains fixed in place during operation, allowing most of the light to reach the imaging sensor, while a small percentage is reflected to a dedicated autofocus sensor.
Read the full review »
whatdigitalcamera.com »
The first of two ‘SLT' cameras to be released, the Sony Alpha A55 really is something quite special. Unlike a DSLR, Sony's latest A55 creation uses translucent mirror technology that enables super-fast phase-detection AF during live view, plus ?a rapid 10fps continuous shooting mode. And all for less than £700. Will the Alpha A55 and, indeed, this new technology see off its DSLR rivals?
Read the full review »
neocamera.com »
The Sony Alpha SLT-A55 is the flagship of a unique pair of ILCs that use a translucent mirror to provide full-time continuous autofocus during video recording and at very fast burst-rates. This unique design lets this camera use phase-detection autofocus, the same system used in all current DSLRs, while maintaining a Live-View display on its LCD or on its top-notch EVF.
Read the full review »
Specifications
| Sony α mount | YES |
| Compatibility with A-Mount bayonet lenses from Minolta and Konica Minolta | YES |
| All types of Sony α lenses | YES |
| Minolta & Konica Minolta α/MAXXUM/DYNAX lenses | YES |
| Image sensor type | CMOS Sensor |
| Image sensor colour filter | R, G, B, Primary color |
| Size (mm) | 23.5 x 15.6 (APS-C size) |
| Total sensor Pixels (megapixels) | Approx. 16.7 |
| Effective Pixels (megapixels) | Approx. 16.2 |
| Automatic White Balance | YES |
| White balance: preset selection | Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Flash |
| White balance: custom setting | YES |
| White balance: types of color temperature | 2500 - 9900 k with 19-step Magenta / Green compensation |
| White balance bracketing | 3 frames, Selectable 2 steps |
| ISO Sensitivity Setting | ISO100 - 12800 equivalent |
| System: Sensor-shift mechanism | YES |
| SteadyShot INSIDE scale (in viewfinder) | YES |
| Camera-Shake warning (in viewfinder) | NO |
| SteadyShot INSIDE capability | Approx. 2.5 EV - 4 EV decrease in shutter speed (varies according to shooting conditions and lens used) |
| SteadyShot INSIDE compatibility | All Sony DSLR lenses and A-Mount bayonet lenses from Minolta and Konica Minolta |
| *SteadyShot INSIDE was previously known as Super SteadyShot |
| Charge protection coating on Low-Pass Filter and electromagnetic vibration mechanism | YES |
| TTL phase-detection system | YES |
| Sensor | 15 points (3 points cross type) |
| Sensitivity Range (at ISO 100 equivalent); EV | -1 - 18 |
| Eye Start AF System (on off selectable) | YES |
| AF Area: Wide focus area | YES (auto with 15 areas) |
| AF Area: Spot | YES |
| AF Area: Local focus area selection | YES (15 local areas) |
| AF Area: Multi Point | NO |
| AF Area: Center Weighted | NO |
| AF Area: Flexible Spot | NO |
| AF Modes | Continuous, Single Shot, Automatic, Manual Focus |
| Predictive Focus Control | YES (AF-A and AF-C) |
| Focus Lock | YES |
| AF Illuminator | YES (with built-in flash) |
| AF Illuminator range (meters) | Approx. 1-5 |
| Light metering type | 1200-zone evaluative metering |
| Light metering cell | NO |
| Light metering: Multi segment | YES |
| Light metering: Spot | YES |
| Light metering: Center weighted | YES |
| Exposure: Automatic | YES |
| Exposure: Program Auto | YES |
| Exposure: iAUTO | NO |
| Exposure: AUTO+ | YES |
| Exposure: Shutter priority | YES |
| Exposure: Aperture priority | YES |
| Exposure: Manual | YES |
| Exposure: Scene selection | YES |
| Sweep Panorama | YES (2D, 3D) |
| Anti Motion Blur | NO |
| AE Lock | YES |
| Exposure compensation | YES (+/-2.0 EV, 1/3 EV step) |
| AE Bracketing | With 1/3 EV / 2/3 EV increments, 3 frames |
| Type | Electronically-controlled, vertical-traverse, focal-plane type |
| Shutter Speed Range (seconds) | 1/4000 - 30 and bulb |
| Flash Sync Speed; second | 1/160 |
| Flash Sync Speed (With Steady Shoot On); second | 1/160 |
| Built-in-Flash Guide Number (in meters at ISO 100) | 10 |
| Flash Metering System | ADI / Pre-flash TTL flash metering |
| Flash Compensation | +/-2.0 EV (1/3 EV steps) |
| Built-in-Flash Recycling Time (approx. time in seconds) | 4 |
| Flash Mode | Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow sync, Rear flash sync. High Speed sync. |
| Wireless flash mode | YES (with optional compatible accessory flash) |
| Slow Synchronization | YES |
| Red-Eye Reduction | YES |
| Flash Popup | Auto |
| Automatic Flash | YES |
| Type | Electronic |
| Field of View (%) | 100 |
| Magnification (with 50mm lens at infinity) | 1.10x |
| Eye Relief | Approx. 19mm from the Eyepiece lens |
| Diopter Adjustment | -4.0 to +4.0 diopter |
| Type | YES - Quick AF Live View |
| Other | Face detection / Smile shutter |
| Screen Size | 7.5cm / 3" Wide |
| Monitor Type | Xtra Fine TruBlack LCD |
| LCD Total Dot Number | 921.600 |
| LCD on/off | YES |
| Brightness adjustable | YES |
| Tilting screen | YES - Variable Angle Tilt |
| Rotating screen | YES |
| Drive Mode | Single, Continuous, 10 seconds and 2 seconds Self-timer |
| Continuous-Advance Rate (approx. frames per second at maximum) | Max.10 fps in Continuous Advance Priority AE, max. 6 fps in Drive Mode |
| Number of Continuous Advance | JPEG (L size, Fine): 35 images, RAW: 20 images, RAW+JPEG: 20 images |
| Recording Media | Memory Stick PRO Duo™, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo™, SD, SDHC, SDXC memory cards |
| Recording Format | JPEG (DCF Ver. 2.0, Exif Ver. 2.3, MPF Baseline) compliant, DPOF compatible, RAW (Sony ARW 2.2 format), RAW + JPEG |
| Image Size L - JPEG (pixels) | 4912 X 3264 (16M) |
| Image Size M (pixels) | 3568 X 2368 (8.4M) |
| Image Size S (pixels) | 2448 X 1624 (4M) |
| Panorama size:Max. degrees of sweep angle(focal length 16mm/18mm) | "Image Size: Std Horizontal: 8,192 x 1,856(135deg/120deg) / Vertical: 3,872 x 2,160(101deg/90deg) Image Size: Wide Horizontal: 12,416 x 1,856(202deg/180deg) / Vertical: 5,536 x 2,160(142deg/126d |
| 3D Panorama size:Max. degrees of sweep angle(Focal length:16mm/18mm) | Image Size: 16:9 Horizontal: 1920 X 1080(69deg/62deg) Image Size: Std Horizontal: 4912 X 1080(178deg/158deg) Image Size: Wide Horizontal: 7152 X 1080(259deg/230deg) |
| Still Image quality | RAW, RAW + JPEG, JPEG (Fine, Standard) |
| Movie Recording Format | AVCHD / MP4 |
| Video Compression | MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 |
| Audio recording Format | Dolby® Digital (AC-3) / MPEG-4 AAC-LC |
| Movie recording mode - AVCHD | YES, 1920 x 1080 (50i, Interlace), Approx.17Mbps (Average bit-rate) (PAL) |
| Movie recording mode - MP4 | YES, 1440 x 1080 (Approx.25fps, Progressive), Approx.12Mbps(Average bit-rate) (PAL) / VGA(640 x 480, Approx.25fps, Progressive), Approx.3Mbps(Average bit-rate) (PAL) |
| GPS Heading | YES |
| Noise Reduction (Long exp.NR) | On / Off, available at shutter speeds longer than 1 second |
| Noise Reduction (High ISO NR) | YES |
| Delete Function | YES |
| Color Space (sRGB) | YES |
| Color Space (Adobe RGB) | YES |
| Color mode/DEC/Creative styles | Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, B/W |
| Dynamic Range Optimizer | Off, Auto, Advanced: Level |
| Date/Time Print | YES |
| Information Display | YES |
| White/Black Out Alert | YES |
| Index Playback | YES (12, 6) |
| Enlarge (Maximum magnification) | L size: 11.8x, M size: 8.8x, S size: 6x |
| Image Rotation | YES |
| Auto Image Rotation | YES |
| Battery Remaining Indicator | YES |
| InfoLITHIUM Battery Indicator | YES (in %) |
| Histogram Indicator | YES |
| Exif | 2.3 |
| Exif Print | YES |
| PictBridge | NO |
| Menu Language | English / French / German / Spanish / Italian / Portuguese / Dutch / Russian / Swedish / Danish / Norwegian / Finish / Polish / Czech / Hungarian / Greek / Turkish |
| Zone Matching | NO |
| Depth-of-Field Preview | YES |
| PRINT Image Matching III | YES |
| Remote Release Terminal | YES |
| IR Remote Control | YES (with RMT-DSLR1) |
| DPOF(Digital Print Order Format) | YES |
| Indicator of remaining memory space (CF) | YES |
| Beep Sound | On/Off selectable |
| File Number Memory | On/Off selectable |
| Folder Name Mode | Standard and Date |
| Operating Temperature (degrees C) | 0 - 40 |
| Video Out | NO |
| HD/HDMI® Out | HDMI® mini connector (Type C), BRAVIA® Sync (Sync menu), Photo TV HD |
| USB 2.0 Hi-Speed | YES |
| USB Mode | Mass Storage (PC connection) / PTP |
| Battery System | NP-FW50 |
| Supplied Battery | NP-FW50 |
| Stamina (battery life in CIPA condition) | Approx. 330 images with viewfinder, approx. 380 images in live view mode |
| Weight (g) | Approx. 441 |
| Width (mm) | 124.4 |
| Height (mm) | 92 |
| Depth (mm) | 84.7 |
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