San Diego, Calif. –
introduced Tuesday the Alpha SLT-A57 d-SLR
that continues the use of the company’s translucent mirror technology.
The midrange d-SLR
features a 16-megapixel, APS-C-sized sensor and is positioned to compete with
Canon’s EOS Rebel T3i and the Nikon’s D5100.
Sony is selling
the a57 for a $700 suggested retail for the body only, or in a kit with an
18-55mm zoom lens for $800, starting in April.
As with previous
top-end Sony d-SLRs, the a57 uses a fixed internal reflex mirror to drive a
continuous phase-detection autofocus system rather than an optical viewfinder.
The a57 uses both a
1.4-million-dot eye-level LCD electronic viewfinder and a tilting 3-inch LCD
screen.
The a57 is also
capable of burst-shooting speeds up to 12 fps at an 8-megapixel resolution, or
10 fps at full 16-megapixel resolution.
For video, the a57
captures FullHD 1080p at 60 fps in AVCHD Progressive format. Users can switch
to full manual exposure control when shooting video, and the camera offers
continuous phase-detection autofocus and auto-exposure adjustments for video
and burst shooting.
Maximum ISO
sensitivity is listed at 16,000.
A new feature in
the camera is called Auto Portrait Framing. This in-camera editing tool combines
face detection and a rule-of-thirds algorithm to automatically crop portrait
photos for the best composition.
Other features
include Sony’s Sweep Panorama mode, single-shot 3D and panorama 3D modes, and
an exposure-bracketing HDR mode.
The a57 features a
new “by pixel super resolution” digital zoom technology that adds an extra 2x
simulated zoom at the telephoto end of any A-mount lens.
