sonyalpharumors

Th is correct, the 550D cannot autofocus, so comparing autofocus abilities is not really a comparison, one can, and one cannot!

What we can compare is autoexposure (brightness), and the A55 is better at that than the 550D, not least because changes in brightness are smoothly done. I can see that, even my nex-5 is better at that than my canon 7D. Sensor sharpness and contrast is also great. As is the low noise level. This is fantastic, and very welcome. They have done a great job!

However I wish that manual exposure (user control of shutter speed and iso) was also possible. In some situations the A55 will produce wonderful video, but in others, especially involving movement, either of the subject being filmed, or the camera itself, the result will not be so good. Movement can appear “flickering” and abnormal. I have already seen that in A55 footage of water, people walking, birds flying etc. This is because the default camera method of controlling exposure is to use a shutter speed is many times higher than 1/50 second, which is the ideal cadence for 24 or 25p video (1/60 for 30p video). In low light, auto high gain from the camera also can potentially increase noise, without giving the user the option of turning it off, which is not a good idea. It would have been a very simple option for sony to have given a manual option in the menu, which would allow the user, if they wished to have a little more control.

They would have created a new camera, which would have led to video guys leaving their 7Ds and GH1s and moving over to sony. But instead they chose to try and protect their new camcorder, which has its own limitations, and so will not see a large number of people moving over to it. The option of greater manual control is not just the option of professional cameras, but also of prosumer ones too, from canon, and some nikon, models. I am brand agnostic, jumping between brands, using canon, then nikon, then sony, then olympus, depending on the project and the lens options.

I