Sony Alpha DSLR-A550L

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550L 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens

Overall Rating:

Retail Price: $927.99

The Sony Alpha A550 delivers several exciting and unusual capabilities, including in-camera high dynamic range images that come out very well, and a full-resolution burst mode of nearly 7 shots per second. A550 is a solidly built camera with decent imaging performance across the board, and a few features that stand out clearly from the pack. It strikes us as a bit expensive, particularly since it lacks the video shooting capability that’s increasingly becoming standard for gear in this price range. However, between in-camera HDR and fast burst-rate shooting, you can grab shots that would be lost otherwise, and that certainly makes this a camera worth considering

Designed from the ground up to bring live view into the digital SLR camera mainstream, they set a dramatic standard in image quality, and can help you get shots you’ve never gotten before. Numerous technologies and image processing algorithms are employed in Sony DSLR-A550L to reduce noise and ensure rich, realistic color under the widest possible range of conditions. So you can take advantage of more shooting opportunities, and see your photos come alive with the vividness of precious memories. Speed and responsiveness are also much improved, and battery life has been extended to provide power for up to 950 shots.

Compare Prices »

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 14.2 MP Digital SLR Camera With 18-55mm Lens
Includes SAL1855 18-55mm standard zoom lens / 14.2MP CMOS / Tiltable 3.0"LCD / Live Views / SteadyShot® INSIDE / 9-point Auto Focus / MS PRO Duo&SDHC

Shop at Price Rating Stock

$799.99 IN

$799.95 IN

$849.00 IN

$528.00 IN

$749.00 IN

$849.99 IN

As we’ve seen before with Sony the 500 series is actually made up of two very similar models the Sony Alpha 500. The most important differences is the sensor – the Sony Alpha A550 gets you an extra couple of megapixels – and the screen (the A550’s has three times the resolution), but there’s a few others to justify the $200 price gap:

Sensor resolution (A550: 14.2MP, A500: 12.3 MP)
LCD screen (A550: 3.0″, 920k dots, A500: 3.0″, 230k dots)
Only the A550 offers the ’speed priority’ 7fps shooting option (A500 max 5fps)
Sony Alpha A550 has a larger buffer (14 raw frames vs 3)

For the most part the first section of this review applies equally to the A550 and A500, though we’d expect the A500’s image quality to be significantly different.
Key features :

The Sony Alpha A550 represents a new category of camera for Sony and the specification makes it look like the company is aiming fairly squarely for Canon’s 500D and Nikon D5000, pitching a little above both in terms of most specifications.