Customer Ratings & Reviews

Have been using SLT A57 for the last two months and the results are nothing short of stunning. Uploaded the first set of pics which I took using the camera a few weeks back on Picasa and everyone was Wow. Clarity and Sensitivity make the pictures as close to reality as I have seen. Performance in night conditions is supreme and catches even the minutest detail. View finder gives one the feeling of fighter Multi Functional Display. Go and buy this camera, and you shall be glad that you did.

I purchased this from Best Buy because I needed it in a hurry. My A100 failed while on vacation. I give it 4.75 stars. The a57 is a very good camera but it took some getting used to. This is my first SLT so I found the LCD viewfinder to be a bit strange at first when using a DSLR. It is very bright, and has a bit too much contrast when shooting in very bright sunlight. The LCD multiple angle review screen is great. Easy to see even in bright daylight. Being an SLT (single lens translucent mirror) camera, the a57 is extremely quiet when taking pictures. I use the Intelligent auto mode or the P mode most of the time as opposed to the Superior mode. I don't want the flash to pop up on its own when shooting in low light, which it does very well. All my older Minolta AF A mount lenses work well with the camera, including my Sigma 28 f2.8 macro lens. My older HVLF36am flash is completely compatible with the a57 as well. The camera body is the same size as the a100 although a bit lighter in weight. It has a comfortable grip with room for all my fingers (no pinky hanging off like with earlier Sony DSLR models). The controls are layed out logically. There is one minor problem...it is possible to hit the movie button by accident. I would prefer a slide switch to start a movie as opposed to a button. You can eat up your memory card without even knowing what happened if not careful. I am still a guy who misses film (I had my own color darkroom) I shot mostly 200 ASA negative film and 400 ASA in very low light conditions. So at 16 MP I feel that the A57 takes very sharp pictures in all conditions. I took a look at the a65 with its 24 MP and its brighter OLED View Finder but really did not see enough advantage to the camera to spend an extra 200 bucks. I think Sony had that in mind when they replaced the a55 with the a57. If you really want the extra MPs then 200 bucks is not bad, but you don't sacrifice much if you go with the a57. As a matter of fact you get a couple of new features with the a57 not available with the a65. One is Auto Portrait Framing. When taking a picture that captures a face, you can center and snap and the camera will automatically save a second image, re-frame the shot using the rule of thirds. Pretty cool I think. Also, if you are willing to shoot at a smaller picture size, the a57 will fire at 12 frames per second. At the largest pic size it will shoot at 10fps. Not bad for action shots. Last the a57 will shoot at 16000 ISO which for all of us old film buffs translates to a lot of pushing in the darkroom. Not having used an SLT with electronic viewfinder before, I found out that there are things I like... such as the level indicator, and things I don't like..like too much info cluttering up the viewing area. Fortunately info displayed is optional and you can change how much you want to see. The a57 uses the larger M size battery, the same newer battery for the a100. The a55 which the a57 is replacing uses a smaller battery, which doesn't last as long and tends to get hot as well. The Pros of this camera are many....sharp pictures even in low light. Records movies easily (also a con) Terrific number of auto shoot modes for all kinds of conditions including portrait re-framing and auto HDR along with multi frame exposure for low light conditions. Uses the large M batteries. Bright LCD multi angle live/review/menu screen. Cons (keeping the camera from getting a full five stars) View Finder screen has too much contrast when shooting in bright daylight, . Easy to hit the movie button by accident...with a finger or against your chest. The camera has some fun things I have not used yet..such as the panorama sweep mode, both 2d and 3d. Not having a 3d television I doubt that feature will get used much. All told I look forward to using this camera for a long time to come. I will say this...I still like looking through an optical VF so my a100 is going in for repair. Using the a57 and the a100 together should allow me to do just about anything including shooting HD movies.

I would recommentd this camera to anyone for home use, for vacations, weddings, etc.

Problems with autofocus hitting subject. Changing modes provides a variety of images to work with.

Most Sony's are rated lower on battery life but I took 450 pics, a lot with flash, and still had half a battery left. Easy to use, all though I sometimes forget when I go to using different setting to set them back to a "neutral" spot. Various functions are self explanitory by just hitting the question mark button on the lower back right. Absolutely love my A57.

I was new to the DSLR world but I needed to replace a failing video camcorder. The DSLR's have come around and now hold a significant place in video recording. Sony's a57 is a wonderful buy and produces the best photo and video in it's class. The a57 is one of the few DSLR's to provide auto focus in video mode. It also has the ability to record 29 minutes of video at a time whereas others are limited to 10 minutes per video. Sony also has a wonderful auto audio leveling system that handles loud and soft sounds. This also includes a mic input for an external mic. The camera is balanced and isn't too heavy. The features are unreal for the price you pay. Sony also released the a58 but your money is better spent on the a57. The a58 seems like a step backwards for Sony. I love this camera. Competes in quality with all others in it's price range and then some.

Trying to run the camera through the paces and so far no complaints. This is our first dslr camera. We had decided on another brand because of reviews, but we were shown the Sony and did some research on our own and with Best Buy's return policy we wanted to try it. I must say we haven't been disappointed at all. I'm not going try and get technical, but if you like trying different settings, and playing around with all the cool features give it a try. We have been amazed at the wonderful picture quality, brightness,and especially the upclose detail that this camera provides. In my humble opinion, it's a great camera.

we had a nikon p90 and tried up to this sony and the picture quality is far better and is alort easier to use. we love the high speed option as we have took picture of a bee and you can see the bee wing movement.

This is a great camera for photographers that are not quite professional. The rder feature removes the need to carry a separate camcorder. Best quality at this level of camera. As an former A700 owner. I'm glad I made the switch.

After falling in love with my Sony NEX-5, I wanted to get more into photography, so I purchased the A57. I needed a camera for shooting sports and my nieces, something with a high burst rate. I've shot a few triathlons this summer and the pics turned out awesome. The auto focus is very fast. I especially love the different picture effects/art modes in the menu...makes my shots look professional. With the battery included, I can get about 500 shots at 16 mps. I purchased this with the 18-55 kit, and about a month later 3 other lenses. I'm very satisfied with Sony. All in all, this camera is an excellent buy!

I went into best buy searching for a camera upgrade to pursue a fledgling weekend career of shooting engagements, weddings, and portraits. I was looking for something that focused fast and had as beautiful color reproduction as my old olympus. Honestly, I've never been that impressed with canon or nikon but figured that'd be what I would have to get in my price range. I asked the rep to show me the fastest camera he had- expecting to look at something way above my price range but was shocked when he pulled out the a57. I was instantly in love. Don't listen to purists who whine about the lack of mirrors. The translucent tech allows you to see the shot and tons of information overlayed that a traditional viewfinder cannot. The rotating oled is gorgeous and the picture quality I'm getting with the kit lens makes me not feel like I don't even need a prime to go along with it. Its that good. The burst mode is an added bonus and you'll be searching for creative ways to use it. Oh, and the color reproduction is outstanding. Sony is far beyond canon and nilkon in this regard. Don't miss out on this camera because of the name. Amazing value, I am so surprisingly pleased and thankful the rep at best buy knew his stuff and didn't try to sell me a more expensive, and likely inferior, camera.

Our first serious camera. Already have three lenses to go with it, including 300MM telephoto and a macro lense. Pretty easy to get started with. Bought it on vacation and got some great shots along the Florda coast. My wife doesn't usually go for high tech, but has taken to this camera nicely and is learning very quickly how to leverage its features. Very happy with it.

I am very impressed with this camera! 12 shots per second works great for sports! The color and clarity of the pictures are awesome!

So far this camera seems really great. We got it for our vacation coming up but have been playing with it around the house. It takes great close ups. Very clear and detailed. It also makes great panorama shots. We've gotten a few more lenses for it including a macro and a big beercan and it works wonderful with them. Just not sure about the battery life so far. We'll definitely be getting another battery or two just in case.

Sonys cameras are user friendly, nicely designed and take multiple pictures very quickly. This helps first time photographers to catch multiple shots and make sure they get a few good ones!!

Great camera. This is my first DSL camera and it is very user-friendly. I did take some classes to help get me get acquainted with all of the options. I would (and have) recommend this camera to friends who want to step up from a point-and=shoot camera.

I always wanted a camera that would work with my 35mm Minolta Xi auto focus lenses, of which I have a few, and had watched as Sony entered the market with the "a" series cameras, which did so, one of which I was able to borrow from a friend who let me use it on a trip to Yellowstone National Park. Needless to say I was hooked and just waited for the camera that would work the best for me price wise and quality wise. This camera fit that to a "T". Cant wait for my next trip, ( Yosemite anyone?)

I recently too a trip to Houston and I was so excited to use my camera and take pictures the pictures came out great and so clear. I now have what I liked seeing in everyone else's pictures. Cant wait to get out to the National Mall to capture the Cherry Blossoms.

I love this camera. However being that I usually spend $500-700 on non-DSLR cameras, I cannot understand what the hype is about DSLR cameras. This was my first DSLR and I must say it take great pictures, but most of my non-DSLR cameras took great pictures as well. The cameral does have many options, and I do like to experiment with all the features (toys). But in the end with the cost of DSLR lenses, I would say unless you are a professional, I would stick with the non-DSLR cameras with the mega-zooms and great picture quality. I just spent almost $700 dollars for a long range lens, but I am still learning. (backyard photographer).

This was my first DSLR camera so after reading a few reviews on here and few other sites decided to get it. Best decision I ever did. Shoots beautiful pictures and overall is very easy to use. I do recommend getting a book from David Busch that shows all the in and out for this camera, very helpful.