Sony SLT-A55 + Sony DT 18-55mm/ F3.5-5.6 SAM review: specs and price

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Flip-out screens are useful for doing tricky shots.

The focus motor moves the lens in order to autofocus. For system cameras, having a focus motor in the camera's body allows you to use a wide range of lenses, including lenses which do not have their own focus motor. For compact cameras, a focus motor is usually built-in.

With 100% coverage you can compose the image correctly when you capture the photo. With less than full coverage you may have to crop your photos afterwards to get them looking perfect.

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A hot shoe can be used to attach an external flash, as well as light meters, viewfinders, rangefinders and other attachments.

The larger the sensor the more light the sensor captures yielding in better image quality.

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The more focus points the more flexibility in picking which part of the scene to focus on. They also give the image sensor a better probability in identifying the right area of the scene to focus on in more automatic modes.

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With a higher light sensitivity (ISO level), the sensor absorbs more light. This can be used to capture moving objects using a fast shutter speed, or to take images in low light without using a flash.

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The zoom range is the ratio between the longest and shortest focal lengths. A higher zoom range means that the lens is more versatile.

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With a wider aperture the sensor can capture more light, helping to avoid blur by enabling a faster shutter speed. It also provides a shallow depth of field, allowing you to blur the background to focus attention on the subject.

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The maximum resolution available for videos shot with the main camera. Although it may be possible to choose among other frame rates, those recordings usually have lower resolutions.

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A phase detection autofocus system is faster than a contrast detection autofocus system. Even when recording scenes with a lot of fast movements, the videos are sharp and clear.

When recording movies they stay focussed and sharp.

AVCHD (Advanced Video Coding High Definition) is a file-based format for the digital recording and playback of high-definition video. It's a standard popular among professional cameras and camcorders.

A stereo microphone allows to record audio files or movies in stereo without an external microphone.

A microphone port allows connecting external high-end or specialized microphones.

CIPA is an independent, standard measurement that determines how many shots a camera can take before the battery dies.

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The battery is removable and can be replaced by the user if broken.

The battery can be recharged and used over again.

An indicator shows you when the device has low battery.

A device's overall image quality score considers: color depth, dynamic range and low light performance. Source: DxOMark.

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The better a device's color depth the more color nuances it can distinguish. Source: DxOMark.

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The better the dynamic range the system captures a wider number of values from dark to light leading to more details in low and highlights. Source: DxOMark.

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The device can connect to WiFi.

The device has a standard memory slot (such as an SD or micro SD card slot) so that you can either extend the internal storage with affordable memory modules or you can retrieve data, such as photographs, easily from a memory card.

A remote control allows you to control the device remotely. The remote control can be included or optional.

The device captures 3D still photos and/or 3D videos due to two separate lenses.

This is the closest distance that the lens can focus. A shorter minimum focus distance allows you to get closer to your subject, and is particularly important when doing macro photography.

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At the shorter end of the lens you get the widest angle of view. This allows you to fit more of the scene into the photograph (based on APS-C format).

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Lenses with a built-in focus motor can autofocus even if the camera does not have its own focus motor.

Similar to the number of aperture blades, rounded blades affect the way the light gets through to the sensor. Rounded blades, often only found on more expensive lenses, improve the appearance of the out-of-focus areas. This allows you to attain better, softer looking bokeh in your photos.

The aperture controls how much light gets through to the camera’s sensor. More blades is often an indicator of a better quality lens. It also allows you to achieve much nicer looking bokeh when blurring out your background, whereas a lens with less blades will often produce harsher, more polygonal bokeh.

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