The Sony Alpha 550 can reach an ISO of 12,800, but can only drop down as low as ISO 200, which can be limiting for long exposures and studio work. The Sony Alpha 550 sports a 9-point AF system that’s arranged in a criss-cross formation and there’s a vari-angle screen that can be pulled outwards and away from the body, though it’s not as manoeuvrable as others in this price range. There’s no compromise when it comes to screen size, with a 3in 921k dot VGA screen. Cleverly, the Sony Alpha 550 uses a secondary sensor to offer uninterrupted Live View coverage with phase-detect AF, although there’s no HD video capability.
The Sony Alpha 550 features a built-in anti-shake system in the shape of SteadyShot INSIDE. This system shifts the sensor, compensating by up to 4 stops for any unwanted camera movement, and because it’s in-camera, it will work with any lens attached. Interestingly, there’s also OS on the Sony-mount version of the Sigma 18-250mm, though in use, there’s no noticeable extra benefit.
The design of the Alpha 550 features a two-tone finish with an overall chunky presence. There’s a sturdy handgrip, but the plastic finish on the top-plate and round the pop-up flash are very smooth and plasticky in appearance, reducing the overall feel of the camera a little.
The Alpha 550 has the ability to shoot at a very impressive 7fps in Speed Priority mode, but this does mean AF and auto exposure settings are locked after the first frame is shot. Otherwise, 5fps is the maximum frame advance, shooting 14 RAW files or unlimited JPEGs before the buffer fills up.
The 9 AF points of the Alpha 550 are selected via the D-Pad and because this is an 8-way design, it’s easy to inadvertently select the wrong AF point. The AF system tended to hunt a little more than the others in low contrast scenes, too.
Uninterrupted phase-detect AF means focusing is quick for Live View, while the manual focus check lets you zoom in x7 or x14 to assess sharpness. All shooting info is displayed clearly on the rear screen, and there’s the Fn button to dive into a quick menu for a range of shooting settings. That said, there are handy quick access buttons for ISO, Drive and D-Range along the top-plate, too, so you’re well-covered.
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