Sony A33/A55 Cameras are the newest, best and brightest that Sony has to offer. And with their new “Translucent Mirror” technology, they aim to finally get professionals from Nikon, Cannon, Sigma and others, to give them their due. The A33 weighs in at 7fps and 14.2MP, while the A55 comes in at 10fps and 16.2MP.

“Translucent Mirror”

Put simply, Translucent Mirror Technology lets the camera focus and shoot simultaneously. Unlike other DSLRs, the mirror in these cameras never moves. This is the world’s first DSLR to ever pull off such a feat, eliminating the time needed to raise and lower the mirror. The benefit is blindingly-fast continuous shooting at class-leading speeds of up to 10 fps in Continuous Priority AE mode.

Now that we know what the Translucent Mirror is, lets talk about something else, like Sony and how they seem always just behind the curve on DSLR’s…

While this is a major improvement in many ways over past Sony DSLR models, and the technology behind the mirrors is impressive, Sony is still struggling to gather support from seasoned professionals and consumers. First gen Sony DSLR’s were rather bulky, heavy and slow on the draw. This is to say nothing of sensor issues and their over inflated price.

The slow shutter response is gone, but the price is still there as is the bulk. For a few hundred more you can pick up the new Cannon EOS 60D which is a major upgrade to the A55, or the Nikon D3100 is priced at $700 with better optics and overall value with only a minor downgrade in megapixal size (14MP), but you could and many will, argue that Nikon’s sensors make up for the downgrade. However, for photographers who are interested in the new “Translucent Mirror” and how it performs, these two are hard to resist. Other great features include panoramic mode and a large adjustable LCD screen. $650-850. NC