A55: Is there a focus assist lamp?

I played around with the A33 today for the first time. Sony Taipei don't have the A55 yet. Quite nice, until I realized there was no AF Illuminator (focus assist lamp) anywhere to be seen. Not having bought a DSLR since my A700, I naturally assumed it would have one.

Is the A55 the same?

If it is, how is on earth is one meant to focus in extreme low light if you are not planning on using flash?

Seems like a deal breaker (for me); a big shame as I was getting quite excited.
--
Andrew (Brit expat in Taipei, Taiwan since 1985)

Like most other camerra in the range you need to add an external lash and the camera will automatically use the built in illuminator on the flash
--
http://www.fotosource.com/downloads/flyer/eye_cancer_en_CA.pdf

Andrew Mitchell said:

I played around with the A33 today for the first time. Sony Taipei don't have the A55 yet. Quite nice, until I realized there was no AF Illuminator (focus assist lamp) anywhere to be seen. Not having bought a DSLR since my A700, I naturally assumed it would have one.

Is the A55 the same?

If it is, how is on earth is one meant to focus in extreme low light if you are not planning on using flash?

Seems like a deal breaker (for me); a big shame as I was getting quite excited.

Click to expand...

It's a dealbreaker for some and no, it has no dedicated AF assist lamp. It uses the flash as an illuminator, just like most other recent Sony DSLR's.

The illuminator is reserved for higher end cameras (the A700 successor at Photokina clearly has one). With my A500, if I really need an illuminator, I either use the flash to lock focus, then close the flash and shoot without flash. Not ideal, but a workaround. An other option is using a dedicated flash unit that has a built in seperate AF lamp. That will work, even with the flash disabled.

Andrew Mitchell said:

I played around with the A33 today for the first time. Sony Taipei don't have the A55 yet. Quite nice, until I realized there was no AF Illuminator (focus assist lamp) anywhere to be seen. Not having bought a DSLR since my A700, I naturally assumed it would have one.

Is the A55 the same?

If it is, how is on earth is one meant to focus in extreme low light if you are not planning on using flash?

Seems like a deal breaker (for me); a big shame as I was getting quite excited.
--
Andrew (Brit expat in Taipei, Taiwan since 1985)

Click to expand...

What I have done is buy an inexpensive Minolta 2000xi second hand flash. I got mine for about $15. They are small (couple of inches high) and have a built in red focus assist light. If you turn the flash off the red AF light will still illuminate the subject when needed (assuming there is an option on the camera for enabling/disabling AF assist. If there is, set it to enabled.)

Since the flash is from the old AF film cameras, it's not suitable for using as a flash (on my camera, it only flashes at full power). So I just leave it turned off. Note, that with some a-mount cameras, if the camera is set to "auto" exposure mode, it will automatically turn on the flash when it thinks it is needed (called "auto flash" in most of the manuals). I don't know if either the A33 or A55 have that, and if you use PASorM modes that shouldn't be a problem.

tom

Can the A55 internal flash be set to off and then you opened the flash (and I would think an AF Assist Lamp setting would need to be turned on in a menu) and then then internal flash is used for an AF Assist or are we saying that there is none until an external flash is used?

Glenn Alan said:

Can the A55 internal flash be set to off and then you opened the flash (and I would think an AF Assist Lamp setting would need to be turned on in a menu) and then then internal flash is used for an AF Assist or are we saying that there is none until an external flash is used?

Click to expand...

When I read the A33/55 manual, it says that if the flash is up in PASM mode, the flash will always flash. There is a Flash Off setting in the flash menu, but it can not be selected if you are in PASM mode. There is a menu setting to enable the flash (any flash) as an AF illuminator, but I don't see that you can use AF assist (with the built in flash) without also using flash during the exposure (unless you AF with flash up, then push it down before releasing the shutter.) Maybe someone who has one can clarify. (My earlier a-mount camera that didn't have a red assist light, allowed the user to turn off the flash exposure while having it work as AF assist, not sure why Sony would have changed that.)

I chose to use the small add on flash for AF assist, because I avoid any of those issues and I prefer the red patterned assist light which is less annoying and also helps AF when the subject is low contrast.

tom

Thanks for the replies.

I have used the external flash route before - with my KM5D - which is fine if you're at home, but having to lug a big flash around when you're outside is a bit of a pain, neh?

Sigh

--
Andrew (Brit expat in Taipei, Taiwan since 1985)

tom said:

Glenn Alan said:

Can the A55 internal flash be set to off and then you opened the flash (and I would think an AF Assist Lamp setting would need to be turned on in a menu) and then then internal flash is used for an AF Assist or are we saying that there is none until an external flash is used?

Click to expand...

When I read the A33/55 manual, it says that if the flash is up in PASM mode, the flash will always flash. There is a Flash Off setting in the flash menu, but it can not be selected if you are in PASM mode. There is a menu setting to enable the flash (any flash) as an AF illuminator, but I don't see that you can use AF assist (with the built in flash) without also using flash during the exposure (unless you AF with flash up, then push it down before releasing the shutter.) Maybe someone who has one can clarify.

Click to expand...

(My earlier FILM a-mount camera that didn't have a red assist light, allowed the user to turn off the flash exposure while having it work as AF assist, not sure why Sony Konica Minolta did not have the same option on the 7D.)

I chose to use the small add on flash for AF assist, because with my KM 7D I avoid that issue (that was one of the things that annoyed me about the KM7D), and I prefer the red patterned assist light which is less annoying and also helps AF when the subject is low contrast.

tom55604 said:

tom

Click to expand...

Andrew Mitchell said:

Thanks for the replies.

I have used the external flash route before - with my KM5D - which is fine if you're at home, but having to lug a big flash around when you're outside is a bit of a pain, neh?

Sigh

Click to expand...

It is a pain, but at least the 2000xi is a very small flash (a red eye special).

tom

I wonder why Sony left a red focus light out of the design? My DMC-FZ30 bridge camera has one and I've used it quite a lot. It allows focus in the dark, and doesn't alert people who may be in the frame. I can use it with a 1/2 shutter button push. It really is a nice feature and doesn't seem like it would add much cost, use much battery power, or demand much space to provide it on the body.

Someone said these red lamps are reserved for the high end cameras, but as I've said mine is a bridge camera so it seems there may be a hole between the two. I hope Sony pokes around in here and adds that feature to future designs.
--
John

jdonalds said:

I wonder why Sony left a red focus light out of the design? My DMC-FZ30 bridge camera has one and I've used it quite a lot. It allows focus in the dark, and doesn't alert people who may be in the frame. I can use it with a 1/2 shutter button push. It really is a nice feature and doesn't seem like it would add much cost, use much battery power, or demand much space to provide it on the body.

Someone said these red lamps are reserved for the high end cameras, but as I've said mine is a bridge camera so it seems there may be a hole between the two. I hope Sony pokes around in here and adds that feature to future designs.

Click to expand...

SLR cameras are not bridge cameras, the cost structure's entirely different. In low end SLRs, some corners are cut, including dedicated focus lamps. They've been in the 7 series and above for quite a while, and that's probably where they'll stay. Just the nature of things.

It's not just a simple white light assist, either. It's an infrared pattern assist specifically designed for the phase detect AF. The built-in one also only has about good enough coverage for the central AF sensor on most wide to short/medium teles. For a truly powerful assist, you'll need the one found on the add-on flashes.

--
http://www.dvincentphotography.com
http://www.kefkafloyd.com

I have the A33 and assume that much is the same with the A55.

1) firstly (as an aside) make sure the red eye removal system is switched off in the menu - it is on by default and is a nuisance in low light as it ALWAYS strobes twice before the flash and THROUGHTOUT that time, the EFV is blacked out.

2) This camera can focus down to very low light levels without assistance, can't remember the exact levels, but I did post it here about 7 - 10 days ago, it is unaturally low and you could never handhold at those levels anyway.

3) If the camera focus cannot, raise the internal flash, it gives two fast strobe pulses and mine has ALWAYS locked on focus with the strobe, there is NO EFV blackout (as long as the red eye thing is off in the menu)

At first I was bothered about no AF lamp - now I think it is pretty much redundant, especially as the flash stobe is fast and covers a good distance.

jdonalds said:

I wonder why Sony left a red focus light out of the design? My DMC-FZ30 bridge camera has one and I've used it quite a lot. It allows focus in the dark, and doesn't alert people who may be in the frame. I can use it with a 1/2 shutter button push. It really is a nice feature and doesn't seem like it would add much cost, use much battery power, or demand much space to provide it on the body.

Someone said these red lamps are reserved for the high end cameras, but as I've said mine is a bridge camera so it seems there may be a hole between the two. I hope Sony pokes around in here and adds that feature to future designs.
--
John

Click to expand...

I agree, the red focus light is important to me. It's particularly important on a camera with such good high ISO performance (it may be more common to not need a flash)

That and the lack of the AF/MF button and Program shift are causing me to think twice about an A55.
--
Shawn

Thanks Dan, the added info you supplied helps me understand the gap a bit better.
--
John

normsmith said:

I have the A33 and assume that much is the same with the A55.

Click to expand...

normsmith said:

At first I was bothered about no AF lamp - now I think it is pretty much redundant, especially as the flash stobe is fast and covers a good distance.

Click to expand...

I would disagree, you certainly cannot easily capture a candid moment with a flash going of just before you take the picture.
--
Shawn

it might be a good idea to get a feel for how effective the focus system is in low light, rather than make a decision that the camera is insufficient for its lack of a dedicated focus assist light. Some cameras are better than others in low light, and in my experience with various Sony cams, the low light focus abilities of Sony cameras are some of the best on the market. It's an unscientific observation, based on shooting with various friends/family using many brands of camera, and finding that shooting the same scene, the Sony cameras in the room were the first to get focus in low light, were the most reliable in focusing correctly in low light, and in many cases, were the only cameras to achieve AF. I've even shot with a friend using another brand of camera WITH an AF assist light - I still got correct focus without an assist light than he got with it...mine confirmed focus in less than 1/4 second, while his was hunting back and forth with the AF light glaring, for over a second before his camera locked on.

I can't speak to how good or bad the A33/55 are. I know my A550 is superb at focusing in very low light. And I'd also suggest another option worth considering - rather than trying to find all different ways to get the AF to lock focus, one could use the live view system and either quickly manually focus (main sensor live view is extremely bright and easy to see and allows zooming in to get good detail when focusing), or engage the contrast-detect or phase-detect AF while in the wide-open main sensor LV. This is a solution for the newer DLSRs which can now AF in live view, as well as the A33/55 which are always in live view.

And there are so many other variables - what focus mode, what lens (fast or slow), and technique (like judging focal distance and locking spot focus on another better-lit subject the same focal distance to the subject you're shooting, then recomposing) all can help some folks focus in low light much better than others.

It could be I'm just from a different era, but I'll resort quickly to manual focus if the AF can't get a proper lock, rather than trying to illuminate the scene more so the AF can try to focus. It's as fast, or faster, and accurate too. That said, I've run in to so few lighting situations that I couldn't AF with my A550 that I rarely have to resort to that.

--
Justin
galleries: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

imarollingstone said:

I would disagree, you certainly cannot easily capture a candid moment with a flash going of just before you take the picture.

Click to expand...

BUT ..... at the point that the A33 cannot focus in low light, you would have to resort to flash anyway to get a properly exposed shot.

Since I am often shooting in environments where use of flashes is forbidden like museums. And it is also no solution to mount the 5600 flash for using the IR light.

goetz48 said:

For me this is 'no go' item, Since I am often shooting in environments where use of flashes is forbidden like museums.

Click to expand...

Again, I can only refer to the A33 camera - even though this is an A55 thread, but the camera is perfectly capable of focussing in a museum type environment without assistance and the excellent high ISO capabilities of the exmore sensor would further add to the positive experience of museum shooting.

goetz48 said:

Since I am often shooting in environments where use of flashes is forbidden like museums. And it is also no solution to mount the 5600 flash for using the IR light.

Click to expand...

I can't speak for the A55 but with my A500, even the darkest museum I visited would be no focus challenge without AF illuminator.