Sample Photos: Sony a58

The lighting in this butterfly exhibit wasn't overly dark, but it also wasn't very even. Lots of hot spots and a less-than-ideal color temperature. The camera seemed to handle it fine, though. It was also incrediby humid inside the butterfly room and the camera didn't fog, which suggests the weather sealing is actually solid for an entry-level camera. ISO: 800 Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec Aperture: F/5.6 Focal Length: 55mm DOWNLOAD FULL-RES VERSION Lots of mixed lighting conditions to be found in the museum, this one encompased both indirect sunlight and tungsten. Set on auto WB, it did a fine job getting the daylight right and letting the tungsten go warm. ISO: 1000 Shutter Speed: 1/60th sec Aperture: F/4.5 Focal Length: 18mm DOWNLOAD THE FULL-RES VERSION To check out the in-body Steady Shot, this was taken at 1/4 sec at 55mm. You can see it does a pretty good job. In our test, I don't expect it to be quite as effective as the in-lens systems offered by other makers, but at the entry-level, the benefit of having every lens stabilized is very tangible. ISO: 3200 Shutter Speed: 1/4 sec. Aperture: F/5.6 Focal Length: 55mm DOWNLOAD THE FULL-RES VERSION This close-up portrait of FDR (not the real one, obviously) was taken in a hurry. As you can see, the color temperature isn't perfect, but the image quality is nice and the focus was quick to get where it needed to go thanks to the face detection. ISO: 3200 Shutter Speed: 1/15 sec Aperture: F/4 Focal Length: 18mm DOWNLOAD THE FULL-RES VERSION Another tricky subject. These shiny pie decorations threw all kinds of crazy reflections. We're still at ISO 3200, so the color accuracy suffers a bit, but these were such an odd color it's almost hard to tell. Despite the shiny surfaces, though, the specular (blown out) highlights are kept very acceptable. ISO: 3200 Shutter Speed: 1/15 Aperture: F/4 Focal Length: 18mm DOWNLOAD THE FULL-RES VERSION This image was straightened slightly in Lightroom, so the total resolution has been slightly reduced. It's a good example of how it performs in daylight at a middle ISO. The purple fringing around the blown out windows is actually pretty manageable thanks to the in-camera reduction system. ISO: 1000 Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec Aperture: F/5.6 Focal Length: 28mm DOWNLOAD THE FULL-RES VERSION Shot through glass, this photo is included simply so you can see the fine detail in the hair and horns at ISO 3200. DOWNLOAD THE FULL-RES VERSION A chance to check out the fine detail rendering at ISO 3200. That's where the auto ISO tops off. Some of the smaller details start to get a bit muddy, but even up past this, you can get images that are more than fine, especially if you're displaying them on the web. ISO: 3200 Shutter Speed: 1/25th sec Aperture: F/5.6 Focal Length: 50mm DOWNLOAD THE FULL-RES VERSION Some vibrant blue butterflies under imperfect light. Again, you can see a bit of muddiness in the small details thanks to the high ISO, but it might actually be a little less than you'd expect. ISO: 3200 Shutter Speed: 1/25 sec Aperture: F/5.6 Focal Length: 50mm DOWNLOAD THE FULL-RES VERSION Not a beautiful shot, but a particularly tricky exposure scenario with lots of big, dark areas, mixed light, and high contrast. It gives you an idea of the dynamic range of the new sensor at high ISO ISO: 3200 Shutter Speed: 1/20 sec Aperture: F/5.6 Focal Length: 50mm DOWNLOAD FULL-RES VERSION Here's where you start to see the flare from the lens. The small light (like the ones pictured in the frame) at the corner of the frame caused all that flare and purple ghosting that goes across the frame. ISO: 3200 Shutter Speed: 1/20 sec Aperture: F/5.6 Focal Length: 50mm DOWNLOAD FULL-RES VERSION Another butterfly shot. Note the very decent color accuracy despite the light color and 3200 ISO. ISO: 3200 Shutter Speed: 1/20 sec Aperture: F/5.6 Focal Length: 50mm DOWNLOAD FULL-RES VERSION More indirect daylight. This image was straightened in Lightroom so the overall resolution has been very slightly reduced. ISO: 800 Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec. Aperture: f/5.6 Focal Length: 55mm DOWNLOAD FULL-RES VERSION This is the beginning of an ISO comparison run. Check out the next couple images to see how the noise performance is affected as the ISO is jacked up. ISO: 3200 Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec. Aperture: F/5.6 Focal Length: 55mm DOWNLOAD FULL-RES VERSION ISO: 6400 Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec. Aperture: F/5.6 Focal Length: 55mm DOWNLOAD FULL-RES VERSION ISO: 12,800 Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec Aperture: F/5.6 Focal Length: 55mm DOWNLOAD FULL-RES VERSION ISO: 16000 Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec. Aperture: F/5.6 Focal Length: 55mm DOWNLOAD FULL-RES VERSION