# Questions about Sony a57



## Newerabs

Hello! New to this forum. I'm very close to buying a dSLR and for a long time my heart was set on the Nikon d5100. A friend told me to check out Sony's line of dSLR's as he has used one for years and loves it (he currently has the a55). I had not even thought about checking out Sony so I went to my local Best Buy where they had the a57 on display. I spent about a half-hour testing it out and fell in love with it. The fast shutter speed was something that just blew me away and with kids that is something that I need to have. And the photo quality was on par with what I was seeing on the Nikon. So from a photography stand point I love what this camera can do. The problem I'm having is that I don't just do photography I do a lot of video. Specifically, I do a lot video for my church (interviews, promo videos, announcements, people worship etc). One of the things that is a must for me is being able to preview the audio visually (normally some sort of a volume gauge on the screen) and also through headphones. I almost always use an external mic to capture audio and love that the a57 has a mic input. I also love the video quality that I took and I've seen on YouTube with video tests. And auto AF is another plus. But I need a way to preview the audio and I don't see a headphone input like I do on the Canon's. I'm wondering if anyone has any idea on how to possibly get some headphones attached to this camera! I'm really wanting to buy it but this would be a deal breaker for me. Please help!!


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## cgipson1

Fitch downgrades Sony, Panasonic to junk - Nov. 22, 2012


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## Kolia

Other than the built in speaker, I don't think you'll be able to plug any headphones.


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## jfrabat

Although not even close to being in the same ballpark, the A99 is the best for serious video shooting (and a great camera as well)...


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## brunerww

Hi Newerabs - I agree with you - the $648 Sony A57 is an awesome camera at a great price for stills and video - but not very many DSLR/DSLT/DSLM-style hybrid still/video cameras have headphone jacks.  This is a new feature for this type of camera. As of today, there are only 7 of them.  All were released this year (2012), most cost a *lot* of money, and none are less than $1000.

Here they are in order of decreasing price.

DSLR: Canon 1D C, $11,999

DSLR: Nikon D4, $5,997

DSLR: Canon 5D Mark III, $2,975

DSLT: Sony A99, $2,798

DSLR: Nikon D800, $2,797

DSLR: Nikon D600, $1,997

DSLM: Panasonic GH3, $1,298

Sadly, the only workaround for cameras without headphone jacks is to buy an external recorder with a headphone jack and sync your sound in post.  Too much work for me 

If you want a capable still/video camera with a headphone jack for less than $1000, you'll have to get a camcorder like the $699 Panasonic X900.  I have this camera's older brother, the TM900, and it is a great camcorder that is also a good still camera.

Here is a picture I took with the TM900:




I also own the Panasonic GH3.  I couldn't afford those other cameras, and I will *not* buy a "video" camera without a headphone jack.  Its full-resolution continuous still frame rate is "only" 6fps (compared to the A57's blazing 12fps), but the video is much better than the A57's.  Here is an example:

[video=vimeo;55219894]http://vimeo.com/55219894[/video]

Take a look at other GH3 videos on vimeo to see what this camera is capable of.

If you can afford it, I highly recommend this camera as the best hybrid still/video camera on the market.

Hope this is helpful and best of the holidays!

Bill


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