Metering
Like the Alpha 33, the Alpha 55 uses Sony’s new 1,200-zone evaluative metering system. This is linked to the AF system, with the two technologies sharing information as to where the subject is in the frame. As this is the case, there are some scenes where spot metering is particularly useful to ensure the correct exposure for the subject.
Spot metering is only available in the centre of the frame, which I found a little restricting. When metering manually, I did so for the highlights as it is easier to recover detail in shadows than in burnt-out highlights.
My images are well exposed and the 1,200-zone system strikes a good balance between bright skies and darker foregrounds. Generally, I found the exposures to my liking and I only had to use manual exposure control in scenes with a wide dynamic range.
All the manual controls and metering modes are a fingertip away – the manual exposure control sits just above the screen so it is possible to change it without taking your eye from the viewfinder. The spot, centreweighted and multi-segment metering modes are handily accessed via the Fn button.
