The Sony Alpha 57 ($699.99 direct, body only)£1999.99 at Amazon UK is one of four APS-C D-SLR cameras in Sony's current lineup. It's one step up from the entry-level Alpha 37, and like its siblings sports a fixed mirror design and an electronic viewfinder, a departure from classic SLR cameras that use a moving mirror and optical viewfinder for through-the-lens viewing. The 16-megapixel A57 is capable of producing some excellent images and delivers a superlative video recording experience, but its EVF is just not as good as the next model up in the Sony line, the Alpha 65£899.99 at Amazon UK, and the camera is a little slow to start and fire a shot. Nikon's more traditional D5100SEE IT remains our Editors' Choice for D-SLRs priced under $1,000.

Design and Features

At 3.9 by 5.25 by 3.25 inches and 1.4 pounds, the Alpha 57 is only slightly larger than the Nikon D3200SEE IT, which measures 3.8 by 5 by 3.1 inches, but is lighter at one pound. Its sharp 3-inch 921k-dot rear LCD is hinged so you can view it from the side, the top, or slightly above your head. It's also possible to disable the screen by facing it toward the camera, which is handy if you prefer to use the eye-level finder. By default the camera automatically toggles between the EVF and the rear LCD as you place the camera to your eye or pull it away, but you can disable this functionality and opt to use the physical Finder/LCD button to switch between the two.

The viewfinder is one of the most important ergonomic components of any SLR, and the Alpha 57's is a bit lacking. Even though its 1.4-megapixel resolution sounds impressive, it's not nearly as sharp and lacks contrast when compared with the 2.5-megapixel OLED EVF found in Sony's Alpha 65, Alpha 77, and Alpha NEX-7See it at Amazon UK cameras. If you're shooting in low light, the typically fluid finder suffers from laggy, stuttering motion.

Sony clearly put some thought into the Alpha 57's control layout. The camera has a mode dial on its top left side, a front control dial, and Exposure Compensation and ISO buttons on the top of the grip, directly behind the shutter and On/Off switch. The rear of the camera features buttons to control the Drive mode, White Balance, and Exposure Lock, and to start Movie recording. An overlay menu, which gives you access to the rest of the shooting controls, is launched by pressing the Function button. There's no rear control dial, which makes it challenging for shooters who are used to a dual-dial camera like the Pentax K-30See it at Amazon UK. Having a second dial available makes it easier to shoot in Manual mode, and to more quickly adjust a second shooting setting when using the camera in Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority mode.