Specifications#
- Brand
- Sony
- Model
- Alpha 550
- Also known as
- DSLR-A550
- Camera type
- DSLR
- Released
- 2009-08-01
- Lens mount
- Sony / Minolta A-mount
- Sensor size
- 23.4 × 15.6 mm (APS-C)
- Crop factor
- 1.54×
- Resolution
- 14 MP (4,592 × 3,056 px)
- Continuous shooting
- 7 fps
- Weight
- 599 g (21.1 oz)
- Sensor
- 23.4 x 15.6 mm APS-C Type CMOS Exmor Sensor, 14.6 million total pixels 14.2 million effective pixels
- Storage
- Secure Digital/Secure Digital HC, Memory Stick PRO Duo
- Viewfinder
- Eye-level fixed optical glass pentamirror
- Metering
- Multi-segment (40 segment Honeycomb pattern)/ Center-weighted/ Spot
- Shutter
- Electronically controlled, vertical-traverse, focal-plane Shutter
- Flash
- Manual Pop-up: Auto, Fill-flash, Slow sync., Rear flash sync, Wireless off camera flash
- Battery
- NP-FM500H Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (1650 mAh)
- Lens
- Sony mount; compatible with Minolta A-type bayonet mount. Sony α Lens and Konica Minolta α/MAXXUM/DYNAX Lens
- Drive
- Up to 7 frame/s max in Speed- Priority mode.
Specifications merged from Wikipedia, Wikidata, Lensfun and openMVG. Spot an error? Tell us.
Sensor size compared#
Focal length equivalents & field of view#
Multiply any focal length by 1.54 to get the full-frame field of view. Angles are for a rectilinear lens focused at infinity.
| Lens on this camera | Full-frame equivalent | Horizontal | Vertical | Diagonal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 mm | 12 mm | 111.3° | 88.5° | 120.7° |
| 10 mm | 15 mm | 99.0° | 75.9° | 109.2° |
| 12 mm | 18 mm | 88.5° | 66.0° | 99.0° |
| 14 mm | 22 mm | 79.8° | 58.2° | 90.3° |
| 16 mm | 25 mm | 72.4° | 52.0° | 82.6° |
| 18 mm | 28 mm | 66.0° | 46.9° | 76.0° |
| 20 mm | 31 mm | 60.7° | 42.6° | 70.2° |
| 24 mm | 37 mm | 52.0° | 36.0° | 60.7° |
| 28 mm | 43 mm | 45.4° | 31.1° | 53.3° |
| 35 mm | 54 mm | 37.0° | 25.1° | 43.8° |
| 40 mm | 62 mm | 32.6° | 22.1° | 38.7° |
| 50 mm | 77 mm | 26.3° | 17.7° | 31.4° |
| 56 mm | 86 mm | 23.6° | 15.9° | 28.2° |
| 70 mm | 108 mm | 19.0° | 12.7° | 22.7° |
| 85 mm | 131 mm | 15.7° | 10.5° | 18.8° |
| 100 mm | 154 mm | 13.3° | 8.9° | 16.0° |
| 135 mm | 208 mm | 9.9° | 6.6° | 11.9° |
| 200 mm | 308 mm | 6.7° | 4.5° | 8.0° |
| 300 mm | 462 mm | 4.5° | 3.0° | 5.4° |
| 400 mm | 615 mm | 3.4° | 2.2° | 4.0° |
| 600 mm | 923 mm | 2.2° | 1.5° | 2.7° |
| 800 mm | 1231 mm | 1.7° | 1.1° | 2.0° |
Depth of field table#
Total depth of field at each subject distance, using a circle of confusion of 19.5 µm (the 0.030 mm full-frame standard scaled by the crop factor). Detailed tables: 24 mm f/1.8, 24 mm f/2.8, 35 mm f/1.8, 35 mm f/2.8, 50 mm f/1.8, 50 mm f/2.8.
| Focal | Aperture | 50.0 cm | 1.00 m | 2.00 m | 3.00 m | 5.00 m | 10.0 m | Hyperfocal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 mm | f/1.8 | 8.8 cm | 36.5 cm | 1.63 m | 4.49 m | 44.0 m | ∞ | 5.60 m |
| 14 mm | f/2.8 | 13.8 cm | 59.4 cm | 3.19 m | 16.2 m | ∞ | ∞ | 3.60 m |
| 14 mm | f/4 | 20.1 cm | 92.8 cm | 8.42 m | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | 2.53 m |
| 14 mm | f/8 | 45.5 cm | 4.09 m | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | 1.27 m |
| 28 mm | f/1.8 | 2.1 cm | 8.7 cm | 35.6 cm | 81.3 cm | 2.34 m | 11.2 m | 22.4 m |
| 28 mm | f/2.8 | 3.3 cm | 13.6 cm | 56.0 cm | 1.30 m | 3.93 m | 26.8 m | 14.4 m |
| 28 mm | f/4 | 4.7 cm | 19.5 cm | 81.6 cm | 1.94 m | 6.55 m | 1.3 km | 10.1 m |
| 28 mm | f/8 | 9.5 cm | 40.2 cm | 1.86 m | 5.46 m | 466 m | ∞ | 5.05 m |
| 48 mm | f/1.8 | 0.7 cm | 2.9 cm | 11.9 cm | 27.0 cm | 75.9 cm | 3.10 m | 65.7 m |
| 48 mm | f/2.8 | 1.1 cm | 4.5 cm | 18.5 cm | 42.2 cm | 1.19 m | 4.99 m | 42.2 m |
| 48 mm | f/4 | 1.5 cm | 6.5 cm | 26.5 cm | 60.6 cm | 1.72 m | 7.60 m | 29.6 m |
| 48 mm | f/8 | 3.1 cm | 12.9 cm | 53.8 cm | 1.25 m | 3.78 m | 24.7 m | 14.8 m |
| 78 mm | f/1.8 | 0.2 cm | 1.1 cm | 4.4 cm | 10.1 cm | 28.4 cm | 1.15 m | 173 m |
| 78 mm | f/2.8 | 0.4 cm | 1.7 cm | 6.9 cm | 15.7 cm | 44.3 cm | 1.80 m | 112 m |
| 78 mm | f/4 | 0.5 cm | 2.4 cm | 9.9 cm | 22.5 cm | 63.4 cm | 2.59 m | 78.1 m |
| 78 mm | f/8 | 1.1 cm | 4.7 cm | 19.8 cm | 45.2 cm | 1.28 m | 5.44 m | 39.1 m |
Equivalent aperture#
Exposure is identical at the same f-number on any format; equivalence only describes depth of field and total light.
Diffraction & pixel pitch#
With 5.10 µm pixels, diffraction starts to soften pixel-level detail around f/7.6. For maximum sharpness keep landscapes between f/4.2 and f/8; stopping down further trades detail for depth of field.
| Aperture | Airy disk diameter | Spread over | At 100% view |
|---|---|---|---|
| f/2.8 | 3.8 µm | 0.7 px | sharp |
| f/4 | 5.4 µm | 1.1 px | sharp |
| f/5.6 | 7.5 µm | 1.5 px | sharp |
| f/8 | 10.7 µm | 2.1 px | slight softening |
| f/11 | 14.8 µm | 2.9 px | slight softening |
| f/16 | 21.5 µm | 4.2 px | visibly soft |
| f/22 | 29.5 µm | 5.8 px | visibly soft |
Maximum print sizes#
At 14 MP the Sony Alpha 550 produces 4,592 × 3,056 pixel images. See the 14 megapixel guide or the print size calculator.
| Resolution | Typical use | Inches | Centimetres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 DPI | Photo-lab quality | 15.3 × 10.2 in | 39 × 26 cm |
| 240 DPI | Fine-art inkjet | 19.1 × 12.7 in | 49 × 32 cm |
| 200 DPI | Wall print | 23.0 × 15.3 in | 58 × 39 cm |
| 150 DPI | Poster, viewed from 1 m+ | 30.6 × 20.4 in | 78 × 52 cm |
Night-sky exposure limits#
Longest exposure before stars trail. The NPF rule accounts for pixel pitch and is stricter than the classic 500 rule — use it for pin-sharp stars on high-resolution sensors.
| Focal length | 500 rule | NPF f/1.8 | NPF f/2.8 | NPF f/4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 mm (14 mm eq.) | 36.1 s | 24.0 s | 27.9 s | 32.5 s |
| 13 mm (20 mm eq.) | 25.0 s | 16.6 s | 19.3 s | 22.5 s |
| 16 mm (25 mm eq.) | 20.3 s | 13.5 s | 15.7 s | 18.3 s |
| 23 mm (35 mm eq.) | 14.1 s | 9.4 s | 10.9 s | 12.7 s |
| 32 mm (49 mm eq.) | 10.2 s | 6.7 s | 7.8 s | 9.2 s |
Handheld shutter speed guide#
The reciprocal rule uses the equivalent focal length. High-resolution sensors may need one stop faster than this for pixel-sharp results.
| Focal length | No stabilisation (1/equiv. focal) | With 3-stop IS | With 5-stop IBIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 mm | 1/25 s | 0.3 s | 1.3 s |
| 32 mm | 1/50 s | 1/6 s | 0.6 s |
| 65 mm | 1/100 s | 1/13 s | 0.3 s |
| 130 mm | 1/200 s | 1/25 s | 1/6 s |
Lenses for the Sony Alpha 550#
Native Sony / Minolta A-mount lenses in our database (129 total). Also adaptable: T-mount (T2), M42 screw mount, Deckel (DKL), Tamron Adaptall, M39 / LTM (Leica thread).
- Samyang 8mm f/3.5 Fish-Eye CS 8 mm
- Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS 10 mm
- Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D 12 mm
- Samyang 14mm f/2.8 AE ED AS IF UMC 14 mm
- Laowa 15mm F/4 Wide Angle Macro 15 mm
- Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS 16 mm
- Samyang 20mm f/1.8 ED AS UMC 20 mm
- Samyang 24mm f/1.4 ED AS IF UMC 24 mm
- Samyang T-S 24mm f/3.5 ED AS UMC 24 mm
- Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra-Macro 60 mm
- Samyang 85mm f/1.4 IF UMC Aspherical 85 mm
- Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC 135 mm
- Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM circular fisheye 4.5 mm
- Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM 8–16 mm
- Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM 10–20 mm
- Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC 10–20 mm
- Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC Fisheye HSM 10 mm
- Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) 10–24 mm
- Tamron SP AF 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) 11–18 mm
- Tokina AF 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro DX 11–16 mm
- Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX II (11-16mm f/2.8) 11–16 mm
- Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 II DG HSM 12–24 mm
- Sigma 14mm f/2.8 EX 14 mm
- Sigma 14mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical HSM 14 mm
- Sigma 14mm f/3.5 EX 14 mm
- Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX DG Aspherical 15–30 mm
- Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Diagonal Fisheye 15 mm
- Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD 15–30 mm
- Sony AF DT 16-105mm f/3.5-5.6 16–105 mm
- Sony DT 16-50mm f/2.8 SSM 16–50 mm
- Sony Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM II 16–35 mm
- Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro B016 16–300 mm
- Sigma 17-35mm F2.8-4 EX DG Aspherical HSM 17–35 mm
- Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8-4 EX DG 17–35 mm
- Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM 17–50 mm
- Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM | Contemporary 013 17–70 mm
Similar cameras#
Other APS-C cameras from around the same time.
- Nikon D7000 2010
- Pentax K-5 2010
- Nikon D60 2008
- Nikon D3000 2009
- Nikon D300S 2009
- Nikon D5000 2009
- Nikon D3100 2010
- Pentax K-r 2010
- Samsung NX100 2010
- Nikon D90 2008
- Nikon D5100 2011
- Nikon D300 2007
Frequently asked questions#
What is the crop factor of the Sony Alpha 550?
The Sony Alpha 550 has a crop factor of 1.54× relative to 35 mm full frame (diagonal 28.1 mm vs 43.3 mm).
What size is the Sony Alpha 550 sensor?
23.4 × 15.6 mm (APS-C), an area of 365 mm² — 42% of full frame.
Is the Sony Alpha 550 full frame?
No — its sensor is APS-C, which is 2.4× smaller in area than full frame.
How many megapixels does the Sony Alpha 550 have?
14 megapixels (4,592 × 3,056 pixels), enough for a 15 × 10 inch print at 300 DPI.
What lens mount does the Sony Alpha 550 use?
The Sony Alpha 550 uses the Sony / Minolta A-mount (flange distance 44.50 mm).
How long can I expose the night sky with the Sony Alpha 550?
With a 13 mm lens (20 mm equivalent) the 500 rule gives 25 s and the stricter NPF rule at f/2.8 gives 19 s.
Sources & licences#
- Wikipedia: Sony Alpha 550 — CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q1041905 — CC0
- Lensfun camera database — CC BY-SA 3.0
- openMVG sensor width database — MPL-2.0
Last updated October 03, 2026 · How we calculate · Sources