Sony SLT Alpha 58

Released in 2013, the Sony SLT Alpha 58 is a DSLR-styled camera built around an APS-C sensor and the Sony Alpha DT lens mount.

Because the viewfinder is electronic and the stabilisation sits inside the body, the shooting experience differs from a conventional DSLR while every DT lens attached gains shake reduction.

The body weighs 492 g and measures 129 x 95 x 78 mm. A 2.7-inch tilting LCD joins the electronic finder for framing from varied angles, with live view available too.

A 20.1 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor pairs with the Bionz processor. The Optics score of 63 is a good result, placing this camera around the middle of cameras in our database for Optics.

Stabilisation is built into the body rather than the lens, which matters for anyone adding DT glass over time. That makes handheld shots at slower shutter speeds more practical in dim rooms or evening light.

The electronic viewfinder reflects exposure and white balance changes as you make them, and its 1,440,000-dot panel shows plenty of detail. An ISO range of 100 to 16000 stretches from bright daylight to dim interiors.

Speed is where limits appear. The maximum burst rate of 5 fps favours steady subjects over fast action, the fifteen autofocus points are a modest count, and the 1/4000s maximum shutter speed can restrict wide-aperture shooting in bright light.

The maximum recording resolution is Full HD, and the top frame rate is 24 fps. The Video score of 43 reflects that modest capability, which is fine for casual family clips and web use but narrow for more ambitious video projects.

Clips record in either AVCHD or MP4. Having two file formats gives some flexibility in how footage is stored, played back and shared.

There is no built-in intervalometer, so time-lapse projects need an external timer or stills assembled in software afterwards. That is an extra step rather than an impossibility.

Treat video as an occasional extra here: the Alpha 58 records clips, but its stills specification remains the stronger suit.

The 2.7-inch LCD tilts for shooting at waist height or overhead, and live view makes framing away from the finder workable. At 460,000 dots the screen is functional rather than crisp, and there is no touch input, so menus are button-driven. The Features score of 34 reflects this limited setup.

A built-in flash covers fill light and dim rooms, and an external flash can be added for stronger lighting when shooting portraits or events.

There is no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so images reach a computer via a card reader rather than a wireless transfer. No built-in GPS means location tagging must be handled outside the camera, and the absence of weather sealing makes this a camera to shelter from rain and dust rather than rely on in rough weather.

One card slot is the whole storage story. It accepts SD, SDHC and SDXC cards alongside Memory Stick Pro Duo and Pro-HG Duo media, so the common SD family is fully covered.

The NP-FM500H battery is rated at 690 shots. Treat that figure as a rating rather than a promise, since actual endurance depends on shooting conditions.

The camera cannot charge over USB, so the battery must be charged by other means. Carrying a spare battery is sensible for long days, and with a single slot it pays to bring enough card capacity too. The Storage and Battery score of 32 reflects these limits.