Sony A58 Comparison Review

The Sony Alpha SLT-A58 is a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera that was officially introduced in February 2013 and is equipped with an APS-C sensor. It offers a resolution of 19.8 megapixel.

Is the Sony A58 a good camera? The A58 has a Camera Elo of 1633. This rating puts the A58 below average of all digital single lens reflex cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (APS cameras), the A58 also ranks below average. Based on its within category standings, the camera earns a 2.5-star performance rating. – Well, the Sony A58 is more than 11 years old, and there have been many other good digital cameras released since 2013.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The side-by-side display below illustrates the physical size of the Sony A58 vis-à-vis a credit card. Three successive views from the front, the top, and the rear are shown. All width, height and depth measures are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Sony A58 alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price	Street Price
1.		Sony A58	129 mm	95 mm	78 mm	492 g	690	n	Feb 2013	US$ 599	ebay.com
2.		Canon SL1	117 mm	91 mm	69 mm	407 g	380	n	Mar 2013	US$ 549	ebay.com
3.		Canon T5i	133 mm	100 mm	79 mm	580 g	440	n	Mar 2013	US$ 649	ebay.com
4.		Nikon D3200	125 mm	96 mm	77 mm	505 g	540	n	Apr 2012	US$ 599	ebay.com
5.		Nikon D3300	124 mm	98 mm	76 mm	430 g	700	n	Jan 2014	US$ 499	ebay.com
6.		Pentax K-S1	121 mm	93 mm	70 mm	558 g	410	n	Aug 2014	US$ 749	ebay.com
7.		Sony A68	143 mm	104 mm	81 mm	610 g	540	n	Nov 2015	US$ 699	ebay.com
8.		Sony A77 II	143 mm	104 mm	81 mm	647 g	480	Y	May 2014	US$ 1 199	ebay.com
9.		Sony A3000	128 mm	91 mm	85 mm	411 g	470	n	Aug 2013	US$ 329	ebay.com
10.		Sony A5100	110 mm	63 mm	36 mm	283 g	400	n	Aug 2014	US$ 549	ebay.com
11.		Sony A6000	120 mm	67 mm	45 mm	344 g	360	n	Feb 2014	US$ 599	ebay.com
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Sony A58 was launched in the US market at a price of $599. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Check A58 offers at
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Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The size of the imaging sensor is a crucial determinant of image quality. All other things equal, a large sensor will have larger individual pixel-units that offer better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixels in a sensor of the same technological generation. Further, a large sensor camera will give the photographer additional creative options when using shallow depth-of-field to isolate a subject from its background. On the downside, larger sensors are more costly to manufacture and tent to lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

The Sony A58 features an APS-C sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.5. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Sony A58 among the medium-sized sensor cameras that aim to strike a balance between image quality and portability.

For most cameras, data on sensor performance has been reported by DXO Mark. This service determines an overall sensor rating, as well as sub-scores for low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and color depth ("DXO Portrait"). The adjacent table reports on the physical sensor characteristics and the outcomes of the DXO sensor quality tests for a sample of alternative cameras.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Sony A58	APS-C	19.8	5456	3632	1080/60i	23.3	12.5	753	74
2.		Canon SL1	APS-C	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	21.8	11.3	843	63
3.		Canon T5i	APS-C	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	21.7	11.2	681	61
4.		Nikon D3200	APS-C	24.1	6016	4000	1080/30p	24.1	13.2	1131	81
5.		Nikon D3300	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.3	12.8	1385	82
6.		Pentax K-S1	APS-C	20.0	5472	3648	1080/30p	23.5	13.0	1061	78
7.		Sony A68	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60i	24.1	13.5	701	79
8.		Sony A77 II	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.4	13.4	1013	82
9.		Sony A3000	APS-C	19.8	5456	3632	1080/60i	23.7	12.8	1068	78
10.		Sony A5100	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	23.8	12.7	1347	80
11.		Sony A6000	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.1	13.1	1347	82

Many modern cameras cannot only take still pictures, but also record videos. The A58 indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the A58 can use is 1080/60i.

Feature comparison

Beyond body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the A58 has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 1440k dots. The viewfinder offers a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.57x. The following tables report on some other key feature differences and similarities of the Sony A58 and comparable cameras.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Sony A58	1440	n	2.7 / 460	tilting	n	1/4000s	5.0/s	Y	Y
2.		Canon SL1	optical	n	3.0 / 1040	fixed	Y	1/4000s	4.9/s	Y	n
3.		Canon T5i	optical	n	3.0 / 1040	swivel	Y	1/4000s	5.0/s	Y	n
4.		Nikon D3200	optical	n	3.0 / 921	fixed	n	1/4000s	4.0/s	Y	n
5.		Nikon D3300	optical	n	3.0 / 921	fixed	n	1/4000s	5.0/s	Y	n
6.		Pentax K-S1	optical	n	3.0 / 921	fixed	n	1/6000s	5.4/s	Y	Y
7.		Sony A68	1440	Y	2.7 / 460	tilting	n	1/4000s	8.0/s	Y	Y
8.		Sony A77 II	2359	Y	3.0 / 1229	full-flex	n	1/8000s	12.0/s	Y	Y
9.		Sony A3000	202	n	3.0 / 230	fixed	n	1/4000s	2.5/s	Y	n
10.		Sony A5100	none	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	Y	1/4000s	6.0/s	Y	n
11.		Sony A6000	1440	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	n	1/4000s	11.0/s	Y	n
Note: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

The LCD screen on the Sony Alpha SLT-A58 is flexibly attached to the body. In particular, the LCD can be tilted vertically to facilitate odd-angle shots in landscape orientation. This tilting design is often preferred, for example, by street photographers to a fully articulated, swivel type of LCD attachment, as it is more unobtrusive during shooting than a screen that flips out to the side.

One convenient feature of the A58 is the presence of an on-board flash. While this built-in flash is not very powerful, it can at times be useful as a fill-in light to brighten deep shadow areas.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Sony Alpha SLT-A58 and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Sony A58	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
2.		Canon SL1	Y	mono / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
3.		Canon T5i	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
4.		Nikon D3200	Y	mono / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
5.		Nikon D3300	Y	mono / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
6.		Pentax K-S1	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	-	-	-
7.		Sony A68	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	-	-	-
8.		Sony A77 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	Y	Y	-
9.		Sony A3000	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
10.		Sony A5100	-	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
11.		Sony A6000	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-

It is notable that the A58 has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Further information on the features and operation of the A58 can be found in the free online Sony A58 Manual or on the Sony support site.

Expert reviews

While the specs-based evaluation of cameras is instructive in revealing their potential as photographic tools, it remains incomplete and does no justice, for example, to the way the A58 handle or perform in practice. At times, user reviews, such as those published at amazon, address these issues in a useful manner, but such feedback is on many occasions incomplete, inconsistent, and unreliable. This is where reviews by experts come in. The adjacent table relays the overall verdicts of several of the most popular camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price	Street Price
1.		Sony A58	3/5	..	..	..	4.5/5	4.5/5	Feb 2013	US$ 599	ebay.com
2.		Canon SL1	4/5	+	..	78/100	4/5	4/5	Mar 2013	US$ 549	ebay.com
3.		Canon T5i	..	..	..	76/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Mar 2013	US$ 649	ebay.com
4.		Nikon D3200	5/5	+ +	..	73/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Apr 2012	US$ 599	ebay.com
5.		Nikon D3300	3/5	+	..	77/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Jan 2014	US$ 499	ebay.com
6.		Pentax K-S1	4/5	..	..	..	4.5/5	4/5	Aug 2014	US$ 749	ebay.com
7.		Sony A68	3/5	..	..	..	4/5	4/5	Nov 2015	US$ 699	ebay.com
8.		Sony A77 II	4/5	..	..	80/100	4.5/5	5/5	May 2014	US$ 1 199	ebay.com
9.		Sony A3000	3/5	+	..	..	4/5	4/5	Aug 2013	US$ 329	ebay.com
10.		Sony A5100	4.5/5	+	..	..	4.5/5	5/5	Aug 2014	US$ 549	ebay.com
11.		Sony A6000	5/5	+	4.5/5	80/100	4.5/5	5/5	Feb 2014	US$ 599	ebay.com
Note: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

Care should be taken when interpreting the review scores above, though. The ratings are only valid when referring to cameras in the same category and of the same age. A score, therefore, has to be seen in close connection to the price and market introduction time of the camera, and comparing ratings of very distinct cameras or ones that are far apart in terms of their release date have little meaning. Also, kindly note that some of the listed sites have over time developped their review approaches and their reporting style.

Check A58 offers at
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Camera to camera comparisons

If you would like to see a side-by-side review with another camera, just make your choice using the following search menu. An an alternative, you can also directly jump to any one of the listed comparisons that were previously generated by the CAM-parator tool.

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