Sony Alpha A580 Design

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Sony A580 Front. Only a few controls are to be found on the front of the Sony A580. These include the Control dial at the top of the handgrip, the Lens Release button just to the right of the lens mount, and the Depth of Field Preview button at the lower left of the lens mount. The short vertical plastic strip in the handgrip hides a self-timer lamp at its upper end, and also conceals the infrared receiver for use with an optional remote control.

 

 

Sony A580 Left Side. This side includes a button to raise the built-in flash strobe, a focus mode selector switch that's only functional when the lens attached to the camera doesn't have its own duplicate switch, the left-hand microphone on top of the viewfinder / flash housing, a small three-hole speaker grille, and two compartment doors behind which the microphone jack, wired remote, HDMI, and USB connectors can be found.

 

 

Sony A580 Right Side. From this angle, the Sony A580 is free of controls, with the only notable features being the right-hand microphone on the viewfinder / flash housing, and compartment covers for the DC input and storage media slots. You can also see the diopter adjustment dial, tucked just inside the bottom of the viewfinder eyecup.

 

 

Sony A580 Top. Many of the A580's controls are to be found on its top panel. These include the power switch, shutter button, and mode dial, as well as the Live View / OVF switch (which enables or disables live view using a dedicated, secondary image sensor), Focus Check LV button (which iniates live view using the primary image sensor), D-Range button (which accesses dynamic range expansion and high dynamic range-mode options), Drive mode button, and ISO button. Angled for good visibility either from above or behind the camera are five more buttons -- the Menu, Display, Movie shutter, Exposure Compensation, and Auto Exposure Lock buttons, respectively.

 

 

Sony A580 Back. The rear panel of the Sony A580 is dominated by a 3.0-inch, 921,600 dot LCD display mounted on a mechanism that allows it to be tilted downwards 90 degrees, and upwards a little beyond 90 degrees. Controls on the camera's rear include a four-way controller with central OK button, serving double duty as an AF button. There are also dedicated Function, Playback, and Delete buttons. The Function button calls up a Function menu, providing quick access to adjust common exposure variables, and also rotates images in playback mode.

 

 

Sony A580 Bottom. There's not a lot to see on the base of the Sony A580, beyond the metal tripod mount, and the battery compartment door. The tripod mount is centered on the lens' axis, helpful for shooting panoramas, although it's a little in front of the sensor plane.