Canon T3i vs Sony A57

Sony A57 advantages over Canon T3i

• Focus peaking
  Peaker vs Non-peaker
  Your camera will highlight what's in focus
• Larger sensor
  APS-C vs APS-C
  More sensor area. Bigger is (generally) better.
• In-Camera Image Stabilization
  Yes vs No
  Reduces the effects of camera shake at slower shutter speeds
• In-camera panoramas
  Yes vs No
  Stitches multiple shots into a panoramic photo
• More dynamic range

  More dynamic range

  Cameras with more dynamic range allow you to take photos with dramatic differences in highlight and shadow areas while retaining detail in both.

  Think of a brilliant sunset on a rocky beach: Bright sunset in the background, with dark rocks in the foreground. High dynamic range means more of the extremes will be faithfully reproduced.

  Dynamic range test data courtesy of DxO Mark.

  A57 test data on DxO Mark T3i test data on DxO Mark
  13.0 vs 11.5 evs
  Retain detail in highlight and shadows
• Longer stills battery life
  More info

  Longer stills battery life

  Cameras with longer battery life can take more photos before exhausting their batteries.

  Special note: The measurement standard for battery life stipulates that if a camera has an internal flash, it must be used for 50% of photos taken. For this reason, comparisons of one camera with an internal flash to another without will not be comparable

  550 vs 440 shots
  Capture more photos
• More cross-type AF points
  3 vs 1
  Cross-type AF points improve autofocus performance
• More viewfinder magnification
  0.69x vs 0.53x
  Get a bigger view of the scene through the eye-level viewfinder
• More AF points
  15 vs 9
  More AF points improve autofocus
• Faster JPEG shooting
  10.0 fps vs 3.6 fps
  Faster JPEG shooting (burst mode)
• Bigger JPEG buffer
  25 vs 9 shots
  Take more JPEG shots before waiting (burst mode)
• Higher extended ISO
  25600 vs 12800 ISO
  Higher extended ISO can give more low-light flexibility