I used to read Tom's all the time! I was a huge computer-gadget freak. I thought this would be a comparison, but it is just 2 reviews one page after the other.
Quote: On the negative side, despite the return of 11-point autofocus as used on the K200D and previous models, there’s still no display of the focusing points in the viewfinder. So in multi-zone, it’s impossible to know what’s being focused on, and – as with the K-m – we advise you to use the center AF point only.
Annoying how this keeps getting mentioned this way. Select-AF point is not broken at all and is my personal favorite use (even on cameras with LED indicators), there is no need to only use center AF point. 11-point and 5-point is what is harder to use on the K-x.
Quote: So we won’t complain about the poor-quality monophonic sound recording or the use of the Mjpeg codec, which produces overly large video files.
They won't? oh, too late! Lol anyways, I have heard the advantage of Mjpeg is for post-processing work on the video and that it is much better than other codecs, with the disadvantage being size. Any truth to this?
Quote: You turn the camcorder on by pressing the Power button, which automatically opens the lens shutter, which covers a 10x optical zoom that starts at a focal length of 43mm – a bit narrow. We would have hoped for a slightly wider angle, even if the Sony HDR-CX520 does no better.
What are they talking about?
I think its funny how the bolded parts in the A550 review make it seem like its a positive, but it is prefaced with "isn't really"
No complaints about battery for the K-x, some for the A550. I really like the 7 fps w/o automation feature of the A550 and wish we had that!
For K-x, I usually use phase-detect AF since I care about speed, not being able to see the screen while it focuses. The major downside is mirror flipping sound. With the new firmware, Contrast-Detect AF is becoming more used for me as it doesn't search as much, but there is still a mirror flip anyway when capturing a picture.