Sony Alpha?

[KLRKrup47]

Hi everyone.

My birthday is coming up and the better half is asking me what I would like. I have always wanted to step up to a DSLR camera ever since using my old 35mm canon eos.
I have been looking and looking, and I had narrowed it down to another canon as I have a couple lens just sitting around. (if not choosing canon can sell to brother) However someone told me to look at the sony alpha series along with the canon and nikon standards.
I was wondering if anyone out there is using an alpha and looking to get people's input about them. IE... If you looked at them when shopping for your dslr ..

Thanks
Josh

[M38A1]

I didn't consider the Sony line but some things you should consider include:

Will your old existing lenses fit the new body you want?
Will they work with the new body autofocus?
Are they vibration reduction (VR) type lenses?
Price for body/lens to get started is in your range
How many pixels does it shoot?
What's the ISO range?
Media? How big of a card will it take? What type?
What lenses are available for the specific body?
What if you want to trade up on bodies. Will the lenses still work?
What size sensor does it have?
Does it have multiple modes to shoot in?
Are the modes user programable?
What is the battery life typically?

When you know the answer to these, then you can go shopping. Also, take a look at the various photohosting sites for Sony Alpha photostreams/groups to get an idea what others are doing with theirs. Here's one to poke around:
http://www.flickr.com/search/groups/...alpha+&m=names

Good luck and hope to see you in the Photo section soon!

ps-
I shoot a Nikon D40x with the 18-200 f3.5 VR lens. I'm pleased with it.
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[ed29]

I have a Sony A-300 DSLR. I am second guessing my choice right about now. It is going in for warranty repair when I get home from this trip. My shots are not all aligned as I see them in the viewfinder. The sensor has a shake mechanism that is intended to clean light dust off the sensor each time the body powers up. Mine is not stopping the shake in the same spot each time. Pain... royally. When I shoot after power up I now view the shot for alignment issues. If it is way off I power cycle to re-shake the sensor.

The lenses for this series are bottom of the line for a DSLR. Much room for improvement in my humble opinion. Attaching even a UV filter causes vignetting (sp?) at focal lengths of 35mm or less. The provided hood is ornamental at best too. I opted for the longer lens as well. The 70-300 zoom. I get the impression from the results that the 300 length is optimistic.

On the plus side the viewfinder is awesome. Parameters of the shot are well displayed in logical orrder and the controls do fall logically to the fingers.

[Brotha J]

nikon! nikon! nikon!

Takes a while for a DSLR camera to "get used to" a SLR lense. They may fit, but it's not a gimme that tehy wil be compatible enough to get great shots.

Plus, what kind of camera card will it use? SDHC seems to be the Holy Grail of media cards.

Each to his own though.

[sharkey]

Canon or Nikon are the 2 major players and if you have Canon lenses, well....

Sony, Panasonic, Samsung make great PnS but I'm not sure I'd look to them for a DSLR.

If you want to get in on a DSLR system cheaper than the big 2, the only other player would be Olympus. Their lenses are pretty sweet too.

FYI, I have 2 Canon 10D bodies I'm trying to sale due to upgrading for my Wedding business. I'll give you a sweet deal on one or both - PM if interested.

[leadwolf]

I'm an old Canon EOS user. Switched to Canon 20D and have not regretted it since. Keep your lenses and go with another Canon Digital EOS camera.

FYI, your lenses will get longer due to spacing between the rear of the lense and the chip. Your older lenses will be longer by 1.6x. For example if you have a 35mm lense it's range will be 56mm.

You have two options...buy a lense specifically for digital cameras and/or buy older, shorter lenses.

[Wes]

There is a reason almost every one uses nikon SLRs.

[Photojojo]

nikon! nikon! nikon!

Takes a while for a DSLR camera to "get used to" a SLR lense. They may fit, but it's not a gimme that they will be compatible enough to get great shots.

I suspect that's because your using Nikon. Sure you can pull out a 200 year old Nikon lens and it will fit on your new camera, but does it really work? When Canon went to the EOS mount it made the old mounts obsolete. The plus side to that is if you have an EOS lens it will work on the newest camera.

Originally Posted by Wes

There is a reason almost every one uses nikon SLRs.

Without a doubt, when it was film Nikon was king. Nikon has never been able to catch up in digital. I'm talking pro level cameras though. I think the consumer level cameras (under $1000) are close enough to the same that's it's a matter of a coin flip.

I'm a life long Canon shooter and have successfully converted several pro shooters to Canon from Nikon. I wouldn't even consider anything other than those two for a DSLR, even if I was spending my own money. I'm a camera snob though.

[KLRKrup47]

also with picking up a camera... where is a good place to buy?

[M38A1]

Originally Posted by KLRKrup47

also with picking up a camera... where is a good place to buy?

I know a lot of folks that think highly of these guys.... No personal experience however.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

.

[Photojojo]

Originally Posted by M38A1

I know a lot of folks that think highly of these guys.... No personal experience however.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

.

+1 on B&H. They're closed on all Jewish holidays though.

[Tracker]

so do you guys use Nikon oil or Canon oil?

[sharkey]

Bought several items from Adorama (online) and have been happy. Locally, Arl. Camera is a good place too as well as a shop on Industrial in Dallas (can't remember name).

Canon or Nikon?? They are both good. Had I had it to do over again, I might be a Nikon user, not for their old lenses but for their flash systems compared to Canon's. If you're a hobbyist, it really doesn't matter.

I'd be happy w/ Olympus or Pentax too but aftermarket for those brands is limited.

[Gilk51]

Originally Posted by sharkey

Locally, Arl. Camera is a good place too as well as a shop on Industrial in Dallas (can't remember name).

Competitive Cameras

also

Arlington Camera


have dealt with both, small scale though.

[Photojojo]

I've dealt with both as well.

[TexasShadow]

Most kit lenses are their bottom line. Many photographers buy a body then choose lenses separate of the camera body. Some aftermarket lenses are better than the brand lenses. Just make sure they are compatible with the specific camera. A few brands have limited choices on lenses, such as Olympus.

Also consider the most important part of the camera: the sensor. That greatly influences choice (e.g. Olympus uses a 4/3rd system which many hate, some love).

[bung]

I started with a Sony A200 and have since upgraded to the A700 and I will soon add the A900 body. I am really happy with the Sony system and I went with it due to in body stabilization.

[KLRKrup47]

Thanks for all the info regarding the sony alpha and other cameras, turns out that at this point it isn't going to be in the budget just yet, but hopefully in a couple of months will be able to swing it

[Wes]

Keep an eye out for used nikon bodies on ebay when you do. It doesn't always have to be the newest and greatest. I prefer my Nikon D80 to the new D700 we got at work any day.

[NUTT]

I'm using a Sony Alpha 100. It is my wife's camera; she got it before we were married. For a beginner D-SLR user, it seems to work pretty good. The menus are intuitive & it has all the right options, etc.

A nice thing about lenses is that you can use the older Minolta Maxxum lenses. They are all over eBay. I just picked up a film body with 50mm f1.8 & a 100-200 f4.5 on eBay for under $150 shipped (yes, 2 lenses plus a film SLR body for under $150).

Those lenses are typically selling for $100 each on eBay / craigslist. Hopefully the one's I scored will turn out to be okay.

That said, if it were my money buying a new body & not just a few lenses, I'd be buying a Nikon. When my wife & I met I was about to pull the trigger on a D40, although now I've convinced myself to re-learn how to take good pictures with the Sony & pull the trigger on a D90 (or it's replacement) in about a year.