I'm gonna take the plunge and toss my point and shoot to get a DSLR. I been looking at the entry level D40 but then I look and see for 150 more I can get a Sony w/ 10.1 mp and tons more features..So what's the catch?

 

I don't know anything about the Sony DSLR, but it got a "Highly Recommended" at dpreview.com.

 

some good stuff in here, I don't see why not. I've read good things about it, too.

http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sony/dslr-a100

for sure I would get that over a D40, if I could.

 

Sony's DSLR is the old Minolta-Konica brand. They made good cameras. But as everything goes, the two bigboys, Canon and Nikon had quicker advances in digital technology than the others, so they faulted so to speak. The others are catching up, but the market belongs to Canon and Nikon.

I have a lot of good things about the Alpha, but I'm a Canon man when it comes to SLR's digital or film. Check out www.steves-digicams.com for a review as well.

One thing with the Alpha is that the IS is built into the camera not the lenses.

 

One of the big reasons for going with an SLR over an advanced point & shoot is it's ability to use different lenses and accessories. While there are a number of good lenses for the A100, they are way behind what Canon and Nikon have available.

I'm sure Sony will come out with some other models, but at the moment, the only SLR in their lineup is the A100. If you buy an A100 and want to move up to a more advanced camera, what do you do? You'd have to sell all the equipment you've bought and buy into another brand. The A100 is a great camera, but I'd far rather buy into a brand that I could grow with.

If you don't think you're going to be into buying lenses and accessories, you should just look into a high-end point and shoot camera.

 

Dan Martin's got a great point about the lenses. The Sony lenses that are available for the alpha aren't exactly cheap compared to the competition.

As for the built in IS, I have to say that I am underwhelmed by my experiences with IS in general. I'd rather just have fast glass. Either Canon or Nikon would be a better choice IMHO. The Nikon D80x is 10MP, as is the new Canon Digital Rebel.

 

see if you can try them out at the store, thats what i did. dude gave me a memory card, i snapped a few around, went over to the comp section and then checked out the pics on a screen.

im a fan of sonys point and shoots and still keep one in the car on occasion but i am not sure of their dslrs. i know jptl-s was looking at them a few mos. ago.

 

Yeah I plan on getting other lenses too..I noticed that when I was looking at them and was wondering if the lenses are compatible, I guess the answer is no..
This is what I was looking at
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1149206371711

Compared to this package
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1158323379076

 

Don't buy from Best Buy, try B&H: www.bhphotovideo.com

A100 w/18-75: $699

D40 w/18-55: $549
D40x w/18-55: $799

Rebel XT w/18-55: $599
Rebel XTi w/18-55: $769

 

Cool thanks I'll take a ride over there.

 

For more info about Konca Minolta / Sony Dslr check out www.dyxum.com

 

One of my friends got the Alpha 700.

Here are my first impressions on it:
It's chunky. The body is thicker than the 40D. You can forget about this camera if you have small hands.

Due to the thickness of the body, the only button you can reach with your 'shutter finger' is the EV button. The other top buttons are too far back, and the strap knob gets in the way too.

One thing I wasn't thrilled with was the Auto ISO goes up to 800, which is a bit high for my taste. And you can't see the ISO in the viewfinder.

There were some other quirks which were mainly defaults which I didn't like, but didn't know how to turn off. So these are major things, but just to note:
1) The camera was in some sort of continuous autofocus mode, where as long as you
looked through the viewfinder it would continuously refocus. That's without even
hitting the shutter button.

My friend had a lens which always turns the focus ring when the camera focuses.
(Better lenses don't do this). So that combination was hella annoying as the focus
ring kept turning every time I reframed. I ended up holding the camera without
touching the focus ring.

2) I couldn't figure out how to select/change focus points easily.
3) The focus point 'blink' when it focus locks is pretty dim. I didn't even realize it
was doing it till I read it in the manual.

Anyway, those are minor notes. Seemed okay for the most part, hard to get
a feel of a camera in a brief period of time. Especially when you switch systems,
as each brand practically has its own 'language'

- Frank

 

Didn't I overhear someone in one of the C&P threads that Sony glass is even more expensive than both Canon and Nikon for comparable lenses???


Just throwing that out. I haven't actually researched it myself, so I wouldn't know.

 

If it is its because Sony gets to toss out the Zeiss name.

Now in the case of their DLSRs I dont know if Zeiss actually makes the glass for Sony...or if its what I'm guessing which is usually the case where Zeiss provided Sony with Specs, etc, and Sony gets to build it and license the name.

Either way, I've stated my feelings on the Sony A series for a long time. I think its SHITE.

 

My friend bought an alpha and I toyed with it for about an hour, I really did not like the ergonomics of the body, and the menu system was not intuitive at all, I'm a big person for logical operating software and this really peeved me.

 

I thought I heard that initial IQ reviews on their new FF were not too favorable?

 

They are much more expensive than Canon or Nikon lenses, and they don't even include a stabilizer in the lens. Sony only does the sensor-shift stabilization so your view through the viewfinder isn't stabilized. That's not much of an issue if you're using wide angle lenses, but as soon as you put a telephoto lens on, you're in for a wild ride. It's very tricky to hand hold anything over 300mm without a stabilized image.

Sony 300/2.8 $5999 : http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Autofocus.html

Canon 300/2.8 (with stabilizer) $3999: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...mm_f_2_8L.html

Nikon 300/2.8 (with stabilizer) $4299: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...AFS_ED_IF.html

 

I haven't shot an Alpha but they feel so cheap in comparison to the same level Canon or Nikons.

 

The a700 is a hell of a camera, though. My friend had the 1st gen a100. Its a nice camera he got the flexibility that he can use old minolta lens, alot of strong built lenses when minolta was making stuff.

I think their bought over by sony now.

My friend also mention the lcd for the d300 and live view was sonys doing or some sort. like they asked samsung to make the screens and the a700 i think has the same lcd as the d300.

My facts might be off, but that was something intersting he kept telling me.

I never liked his camera the buttons and such but were so used to canon and nikon setup maybe were a bit bias haha...

 

I've read favourable reviews from people who bought old/used Minolta primes. Since IS is built into the body, it works with those old lenses too.

I got back into Nikon and haven't regretted it. But here Sony dslr's sometimes go for sweet discounted prices.

Regards,
DaveL