First dSLR
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Deimos0
Poland277 Posts
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rkarhu
Finland570 Posts
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Deimos0
Poland277 Posts
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minus_human
4784 Posts
As for the prices... meh, I basically went through the exact same thing with my Canon Eos 400D there's nothing you can do about it, so don't stress Make a blog with your first photos! | ||
PH
United States6173 Posts
Personally (and this is just my personal opinion), Sony cameras are garbage. I've played around with them at stores before, and they just didn't feel solidly built, and the noise control is horrendous. I don't know about the quality of their lenses, though, but it's hard to imagine them overtaking Nikon and Canon so quickly. It might just be that the store model was a bit beat up or something, but I've had only terrible experiences with them. :\ The prices on DSLRs only really go down on their entry level cameras...unfortunately their mid-level and higher level cameras never really go down until there's a replacement model in their niche released. Well anyway, best of luck to you. Photography is an immensely fun hobby. Post some photos. (: | ||
minus_human
4784 Posts
On June 12 2009 07:36 PH wrote: Personally (and this is just my personal opinion), Sony cameras are garbage. I've played around with them at stores before, and they just didn't feel solidly built, and the noise control is horrendous. I don't know about the quality of their lenses, though, but it's hard to imagine them overtaking Nikon and Canon so quickly. It might just be that the store model was a bit beat up or something, but I've had only terrible experiences with them. :\ (: I agree with you, however in my opinion it doesn't really matter at the lower level of cameras. I know I read a couple of magazines, and the general consensus was that if you're an amateur, it doesn't really matter which brand you choose at first. Olympus, Pentax, Sony, Canon and Nikon, their sub 1000 $ DSLR are all pretty good. Having said that, of course Canon and Nikon rule the market with an iron fist, and they should rightfully do so, since there's basically almost zero competition for them at the top professional level, and even their mid-range models, like your 40 D, fair considerably better than other brands. As far as I know, you will also find the best lenses for Nikon and Canon. @ the OP, if you plan on upgrading heavily and/or going for some serious equipment later on (this would imply that you're quite familiar with DSLRs) Canon/Nikon is the best choice obviously. However, since you only started, I believe a Sony a200 is just as good. Don't invest a shitton into lenses for it though, you can buy a few 'lighter' ones but if you have big money for upgrading in the future(1500$ ++ ) you should probably make the switch to a middle-level Can/Nik body (a switch you would have made even if you had a Canon 450 D or a Nikon D80, for example) I'm not really an expert, so take everything lightly, I may be wrong, but I just wanted to share some experience. | ||
NeverGG
United Kingdom5399 Posts
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minus_human
4784 Posts
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Jibba
United States22883 Posts
On June 12 2009 07:36 PH wrote: I noticed more that prices have been going up...I haven't been paying attention to cameras, since I'm perfectly happy with my Canon 40D, but lenses have NOT been getting any cheaper...): Personally (and this is just my personal opinion), Sony cameras are garbage. I've played around with them at stores before, and they just didn't feel solidly built, and the noise control is horrendous. I don't know about the quality of their lenses, though, but it's hard to imagine them overtaking Nikon and Canon so quickly. It might just be that the store model was a bit beat up or something, but I've had only terrible experiences with them. :\ The prices on DSLRs only really go down on their entry level cameras...unfortunately their mid-level and higher level cameras never really go down until there's a replacement model in their niche released. Well anyway, best of luck to you. Photography is an immensely fun hobby. Post some photos. (: Minolta = Sony. All three brands make excellent cameras. Also, OP remember the lenses for your old Minolta should work with your Sony. It might not have the same coatings, but they're all designed to fit each other. It was a really nice design decision from Minolta. | ||
PH
United States6173 Posts
I don't know about their lenses, though. I've never used any of them. Personally, I reeaaally don't like the lower-end DSLR market. It's unbelievably annoying to see people walking around with good hardware without the slightest clue as to how to use them. I get the desire to punch a kitten every time I see someone trying to use the onboard flash indoors. -____- This annoys me also, because then Canon makes lower end cameras with SD card inputs instead of CF, which I think is stupid, then makes a whole wide range of shitty lenses with huuuge focal ranges for ridiculously cheap prices, inflating their lens lineup with a bunch of garbage that I have to sift through in order to take a look at the ones worth even bothering with... | ||
Jibba
United States22883 Posts
Which camera did you handle? I've heard some issues with noise on the A350 but that thing never should have been released anyways. It sounds like you've just got an issue with sub-$1000 camera users, but the cameras still take great pictures and nearly everything in that market is competitive. If I had the extra $300 I would've gotten a D80, but as it stands I'm extremely satisfied with my A300 and I'm glad I took it over an XSi. | ||
Deimos0
Poland277 Posts
EDIT: I know about older Minolta lenses, the bayonet in dslrs is Minolta-A, while earlier, without AF, it was Minolta-M as far as I remember, anyway, I have some manual lenses, so things are looking good :D | ||
PH
United States6173 Posts
On June 12 2009 14:25 Jibba wrote: Uh... the Maxxums were pretty highly acclaimed for a consumer DSLR, along the same lines as the 20D and D70, and they've always been ahead of the pack in features. I don't think the Sony cameras are an exception with built in image stabilization (vs. lens stabilization) and the first swivel live view LCDs. Which camera did you handle? I've heard some issues with noise on the A350 but that thing never should have been released anyways. It sounds like you've just got an issue with sub-$1000 camera users, but the cameras still take great pictures and nearly everything in that market is competitive. If I had the extra $300 I would've gotten a D80, but as it stands I'm extremely satisfied with my A300 and I'm glad I took it over an XSi. Is IS on the camera body advantageous over IS on the lens? I honestly don't know. Also, Live View on a DSLR is a gimmick pure and simple. It's the most useless feature on a DSLR, and it even kills your battery. Sony wasn't the first to put in camera body IS. I know for a fact Pentax was doing it for several years prior, but I'm not sure about any other companies. I'm not sure exactly which cameras I handled at the Best Buys and Circuit Cities, but the Sony stores I visited had like three on display? So I'm assuming they represented the different price points. I tried playing around with the biggest and most complicated looking one. The lens wasn't a very open one (I don't remember the actual max aperture), so I had to bump up the ISO to like 800...and it looked really fucking terrible. I'm hoping it was due to it being a floor model that's been beaten up...but still. I was pretty shocked. It looked as bad as my old Canon 350D, which was pretty much unusable above beyond 200ISO. I have a lot of issues with the people with money enough to purchase an $800 camera but with not the patience to learn how to use them properly. I also don't like how the big companies are catering to them. The cameras are still very good cameras. Most don't differ too badly from their upper niche counterparts. Image quality differences are only noticeable at a "professional" level where detail is a must. Most only have differences in features/controllability/dials&gizmos, battery types, memory card formats, types of JPEG and RAW saves, and noise control. Actually...those can add up to be big issues...lol. One can get over most of those things, though...save maybe noise control and some features left out in the lower models. My biggest gripe (aside from the noise issue) with lower end cameras is the build material and the overall feel of those cameras...they all feel like cheap toys. It just doesn't feel like you're using a real SLR camera...lol. Also...they're not nearly as sturdy period...that's a fact. | ||
minus_human
4784 Posts
On June 13 2009 08:15 PH wrote: Is IS on the camera body advantageous over IS on the lens? I honestly don't know. Also, Live View on a DSLR is a gimmick pure and simple. It's the most useless feature on a DSLR, and it even kills your battery. Sony wasn't the first to put in camera body IS. I know for a fact Pentax was doing it for several years prior, but I'm not sure about any other companies. I'm not sure exactly which cameras I handled at the Best Buys and Circuit Cities, but the Sony stores I visited had like three on display? So I'm assuming they represented the different price points. I tried playing around with the biggest and most complicated looking one. The lens wasn't a very open one (I don't remember the actual max aperture), so I had to bump up the ISO to like 800...and it looked really fucking terrible. I'm hoping it was due to it being a floor model that's been beaten up...but still. I was pretty shocked. It looked as bad as my old Canon 350D, which was pretty much unusable above beyond 200ISO. I have a lot of issues with the people with money enough to purchase an $800 camera but with not the patience to learn how to use them properly. I also don't like how the big companies are catering to them. The cameras are still very good cameras. Most don't differ too badly from their upper niche counterparts. Image quality differences are only noticeable at a "professional" level where detail is a must. Most only have differences in features/controllability/dials&gizmos, battery types, memory card formats, types of JPEG and RAW saves, and noise control. Actually...those can add up to be big issues...lol. One can get over most of those things, though...save maybe noise control and some features left out in the lower models. My biggest gripe (aside from the noise issue) with lower end cameras is the build material and the overall feel of those cameras...they all feel like cheap toys. It just doesn't feel like you're using a real SLR camera...lol. Also...they're not nearly as sturdy period...that's a fact. If there's one thing I absolutely despise in my Canon XTi, it's the fucking plastic case. Seriously WTF t.t. Nikon shows more professionalism in this regard though | ||
Deimos0
Poland277 Posts
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PH
United States6173 Posts
On June 13 2009 10:04 minus_human wrote: If there's one thing I absolutely despise in my Canon XTi, it's the fucking plastic case. Seriously WTF t.t. Nikon shows more professionalism in this regard though LOL dude...when I got my 350D (my first dSLR), I got the SILVER one for whatever reason. Once I got into college, I worked as an event and portrait photographer for my school's newspaper...oh god I was the laughingstock of the entire staff. Still, though...that made me work harder than everyone else, so I ended up learning a LOT during that time...but man. My editor would talk shit about my silver camera every time he saw me, lol. | ||
minus_human
4784 Posts
that looked nasty | ||
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