sony a500

[benlock]

Hey

After looking around at buying a canon 1000d
i have come across the a500 for about the same price. i have read and watched some reviews on the camera, i am quite liking the look of this camera.

does anyone have this camera?
could anyone give me some suggestions as what to buy?

are the sony lenses any good?
can you use anyother lenses with sony cameras, eg tamron sigma.

Cheers Ben

[martinrowland]

hi ben,

let me see if i can help..
is this your first DSLR?
probably need to be carful in choosing which platform (canon/sony/nikon/etc) at the first time. as you'll be spending more $$ on buying lenses, flash lights, etc.
the bundled lens is usually a so-so lens, you may need to buy tele or wide lens later.

actually, sony a500 and canon 1000d have been released for quite a while, i'd suggest you wait for the nikon d3100. 1000d is the entry level cam from canon, u can take a look at 500d (or even 450d), which will give much better performance than 1000d.

personally i don't like sony cam, they do not have a wide range of accessories and lenses to choose, and their prices are thus higher.

for dslr, lens is more important than the camera body, really need to plan carefully first!

[benlock]

this is my first DSLR

I think i will go back to the canon
I think the bigger range and lenses and accessories are better.
I want to choose the right brand camera as well
I dont want to have to change everything if i wanna get new body in a few years
I would like to stay with the one brand and i think canon has the best range of camera and lenses.

Thanks for your help

[bigdazzler]

*sigh*

First .. Canon and Nikon have owned the small format DSLR market for along long time, so its an obvious suggestion that there is a bigger variety of second hand gear available for those brands. For me, that is really the only advantage of sticking with C or N "just because"

The facts are that every manufacturer is producing great cameras that are capable of great photographs. 20% light, 10% gear, 70% photographer ;)

I bought into Sony for my first DSLR and have never ever regretted it. I have crop bodies, full frame bodies, and even NEX-5.

Their kit lenses are very very good for what they are. Their Carl Zeiss Pro Grade lenses are on par both in terms of price and quality with the Canon L series and Nikkor lenses from Nikon. The lineup is getting bigger all the time and they now have a good variety of quality glass.

In 5 years time, you mark my words, Sony will become a MAJOR player in the DSLR world so dont be put off by thinking that youll "need to swap brands" for some reason. You wont, as long as youre happy with the choice you made in the first place.

My advice. Dont follow C or N by default.

Go to a camera store, play with as many cameras as you can, and see what feels good. Ergonomics play a big part in your initial decision. Have a good look at the button layouts, the menus, the features. Then go and do your homework on individual cameras that capture your initial attention.

[ApolloLXII]

I own an A200 and the A500 and I love both of them. In my opinion they take much better pics than either the Canon or Nikon cameras and they don't weigh like a brick when you carry them. I agree with bigdazzler, just go into a store and try before you buy. That's the only way you are going to make an objective decision rather than listening to or reading promotional hype or even biased opinion from "brand disciples". Ultimately, your choice of camera comes down to what purpose that you want to use it for (e,g: studio work, sports action photography, landscapes, etc) and how much you are willing to pay.

[easty1]

I've just upgraded from a a200 to a a550 and really happy with it changing from a sony to another brand was a no brainer as I have a fair bit of sony/minolta glass which I would have had to replace and I feel comfortable with the brand sony as thats what I've alwaysed used

[TOM]

Hi Dazza, welcome back, and congrats to you and your wife on your recent marriage, I hope you enjoyed you honeymoon.


In 5 years time, you mark my words, Sony will become a MAJOR player in the DSLR world

You mark my words Dazza, in five years time the camera scene will look very different, and the DSLR world will be a lot smaller. But I agree, Sony is a great brand, they have the best viewfinder on any SFDSLR, and the CZ lenses are good. They will be among the first to release full frame EVIL cameras, which Canon and Nikon have been ignorant to thus far. This will mean that all of your Sony glass should easily migrate over.

[nico]

Don't forget that all the older Minolta lens' are compatable the current day Sony DSLR's. Minolta made some great glass & they're all redily available at great prices - much cheaper than comparable items from Sony.

I own an a330. Still a noob, but haven't even bothered looking at the Sony lens' with the plethora (love that word :D) of Minolta glass available.:th3:

[Boo53]

Don't forget that all the older Minolta lens' are compatable the current day Sony DSLR's. Minolta made some great glass & they're all redily available at great prices - much cheaper than comparable items from Sony.:

True, Ive picked up a Konica/Minolta 18-200, brand new, still in its sealed packaging for $250 inc postage in the past couple of months.

Also notice other threads regarding which lens to get comments about xx lens being sharp, etc: but for $200-300 more you could get IS which is worth 2-4 stops depending on whose commenting. Its built into our cameras:xmas: