Buying a camera is frustrating

Don Simon · Jan 29, 2007

firemedic0135 said:
This is a photo I took the other day at the zoo.Take alook at the exif and judge for yourself if Built in IS works.Its not a perfect picture but it was handheld at 450mm. I am not saying that IS is perfect or better than in the lens but giving you some info to go on.

Camera make: SONY
Camera model: DSLR-A100
Date/Time: 2007:01:27 13:19:25
Resolution: 536 x 800
Orientation: rotate 90
Flash used: No
Focal length: 300.0mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm)

I'm just being needlessly pedantic here, but it was actually handheld with the lens at 300mm, not 450mm. 450mm as you point out is what you would use with 35mm film/sensor to get the equivalent field of view, but the focal length is still 300mm.

jimiismydaddy · Jan 30, 2007

One Sony Alpha purchased for me. Thanks everyone for the tremendous help. Now to find a good prime lens for it.

firemedic0135 · Jan 30, 2007

I am glad you got one.Now I am not the only one who has one:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: .
Did you get the kit? any other lenses?

Iron Flatline · Jan 30, 2007

The problems re. the Leica M8s are exaggerated, except for the IR sensitivity. You need to shoot with an IR filter to make it work, which is frankly just silly... But, oh well, I own it now.

Frankly, I think the R-D1 is much cooler (and rarer!), and I keep checking the Epson site for a refurbished one...

The 4/3 mount is a weird name, but an extremely promising technology. It's all the high-end lens makers, on some interesting bodies. I have two Canon dSLRs (a 5D and an older D60) and four L lenses, and I'm quite pleased with them. But if I had to start over, I would seriously consider the 4/3 mount, especially the Leica D series.

And yes, I'm the kind of idiot that would have to have the red dot on it. Don't ask, I can't explain it either....

Leica has come out with a 14-50mm lens for the 4/3 mount, which means it is a 28-100mm effective crop. That's a really useful range for the way I shoot.

Jeremy Z · Jan 30, 2007

congratulations, jimi.

Why settle for a prime?
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INT...MoreInfoAccessories-Start?ProductSKU=SAL1680Z

If you must, here's a nice prime:
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INT...oreInfoAccessories-Start?ProductSKU=SAL85F14Z

Too bad Zeiss doesn't have anything affordable in the Maxxum mount yet...

Don Simon · Jan 30, 2007

That's why you should keep looking for Minolta ones, which can still be bought new from some places.

Jeremy Z · Jan 30, 2007

Well, the Minoltas don't have the dust shaker or the newest sensor.

But he's already bought the Sony, so there's no looking back now.

jimiismydaddy · Jan 30, 2007

Im doing local bands in low light action shots. Need a fast prime. Seen some Minolta AF on ebay froa round 40-80.

Jeremy Z · Jan 30, 2007

jimiismydaddy said:
Im doing local bands in low light action shots. Need a fast prime. Seen some Minolta AF on ebay froa round 40-80.

One of those should do nicely. Make sure you ask the seller "the questions" before you buy. Any scratches on the glass? Any oil on the aperture blades? Does the aperture snap fully closed and back open quickly? Any mold? Does the focusing operate smoothly and without any hang-up points?

AUZambo · Jan 30, 2007

I too am in the market for a new DSLR. I was leaning heavily towards the Nikon (was gonna get the body + the 18-200 VR lens)...then I saw that I could get the equivilant from sony for about $1000 less.

As soon as I have the funds (probably this weekend after payday) I'm also gonna get the Sony Alpha A-100....unless I find something between now and this weekend to convince me otherwise.

By the way, for those of you who were saying "sony is not a camera company" (I know...about 30 posts ago).....I seem to remember alot of people harping on the fact that sony was not a video gaming company back when the PS1 was first introduced. Something to think about.

Jeremy Z · Jan 30, 2007

AUZambo said:
By the way, for those of you who were saying "sony is not a camera company" (I know...about 30 posts ago).....I seem to remember alot of people harping on the fact that sony was not a video gaming company back when the PS1 was first introduced. Something to think about.

It's just a mental block for those people. That was my knee-jerk feeling too. But then I thought about it rationally.

*Sony has tons of electronics experience.
*Sony has tons of experience in optics (professional video) albeit not quite as demanding as photographics.
*Sony can buy or commission Zeiss when they want or need to.
*Sony bought Konica/Minolta
*Sony has tons of experience in sensors.
*Sony has probably 10X the budget of the more serious photo companies.

There's no reason they can't make a killer DSLR.

It becomes a matter of shame. A "serious" photographer who is not carrying a "serious" camera brand. Afraid to not be taken seriously.

This fact alone sells a lot of Canons & Nikons.

Jeremy Z · Jan 30, 2007

In retrospect, it may have been a smarter move by Sony to just revert the company name back to Minolta and leave it as a separate division, but with more funds to draw from.

Then, they would have everything, except for the ego boost.

We would all know that Sony is behind it anyhow, so why not stick with the respected name?

Don Simon · Jan 30, 2007

Jeremy Z said:
Well, the Minoltas don't have the dust shaker or the newest sensor.

But he's already bought the Sony, so there's no looking back now.

Actually I meant Minolta lenses, as you pointed out the 'Zeiss' ones are not cheap.

AUZambo · Jan 30, 2007

Jeremy Z said:
We would all know that Sony is behind it anyhow, so why not stick with the respected name?

Yeah...we would know that, but I doubt the average person would. I had no idea sony & minolta were the same until I did some extensive research.....and even then I found out by accident when i was looking up stuff on Nikons & Canons.

I do agree that Sony would be better off sticking with the Minolta name. I'd have given it more serious thought originally had I known it was Minolta. Maybe they should do something like the Sony/Minolta A100....kinda like the Datsun/Nissan days of old.