Currently a Canon T3i user: Looking at a Sony a77?

[ASImages2011]

I have been in photography since Aug of 2011. I started out with Canon and I still use it. I currently own a Canon T3i. I am wanting to upgrade to something a little better. A friend and fellow photographer uses the Sony a77. It is much quieter, has a faster focus (even with the Live View finder) and the color depth is better.. seems more true to life. I have been comparing the Canon models to the sony online and the sony always seem to be one up on the Canon. I wish I could find a Canon that is better than what I have but not spending over 1,200. I hate to think of having to start buying lenses all over again.. but from what I am reading about the sony a77 I am willing to do that. I can buy the Sony a 77 on amazon with a lens for around 1,100. What is your take on the sony brand vs nikon or canon? The Nikon 70D was a tie with the Sony a 77.. but still didn't have the picture quality that the sony had. Any advice on this would be appreciated. :thumbup:

 

[robbins.photo]

I have been in photography since Aug of 2011. I started out with Canon and I still use it. I currently own a Canon T3i. I am wanting to upgrade to something a little better. A friend and fellow photographer uses the Sony a77. It is much quieter, has a faster focus (even with the Live View finder) and the color depth is better.. seems more true to life. I have been comparing the Canon models to the sony online and the sony always seem to be one up on the Canon. I wish I could find a Canon that is better than what I have but not spending over 1,200. I hate to think of having to start buying lenses all over again.. but from what I am reading about the sony a77 I am willing to do that. I can buy the Sony a 77 on amazon with a lens for around 1,100. What is your take on the sony brand vs nikon or canon? The Nikon 70D was a tie with the Sony a 77.. but still didn't have the picture quality that the sony had. Any advice on this would be appreciated. :thumbup:

Well the 70d is a Canon camera, not a Nikon. My advice? If image quality is what your after take a good hard look at the Nikon D5200. It has better image quality than the a77 and it's cheaper. If you really need the shooting speed the Sony might be a better option, but if image quality is what your after the Nikon is definitely the way to go,

 

[ASImages2011]

I have been in photography since Aug of 2011. I started out with Canon and I still use it. I currently own a Canon T3i. I am wanting to upgrade to something a little better. A friend and fellow photographer uses the Sony a77. It is much quieter, has a faster focus (even with the Live View finder) and the color depth is better.. seems more true to life. I have been comparing the Canon models to the sony online and the sony always seem to be one up on the Canon. I wish I could find a Canon that is better than what I have but not spending over 1,200. I hate to think of having to start buying lenses all over again.. but from what I am reading about the sony a77 I am willing to do that. I can buy the Sony a 77 on amazon with a lens for around 1,100. What is your take on the sony brand vs nikon or canon? The Nikon 70D was a tie with the Sony a 77.. but still didn't have the picture quality that the sony had. Any advice on this would be appreciated. :thumbup:

Well the 70d is a Canon camera, not a Nikon. My advice? If image quality is what your after take a good hard look at the Nikon D5200. It has better image quality than the a77 and it's cheaper. If you really need the shooting speed the Sony might be a better option, but if image quality is what your after the Nikon is definitely the way to go,

Thank you. Image quality is what I am going after the most.. but then again I don't want anything slower than my T3i. I will certainly take a look at the Nikon D5200!

 

[nathfromslg]

IMHo upgrade to full frame,start off with used FF,like 5D mk ii, they do come cheap these days! maybe for about 1000$~1200$ here in India,maybe even cheaper there

 

[goodguy]

I have been in photography since Aug of 2011. I started out with Canon and I still use it. I currently own a Canon T3i. I am wanting to upgrade to something a little better. A friend and fellow photographer uses the Sony a77. It is much quieter, has a faster focus (even with the Live View finder) and the color depth is better.. seems more true to life. I have been comparing the Canon models to the sony online and the sony always seem to be one up on the Canon. I wish I could find a Canon that is better than what I have but not spending over 1,200. I hate to think of having to start buying lenses all over again.. but from what I am reading about the sony a77 I am willing to do that. I can buy the Sony a 77 on amazon with a lens for around 1,100. What is your take on the sony brand vs nikon or canon? The Nikon 70D was a tie with the Sony a 77.. but still didn't have the picture quality that the sony had. Any advice on this would be appreciated. :thumbup:

Well the 70d is a Canon camera, not a Nikon. My advice? If image quality is what your after take a good hard look at the Nikon D5200. It has better image quality than the a77 and it's cheaper. If you really need the shooting speed the Sony might be a better option, but if image quality is what your after the Nikon is definitely the way to go,

As always R.P and I think a like (they say something about great minds LOL).
If picture quality is whats most important for you the Nikon D5200 or if you can afford it then the Nikon D7100 should be your choice!!!
I used to own a Sony DSLR, my very first DSLR was a Sony a300, good camera for its days but I think the a77 is pretty old today and I wouldn't choose it if we compare it to the D7100.
With proper lenses the D7100 is simply sharp, sharp, sharp.
Yes I own it, I am biased and I know if you get it then you will absolutely LOVE it but again if you cant afford it the D5200 is very close to the D7100 and has a lot of its basic hardware.

Good luck.

 

[robbins.photo]

Thank you. Image quality is what I am going after the most.. but then again I don't want anything slower than my T3i. I will certainly take a look at the Nikon D5200!

Your T3I shoots at roughly 3.7 FPS, the D5200 does 5 FPS - so it's faster than your T3I but not as fast as the A77 which I think does a 12 FPS burst. I do recommend a fast memory card - I use a 95 mps Sandisk Extreme pro with my 5200 and it does an excellent job, it's fast enough for what I need.

I don't generally recommend full frame unless you really need outstanding lowlight performance or have a very large budget to work with - don't get me wrong full frame are some really nice cameras but unless you really need the capabilities of a full frame you can get a lot more value for your dollar from a crop sensor camera. A used 5d Mark II for example generally runs around $1300-$1400 just for the body, and you'll need to factor in another good chunk of change for the lens.

The D5200 by comparison will run you roughly $500 for the body if you go refurbished, less if you buy used and it will actually give you almost the same image quality as the 5d Mark II - in fact it's image quality is just a little bit better than the Mark II thanks to it's better dynamic range. So really unless you need the other advantages the Mark II would offer, I don't see it as being a good fit for you at all. I think you'd be a lot better off getting the 5200 and spending what you have left over on some good quality lenses, in the long run that will give you your best results.

This is one I shot with my D5200 and a Sigma 70-200 mm F/2.8:


653 by robbins.photo, on Flickr

I just recently got my 5200 and frankly I can't say enough about the image quality, it is fantastic.

 

[Dao]

I suggest you go to flickr group Flickr: The Canon Rebel T3i (EOS 600D & Kiss X5) Pool

If you are going after image quality and found good quality photos in that group (or any other sources), buying a more expensive camera may not help.



Edit: or better yet go to 500px.com and search for t3i. You should be able to find a lot of nice images produced with the T3i. Your camera is a quite capable camera.

 

[ASImages2011]

Thank you. Image quality is what I am going after the most.. but then again I don't want anything slower than my T3i. I will certainly take a look at the Nikon D5200!

Your T3I shoots at roughly 3.7 FPS, the D5200 does 5 FPS - so it's faster than your T3I but not as fast as the A77 which I think does a 12 FPS burst. I do recommend a fast memory card - I use a 95 mps Sandisk Extreme pro with my 5200 and it does an excellent job, it's fast enough for what I need.

I don't generally recommend full frame unless you really need outstanding lowlight performance or have a very large budget to work with - don't get me wrong full frame are some really nice cameras but unless you really need the capabilities of a full frame you can get a lot more value for your dollar from a crop sensor camera. A used 5d Mark II for example generally runs around $1300-$1400 just for the body, and you'll need to factor in another good chunk of change for the lens.

The D5200 by comparison will run you roughly $500 for the body if you go refurbished, less if you buy used and it will actually give you almost the same image quality as the 5d Mark II - in fact it's image quality is just a little bit better than the Mark II thanks to it's better dynamic range. So really unless you need the other advantages the Mark II would offer, I don't see it as being a good fit for you at all. I think you'd be a lot better off getting the 5200 and spending what you have left over on some good quality lenses, in the long run that will give you your best results.

This is one I shot with my D5200 and a Sigma 70-200 mm F/2.8:


653 by robbins.photo, on Flickr

I just recently got my 5200 and frankly I can't say enough about the image quality, it is fantastic.

Wonderful photo! I looked into the 5200 and it looks like it would be what I am looking for. Then of course I came across the 5300.. I didn't see much of a difference except the 5300 has less shutter lag and has gps.. I can't see paying the extra for that. I would go up to the 7100 but I don't think but budget will allow me to just yet :thumbup:

 

[ASImages2011]

I suggest you go to flickr group Flickr: The Canon Rebel T3i (EOS 600D & Kiss X5) Pool

If you are going after image quality and found good quality photos in that group (or any other sources), buying a more expensive camera may not help.


Edit: or better yet go to 500px.com and search for t3i. You should be able to find a lot of nice images produced with the T3i. Your camera is a quite capable camera.

Thanks for the input. I agree. The Canon T3i is a great camera! I have no issues with the quality of the photos but I am ready for something different. I have had my t3i for a while now. I figured now is a better time than any to sell it and go to something else before the value depreciates any more than it already has. From what I have read and heard about Nikon I have to say I am looking forward to trying it out. On the other note.. I will keep my T3i around until I am sure I am happy with the Nikon. :thumbup:

 

[jaomul]

I suggest you go to flickr group Flickr: The Canon Rebel T3i (EOS 600D & Kiss X5) Pool

If you are going after image quality and found good quality photos in that group (or any other sources), buying a more expensive camera may not help.


Edit: or better yet go to 500px.com and search for t3i. You should be able to find a lot of nice images produced with the T3i. Your camera is a quite capable camera.

Thanks for the input. I agree. The Canon T3i is a great camera! I have no issues with the quality of the photos but I am ready for something different. I have had my t3i for a while now. I figured now is a better time than any to sell it and go to something else before the value depreciates any more than it already has. From what I have read and heard about Nikon I have to say I am looking forward to trying it out. On the other note.. I will keep my T3i around until I am sure I am happy with the Nikon. :thumbup:

The differences you see in ccolour could be down to the way your camera is set up.

Canon use picture styles which show through in jpeg and files opened in dpp. You can tweak these settings. I am fairly sure the difference between cameras won't be as great as you hope for.

 

[ASImages2011]

Colour not so much a concern as clarity is. I can tweek color through the styles like you are saying or in editing. If the Nikon is going to be a quieter camera along with taking quality photos I'm willing to see if I like how the Nikon works. Again, I am happy with the photos I shoot with my t3i but I'm one that likes to change things up after awhile and check out something new.

 

[goodguy]

I looked into the 5200 and it looks like it would be what I am looking for. Then of course I came across the 5300.. I didn't see much of a difference except the 5300 has less shutter lag and has gps.. I can't see paying the extra for that. I would go up to the 7100 but I don't think but budget will allow me to just yet :thumbup:

I wouldnt bother with the D5300 and go for the D5200, the price of the D5300 is too close to the D7100 so eith er get the D5200 or D7100
Having same sensor the quality differences between D7100 and D5200 is very little if there is any at all, some say the D5200 even has a tiniest of advantage over the D7100

Good luck with your purchase and enjoy it

 

[ConradM]

I recommend the a77. Sony Alphas just have a ton of advantages over Canons and Nikons that most people don't even think about.

12 fps

In body image stabilization

Fast AF during video and burst shooting

Object and face tracking

OLED EVF allows you to "pre-chimp". (this is not even something I realized I was doing as a Sony was my first DSLR) - Think about this last one, you actually see what the picture is going to look like in real time. Not something you can do with an optical viewfinder.

At this point OVFs are archaic and offer no distinct advantages over a good EVF.

Just my 2 cents.


edit: Just remembered, the a77's have a bundle deal right now where you can get the grip for free.

 

[ConradM]

This is a great video (from a Pro who switched to Sony) on why the Sony Alphas are a step above -

 

[JerryLove]

Your T3I shoots at roughly 3.7 FPS, the D5200 does 5 FPS - so it's faster than your T3I but not as fast as the A77 which I think does a 12 FPS burst. I do recommend a fast memory card - I use a 95 mps Sandisk Extreme pro with my 5200 and it does an excellent job, it's fast enough for what I need.

On paper. In actual practice, over more than 3-5 shots, and assuming RAW (or at least HQ JPEG), the experiments I've seen tend to favor the canon.

Looking at the D7100 vs 70D, the D7100 doesn't manage a full second of continuous shooting in raw before the buffer fills; while the 70D managed several seconds. On JPEG, the 70D could shoot indefinately while the D7100 only managed a few seconds before buffer fill (and something like 1/sec after that).

I am guessing to extrapolate to the D5200 and T3i; but I don't think it's unreasonable to not trust stated shooting speeds.