Hey man, I have a sony a290 and it is a beginners camera, I got it intending to take up photography as an artistic outlet, but Im also taking photography more seriously now and have some weddings lined up this year that im doing for free, for friends. I was having the same burning question. I figure I want to do a good job at the weddings..... no wait a great job!
This is someones big day that they will never get back and even though im doing it for free I still have a huge responsibility to get it right. (im actually terrified but we have to start somewhere right?) It is also benificial for me to produce some proffesional images for my port folio so this is what im planning to do... I want to pick a make of camera that I will stick to, as a wedding photographer your going to need a back up camera anyway so I have a budget of between 1000 and 2000 bucks (been saving all year!) but the way I look at it, its an investment. I havent decided what model of camera im going to get because its a big decision but I know I want a good, at least semi proffesional model (canon or nikon body only) and an f2.8 telephoto zoom lens. I have a f1.8 50mm portrait lens for my sony and can pick up a external flash also fairly cheap for my sony.
Im not saying do what im doing, I just thought it would be helpfull to know that im in the same boat. I will use my sony as a back up camera for now until the time comes for me to be able to afford to sell it and get a back up cannon or nikon, not sure yet what im going to get.
I still cant decide, ive done lots of research and to be honest I was going to create a thread on here to get some advice. I have another photographer friend that keeps telling me to get a Leica but im not sure at all. Anyway I just thought that might help you out a bit, but of course it is your decision and ive also no idea what your budget is. But once you decide if you want to purchace a new camera, or if you just want a new lens for your sony, remember to check google product search and
ebay, you will get what your looking for much cheaper if you dont mind buying second hand.
Hayley