Sony a58 vs canon 750d

[Archiebald98]

Hello everyone! This is my first post on the forum! I’m looking for advice about getting my first proper dslr. The camera will be primarily for next year when we will be walking the Pacific coast trail in America (2000 miles from Mexico- Canada) I’m currently considering the A58 from Sony and the 750d from canon although am open to other suggestions!! At the moment I’m leaning towards the A58 due to it being very cheaply available second hand and also the ability for it to use the old Minolta lenses which seem to be very highly regarded and dirt cheap!! The camera would be used for all sorts of travel photography but I would also need to keep the setup light as I’m going to be carrying it around for 5 months. I think maybe 2 x zoom lenses, a 28mm prime and a 50mm prime would be the most i’d want to carry. Thanks in advance!!

 

[dxqcanada]

Yeah, you probably could get the Sony A58 pretty cheap and invest the savings into lenses.
Are you considering a telephoto zoom for wildlife ?
Umm, what reason do you have for the two primes ?

 

[jeffW]

Had a friend who hiked the PC, and many friends who've hiked the AT, they all say the same thing, everything is about weight. I would add from my limited experience on multi-day trips that waterproofing and simple access is second in importance (at least to me) Personally my number one choice for a multi-multi day trip like that would be something like the Olympus Tough series carried on your shoulder strap.

Again from my limited experience on multi-day trips, mostly touring on a bike, it becomes so important to make miles that removing gear and extended photo-stops becomes impractical. If money was no object I would get the Tough and look at an all in one like the sony HX50 Ultra Compact Camera with 30x Optical Zoom

just an idea

 

[jaomul]

I think the Sony is a good buy for the money and you seem to have researched lenses etc but if I was doing that walk I'd bring the best light camera I could afford. I'd recommend an affordable weather resistant camera

 

[Archiebald98]

Thanks for all your replies!! Weight is extremely important and I’m now thinking that revising the lenses down to one fairly wide range telephoto zoom lense and 2 primes is the way to go! The prime lense would be because they weigh virtually nothing and the image quality (especially landscapes) is in my limited experecience, far superior. The images online that I have seen taken with the a58/Minolta combinition are absolutely stunning. Cost is definitely an issue as i’d rather spend the savings on camping gear. The Minolta primes are generally around £40-£60 a piece which is probably a quarter of what the equivalent new lens would cost.

The reason I want to take a proper camera rather than a tough camera is that this will effectively be my main hobby for 5 months and I’m keen to take the proper gear. Other than this camera I will have very few luxuries other than possibly an e reader. If you guys had to choose one zoom lens for a trip such as this what would you go with for say a budget of £200 second hand. Fairly long reach would be perfect for catching wildlife but I understand that taking only one lens does require a compromise in either reach or image quality.

 

[dxqcanada]

... based on your budget, you may not get want you really need ...
Sony A58 and the Sony 16-50mm f2.8 would be best ... but you can also get the Sony 16-105mm, as it is a cheaper lens.
Forget the two primes, you probably will not use them ... and the cheap ones (28mm f2.8 or 50mm f1.7) will not get you substantially better images.
The Sony DT 55-300mm, is an inexpensive tele-zoom.

 

[beagle100]

if weight is important and you hike the AT and PC trails then you will definitely want a mirrorless camera and 'pancake' style lens
www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[RowdyRay]

If you go with the Sony A58, the DT 55-300mm/macro is a really nice lens. Played around with it on an A200 that my nephew now owns. As a travel lens, I would highly recommend it. Then one or two primes. To keep it light.

Almost jumped ship over this camera and lenses. Also came with the 18-70mm, so I kept the DT 18-200mm to recoup some of my cost. It's for sale. Make you a good deal if interested.

 

[Dave442]

I always go with my lightest lens, currently the 35mm f/1.8, in the past it was a 40mm pancake. Usually wildlife is very difficult on a long hike unless you plan to be in one area for an extended period, I prefer landscape as you can plan to walk to where you want to take the picture from. For wide shots I just do a series of images and stitch together later (I note this by taking a picture of my hand before and after the set to stitch together).

With a DSLR and three batteries I can go for over a week while shooting daily and not using flash or the rear screen.

For such an extended hike I would take the very lightest camera possible - any camera is a lot of extra weight on such a long hike.

One that I like, but have not tried is the Ricoh GRII from a couple years ago - very good quality/weight ratio (APS-C sensor/0.6 lbs) - add the optical viewfinder for more battery life. As I shot Pentax in the past another nice option is the Pentax KP with their DA 40mm pancake lens (1.82 lbs together). If you went with the Canon 750D I would add their small EFS 24mm lens.

 

[Archiebald98]

At the end of the day saving a couple hundred grams isn’t worth hundreds of pounds in my opinion as like I say I won’t actually be carrying much total weight, my walking and camping gear will be kept as light as possible. I’ve just won this auction which to be honest probably covers everything I need. I think I got a bargain what do you guys reckon?
?

 

[dxqcanada]

Seems fair for the prices in the UK.

 

[jeffW]

Congrats on your purchase. Sounds like an incredible hike. As I imagine you will be testing out your equipment in preparation I would be interested to hear your results on what backcountry charging systems you try out and ultimately decide to use on your hike.

Have a great time.

 

[Dave442]

I would carry batteries that would get me through at least two weeks and then look into recharging at re-supply civilization points along the way, having a charger for each battery (modify to minimize weight).