Sony Alpha SLT 37 vs RX-100

[DrO]

Dear Members


I am a novice in photography: I had been using compact cameras but I have been frustrated with the quality of photos specially in low light conditions, blurring and the fact that my previous cameras were too slow to take pictures (I have missed potentially nice pictures; my friends get annoyed when waiting and posing for photos for instance).
I will mainly see photos on my MacBook Air/iMac instead of printing them (I may print occasionally in the future). This month, I will start a digital photography course for beginners and I want to buy a Sony Camera, but after reading reviews, I am quite confused as to which one to choose, I narrowed my options to 2 Sony cameras: the Sony Alpha 37 SLT vs Sony RX-100.

The reviews can be confusing as the first one does not favour much the Sony Alpha 37 by saying "Big is not always better":
Amazon.co.uk: Alan's review of Sony SLTA37 16.1MP Translucent Mirror Tech...

While this one gives 5 start to the RX-100 by stating "DSLR Quality In Your Pocket"
Amazon.co.uk: Customer Reviews: Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 Digital Camera (20.2MP, 3.6x Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD


To be fair, the reviewer emphasised though that he reviewed the Sony 37 with the 18 mm lenses included in the bundle and that quality may improve with better lenses. There are other reviews which give 5 stars to the Sony Alpha 37 but for me it is difficult to know the difference in quality of pictures between these 2 cameras.



I am willing to carry the Sony SLT with me at all times if the quality of pictures is superior than the RX-100, I have read that the quality of images produced by the RX-100 is similar to the the Alpha 37 one, and if that is the case I would prefer the RX-100 because of portability. I have the budget for only one camera (I know the RX-100 is more expensive but I can pay the £500 asking price in the UK). I don't have any camera at the moment apart from my Galaxy Note in built Camera.
I was quite impressed when I went to the local store and tried the Sony Alpha 37 as it takes photos fast and because of the autofocus option. I only tried the RX-100 and it looks goods also. Unfortunately there was no way for me to know which takes better quality of pictures and the sales advisor was not very helpful.

The reason why I prefer Sony is mainly because Sony has the option of taking Panorama pictures and Panoramas is one of my favourite features and the one I use a lot when going for holidays. I used to stich my photos with Panorama Maker, the software.
I have purchased Adobe Photoshop and I will also start a course for beginners for Photoshop.
The reviews on the Internet are confusing and I would highly appreciate your views, my idea is to use only one camera and take photography as a hobby and use a decent entry level camera as a only camera to start with. My main issue is to know which of both cameras is better in terms of quality pictures and overall functionality




Thanks in advance for your views


Omar

 

[pixmedic]

if you prefer Sony, then go with the Sony. for quality of pictures, the brand of camera you get is much less important than how you use it.
I would suspect that if you get good lenses, and learn the basics of photography, you can take quality pictures with any system...maybe even a Sony.

 

[DrO]

Dear Pixmedic

Thanks for your response, but could you kindly tell me what do you think between these 2 I mentioned

Regards

Omar

 

[Kolia]

The RX100 will limit you to its 30-100mm f1.8-4.9 lens. I would chose it only if portability while traveling is the key interest. In short, as a second camera.
If you want to learn photography, I'm afraid you will rapidly reach the limitation of that camera.

The a37 would be a better option in your situation. I would strongly recommend getting the 18-135mm lens tho.