Upgrading Sony A230

[t1ck33]

Hi everyone, I am looking for some advice about purchasing some lenses/camera. I bought the sony a230 a year ago as a floor model from a local retailer, it was in excellent condition and I purchased it for around $200 dollars, my friend told me it was an excellent deal especially because it included the 55mm Sony Lens. I originally bought it just to try out photography, turned out I really like it and want to either spend more on it or upgrade. I learned more about the features and photography itself and want to continue to improve and develop my skills. I was wondering if I should actually buy more lenses for this camera or upgrade the camera itself to something better. I use it quite a bit now almost every event I go to and I was looking for options possible or would i not be missing out on much compared to the Canon EOS rebel T3 or something else along the lines of that. I haven't tried out any other camera than what I have so I don't know exactly what I am missing out on.

 

[brunerww]

Hi t1ck, and welcome to the forum! The first question I would ask is - "is your camera limiting you?" If you're missing shots, if your low light performance is poor, or if you want to start shooting video - you should upgrade. If you're motivated to upgrade just because your camera is a 2009 model - I'd say stick with the A230.

That said, if you do decide to upgrade, I would stick with Sony. A Sony A57 body will cost you $499, give you 12fps continuous shooting, built in High Dynamic Range, Panorama Sweep and 1080/60p video - and you already have the lens for it.

Here is what this camera can do: http://www.flickr.com/groups/sonya57/pool/

A Canon T3i body will cost you the same $499 - give you 3.7fps, no HDR, no Panorama and no 1080/60p video - and you'll still have to buy lenses.

Here is what this camera can do: http://www.flickr.com/groups/600d/pool/

Hope that's helpful and good luck!

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

 

[Mike_E]

You have one lens now and so aren't really tied down to Sony.

Think about where you want to be in a couple of years. Also think about you budget.

If Sony has the lenses you think you'll need and they aren't more expensive than Nikon or Canon or some other brand then sure, stick with Sony. Be advised though that Sony is a highly proprietary company which means that they don't tend to play well with third party equipment.

 

[Kolia]

Honestly, price difference in lenses is marginal.

Proprietary issues are the same with any brands.

Most third party equipment has a Sony, Nikon, Canon etc version.

 

[Stevepwns]

I have a 2 Sonys, love them, just upgraded to the A77 from A33. What kind of pictures do you see yourself taking? Sony has a large variety of Minolta lenses to choose from and a lot of new ones by Sony. Your camera will work with any A Mount Minolta lens. Third party lenses are pretty good too. I would suggest getting lenses first, figure out what you like shooting and then figure out what your needs are. You budget is key to all this. The Minolta lenses are affordable for the most part, there are few that are high priced but for the most part, you can get great lenses under 150 bucks. If you decide to stick with Sony, I'll be happy to help with any question you have.