New DSLR

[Mrs Marley]

Hello

I am going to buy a new DSLR, I have been looking at the Sony Alpha and I like the feel of it and a couple of friends have got them and think that it will be a good choice for me. I hope to photograph birds at the local park and also flowers and insects.

What do others think?

Mrs M

[MalcolmX]

try the canon 350 d first sony is part of the 3rds system (i think ) and that will give some problems with lenses . at one point the 8 meg chip used by sony was subject to very bad noise. ttry the canon range or the nikon rather than a hybrid

[RogerTheCat]

Originally Posted by MalcolmX

try the canon 350 d first sony is part of the 3rds system (i think ) and that will give some problems with lenses . at one point the 8 meg chip used by sony was subject to very bad noise. ttry the canon range or the nikon rather than a hybrid

Sony bought out Minolta and this enabled them to enter the DSLR market with a good specification camera. The mount on the Sony is the same as the Minolta mount and so getting new and second hand lenses is not a problem.

[nightshade]

They are all Canon on this site,and why not! very good kit
I am a Nikon fan theD50 D80 D70 D200 all very good
Sony is a new comer having bought up the ailing Minolta co.

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by nightshade

They are all Canon on this site,and why not! very good kit
I am a Nikon fan theD50 D80 D70 D200 all very good
Sony is a new comer having bought up the ailing Minolta co.

Not quite ALL Canon! I can think of at least two or three Nikon users...

[Owl-Light]

Originally Posted by glsammy

Not quite ALL Canon! I can think of at least two or three Nikon users...

I don't think you can beat Canon or Nikon. My last camera was a Canon but not a DSLR which I wanted so I traded up to a Nikon D70 (second hand) and I'm really pleased with it. So I'm a Nikon user too now.

If you can get hold of the Feburary issue of What Digital Camera magazine, I think you'd find it useful. There's an extensive section comparing cameras in several price ranges (both bridge and DSLR).

[nightshade]

Nikon D80 is nearly the same spec as the D200!
Canon 400D gets good write up but has oooo kit lense

[Mrs Marley]

Originally Posted by Owl-Light

I don't think you can beat Canon or Nikon. My last camera was a Canon but not a DSLR which I wanted so I traded up to a Nikon D70 (second hand) and I'm really pleased with it. So I'm a Nikon user too now.

If you can get hold of the Feburary issue of What Digital Camera magazine, I think you'd find it useful. There's an extensive section comparing cameras in several price ranges (both bridge and DSLR).

I have got that magazine, there is a good article about the Pentax K10D and a Samsung GX10, I may go for one or the other as I used to have a Pentax and I like the idea of the built in anti camera shake.

Mrs M

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by Mrs Marley

I have got that magazine, there is a good article about the Pentax K10D and a Samsung GX10, I may go for one or the other as I used to have a Pentax and I like the idea of the built in anti camera shake.

Mrs M

The only advice I would give is to make sure whatever brand you settle for, make sure the lenses you want to use are available and affordable. The lens is far more important than the brand of camera.

[matt_xyz]

Originally Posted by glsammy

The only advice I would give is to make sure whatever brand you settle for, make sure the lenses you want to use are available and affordable. The lens is far more important than the brand of camera.

I would echo Graham's comments above. If truth be told, entry level DSLRs are all much of a muchness. I've seen a couple of reviews of all 6 or 7 DSLRs in magazines lately, in one the Canon 400D came out on top, in the other the Sony Alpha was deemed to be the best, but there was very little between them. The issue of lens affordability and availability is what is most important. My advice would be to identify what lenses you want and then see what camera body will fit those lenses

Matt