Good choice for an upgrade?

[Jules001]

Before I start, I must say that DSLR's are quite alien to me, I know nothing of ISO's apertures and white balance etc, so please don't get too technical with me
My teenage daughter is doing a Photography A Level and is intending to go to Uni to do a wildlife photography and media course, so last xmas we bought her an entry level DSLR - a Sony A200, she has taken some excellent pics with this camera and she has since invested in a 75-300mm lens. Since using this lens, her pics have deteriorated somewhat and we think it is probably down to camera shake with the extra weight of the lens, however even with a tripod and a remote shutter release, a lot of the pictures are just not in focus. This maybe as simple as what she is trying to take pics of are just too small and far away for the pics to be in focus using that lens, I don't know.
Anyway we have seen that the Sony A700 is being discontinued and have been offered one for what I think is quite a good price. I have looked at a comparison of both cameras on the Sony website, but a lot of the spec seems to be the same and the few things that are different mean nothing to me. Can anyone advise please whether this camera would be a good upgrade for her at this time.
Sorry for the longwinded first post, I am not normally this verbose

Jules

[Mike Jackson]

I know nothing about Sony DSLRs but personally think that upgrading is not worthwhile until she can use the full potential of her existing equipment.

Are you sure there isn't a fault with the lens?

[ron1863]

If she is using it on a tripod she should turn the anti-vibration off. It could be that she has bought a duff lens - can she try the lens on another camera just to check?
The Sony A700 is an excellent camera and if you go on PC World's website you can pick it up for £499

Oh! a warm welcome to WAB.

[Jim Ford]

Whilst you can get lots of good photography advice on this site, you're better off asking on a Sony forum on a photography site. dpreview.com is very good - here's a link to the Sony SLR forum:

Sony SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

Jim

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Mike Jackson

I know nothing about Sony DSLRs but personally think that upgrading is not worthwhile until she can use the full potential of her existing equipment.

Are you sure there isn't a fault with the lens?

I tend to agree with Mike on that - while mid range cameras offer more /better features than entry level they dont automatically make you a better photographer so its not worth upgrading until she has learnt to use her existing camera to its full potential - if there is money to be spent it would be better used on more/better lenses , for example a wide angle for landscapes , a dedicated macro for close ups (also excellent for portraiture) or a long lense for wildlife/sport depending on her interests.

with regard to the lack of sharpness its difficult to say why without seeing some shots but assuming the lens isnt faulty (be worth taking it back to a dealer to check) I would imagine that its camera wobble probably caused partly by the increased weight but also the higher magnification of a 300mm.

what kind of tripod has she got - the cheap light weight ones are worse than useless and tend to wobble a lot in even a slight breeze - if shes going to do a lot of tripod based photography she needs a decent tripod (another possible expenditure) made either of steel tube or if the money's there carbon fibre.

the other thing is that without wanting to dampen enthusiasm is that hardly anyone earns a living purely as a wildlife photographer, most either have a day job ( This is the category i fall in to) or do other photographic work weddings, press etc - even top pros like rouse, benvie and macintyre have other income streams such as courses, seminars, books etc.

Therefore I would think long and hard before commiting to a university course aimed at that career as its difficult to see what benefit it will bring. My advice would be to either leave uni til later and just get out and take pictures (using the money saved to fund gear, trips and short courses with pros , or to study something more potentially lucrative and use that qualification to supoort the wildlife photography as a hobby or second income

[Jules001]

thanks for all the replies so far.
I do agree about the comments about her needing to understand and use the full potential of her existing equipment, she says she does understand the settings etc, but as I don't I can't check that she knows her stuff.
I think we will take the lens back to the Sony dealer and get it checked out if possible as that will then eliminate that as a possible cause.
Her tripod is at the moment only a cheap lightweight one, however a lot of her shots at the moment are from a hide, so no breeze, although admittedly the floor isn't exactly level, so there could be slight movement coming from that, but she has taken the camera off the tripod and sat it on a wide window ledge and the pics are still not in focus.
She is intending to take a gap year before going to Uni in which she plans to do exactly what you suggest eeyore, then if a job comes up in the meantime she will not go to uni, as she realises that the course itself will not guarantee a job and that in this field of work, it is more about contacts, experience etc than an actual degree.
I think we might just have a session playing around with all the settings and the two lenses she has, after getting the new lens checked, and see how we go from them before rushing out and getting a new camera.
thanks for the welcome to the forum too, I have been busy reading posts for a while, but just not posted.

Jules

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Jules001

thanks for all the replies so far.
I do agree about the comments about her needing to understand and use the full potential of her existing equipment, she says she does understand the settings etc, but as I don't I can't check that she knows her stuff.
I think we will take the lens back to the Sony dealer and get it checked out if possible as that will then eliminate that as a possible cause.
Her tripod is at the moment only a cheap lightweight one, however a lot of her shots at the moment are from a hide, so no breeze, although admittedly the floor isn't exactly level, so there could be slight movement coming from that, but she has taken the camera off the tripod and sat it on a wide window ledge and the pics are still not in focus.

I would suspect that the cheap tripod is probably to blame for the wobble as even in hides they pick up vibrations from the floor etc - a sturdy tripod need not be expensive (at least not compared to a new camera) - I use this set up Manfrotto 055XDB,222 Tripod Kit ( 055XDB,222) - Warehouse Express and you can do better than the price quoted there if you shop arround ( I think mine was 56 for the tripod and 30 for the head)

the only thing is that steel tube tripods are relatively heavy and may be too much for her to carry long distances (not meant as a sexist comment - I'm 6'4 and 13 stone and I find it heavy) - Carbon fibre is much lighter but also substantially more expensive.

Originally Posted by Jules001

She is intending to take a gap year before going to Uni in which she plans to do exactly what you suggest eeyore, then if a job comes up in the meantime she will not go to uni, as she realises that the course itself will not guarantee a job and that in this field of work, it is more about contacts, experience etc than an actual degree.
I think we might just have a session playing around with all the settings and the two lenses she has, after getting the new lens checked, and see how we go from them before rushing out and getting a new camera.
thanks for the welcome to the forum too, I have been busy reading posts for a while, but just not posted.

Jules

The point i'd pick up from this is the concept of "a job coming up" photography jobs are rare as rocking horse poo at the best of times and wildlife photography even more so than some other feilds.

Virtually every wildlife photographer I know or even know of is self employed - and even commisioned photography is rare - normally photographers make trips on spec then hope to sell the pics.

I would suggest that she get to grips with her camera then take as many shots as possible and try to sell them by setting up a website, registering with stock libraries, submitting to magazines, and potentially having prints made and selling them at craft fairs etc - a year of that will tell whether she has the talent and drive to make it happen and also the long term enthusiasm to do it.

a good book to read is Andy rouse - Life in the wild, A wildlife photographers year published by GMC ISBN 1-86108-268-1


I'd also suggest joining the Bureau of frelance photographers which will get her their yearly guide to potential markets ( picture editors contacts and so forth).

and finally i'd encourage her to join wab herself and share her shots for critique and encouragement - the forum is well moderated and family freindly.

[Elean0r]

Originally Posted by Jules001

My teenage daughter is doing a Photography A Level and is intending to go to Uni to do a wildlife photography and media course, so last xmas we bought her an entry level DSLR - a Sony A200, she has taken some excellent pics with this camera and she has since invested in a 75-300mm lens. Since using this lens, her pics have deteriorated somewhat and we think it is probably down to camera shake with the extra weight of the lens, however even with a tripod and a remote shutter release, a lot of the pictures are just not in focus.

Has your daughter thought of asking her tutor to take some shots with the camera and see if they get the same results, or if they can check the settings she's using before you think about spending out on a new camera or sending the lens away to be checked?

[Jules001]

thanks again for the help, we are going to invest in a better tripod and also get a photographer friend to try and take some shots with the lens to see if it a user problem or an equipment problem

Eeyore, thanks for the info about Andy Rouse's book and the Bureau of Freelance photographers, will check both these out. Absolutely agree with all you said about the scarcity of photographics jobs, however I didn't make myself clear when I said about a job coming up, it wasn't necessarily a photography job, even less so a wildlife photography job, just something that is not office tied, we both realise she has a long long way to go and even then she may not get there and that she would have to be freelance so it would out of necessity have to start off as a hobby which may generate a second income if she is lucky.

I really appreciate all your help. I have just found out that she has already joined WAB and only just thought to tell me!

Jules