need you opinion on the new sony cameras

[sickhead21]

hi i just want to get your thoughts in the new sony cameras like the nex7 and the slta77, i'm just wondering what do these new cameras have to offer. (yes there are some reviews but to me it seems that it is too biased) thank you

[John C]

You really cant go wrong with anything from Sony, Nikon, or Canon and Pentax or Olympus for that matter. That being said, you should explain a little about what type of photography you are interested in and what types of cameras you have used previously.

[Black Pearl]

They offer a badge with lots of pixels on it so people who know nothing about photography can say to anyone who will listen "My cameras got more pixels that your camera" while the rest of us who know that the more pixels you jam into a small sensor the more problems you're going to create so stick with the cameras we have and keep taking fantastic photographs.

Without wanting to start a Diffraction Argument thread I will just say that a 24+ crop sensor is going to be diffraction limited by about f6-f7 meaning that unless you use a wide aperture prime or the very best f2.8 zooms the lens will have failed to reach its optimum aperture before diffraction kicks in and starts to reduce the resolution. Most consumers buying one of these new cameras will stick a f4-f5.6 zoom on it which isn't going to peak until f8 so they will never, ever get the benefit of all those pixels. I can see why Sony have stepped away from the top end SLR market as the A900/A850 both failed miserably to make any dent in the Canon/Nikon domination so they have gone down the (familiar to them) video road and are now making cameras that appeal to their consumer sector. That sector doesn't care about whether the camera has an optical viewfinder or an EVF or that they don't need 24m pixels as they never print their images bigger than A4...if at all, instead they view them on their Sony HD TV (at 2.1m pixels) or their Sony Vaio laptop (at probably less than 2m pixels) or their Sony digital picture frame (which will grind to a bloody halt with that sized file) or any of the other Sony products that fill their houses.
They will buy it because of the badge, because everything else they own is made by Sony.
The fact it has more pixels than other cameras so they can brag to their friends...assuming they have any.
The fact that 12 FPS is faster than other cameras so they can bore the (possible) friends to death with a million frames of little Tarquin running about the sports field with his football or little Harriet flogging some poor pony half to death at a Gymkhana.

I actually love the NEX range and actively promote the A55 at work to any customer who is interested as I think both are great cameras. At the same time I've had a few regulars in over the last week wondering if they should jump ship now before investing any more cash in Sony lenses as they are photographers and want a SLR. They might love a good EVF if they try it but we're a traditional lot and it takes a lot to shift our beliefs.

[sickhead21]

@john c sorry i missed out on those information, well the one im using now is a canon dslr so far i'm into landscape, night, and b/w photography and the usual family & friends photos.
the reason i'm quite interested is i've tried the a55 and the black and white is superb and now they have a preset high contrast b/w that captured my attention.

@black pearl thank you for the thoughts i'll keep that in mind, i would like to know also is the a77 can be called the next a700? by uncle got an a700 and it is really good also even with a kit lens alone

[Dave Humphries]

the reason i'm quite interested is i've tried the a55 and the black and white is superb and now they have a preset high contrast b/w that captured my attention.

Hi Ray,

I take you're not keen on PP?
Do you shoot RAW or jpg?

It isn't for me to try to dictate your photography style or workflow if you're both knowledgable and happy, but shooting RAW and handling b/w conversions in PP, even if only with something cheap like Elements, has got to be better than doing it in camera.

Thus choosing a camera based on in-camera picture styles seems odd to me.

You could achieve what the Sony can with what you have, so why go to the expense of new body and new lens(es) - even if you don't have it now, buying something like Elements 9 at < $100 has to be cheaper and more versatile.

That said, we all have our own ways and I respect yours.

Cheers,

[sickhead21]

thanks dave!

i haven't looked into PP options, as for the quality i shoot in raw when shooting an event and jpeg if it's just an everyday photo.
im not really good at PP so far i've just learned how to watermark the pictures and some basic presets from photoscape

but now that you mentioned it well it makes a whole lotta sense.

$$ for a new body + new lenses and compatible accessories vs $$ for a PP software
i feel ashamed of even creating this topic haha

i'll read more about PP in this forum.

thank you again dave!