Is it a good idea to invest in Sony a200

[Leendro]

Hi guys! I'm a new member here and this is my first post. I am an amateur in the world of photography and I just own a dslr 3 month ago. I bought a Sony a200. So I am wondering, is it a good idea to invest in sony dslr?...(such as lens and flash unit)

I wanted to buy a new lens. A fix SAL50mm 1.8. Will it be a good idea?

All comment is appreciated.Thx a lot in advance.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi again Leendro,

I think that depends very much on what you want to photograph and whether you see yourself progressing up the Sony brand DSLR models and how quickly.

Undoubtedly on the basis that all DSLRs are almost equal in quality and capability, a prime lens and flash (assuming it is going to be one of the clever/expensive ones will allow you to learn the craft of photography just as well as you would with Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, etc.

What lens do you currently have? I'll assume the kit lens.
The only thing I would say (stating the blinking obvious) is that unless you need the extra speed of the wider apertures (f1.8 - around f4), the 50mm is not going to give you a compositional difference over what you are already using.

Hope that helps,

[Colin Southern]

Hi guys! I'm a new member here and this is my first post. I am an amateur in the world of photography and I just own a dslr 3 month ago. I bought a Sony a200. So I am wondering, is it a good idea to invest in sony dslr?...(such as lens and flash unit)

I wanted to buy a new lens. A fix SAL50mm 1.8. Will it be a good idea?

All comment is appreciated.Thx a lot in advance.

Hi Leendro,

Many don't like me saying this - but personally I feel that there are advantages in "running with the pack" (meaning Nikon or Canon) in that they're going to have the biggest selection of lenses and accessories for the forseable future. Not vital for everyone, but ultimately, it's usually lens selection that ties people long-term to one brand or the other, and personally, I wouldn't want to be stuck with Sony's lens selection (and lens technology). Just my personal opinion though. On the other hand, if it's doing all that you need (and are likely to need) then enjoy

[bmpress]

Hi guys! I'm a new member here and this is my first post. I am an amateur in the world of photography and I just own a dslr 3 month ago. I bought a Sony a200. So I am wondering, is it a good idea to invest in sony dslr?...(such as lens and flash unit)

I wanted to buy a new lens. A fix SAL50mm 1.8. Will it be a good idea?

All comment is appreciated.Thx a lot in advance.

Hi Leendro,

Sony bought out Minolta a few years ago and brought new technology to the party. Minolta lenses are good and now that the body's are updated they are a serious competitor to the Canon/Nikon folks. Perhaps the main difference is camera body based image stabilization. This means that lenses are much lest costly than IS or VR lenses, and may be reason enough to stay with Sony.

True that one gets more stabilization with Canon or Nikon, nevertheless, with better sensors the need for the ultimate IS is reduced.

Hope this helps.

[carregwen]

It's got to be better than investing in a bank.

[Colin Southern]

It's got to be better than investing in a bank.

Oh brother, ain't that the truth

[bmpress]

Oh brother, ain't that the truth

Actually, the US Govt. just announced a substantial profit made on the bailout of several of the large banks....

[carregwen]

Actually, the US Govt. just announced a substantial profit made on the bailout of several of the large banks....

Yes, I read that. But is it sufficient to buy a Sony A200?

[hoffstriker]

Not to put a damper in your plans, but Sony tech support has been horrible from my experience. Hence, that is why I (a Minolta shooter from way back) decided to find a new brand when I started dslr shopping. I do love the older Minolta lenses, but it is no longer the same company. Yes, they are improving their equipment, but will they put the time and money into fully competing on the high end lines? Only time will tell for that one.

[bmpress]

Not to put a damper in your plans, but Sony tech support has been horrible from my experience. Hence, that is why I (a Minolta shooter from way back) decided to find a new brand when I started dslr shopping. I do love the older Minolta lenses, but it is no longer the same company. Yes, they are improving their equipment, but will they put the time and money into fully competing on the high end lines? Only time will tell for that one.

Hot Flash: Just yesterday, Sony announced two new DSLR cameras, an APC and a full frame. Prices look very good too. I believe that they will force down prices of Canon and Nikons over the next few years.

[hoffstriker]

I move aside and salute Barry on my lack of keeping up with technology....lol...... Keep me posted, if possible. I've already decided to make the switch to Canon, but am sure many people would like to hear if Sony turns things around.....

[bmpress]

I move aside and salute Barry on my lack of keeping up with technology....lol...... Keep me posted, if possible. I've already decided to make the switch to Canon, but am sure many people would like to hear if Sony turns things around.....

Now that you have chosen, I would like to add that I am a Canon user too. I have found their equipment to work superbly and they offer a huge selection of stuff to buy. My problem is that the equipment is better than its photographer. But...am working at it. Good thing I don't have to earn a living with my camera.

Good luck with your new toy!

[Leendro]

Hi all thanks for the reply appreciate it.

I know that sony's do not have wide range of choice and it has issue in iso speed, but I'm stuck with it but in mind i'm thinking of converting to Nikon or Canon in the future, but not soon due to budget. I'm still a student and my parent kind of not very supportive about photography so I will have to save money in ordet to buy a new one

Hi dave, thx for the reply. You are right about my lens its a kit lens 18-70 f3.5/5.6. I'm thinkin of close up photo and maybe model (still trying to convince my friend as asubject). The 1.8 doesnt really cost much though and I like the blurr effect from 1.8. Does 1.8 and 1.4 have much different?
Or maybe you can suggest a lens for me?

Hi collins, I agree with you about the nikon and canon lens range of lense. My first choice would be, Nikon, in the future depending on my budget and It would not be anytime soon.

[Faldrax]

Leendro,

I have the Minolta 50 f1.7 and it's a lovely little lens on my A700.

The 50 f1.8 will give you a couple of things

1) Low light shooting.
The 'weakness' in the Sony line (more so in the A2xx/A3xx lines) is they get more 'noisy' at higher ISO compared to Canon & Nikon. This is partly compensated for by the inbuilt IS - particularly at shorter focal lengths there you cannot get stabilised lenses (AFAIK).
Using a f1.8 gives you ~ 2 1/2 stops over the kit lens at 50mm, so a shot at f1.8 1/20s would require a shutter of ~1/3s usign the kit - which makes indoor shots without flash (eg as a guest during a wedding) possible,

2) Shallow Depth of Field.
As you mentioned, using the larger apperture let you isolate a subject from the background, or create the artistic smooth bluring of an object into the background.

As for investing in Sony cameras & lenses.

Sony do not have as large a line up of lenses as Conon or Nikon, and this is mirrored in a lower number of third party lenses.

Lenses that are clearly 'missing' are Tilt-Shift for high end architectural shooting, and longer primes (600mm+) - but these are generaly not an issue for the majority of users.

However, all AF Minolta lenses work just fine on the Sony cameras, which extends the range somewhat, and the Sony range is growing (the newish 70-400G is a very nice lens, for example).

In the end I would say that the range of equipement for any to the main manufacurers is not going to be a real issue for the majority of amateurs, time, experience and skill will play a much bigger factor in the images you produce.

[Vinod]

Hi guys! I'm a new member here and this is my first post. I am an amateur in the world of photography and I just own a dslr 3 month ago. I bought a Sony a200. So I am wondering, is it a good idea to invest in sony dslr?...(such as lens and flash unit)

I wanted to buy a new lens. A fix SAL50mm 1.8. Will it be a good idea?

All comment is appreciated.Thx a lot in advance.

This is my fist posting too, so we are even :-)

The only correct answer to this question is "it depends". Since you've asked, here is my biased answer: I am a keen photographer from the old generation - I have been using SLRs since 1980. Only the last year I could convince myself to buy a digital camera, a DSLR. We have a Canon EOS 400D in the family. I found the display too crowded and the handling too techy. One salesman understood my problem and advised me to buy the Sony a200 with the 18-70 mm lens. The controls are big and clear, he said, are ideal for the old generation. He was right! I'm delighted to notice that I can set it to behave like an analog camera and simply impressed by the sharpness of its pictures. YMMV

[Leendro]

Hi valdrax thx for your reply. I agree that overall it depend on my skill. I'm conviced to stay wth sony until I am professional enough to change to a new one but comparing a200 and a700 is a bit too far isn't it. Anyway does konica minolta still produce camera lens?


Hi vinod thx for the reply. In term of user friensliness I agree wit you, becouse when I tried my friend's canon I got confused. For picture sharpness for me I get a bad one and a good one.

[Faldrax]

Hi faldrax thx for your reply. I agree that overall it depend on my skill. I'm conviced to stay wth sony until I am professional enough to change to a new one but comparing a200 and a700 is a bit too far isn't it. Anyway does konica minolta still produce camera lens?

Minolta no longer make lenses, but there is a reasonable market in second hand minolta lenses, some of them being very high quality (and priced accordingly).
There is clearly a risk involved with buying s/h, but than can be reduced by buying from dealers or from long standing membes of the varius fourms.

As for the A700 vs A200 - I actualy have both, having kept my A200 as a 2nd body when I got my A700.
The 50 f1.7 has probably been used more on my A200 than on the A700 and is great on both, and would the SAL 50 f1.8 would also work fine on either.
The only clear downside of the SAL 50 f1.8 is that it is an APS-C lens so will not give a full image on a full frame camera (A850, A900) - but a switch to FF is an even bigger step than movign to an A700 (or it's replacement, when that comes).