Any Recommendations on Sony DSLR A700 ?

[Mohamed Ghuloom]

Hello guys, I'm new to this forum and this is my first topic
I do own a Sony DSC-H9 and before a period we bought a Sony DSLR A200, and I'm planning to buy a Sony A700.. I'm very loyal to Sony
I will use the camera mostly for portraits, coz we have a photography company in Bahrain and we mostly do personal photoshoots.

When I first waned to buy a cameras, everyone was telling me Nikon Nikon Canon Canon, Sony is not good, but when I bought my H9 I really found the opposite! Sony has very good technology plus very reasonable prices. So I went for A200 and that one is awesome too, until now the A700 got out!

My question is: As a professional photographer, should I go for Sony a700? or I go for the new Nikon D700? Is Sony a good idea after all? I'm gonna spend 1800 USD on it, so better make a good choice than regretting later.

This is the tour page of Sony a700
http://www.sony-asia.com/microsite/dslr/a700/

The features it has you can barely find in other cameras, even in the Nikon D700.. For example 12 focus points!! so why people go for nikon?

[Mohamed Ghuloom]

wow, this forum is really not in the mood ha :P

[rc53]

wow, this forum is really not in the mood ha :P

Patience, old chap, patience -- festina lente.

Regards

Bertie

[McQ]

wow, this forum is really not in the mood ha :P

Yes, patience my friend Sometimes replies take a few days, but you will generally always get a reply from someone here.

Something that I think a lot of people neglect when choosing a digital SLR camera is that it's not just about the camera body, but also the lenses. Take a close look at the lens array available to the Sony mount, as compared to Nikon and Canon, and decide for yourself whether it offers the same upgrade path, quality and variety. If you feel that it does, then by all means go Sony.

[Mohamed Ghuloom]

The lenses available for Sony are Sony A and Minolta i guess, and for Nikon, umm i dont know, but i guess it's very widly lens supported coz most professioanls they go for nikon. am i right?
I really don't know but i don't wanna regret. I like Nikon D300 too.. 51 focus point?! :|
But could you please tell me the downsides in nikon? what are the things that i would not find in nikon but in sony?
Thanks for your time and don't worry I'll wait

[McQ]

Honestly, I would look a lot more into the lens options first and foremost. You will not be able to use a Nikon lens on the Sony camera as-is, whereas most of the Sony lenses will likely be usable on the Nikon (or Canon), such as Sigma lenses. Make sure that the Sony camera can use everything you need (or will need) at the right quality level, weight and with the needed features.

Then read all the reviews on each camera in detail from dpreview or imagingresource or robgalbraith somewhere similar. Nothing beats doing your own research, because everyone has their own array of requirements. I wish it were a simple answer of "Camera A" is always the best, but unfortunately it's not...there's trade-offs with nearly every model. It therefore all comes down to one's priorities, which are a difficult thing for me or others to guess without more information from you.

[shreds]

As a Nikon user of many years, I like many others, do have a certain brand loyalty, if for no other reason than we have a good set of lenses already and are familiar with the feel of our camera brand. It may seem irrelevant, but knowing the camera inside out without having to think about its controls is very important. Therefore I can't really comment on Sony / Minolta, never having been an owner.

Sony certainly seem to be going out into the market to capture a large chunk of what Nikon & Canon already have and it may well see some effect on prices, although ultimately a price war will only be good short term for us consumers. Will Sony win out? Who knows, they are prepared to gamble (remember Betamax, minidisc etc). Bear in mind that Sony are reputed to have a few things up their sleeve too? However, this is not helping you.

Do as McQ says; consider the range and the quality of the glass available, this is more crucial than the camera, as a pro, you probably know this already, but look at your chosen market. Will it benefit from your better quality hardware? How much do you need its features. All cameras have features that some users will rarely ever use, the design is a compromise, but don't buy a camera just because its features are more numerous than the competitor...what do they mean to you? Dont be dazzled by the sales speil, in practice, do you really need this feature, or that? If not, then its a waste of money. But if you can move up a notch or two or corner another area through improved hardware then go for it.

[Raycer]

my vote is for D700. However, I don't think that's a fair comparison as D700 sensor is FF vs A700's APS-C.

[Vettegirl]

Hi, I'm new here too... I am a Sony gal and have the A350. I take mostly close-ups of bright flowers and bugs, stills & motion pics at car shows along with portraits and landscapes. Have you considered the A350? With a higher MP (14.2 vs. 12.2) and the "live view" option this is quit a nice camera! The ISO only goes up to 3200 but I was able to stop (with great detail) Indy cars going 70+ mph around the track! In fact this is an AWESOME camera now that I think about it! LOL I don't know if you have purchased your camera yet but maybe you should include the Sony A350 in your search. Hope this gives some insight. Let us know what you get/got too.

[chedava]

The Sony A700 is more comparable to the Nikon D300, both are APC size sensors which are about 2/3 the size of the traditional 35mm film. Your choices just became a bit more complicated with the announcement of the Sony A900 - a full frame 24 mpix camera. This one is in the same group as the D700 as well as Canon's new 5DmarkII.

One good place for hardware review is dpreview.com.

Cheers