Changing DSLR Brands

[1Grumpy9]

Thanks zackiedawg for your insight and help. I think I will just go with the A580 and hope that when I am ready to purchase a new one (hopefully in 5 or more years) the new SLT generations will have improved.

 

[KramBerries]

I think that switching from Sony to Canon would be a mistake. I recommend that you switch from Sony to Nikon. You'll get to experience the thrill of moving to a better system. Once you get over the thrill, you can recapture it by moving from Nikon to Canon. Of course, once you are there, you are tapped out. Too bad you didn't start with Olympus or Pentax.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I think that switching from Sony to Canon would be a mistake. I recommend that you switch from Sony to Nikon. You'll get to experience the thrill of moving to a better system. Once you get over the thrill, you can recapture it by moving from Nikon to Canon. Of course, once you are there, you are tapped out. Too bad you didn't start with Olympus or Pentax.

OMG, its been a long time. What prompts the return of the mighty KramBerries?

 

[KramBerries]

OMG, its been a long time. What prompts the return of the mighty KramBerries?

The parole board was gullible.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

What prompts the return of the mighty KramBerries?

The hint of a good Brand War brings the best of the Berries out of the bog.

 

[1Grumpy9]

So my options for buying the A580 are slimming. B&H no longer carrys the camera and neither does the Sony online store. I can still get it from Amazon and from 42nd Street Photo in NYC. I have to wait for May to purchase it because of finances right now, but I did notice that 42nd Street Photo has theirs a little cheaper. I am hoping that I can get the camera before May, but I don't know.

I have been using my old Konica-Minolta D5 and it has been taking AMAZING shots, so I am happy to use that until then.

 

[zackiedawg]

I got mine through Amazon - have you checked if they have any sellers available with it? It usually fulfills either by them, or Adorama or Cameta camera.

Also, there's a VERY super-thin rumor, that's a 200-to-1 long shot of actually being based on any fact, that has been saying Sony may be reconsidering the OVF line and come out with an A600 with an OVF. I wouldn't hold my breath on that one - but just FYI.

 

[1Grumpy9]

zackiedawg...What are you hearing about the A65?!? I see it is a 2nd Gen SLT, but I don't have a camera store around here that doesn't carry Sony's so I can't ask any of them any questions.

My friend that had the A55 and returned it because of the issues of using it in low light situations.

 

[zackiedawg]

All I'm hearing so far has been pretty decent, however cameras like the A65 might require a slight adjustment for the user - it's easy to THINK things are not performing as well wthout taking into consideration the huge resolution and MP jump with the 24MP sensor. For example, if you view all photos at 100% viewable on your computer screen, things like high ISO noise can end up looking bad - worse than the older sensors. Many people have become confused or disappointed - but what should really be taken into consideration is that at 100% viewable on a 24MP photo, you're looking at a significantly smaller slice of the overall photo - you're blowing up all the details AND all the problems...many believe that it would be more fair to consider the comparison of the A65/77's output against the 16MP cameras by viewing them at a lesser magnification, or resizing to match the 16MP sensor's image dimensions. It seems that when most folks resize the 24MP sensor's output to match the 16MP sensor's output, the differences are MUCH smaller between them, with the high ISO performance being almost a wash. The A65 performs better than the A55, again due to the extra resolution that provides much more detail, room to perform noise reduction, and to resize to the same overall image size as the 16MP photo. Where the A65/77 seem to not quite keep up is when comparing them at 100% to a fullframe 24MP sensor, or when jus comparing pixel level noise at 100% against the 16MP sensors.

They also seem to have mostly solved all the issues that occasionally came up on the A33/55 SLTs - no ghosting issues reported with specular highlights, no overheating issues reported during heavy video or burst shooting, and a much higher-spec EVF.

I still prefer the OVF on the A580 for my own shooting, but I'd at least consider the A77/65 to be much closer than the previous SLTs at replacing a traditional DSLR for my type of shooting. It's not there 100% yet in my mind, but definitely addressed quite a few problems from the first-gen.