Help me please - I need your advice/opinions on DSLR

[DznyFan]

wow, great arguments for BOTH sides. It's been interesting!
I've scoured every one of the photo sites and reviews I can find, and have been for the past few days. I'd forgotten about dcresource, I've used that one before.

I think I need to step up and increase my budget by about $500 and I'll be fine. well, crap.

VVFF - you can view the shots in their original format, I found. Thanks for the additional links! I'm a viewfinder person, myself. I rarely use the flip out screen on my S3. I think the only time I used it was over the crowd's heads at the Studios this winter going thru the Osborne Spectacle of Lights.

Zackiedawg - you make a valid point about so many of the review sites being negative about grain and noise, but I was a grain freak before I ever went digital... (thanks, dad) I hear your point about noise not being a factor if the exposure is good but sometimes that's just not always an option - particularly in places like Walt Disney World. Some of the best photo opportunities there are in night and low light conditions as you know, and not necessarily in the Haunted Mansion! Your gallery is quite comprehensive and it has shown me that in many respects, the Alpha series will be fine for me, despite it's noisy shortcomings. I'm actually considering the A700 now though... better low light performance but I can still utilize my lenses.

man, this is frustrating!

 

[Code]

I agree that if noise at ISO 1600/3200 tops your list of priorities, you'll definitely need to move beyond the entry level models to find satisfaction in any brand.

I'm an A700 owner for about 9 months now and absolutely love it.. feel free to check out my flickr, most of what I've posted there since September has been from my last trip with it (though some are from previous trips with Oly E-510). Keep in mind that I shoot 100% RAW (Sony is definitely behind the curve on their high ISO JPG processing, but I don't use JPG at all anyway) and lately I am very light-handed in my noise reduction... usually just a bit of chroma NR and zero luminance in Lightroom unless I feel the shot really needs a trip through Noise Ninja, which isn't very often lately. I prefer a little grain rather than a smudgy look.

 

[Steve's Girl]

While I am a Nikon fan, I think I would recommend the Sony in your case. You already have lenses. The 75-200 2.8 lens will do more to reduce noise in your photos than an improved sensor. That lens would be very expensive to replace with a Nikon lens. Over time, lenses are the biggest investment into photography.

 

[zackiedawg]

Good point raised there, Code. I should have pointed out that my more noisy, high ISO shots were taken in JPG mode, NOT raw...so those are definitely worst-case scenarios. For those willing to shoot in RAW and go through the extra conversion and processing, your results would invariably be better than mine even with the same cam. I honestly enjoy photography much more than I do processing...so I just can't bring myself to shoot RAW most of the time...though I'll use it on occasions where I'm shooting something on hire or for when I'm planning heavy editing or processing anyway.

Still, mid-level and higher cams will certainly be much better at high ISO. The A700 is better than the 200/300/350...and I think (in my opinion at least) the Nikon D300 is ruling the roost in the mid-price range for noise control at high ISOs.