Photo sharing: Sony Alpha

DPReview interviewed Kimio Maki. This was the response about E and A mounts...

"How do your two interchangeable lens camera systems - E / FE-mount and A-mount mesh together? In the future, how will the relationship between those two systems evolve?"

"Basically, the role of the two mounts is different. We can make E mount cameras and lenses smaller than A-mount. But for A mount we can realize superior image quality with better new technologies. Both systems exist under Alpha and both are created with the same philosophy - to create something new, which never existed before. That is the main thing in my mind. That is Sony. That is the mission. To make people say wow and to surprise them - to drive the customerss imagination. That is my dream and that is our mission at Sony. The Sony spirit goes back to our founders, Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka."

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/9689111831/every-six-months-i-want-to-do-something-new-kimio-maki-of-sony?utm_campaign=internal-link&utm_source=news-list&utm_medium=text&ref=title_0_3

Eaglefan9727 · Nov 7, 2013

While I have Sony cam already. I am wondering what you people think of the following camera

Sony Alpha SLT-A37K 16.1 MP Exmor APS HD CMOS Sensor DSLR with Translucent Mirror Technology and 18-55mm Lens

Opinions would be appreciate. Thanks.

havoc315 · Nov 7, 2013

Eaglefan9727 said:
While I have Sony cam already. I am wondering what you people think of the following camera

Sony Alpha SLT-A37K 16.1 MP Exmor APS HD CMOS Sensor DSLR with Translucent Mirror Technology and 18-55mm Lens

Opinions would be appreciate. Thanks.

I shoot with it's "cousin," the a55. A very good innovative camera.
Very high image quality, fantastic live view, fast and responsive. Are there specific issues you were wondering about?

Eaglefan9727 · Nov 7, 2013

havoc315 said:
I shoot with it's "cousin," the a55. A very good innovative camera.
Very high image quality, fantastic live view, fast and responsive. Are there specific issues you were wondering about?

The camera that I am using now and have been using since 2008 is the Sony DSC H20 which is 10.1 mega pixels with 10x optical zoom. I am just wondering how much better and how much of a difference there is with the Sony Alpha a55 when it comes to better quality shots including night shots. From looking at the shots on this thread, It looks like the shots are much better when it comes to quality unless the shots are edited in some way before being posted here. Here are 4 sample shots from the camera that I am using right now and see what you think. BTW, All of my shots are unedited.

Daytime shots

And night time shots (Fireworks)

Animagic! · Nov 7, 2013

Eaglefan9727 said:
The camera that I am using now and have been using since 2008 is the Sony DSC H20 which is 10.1 mega pixels with 10x optical zoom. I am just wondering how much better and how much of a difference there is with the Sony Alpha a55 when it comes to better quality shots including night shots. From looking at the shots on this thread, It looks like the shots are much better when it comes to quality unless the shots are edited in some way before being posted here.

There is usually a pretty big jump in image quality when stepping up from a point and shoot to a dSLR. This is due to the sensor size. An equal megapixel count on sensors two different sizes will yield very different results. 10 MP on an APS-C sensor (the much larger sensor in the a37) will give you much nicer images on a tiny 10 MP point and shoot sensor. The size difference between a point and shoot and an APS-C sensor are pretty significant. Plus given that you're jumping from 10 MP on a P&S sensor to a 16 MP APS-C sensor I would guess that the difference will be dramatic.

I personally faced this a few years ago. I had a Canon P&S that was 12 MP and I retired it for a 14 MP NEX5. Despite the small 2MP difference, the image quality was WAY better, shockingly so. I never realized how much detail I was missing until I got an APS-C sensor. Plus the features, controls, etc. are much nicer on a dSLR.

All your photos will be nicer. You will see a drastic difference with night images, especially if you get a wide aperture lens like a cheap "nifty fifty," 50mm f/1.8 lens. Hope that helps a little.

Eaglefan9727 · Nov 7, 2013

Animagic! said:
There is usually a pretty big jump in image quality when stepping up from a point and shoot to a dSLR. This is due to the sensor size. An equal megapixel count on sensors two different sizes will yield very different results. 10 MP on an APS-C sensor (the much larger sensor in the a37) will give you much nicer images on a tiny 10 MP point and shoot sensor. The size difference between a point and shoot and an APS-C sensor are pretty significant. Plus given that you're jumping from 10 MP on a P&S sensor to a 16 MP APS-C sensor I would guess that the difference will be dramatic.

I personally faced this a few years ago. I had a Canon P&S that was 12 MP and I retired it for a 14 MP NEX5. Despite the small 2MP difference, the image quality was WAY better, shockingly so. I never realized how much detail I was missing until I got an APS-C sensor. Plus the features, controls, etc. are much nicer on a dSLR.

All your photos will be nicer. You will see a drastic difference with night images, especially if you get a wide aperture lens like a cheap "nifty fifty," 50mm f/1.8 lens. Hope that helps a little.

Most of the time when I use my camera. I am shooting it for railroad related stuff which of course is moving, So that plays a big part for my next camera. As for night shooting, I rarely do any as my cybershot camera that I have right now is not that great for night shooting. However, I still wont be doing much night shooting with the new camera, But I still would like to get better quality for my night shots whenever I do night time shooting. As of right now, I am looking at 6 different cameras and I am not sure which one are the better options and which ones aren't. Here are the 6 options:

#1) Sony A3000 Interchangeable Lens Digital 20.1MP Camera with 18-55mm Lens
#2) Nikon COOLPIX L820 16 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 30x Zoom Lens and Full HD 1080p Video
#3) Nikon COOLPIX L810 16.1 MP Digital Camera with 26x Zoom NIKKOR ED Glass Lens and 3-inch LCD
#4) Canon PowerShot SX510 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 30x Optical Zoom and 1080p Full-HD Video
# 5) Canon EOS Rebel T3 12.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-55mm IS II Lens and EOS HD Movie Mode
#6) Canon PowerShot SX500 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 30x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD

Recording video is not a plus for me as I rarely do any video. I am just more concerned about better quality shots, night time shots, and moving shots. And it also has to have a zoom of more than my last camera which was 10x. I would also like to stay in the ballpark of about $250 to $350.

The pictures from johamna and fractal on this page are the type of pictures I am shooting for when it comes to detail and quality.

Animagic! · Nov 8, 2013

Eaglefan9727 said:
Most of the time when I use my camera. I am shooting it for railroad related stuff which of course is moving, So that plays a big part for my next camera. As for night shooting, I rarely do any as my cybershot camera that I have right now is not that great for night shooting. However, I still wont be doing much night shooting with the new camera, But I still would like to get better quality for my night shots whenever I do night time shooting. As of right now, I am looking at 6 different cameras and I am not sure which one are the better options and which ones aren't. Here are the 6 options:

#1) Sony A3000 Interchangeable Lens Digital 20.1MP Camera with 18-55mm Lens
#2) Nikon COOLPIX L820 16 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 30x Zoom Lens and Full HD 1080p Video
#3) Nikon COOLPIX L810 16.1 MP Digital Camera with 26x Zoom NIKKOR ED Glass Lens and 3-inch LCD
#4) Canon PowerShot SX510 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 30x Optical Zoom and 1080p Full-HD Video
# 5) Canon EOS Rebel T3 12.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-55mm IS II Lens and EOS HD Movie Mode
#6) Canon PowerShot SX500 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 30x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD

Recording video is not a plus for me as I rarely do any video. I am just more concerned about better quality shots, night time shots, and moving shots. And it also has to have a zoom of more than my last camera which was 10x. I would also like to stay in the ballpark of about $250 to $350.

The pictures from johamna and fractal on this page are the type of pictures I am shooting for when it comes to detail and quality.

Johamna shoots a Sony NEX7 a lot. If you like his pictures (who doesn't?!) then look into the Sony NEX line. My NEX5 is a great camera. As far as your list goes...

If image quality is your main focus then stick with dSLR sized sensors. The small P&S sensors will greatly reduce your image quality. Also the camera's "intelligence" is generally much better on the compact mirrorless/interchangeable lens systems and dSLRs. Cameras #2,3,4 are out. That leaves only #1 or #5. The Sony a3000 is a great idea that was terribly executed. It's dSLR-like without the useful controls and flexibility of an actual dSLR. I highly recommend ANY of the Sony E-Mount cameras EXCEPT the a3000. The Canon Rebel T3 was a nice camera when it was new. I'm sure it takes nice pictures, definitely better than your current camera. However, it is an old model. In fact I think its replacement, the T3i will be replaced soon as well. Old isn't bad, but in consumer electronics new is usually better.

All things considered I'd would say that you should look into this camera:

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-NEX-3NL-Compact-Interchangeable-Digital/dp/B00BF9MUAS/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1383886649&sr=1-2&keywords=sony+nex

It fits your budget, features a 16MP APS-C sensor, and features newer and better technology than the a37. It should be everything you are looking for in a camera.

Eaglefan9727 · Nov 8, 2013

Animagic! said:
Johamna shoots a Sony NEX7 a lot. If you like his pictures (who doesn't?!) then look into the Sony NEX line. My NEX5 is a great camera. As far as your list goes...

If image quality is your main focus then stick with dSLR sized sensors. The small P&S sensors will greatly reduce your image quality. Also the camera's "intelligence" is generally much better on the compact mirrorless/interchangeable lens systems and dSLRs. Cameras #2,3,4 are out. That leaves only #1 or #5. The Sony a3000 is a great idea that was terribly executed. It's dSLR-like without the useful controls and flexibility of an actual dSLR. I highly recommend ANY of the Sony E-Mount cameras EXCEPT the a3000. The Canon Rebel T3 was a nice camera when it was new. I'm sure it takes nice pictures, definitely better than your current camera. However, it is an old model. In fact I think its replacement, the T3i will be replaced soon as well. Old isn't bad, but in consumer electronics new is usually better.

All things considered I'd would say that you should look into this camera:

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-NEX-3NL-Compact-Interchangeable-Digital/dp/B00BF9MUAS/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1383886649&sr=1-2&keywords=sony+nex

It fits your budget, features a 16MP APS-C sensor, and features newer and better technology than the a37. It should be everything you are looking for in a camera.

The shots from Johamna are pretty much the kind of shots that I want when it comes to detail. His shots are amazing. The two major factors that I am looking for in a camera is image quality and the zoom. Thanks for eliminating some of the cameras from my list and thanks for telling me about what kind of camera Johamna uses as well. To make it much simpler for what I am looking for in my next camera. Here are 5 key things:

1) While I am willing to spend $400 to $450 for the right camera (If needed). I would rather be somewhere in the $300 to $400 price range for the camera.
2) Better quality higher resolution shots for day time and night time shots than the Cybershot Sony DSC H20 that I have right now (Unedited shots as I never edit my shots at all)
3) A zoom that is more than 10x which is on my camera that I have right now.
4) Anti-Motion Blur mode or should I say a good camera for motion shots like taking pictures of roller coasters, auto racing, and so forth.
5) Video is really NOT a big thing needed for the camera as I will shoot very little video from the camera itself.

That's pretty much the basics that I am looking for, But with the quality of pics like they are from Johamna camera.

havoc315 · Nov 8, 2013

Eaglefan9727 said:
The shots from Johamna are pretty much the kind of shots that I want when it comes to detail. His shots are amazing. The two major factors that I am looking for in a camera is image quality and the zoom. .

Pick one. Can't have both. Those cameras with 25x zoom have mediocre/poor overall image quality and bad low light performance. When talking about larger sensor cameras, like the Canon t3, the Sony Nex, the Sony a37/a55, etc -- image quality is great. But unless you want to add thousands of dollars on a lens the size of a bazooka... Like this...
http://tamron-usa.com/news/35mm/150600_A011_Nov13.asp

Most of the great shots in this thread are taken with 3x equivalent lenses. None of the shots in this thread are more than about 12x equivalent. (DSLRs measure zoom in mm, not in zoom. Very few people own lenses that are more than about 200-300mm. Which translates to about 8x-12x compared to p&s cameras).

Photo sharing: Sony Alpha

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