Looking for feedback on Sony A200/300 that are on 'sale'

[Paul_Smith]

I’m looking to buy a DSLR and have narrowed it down to a Sony Sony A300(the A200 with live view) or Canon 450d, the former is about to be reduced to £299.99 to clear stock for the new A330 naturally the price of the A300 has tempted me, which would mean that instead of one £550.00 camera I could treat my girlfriend to one as well, who like me is loves taking pictures and would love to try a DSLR.

My only reservation with Sony A200/300 V Canon 450d was that some have commented that ‘noise’ was more of an issue over ISO 800, although considering I will mainly be using it for Cycle Touring and Scenic views then I assume it will not effect us that much?

I was wondering if anyone had any feedback on the A300 or even A200, the comparison seems to vary between Sony and the Canon and to be honest I am more confused than ever before! Part of me thinks that the Canon is not worth the extra, I am more concerned about picture quality between Sony V Canon than features like ‘Live View’, although at £299.99 I am happy to have it of course as on occasion it may be of use.

Paul_Smith

[kyler]

I can't comment on the A300, but I can on the A350 which is essentially the same camera with a 14.2mp CCD rather than a 10.2mp CCD which the A300 has.

I have absolutely no complaints at all about the Sony, the controls and menu in my opinion are all in the right place and easy to navigate. The noise is something I can't understand, many have mentioned it about all the beginner Sony DSLR's, but I have taken pictures up to 1600 and they have been completely fine, the onboard noise reduction software seems to do it's job well.

The Sony also has the tiltable 2.7 inch screen which you won't believe how often you will use it and how handy it is to have. The live view autofocus has never let me down, most pictures I take I use it due to using it on a tripod most of the time for landscape photo's. The only slight criticism I have is the view finder, which is pretty small and only has 95% coverage of the frame.

I think the biggest advantage from any Sony DSLR is the in-camera stabilization, meaning you don't have to fork out larger sums of money for a stabilized lens.

A friend of mine has the 400d Canon and has always been a bit envious of my A350, due to the ease of use and the quality of the photo's.

I'm sure if there are any other question someone with much more knowledge than myself can help you out.

Kyle

[Steve52]

I also have the A350, which I upgraded from the A100. I've not used the A200 or the Canon, so cannot comment on either. However, fully agree with Kyler.

If you want to see pictures taken with the A350, check out my flickr site. Got my A350 (body only) here.

Steve.

[DaveG40]

Have you actually tried both cameras?, only Jessops do the A300 on the high street and they should also have a 450d in their nice display cases

I have a A300 and personally think it's better than the A200 and A350 (see my reasons in WDC reviews).

If both camera's feel comfortable in your hands then the choice is a little harder, both have their brownie points (tiltable lcd, cheaper price, higher resolution, faster burst rate etc) and I'm far from being a Canon fan (never owned a Canon yet), but i would say the 450d shades it, my mate loves his 450d & even though we Alpha'ites have access to minolta lenses, the Canon lens catalogue is slightly impressive.

Ref iso I regularly shoot at iso 800 with no problems at all, Alpha's do have a noise issue but unless you shoot a lot in low light it's not really a problem, programs like noise ninja etc can help if it does become a problem, getting a faster lens e.g a prime lens can also help.

[kyler]

Have to agree with Dave about the lenses, the Canon really does have an impressive catalogue of them and as for 3rd party lenses, they more often than not, come out earlier for Canon and Nikon users than Sony.

If you are a current Sony user, ie. have Sony digicam or camcorder with Memorystick Pro's, it's a little cheaper too, you can buy the Memorystick Pro adaptor for about £35 and can use all your cards in your DSLR, saving you the extra cost of buying GB's of CF cards.

[Roger_Provins]

.... the Canon really does have an impressive catalogue of them and as for 3rd party lenses, they more often than not, come out earlier for Canon and Nikon users than Sony.

... and yet among Sony's smaller catalogue of lenses there are a couple you just can't get for any other make. How about an autofocus 500mm reflex (mirror) lens or ultimate bokeh with the Sony 135mm STF.


... and then, of course, there's the Carl Zeiss autofocus lenses ...

[john39]

I bought a Sony A200 from amazon for £245 couple of weeks ago, mainly because I have Minolta Lenses that will work on autofocus and Image stability, very pleased so far., son`s girlfriend has canon 400D and is struggling to afford other lenses at reasonable cost. With A230 due A200 is now a bargain as it seems as if Sony have a policy of clearing out old stock then supplying new so no competition for new from old stock _or am I just old and cynical- ok I`ll admit to old. my advice(for what it is),if you see a good deal take it , check out used lens prices though

[LargeFormat]

.... the Canon really does have an impressive catalogue of them and as for 3rd party lenses, they more often than not, come out earlier for Canon and Nikon users than Sony.

... and yet among Sony's smaller catalogue of lenses there are a couple you just can't get for any other make. How about an autofocus 500mm reflex (mirror) lens or ultimate bokeh with the Sony 135mm STF.


... and then, of course, there's the Carl Zeiss autofocus lenses ...

Indeed. And as far as I can see the only area where Nikon/Canon have lenses that aren't available for Sony is with their £2,500+ perspective control lenses. Is that a problem?

[RonM]

.... the Canon really does have an impressive catalogue of them and as for 3rd party lenses, they more often than not, come out earlier for Canon and Nikon users than Sony.

... and yet among Sony's smaller catalogue of lenses there are a couple you just can't get for any other make. How about an autofocus 500mm reflex (mirror) lens or ultimate bokeh with the Sony 135mm STF.

The 135 STF lens is indeed a stunning piece of glass and on the A900 is something special, here is a sample of what it can do, that I got at the weekend




for information the distance between the flower and the hedge behind <1 metre

[Dorset_Mike]

And as far as I can see the only area where Nikon/Canon have lenses that aren't available for Sony is with their £2,500+ perspective control lenses. Is that a problem?

No need to pay that much, nor be limited to Canikon,

see here

[LargeFormat]

And as far as I can see the only area where Nikon/Canon have lenses that aren't available for Sony is with their £2,500+ perspective control lenses. Is that a problem?

No need to pay that much, nor be limited to Canikon,

see here

Thanks for that. Does anyone have experience of them?