A1 690$ or A200 830$, which one should I choose?

I've been looking at the A200 and some other cameras but now I found a store that sells the A1 for 690$ which is a much better price than the A200. It seems to have the things I like about the A200 but I'm still not quite sure if it's the right camera for me. I really like the possibillity to use a manual focus ring so that has to be easy to use on both cameras. Well here's some questions I have about the two cameras:

• Is the auto focus system working better on the A1 than on the A200? I've heard that the A200 can be quite frustrating to use when it's on auto focus mode.

• Which one is best for taking night photos?

• Which one do you think I should buy?

Hope you can help me!

Username_999 said:

I've been looking at the A200 and some other cameras but now I found a store that sells the A1 for 690$ which is a much better price than the A200. It seems to have the things I like about the A200 but I'm still not quite sure if it's the right camera for me. I really like the possibillity to use a manual focus ring so that has to be easy to use on both cameras. Well here's some questions I have about the two cameras:

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i would be curious if you can get the A1 at all as New with full warranty ... but the going price is more like $500 for it.

Username_999 said:

• Is the auto focus system working better on the A1 than on the A200? I've heard that the A200 can be quite frustrating to use when it's on auto focus mode.

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i haven't heard of any significant differences.

Username_999 said:

• Which one is best for taking night photos?

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The A1 should be about a stop better due to the larger pixels.

Username_999 said:

• Which one do you think I should buy?

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i think the A1 will become a 'classic' and thus hold value for a long time. The A200 will be a lacunae of little interest to the future: fully eclipsed by the A2. The A1 is 'Minolta's Last Camera' the first camera with image stabilization and the best performing low light digicam yet.
--
http://public.xdi.org/=greg.heil

The A1 is a marvelous camera. I've had mine for over a year now, and there is almost nothing I dislike about the camera.

For night photography, no small-sensor camera is going to match the performance of a DSLR or a film SLR with a good fast film. If you can live with a moderate amount of noise (or with the loss of fine detail that a noise suppression program provides), you'll find ISO 400 quite usable. ISO 800 is very noisy. I do newspaper photography, and use 400 all the time, but if you're planning to produce 8x10 prints, you're probably not going to be happy with what you get from ISO 400.

You should be able to find the A1 for a lot less than $690; for example here is a link to an eBay seller with a very high rating that has the camera plus the 3600 flash for $599:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48540&item=7514153586&rd=1

--
Stu

Incidentally, if you're considering an Ax camera, you should check out the very detailed FAQ on the A1 and A2.

http://www.pbase.com/mtf_foto_studies/mtf_faq

--
Stu

Even better than that- the A1 has consistently been reported to have an underrated sensitivity. So, your ISO 100 is really close to ISO 160. ISO 200 is 320, and so on. Short of a DSLR, this is your choice for low light. ('cept maybe the new fuji F10)

stubloom said:

The A1 is a marvelous camera. I've had mine for over a year now,
and there is almost nothing I dislike about the camera.

For night photography, no small-sensor camera is going to match the
performance of a DSLR or a film SLR with a good fast film. If you
can live with a moderate amount of noise (or with the loss of fine
detail that a noise suppression program provides), you'll find ISO
400 quite usable. ISO 800 is very noisy. I do newspaper
photography, and use 400 all the time, but if you're planning to
produce 8x10 prints, you're probably not going to be happy with
what you get from ISO 400.

You should be able to find the A1 for a lot less than $690; for
example here is a link to an eBay seller with a very high rating
that has the camera plus the 3600 flash for $599:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48540&item=7514153586&rd=1

--
Stu

Click to expand...

The A1 uses a 5MP sensor and the A2/A200 an 8MP sensor. This could account for part of the price difference.

Personally I prefer the ergonomics of the A200.

i see on the web that you can get new a200 for as low as $515 from decent stores.
check out http://www.bizrate.com and search the a200

If you want to make a buying decision after comparing the imaging capabality of different cameras at different ISO's, focal length etc then go to
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM

--
Mike Sydney Australia

I got my A200 for around USD900 but it came with

1) A200 camera and standard package which include the hood, one bettery, strap, charger, remote control, two CDs and two manuals

2) one pc of 1G memory card

3) one mini tripod

4) one standard big tripod

4) one standard size KM camera bag (for long trip)

5) one KM small camera pouch (for short trip)

I think that is a fair good price!

One thing be aware of is there is a compatible Nikon battery for KM A200 but with lower current. The price is cheaper but it does not last as long as original KM A200 battery. Avoid this if possible. The original KM battery lasts at least 20% more !

Choose what you what and be happy with what you choose. What other people have should not determine what you need!

Cheers

CY

cytan said:

One thing be aware of is there is a compatible Nikon battery for KM
A200 but with lower current. The price is cheaper but it does not
last as long as original KM A200 battery. Avoid this if possible.
The original KM battery lasts at least 20% more !

Click to expand...

This may be true in some situations, but I believe that this (see link below) battery is the same size as the original KM battery at a considerable less price. I bought five of these as back up batteries for the A-200 and they were shipped promptly, cheap shipping too. I can shoot all day without recharging a battery. "IF" they don't last quite as long, the savings on battery price is still worth it. The original KM battery isn't particularly long lasting anyway. I did find that the first use didn't last as long, but after they are re-charged a couple of times it gets better. I'm satisfied and I am considering buying some more batteries off this seller for my other cameras. And........I have no affiliation with him. He is just the one I bought from and I'm sure others have similar batteries they have bought from other sellers on EBAY with equally good experiences. I bought extra batteries for my Canon camera over the years and only once did I get a battery that only lasted for a few charges. I bought the Canon batteries from various sellers.
.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7505790321&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOTB:US:202