Nikon vs. Sony - pics of bodies

This is not a bash on the yet unknown image quality of the Sony, only the body itself. Compared to the D300, the A700 looks toyish and disjointed. IMO, the ergonomics don't compare well to the D300 either. However, I read that the battery grip is very comfortable, albeit tall.

I'm sure the Sony's image quality will be exceptional and, in the end, that's all that really matters. Moreover, I really like the rotating display when shooting in the portrait position.

I like the Sony look, although I prefer the Nikon. I think the Sony looks Kinda cool funky, the Nikon looks seductive. But beneath the skin, they are both magnesium, probably equally tough, camera bodies are very subjective.

Why do you think the A700 looks toyish?

It's functional and direct. It's also much lighter.

On the tilt on the display, that isn't new. KM had it on the 7D and 5D. And yes, it's very nice.

I also don't understand why came to your ergonomics conclusion. The 7D was basicaly the most ergonomic camera we have seen in ages. Sony modified this with the knobs being removed. Time will tell on if it was an improvement or not. I don't see why the Nikon is so great. Or rather why it would be much different. It has flaws, Nikon still puts the on/off switch around the shutter button.

I want my 2 minutes back for reading this useless post.
--
http://www.screamandfly.com

PhotoTraveler said:

I don't see why the Nikon is so great. Or
rather why it would be much different. It has flaws, Nikon still puts
the on/off switch around the shutter button.

Click to expand...

Are you being serious? On/Off switch is perfect right where it is. it's an instant turn on and shoot.

--
Peter



Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. Merton
http://www.pbase.com/pik2004

Jeffrey Anderson said:

This is not a bash on the yet unknown image quality of the Sony, only
the body itself. Compared to the D300, the A700 looks toyish and
disjointed. IMO, the ergonomics don't compare well to the D300
either. However, I read that the battery grip is very comfortable,
albeit tall.

Click to expand...

I'm curious as to how you can assess the ergonomics of a camera just by looking at photos of it. Have you used a Minolta Maxxum 7D, which is the ergonomic predecessor of the A700? I own and use a 7D and a D200 (whose ergonomics are apt to be comparable to the D300). I'll say that I consider the ergonomics of the 7D to be generally superior to that of the D200, and I wish Nikon would copy Minolta/Sony in some areas.

On my D200 I miss the groove that guides my index finger right onto the shutter release. I miss the vertically-oriented front control dial which is in a more natural position for the index finger at the shutter release. I miss the easy-to-read camera settings on the rear LCD display. I'm a bit dumbfounded that the D300 has a high-resolution rear LCD display but formats the camera settings display to look like it's using chunky LCD segments. Why??? The Sony font looks smoother AND the display is less cluttered AND it's organized well enough to include display of the ISO speed.

--
Amy
http://lovelyangel.zenfolio.com

I miss the "Super Steady Shot" button on the D300.

Turn camera on at start of day, turn of at end off day.

With nikon design you have a switch in the way that just wants to get turned off at the wrong time.

Pik2004 said:

Pik2004 said:

I don't see why the Nikon is so great. Or
rather why it would be much different. It has flaws, Nikon still puts
the on/off switch around the shutter button.

Click to expand...

Are you being serious? On/Off switch is perfect right where it is.
it's an instant turn on and shoot.

--
Peter

Click to expand...

Amen to that!

Thor

Have you actually tried a Nikon power switch, and accidently turned it off at any time?

Daniel Roos said:

Have you actually tried a Nikon power switch, and accidently turned
it off at any time?

Click to expand...

I use Pentax, which has the same switch as Nikon, and never have I accidently turned the camera off

Never had that happen to me, ever. I will say though, that with Nikon's design I am able to grab the camera with one hand and flip it on instantly, should the need arise.

PhotoTraveler said:

With nikon design you have a switch in the way that just wants to get
turned off at the wrong time.

Click to expand...

--
http://www.screamandfly.com

I own both a 7D and a D200, and I've already ordered an a700 and I've never even thought of any of this stuff before (ignoring that crack about the SSS switch!).

Frankly the D200 feels better in my hands than the 7D, although both blow away anything Canon has ever made in this regard. The 7D, though, is easier for me to use. Holding down the "Qual" button, for example, while rotating a control dial and trying to see what is happening with the tiny lettering on the top LCD screen is a challenge for someone as vision challenged as me. But I've gotten used to it. IT certainly had nothing to do with ordering the Sony instead of the D300.

I know I couldn't care less which side the power switch is on. I've turned my D200 off when I shouldn't have, but never by accident.

I'll miss Nikon's two button card format solution, which is elegant. It's so much easier than digging into a menu to find the format command. And why Sony doesn't indicate ISO in the viewfinder is a mystery to me. [Of course having it there hasn't stopped me from screwing up a bunch of shots with incorrect ISO, but at least I can't blame the camera.]

LovelyAngel said:

Jeffrey Anderson said:

This is not a bash on the yet unknown image quality of the Sony, only
the body itself. Compared to the D300, the A700 looks toyish and
disjointed. IMO, the ergonomics don't compare well to the D300
either. However, I read that the battery grip is very comfortable,
albeit tall.

Click to expand...

I'm curious as to how you can assess the ergonomics of a camera just
by looking at photos of it. Have you used a Minolta Maxxum 7D, which
is the ergonomic predecessor of the A700? I own and use a 7D and a
D200 (whose ergonomics are apt to be comparable to the D300). I'll
say that I consider the ergonomics of the 7D to be generally superior
to that of the D200, and I wish Nikon would copy Minolta/Sony in some
areas.

On my D200 I miss the groove that guides my index finger right onto
the shutter release. I miss the vertically-oriented front control
dial which is in a more natural position for the index finger at the
shutter release. I miss the easy-to-read camera settings on the rear
LCD display. I'm a bit dumbfounded that the D300 has a
high-resolution rear LCD display but formats the camera settings
display to look like it's using chunky LCD segments. Why??? The
Sony font looks smoother AND the display is less cluttered AND it's
organized well enough to include display of the ISO speed.

Click to expand...

And it's a massive monstrocity!!!! It looks like it was designed by the same committee that started out to design a horse and created a camel!

That with no top LCD display and only using the 3 inch display at the rear will throw out so much light in a dark environment it's not funny. Being able to turn off and not use the rear LCD on a D100/D200/D300 is a blessing. If I was to use that Sony I would be blinded by the light at times just trying to change simple settings without using that 3inch LCD.

Yes you might probably be able to turn the brightness down, but still, how cheap is that not to have a simple display on top of the camera.

That soft green glow from the small LCD is all that is needed at night. Where is it??? That 3 inch LCD even dimmed can and will ruin your night vision at times whilst shooting available light at night. Thank god Nikon isn't as silly and cheap as to not include it.

It is said D300 is using a Sony CMOS, are we talking about the same CMOS in A700 and D300?

nnay07 said:

It is said D300 is using a Sony CMOS, are we talking about the same
CMOS in A700 and D300?

Click to expand...

Nobody knows for certain.

If they share some parts, then so what? We can't deduce anything from that even if it was a fact. We can only assume.

PS: I was personally disgusted at the official low ISO images from the new Sony. I truly hope they're not the same sensor in any way or just that Sony's messing it up and we won't see anything like that with D300...

--
regards
Janne Mankila, Finland

2.9.07
My thoughts on The Bourne Ultimatum and
ending credits by the allmighty Moby at:
http://jannemankila.googlepages.com

J Mankila said:

PS: I was personally disgusted at the official low ISO images from
the new Sony. I truly hope they're not the same sensor in any way or
just that Sony's messing it up and we won't see anything like that
with D300...

Click to expand...

I will keep my fingers crossed. I find kind of relevant that while borh D3 and D300 were presented at the same time, saying they were sharing many characteristics/features, only D3 pictures have been spread around. Then everything is ready so that people think they will get same kind of quality on D300 as on D3. D3 seems really breaking through, refering to high ISO picture quality and everyone seems to be expecting the same thing on D300.
Let's see how many of us end up disapointed with D300 shots...

Hopefully I am wrong...

timslights said:

And it's a massive monstrocity!!!! It looks like it was designed by
the same committee that started out to design a horse and created a
camel!

Click to expand...

I don't know about the A700 being a massive monstrosity. The D300 is physically larger, heavier, and more massive than the A700. I imagine to owners of sleek point-and-shoot cameras all DSLRs look like huge, misshapen, button-riddled monstrosities. But, again, I don't know how looking at a picture of the shape and placement of controls is a solid indication of the ergonomics of a camera. It seems to me that one needs to use the camera to make a judgment. This is my issue with the OP, who proposed the A700 ergonomics were worse than those of the D300. Something that looks ugly might just be the best, most natural thing in your hand.

timslights said:

That with no top LCD display and only using the 3 inch display at the
rear will throw out so much light in a dark environment it's not
funny. Being able to turn off and not use the rear LCD on a
D100/D200/D300 is a blessing...

Click to expand...

I can understand that some people really need the top LCD, particularly in certain situations, and that's fine. For the shooting situations I'm typically in, the back LCD display has never been a problem and in fact was often most appreciated. The lack of a top LCD was not an issue for me. Except for ISO and WB, with the Maxxum 7D I could adjust everything while looking through the viewfinder.

As long as the D300 does have an info display option for the rear LCD, I merely wish it were as well done as the A700's. Nikon still has a chance to upgrade their firmware.

I wish Sony had kept the exposure compensation knob. I would much rather have had that than the modes knob. I don't know if the buttons Sony put on the top of the camera are a good idea ergonomically. Again, one needs to use the camera to assess that, I think. I do have the suspicion that ergonomics are taking a step backwards under Sony. Still, Sony and Nikon are far ahead of Canon in the realm of ergonomics. I was very dissatisfied holding and using the Canon 30D.

--
Amy
http://lovelyangel.zenfolio.com

LovelyAngel said:

I'm a bit dumbfounded that the D300 has a
high-resolution rear LCD display but formats the camera settings
display to look like it's using chunky LCD segments. Why??? The
Sony font looks smoother

Click to expand...

I know what you're saying but I actually think it was brilliant to have the LCD mimic the segmented LCD font. Yes, if you were choosing a font to give a presentation in, you'd use the smoothest, anti-aliased font you could find. But as far as what the Nikon photog is used to seeing, his brain would (or mine would) recognize the LCD segmented font just a bit faster. It's a small detail but I think I really like their implementation. Of course, the D40 has user selectable rear display options so I would not be surprised of the D300 did, too. Arguing for the one "Best" option is fine, but giving the user the option is always better.

The D300 is bigger than the A700.

And I hope you realize the rear screen on the A700 turns off. It's only on when you tap the shutter button and comes one for how ever long you have it set to run. And it turns off soon as you move your face near it.