totemjoe
Senior Member
Great camera with fabulous IQ! I'd buy another in a New York minute!
--
Joel
Anacortes,WA
'Quantity has a Quality all of it's own.....'
--
Joel
Anacortes,WA
'Quantity has a Quality all of it's own.....'
-
Welcome to the new forums! Please read this first. For known issues we are working to resolve, click here.
T. L. Rutter
Senior Member
There's other brands out there putting out quality cameras that we don't have to worry about Sony anymore. The market is in our favor, we have so many to choose from.
That being said, it is sad when a series from Sony ends it's life.
Remember the S75? Awesome camera. Only complaint was the shutter lag. When it came time for me to upgrade from the S75, I was saddened to realize that series had ended. I moved on to the P200.
And yes, remember the P200? The little camera that could produce awesome pictures. The P200 is still the most popular Sony camera on flickr. They could have fixed the dust issue. I loved that camera as it produced awesome pictures. The only problem was at concerts. The pictures came out poorly.
One day the H Series will be dead and gone and Sony may not sell those anymore. With cameras offering 13, 14 and greater megapixel and the optical zoom at 5x, the need for a consumer p&s ultra-zoom may not be warranted in Sony's eyes.
The F Series was an awesome camera as is the R Series. Technology and management changes so quickly, it's hard to have faith that something will be there for us in the future. Same as with cars. The Ford Taurus, Ford Escort, Ford Thunderbird. Remember the Chevy Camero?
I applaud you for wanting a V-5 and hope one day you will get it, but please don't close your eyes to other brands. If Sony won't produce the V Series anymore, there's other cameras that will give you the performance you need, at the quality you can expect.
One thing that keeps my a Sony loyalist is the expense of accessories, such as batteries and memory sticks. Investing in another brand means keeping a seperate charger, having different batteries that can't be interchanged from one camera to the other.
My wife has a Sony W Series that takes the same memory stick and battery as my H50 so if I go on a long outing, I can borrow her battery. Right now, that saves me $50 in expense. I have three memory sticks at 4gb each. If I invest in another camera, it would make more sense to stick with Sony unless I want to go to the added accessory expense and Sony knows this. This is why you probably don't want to veer away from Sony, too.
Good luck with your petition and I hope that you do get your V-5, and if not, then in another camera whether it's Sony, Panasonic, or another brand.
That being said, it is sad when a series from Sony ends it's life.
Remember the S75? Awesome camera. Only complaint was the shutter lag. When it came time for me to upgrade from the S75, I was saddened to realize that series had ended. I moved on to the P200.
And yes, remember the P200? The little camera that could produce awesome pictures. The P200 is still the most popular Sony camera on flickr. They could have fixed the dust issue. I loved that camera as it produced awesome pictures. The only problem was at concerts. The pictures came out poorly.
One day the H Series will be dead and gone and Sony may not sell those anymore. With cameras offering 13, 14 and greater megapixel and the optical zoom at 5x, the need for a consumer p&s ultra-zoom may not be warranted in Sony's eyes.
The F Series was an awesome camera as is the R Series. Technology and management changes so quickly, it's hard to have faith that something will be there for us in the future. Same as with cars. The Ford Taurus, Ford Escort, Ford Thunderbird. Remember the Chevy Camero?
I applaud you for wanting a V-5 and hope one day you will get it, but please don't close your eyes to other brands. If Sony won't produce the V Series anymore, there's other cameras that will give you the performance you need, at the quality you can expect.
One thing that keeps my a Sony loyalist is the expense of accessories, such as batteries and memory sticks. Investing in another brand means keeping a seperate charger, having different batteries that can't be interchanged from one camera to the other.
My wife has a Sony W Series that takes the same memory stick and battery as my H50 so if I go on a long outing, I can borrow her battery. Right now, that saves me $50 in expense. I have three memory sticks at 4gb each. If I invest in another camera, it would make more sense to stick with Sony unless I want to go to the added accessory expense and Sony knows this. This is why you probably don't want to veer away from Sony, too.
Good luck with your petition and I hope that you do get your V-5, and if not, then in another camera whether it's Sony, Panasonic, or another brand.
T. L. Rutter
Senior Member
Minute??????
I thought NY counted in seconds!!!! Glad to hear they are slowing down these days!
Mr Wolffia
New member
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 0
I would buy a V-3 upgrade with the enhancements listed in the proposed V-5 blog without hesitation. Sony has made some outstanding cameras during the past few years, and the V-3 is one of them. For me, the biggest drawback was its low resolution LCD. For image quality I would match my V-3 against my Nikon SLR. As a biologist, I prefer to use a high quality point-and-shoot camera, such as the V-3, on a microscope.
Although this is a little off the subject, I must also praise the Sony T-9 and T-10 for macrophotography. I do a lot of close-up photography, and my T-cameras are practically as good as my Nikon SLR with a macro lens. In addition, they can be carried on a belt like a cell phone. For example, they are absolutely amazing little cameras for photographing spiders in their webs at night! At least ten of my SLR colleagues have purchased T-9s and T-10s when they saw my images. In fact, I was so impressed with these little cameras that I dedicated a web page to them at the following link.
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/felicia1.htm
Although this is a little off the subject, I must also praise the Sony T-9 and T-10 for macrophotography. I do a lot of close-up photography, and my T-cameras are practically as good as my Nikon SLR with a macro lens. In addition, they can be carried on a belt like a cell phone. For example, they are absolutely amazing little cameras for photographing spiders in their webs at night! At least ten of my SLR colleagues have purchased T-9s and T-10s when they saw my images. In fact, I was so impressed with these little cameras that I dedicated a web page to them at the following link.
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/felicia1.htm
C
cgarrard
Guest
Never. In fact I got a Ricoh GX200. Still want a V5. The purpose of the petition is to remind Sony they shouldn't abandon this market, that there are plenty of buyers who will add one to a DSLR kit, and not buy in lieu of.
-C
--
This is my signature line, there are many like it but this one is mine.
C
cgarrard
Guest
Interesting on the comparison between the V3 and Nikon SLR, which may I ask?
Carl
--
This is my signature line, there are many like it but this one is mine.
Carl
--
This is my signature line, there are many like it but this one is mine.
Two Truths
Veteran Member
My V3 has taken a smiting and has survived! There are very few cameras with better build quality, in my opinion.
--
Stuart / the Two Truths
http://www.flickr.com/photos/two_truths/
http://two-truths.deviantart.com/gallery/
--
Stuart / the Two Truths
http://www.flickr.com/photos/two_truths/
http://two-truths.deviantart.com/gallery/
C
cgarrard
Guest
Ill go with you on that 
--
This is my signature line, there are many like it but this one is mine.
--
This is my signature line, there are many like it but this one is mine.
M
mschf
Guest
But I wasn't talking about just one single previous model, rather the current models in general. The V3 was well built, so was the 828 which was on the market at around the same time. As much as I love my R1, I have to say that it also marked the start of cost-cutting for Sony, from high end to low end, mostly in materials and fit & finish. The body, while utilizing high-quality plastics, isn't as solid as the F-series was. The lens barrel, while the optics themselves are superb, is also made of plastic. The 828's barrel was metal. Some may say that high quality plastics are as good/superior to various metals, but I disagree. And metal components never creaked or bent themselves out of shape for me after a few years of use in hot or cold climates.
Point me to one current Sony p&s or dSLR that exceeds in build quality vs. the likes of many/most of Panasonic's cameras in the same/similar class. As for Ricoh, I don't think even one of their models has just an average build.
So while I wouldn't mind if Sony build a more serious non-dSLR again, it's not because I'm rooting for the brand but rather rooting for more choice among brands. Their strategy, to me anyways, looks like they're not about to start focusing on quality again... there's too much profit to be had by building cheap gear and aiming for the less-demanding-more-megapixels mass consumer market. That's ok, the other brands give us enough choice as it is without needing yet one more brand's me-too model... so ultimately, I don't really care if Sony builds it or not.
I will not buy any photographic product made by Sony at this time nor for the foreseeable future (unless I can find an R1 as a backup)... there's simply & consistently better offerings out there from competing brands (who I believe are also more in sync with the concept of photography and what a camera/system is all about).
This is just my personal view, if a Sony product fits someone's needs then that's great, go take some photos and enjoy the gear. It's these go-Sony-go posts that pop up now and then (usually by the same group of users) that's ridiculous, in this case a call for a petition to build a camera that 2 or 3 other manufacturers are already building. If a "V5" type camera is out there, for god's sake man, go out and buy it.
--
~ Martin
http://www.mpolanic.com
Two Truths
Veteran Member
The Alpha 100 had pretty average build quality, nothing like that of the V3. I have used a R1 and the poor build quality was one of a few reasons why I never bought one (the others included it's poor AF in low-light and it's slow frame rate).
However, the Alpha 700's build quality is pretty good...
In terms of weatheresealing; it is not as tightly sealed as a few cameras (such as the Pentax K20D, Nikon D300 or the Olympus E-3) but for unless you are planning on shooting in some really extreme conditions then it does just fine.
I was shooting at a festival where the weather took a turn for the worst and we were not prepared for the downpour that thus followed. We had three cameras die (Canon 5D, Canon 350D, and KM 7D) plus two Nikon flashes. Neither of the Sony Alpha 700s died nor did either of our Sony flashes.
In terms of ergonomics it holds it's own against most dSLRs...
I would not say it's on-body controls are as efficient to use as the KM 7D's controls but it is certainly better designed than the Canon 40D. The faults in the on-body control design are only minor and Sony has already shown (with it's newer mockups for the flagship) that it intends to correct some of those mistakes in future bodies.
The quality of controls on the camera is top notch. The shutter button is better than on other similar dSLRs, with a tactile soft-touch mechanism, which is a big deal for low-light photography. The joystick is also of higher quality as are all of the other buttons and controls.
Sony built this camera like a tank and included the shutter and mirror mechanism in that, both of which they totally re-designed in order to minimise noise and vibrations. They revamped the AF sensor and screwdrive motor, allowing fast and accurate focus with all Alpha-mount lenses. Sony also thought to include an AF assist beam, a rarity amongst current dSLRs.
The on-body controls are exceeded by the "QuickNavi" user interface, itself boosted by Sony's 640x480x3 LCD screen. The presence of a % battery display is a welcome reminder that this is a Sony camera. Finally; the ergonomics of the vertical grip are unmatched, my only gripe would be that it does not allow for a third battery. No other dSLR comes with an infrared remote control in the box.
In terms of toughness; the camera is excellent, Sony used both magnesium and aluminium alloys for their strength and lightness. It feels sturdy and takes the weight of my Zeiss 135mm F1.8 lens well, all 1kg of it. The 135mm F1.8 ZA lens is itself a beast, which I think is fair to mention. It dwarfs the Canon 135mm F2.0, which has a plastic build against the Zeiss's magnesium alloy.
I think that most users of the Alpha 700 would agree that this was on a par with the F828 and V3. It deserves it's own mention as one of Sony's great camera designs.
--
Stuart / the Two Truths
http://www.flickr.com/photos/two_truths/
http://two-truths.deviantart.com/gallery/
Mr Wolffia
New member
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 0
I should have been more specific when comparing my V-3 with a Nikon. I was actually comparing scenery shots taken with my V-3 (ISO 100) to similar shots taken with a Nikon D-40x with the 18-55mm kit lens at ISO 100. I was very impressed with the quality of the V-3 lens at lower ISO settings. Of course, at ISO 800 or higher, the Nikon is superior.
C
cgarrard
Guest
C
cgarrard
Guest
Yep I agree, A700 is in the top 3 best built Sony's of all time.
Carl
--
http://www.carlgarrardphotography.com
Carl
--
http://www.carlgarrardphotography.com
hobo
Leading Member
Yeah!
I have V3, Oly E-500, and Pana Lumix LZ7. I use them all reagularly enough.
V3 is the oldest - and probably still the most valuable. The only issue is the proprietary battery, I would now prefer something more standard.
Long live V3, welcome V5! I am sure that Sony can do it technically perfect. Just do it.
I have V3, Oly E-500, and Pana Lumix LZ7. I use them all reagularly enough.
V3 is the oldest - and probably still the most valuable. The only issue is the proprietary battery, I would now prefer something more standard.
Long live V3, welcome V5! I am sure that Sony can do it technically perfect. Just do it.
so long as it still had an OVF, if they put an APS sensor I'd be happy for a 35mm equivalent lens as long as it was at least f2. Then give us some wider and telephoto conversion lenses. Oh and keep the hologram AF - it was the fastest focusing compact in dim light outside of a DSLR I have ever experienced.
--
Shoot the Light fantastic
--
Shoot the Light fantastic
C
cgarrard
Guest
No problem, if we can just get a enough sign ups I already have talked to Sony about this and can forward it to them.
I think the V3 is a camera they will need convincing to do again. With the compact segment doing as well as it is with Sony, now would be the time to convince them.
C
--
http://www.carlgarrardphotography.com
I think the V3 is a camera they will need convincing to do again. With the compact segment doing as well as it is with Sony, now would be the time to convince them.
C
--
http://www.carlgarrardphotography.com
C
cgarrard
Guest
Don't know if it'd get an aps sensor, if it did, the lens would be quite large especially if you wanted wide angle at all.
The 2/3" sensor might be an option which would be an improvement over the current design.
The hologram AF was banned in some countries giving international sales a problem. Its a pity too since it was probably the best design ever.
The AF Assist on the new Sony DSLRS like the A700 would make an excellent alternative however.
C
--
http://www.carlgarrardphotography.com
The 2/3" sensor might be an option which would be an improvement over the current design.
The hologram AF was banned in some countries giving international sales a problem. Its a pity too since it was probably the best design ever.
The AF Assist on the new Sony DSLRS like the A700 would make an excellent alternative however.
C
--
http://www.carlgarrardphotography.com
Shiuming Lai
Senior Member
The T700 is to have a new "Xtrafine" LCD, basically it sounds like the Alpha 700's 3" VGA resolution screen which is stunning. Sony professional HD camcorders also have "Xtrafine" EVFs with approximately VGA resolution (I seem to recall it is around 800 pixels in the horizontal). I can't wait to have a look at the T700 and would love to have that screen on a V series type advanced compact.
hobo
Leading Member
Any (good) news here?