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Which Sony SLR ?

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ianeverton

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I am new to SLR cameras and trying to decide which SLR to buy, I have narrowed it down to the Alpha A200 or A300 ( http://www.jessops.com/online.store/Products/Search.html?categoryId=481 ) which as you can see are approx the same price at Jessops.

Can anybody help please ?

With only £10 difference between the two cameras at Jessops is there something missing from the A300 that as newbie I am missing ?

Many thanks in advance.

Ian
 
Basically the A200 has a good viewfinder but no live view mode and the A300 has good live view but a poor viewfinder. Otherwise they are quite similar.

So you have to ask yourself if you are an "old school" photographer who likes to use a viewfinder or not.

BTW the A200 can be found for £260 at other shops: http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/prod609.html
 
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Many thanks, however I am a complete novice and so don't really know the difference between "a good viewfinder but no live view mode and the A300 has good live view but a poor viewfinder" could I be a real pain and ask you to explain please......

I hae only really ever used a compact digital camera and so I am only used to using the lcd screen to capture pics.

Many thanks for all your help in advance.

Ian
 
ianeverton said:
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Many thanks, however I am a complete novice and so don't really know
the difference between "a good viewfinder but no live view mode and
the A300 has good live view but a poor viewfinder" could I be a real
pain and ask you to explain please......

I hae only really ever used a compact digital camera and so I am only
used to using the lcd screen to capture pics.
Click to expand...
The viewfinder is the little thing you look through when you take a picture and liveview is where you look at the LCD to take the picture just like on your compact. I would suggest looking through the viewfinder of both to see if the smaller A300's viewfinder is okay with you. You may be used to using the lcd to capture pictures now, but I think as you use the camera more and more, you'll use the viewfinder much more often than the LCD because focusing will be faster and you can't really use the lcd in daylight.
 
The A200 has an LCD screen for reviewing photos, setting camera settings, etc, but not to see the live image. If you use the viewfinder more, get the A200, if you like to see your image on a big screen, use A300. Also if you don't wear glasses you can get a magnification eyepiece for the A300 so its viewfinder looks a little more bigger and usable (of course this would also make the A200's viewfinder larger too if you so chose).
 
--So looks like the A300 is the way forward....

Just out of interest for the money, approx £300 for the A300, is that the best on the market ?
 
The best bit on the jessups site is you can have the A300 for the same price with or without the kits lens.... please give a reason why you would not have it, even if you sold it on ebays for £10 its still worth having.
 
ianeverton said:
--So looks like the A300 is the way forward....

Just out of interest for the money, approx £300 for the A300, is that
the best on the market ?
Click to expand...
The A300 is exclusive to Jessops in the UK so it is the best on the market :) However at £300 it is a good deal.
 
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Thanks for all your help guys.

Just out of interest are there any extras that you would recommend whilst I am purchasing my A300, apart from memory that is ?

Cheers
 
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They've got an accessory sale at the moment - so see if you can cadge a bag out of them. Do not buy the memory from Jessops - much, much cheaper online.
 
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I have just been reading some reviews about the A300 and the two bad points seem to be use of a CF memory card and lack of available lenses, are these really problems or people being a little picky ?

Especially for the price of the camera...
 
ianeverton said:
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I have just been reading some reviews about the A300 and the two bad
points seem to be use of a CF memory card and lack of available
lenses, are these really problems or people being a little picky ?

Especially for the price of the camera...
Click to expand...
picky people.

The use of CF cards is quite common in DSLRs. Something like a 4GB Sandisk Ultra 2 will do fine:

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_6&products_id=101188

There are plenty of Sony lenses to choose from plus ones from Sigma and Tamron. Checkout Ebay for 2nd hand Minolta AF lens.
 
i live in the US that Jessops deal is amazing, like $100 cheaper than any store online that sells the A300. Checked all over their site, would they ship to the US?
 
thewalrusking said:
i live in the US that Jessops deal is amazing, like $100 cheaper than
any store online that sells the A300. Checked all over their site,
would they ship to the US?
Click to expand...
It's not a service they generally offer but you could try asking via the contact us page. Don't forget the price includes the UK 15% sales tax.
 
Which means, if they handle it correctly and send it over in the US, the price should be further reduced by 15% for the US buyer. Which means 299 - 44 (15%) = 255 bristish pounds, which equals to around $420 for a A300 with kit lens. Even if shipping would be $100, it'd still be a steal to order from there and ship it into the USA.
Stephen Carpenter said:
thewalrusking wrote:
Don't forget the price includes the UK 15% sales
tax.
Click to expand...
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Sony DSC-H50 P&S
Olympus E-510 w/ dual kit lenses 14-42mm and 40-150mm
Olympus E-620 dual kit lenses and 70-300mm
 
Personally I would prefer the better viewfinder, as far as live view I don't care for it because of the fact that you have a REAL viewfinder, as mentioned already, the live view would be of very little use in daylight.
You can still view your pics after you take them but not before.

Again as it's been mentioned, as you use the camera more and more you will rely on your viewfinder rather than live view, this is the beauty of DSLR's.

If you find little difference between the viewfinders on either camera than get the one that feels the best to you.

Joe
 
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