Info on Sony DSLRs

If you go with Sony go with A55 or A33 if you have lesser budget (see DPR review - never seen such a positive review on any camera!).
I would rather go with an older A700 than A550.

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http://www.supernovak.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogic

FED-S (my father's) > Canon AE1 (my brother's) > Minolta Maxxum 3xi (my first precious) > Minolta Dynax 400si (hello Canada) > Minolta Dimage 7i (darling) > Konica Minolta 5D (first DSLR) > Sony Alpha A100 (killer baby) > Sony Alpha A700 (serious tool) > Canon 5DMkII (weird computer with average lenses) > Back to A700 (reassured about the greatness) + A900 (depth of colours and pixels)

jwissner said:

I was wondering if anyone could recommend any good Sony DSLRs that are below $700 (competitor a competitor to the Nikon D5000, since that is my top Nikon choise)? Here is what I am looking for/some questions I have.

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My recommendation on the Sony front would be the A33. With the kit lens it's $750, just over your budget, but it's a very, very nice camera. However, if you do decide to go Nikon, I urge you to stretch enough to get the D90, as it's a truly excellent camera, and far superior to the D5k, due largely to the inclusion of the screw-drive AF motor, plus the pentaprism viewfinder and other goodies. You may have to buy used, but I really urge you to go for the D90 over any lower Nikon models. However, the Sony offerings are very strong, and more within your pricerange.

jwissner said:

1. Good indoor/low-light shooting (aka, performs well at higher ISOs compared to comeptition). Also, an AF assist would be nice for when flash is required

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Both the D90 and A33 have excellent high ISO performance, but I'm not sure about the AF Assist lamp.

jwissner said:

2. Does sony have any decently priced fast primes (aka, below $300)?

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Yeah, there's the excellent DT 50/1.8, for a mere $150. There's also the newly announced 30/1.8, which i think is around $200, and that's probably really good too. There's also the 85/2.8, but that's somewhat slow for its focal length.

jwissner said:

3. Are there any reasons I shouldn't consider a Sony vs a Nikon?

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If you'd asked me this question a few months ago, I could've given you a loooong list. But now, I can't really think of anything major.

jwissner said:

Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated!

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Good luck with your choice

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I'd love to engage in a battle of the wits with you, but it appears you're unarmed.

Seriously, take a rain check for A55 - it Sooo much better than anything on the market any mount.

In MOST regards it is even better than Canon 7d - better noise from RAW, video AF,

10FPS, ... imaging resource claims the similar tracking capabilities and that was 7d's key feature!

--
http://www.supernovak.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogic

FED-S (my father's) > Canon AE1 (my brother's) > Minolta Maxxum 3xi (my first precious) > Minolta Dynax 400si (hello Canada) > Minolta Dimage 7i (darling) > Konica Minolta 5D (first DSLR) > Sony Alpha A100 (killer baby) > Sony Alpha A700 (serious tool) > Canon 5DMkII (weird computer with average lenses) > Back to A700 (reassured about the greatness) + A900 (depth of colours and pixels)

jwissner said:

Thanks for that info. Another question I should have asked -- how are the out-of-camera jpgs in these Sony models? I am a beginner with an extremely slow/old laptop, so I don't intend to spend a lot of time processing RAW files (at least, for the immediate future). How to the OOC jpgs hold up in the A50/A55?

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Check out my gallery, linked in my signature. Within the main gallery, you'll see a subgallery called 'cameras and lenses'. Inside that folder, you'll see a folder labeled Sony Alpha DSLR-A550. That folder has copies of all my online posted shots from the A550 that are spread out into all the other galleries. It's 32 pages at 40 shots a page of thumbnails, and is a convenient place to go to any of the shots I've taken with my A550 over the past year.

It might prove useful because I shoot all my shots in JPEG mode, and do very little editing if any...I tend to be more of a camera enthusiast/photography nut than a post-processing/computer nut, so I like working on my photos in the camera by setting them up the way I want, and just enjoying the output without having to do RAW conversions and tweaking/processing/etc. I do lots of different photography, ranging from wildlife to travel to landscape to night to interior/architecture, handheld high ISO, slow shutter tripod, action, etc. I've been very pleased with the A550 as a straight-from-the-camera shooter.

The A550 does not have a separate dedicated AF assist beam, but uses the pop-up flash as an assist beam. If using the flash for a shot, it will fire a strobe preflash to assist with focus...if not using the flash, you can raise it to use the preflash strobe but still not fire the flash when taking the shot. If you purchase an external flash for the camera, most or all Sony/Minolta flash units have AF Assist lights built in that the camera can use.

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Justin
galleries: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

A560 is $750 @ sonystyle, not $850, although that's $50 more than OP's budget.

neww2dig said:

zepzr said:

If you want video, don't get A550/A500 since they don't one.

The recently announced A560 and A580 are far better featured anyway (newer AF system, video, DOF, MLU, CDAF, multi-shot NR modes). Either that, or A33 and A55 that have EVF.

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OP has $$ liimit so the A560 is out as that is coming in @ $849. Video in the D5000 is less a feature vs in camera HDR and Fast acurate live in the A5XX plus better build and most likely a better fit. also nikon D500 does not have MLU either
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Tony

A100, A700, Tam 17-50, Sony 16-105, Beercan, Tam 55-200

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Cheng Bao said:

neww2dig said:

zepzr said:

If you want video, don't get A550/A500 since they don't one.

The recently announced A560 and A580 are far better featured anyway (newer AF system, video, DOF, MLU, CDAF, multi-shot NR modes). Either that, or A33 and A55 that have EVF.

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OP has $$ liimit so the A560 is out as that is coming in @ $849. Video in the D5000 is less a feature vs in camera HDR and Fast acurate live in the A5XX plus better build and most likely a better fit. also nikon D500 does not have MLU either
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Tony

A100, A700, Tam 17-50, Sony 16-105, Beercan, Tam 55-200

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That's for body only, with lens it's $849
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Tony

A100, A700, Tam 17-50, Sony 16-105, Beercan, Tam 55-200

neww2dig said:

Cheng Bao said:

neww2dig said:

zepzr said:

If you want video, don't get A550/A500 since they don't one.

The recently announced A560 and A580 are far better featured anyway (newer AF system, video, DOF, MLU, CDAF, multi-shot NR modes). Either that, or A33 and A55 that have EVF.

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OP has $$ liimit so the A560 is out as that is coming in @ $849. Video in the D5000 is less a feature vs in camera HDR and Fast acurate live in the A5XX plus better build and most likely a better fit. also nikon D500 does not have MLU either
--
Tony

A100, A700, Tam 17-50, Sony 16-105, Beercan, Tam 55-200

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That's for body only, with lens it's $849
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Tony

A100, A700, Tam 17-50, Sony 16-105, Beercan, Tam 55-200

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ppl never go to websites to check before make statement even after someone told them otherwise?

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666254757

I'll second this as Zack has a top notch handle on the A550. I just bought the A550 yesterday at $569.99 ( it had got down to 509.99 but I just messed it by one day) at 42nd St Photo with USA warranty and no shipping! My A700 suffer a fatal crash in July and so was in the market for a new cam. On Zack's recomendations and my own research it was the closest I could come to the A700 and I must say the cam fits the bill for me. LV is the best in the business plus a better tilting LCD!
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Photo eye

By the way go over to Camera Labs.com and watch the video for the A550 and the D5000 if they have it. Very informative.

Also the A550 will do LV at 4fps and do it while continually auto focusing and correcting the exposure. Correct me if I am wrong but no other camera under $1000 will do this from any manufacturer. Cameralabs.com's video shows a sequence of shot of a red boat that way done in the A550's LV.
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Photo eye

just give advise about a camera.....not the financial shape the company may be in. Let the person figure out for themselves that part.

neww2dig said:

zepzr said:

If you want video, don't get A550/A500 since they don't one.

The recently announced A560 and A580 are far better featured anyway (newer AF system, video, DOF, MLU, CDAF, multi-shot NR modes). Either that, or A33 and A55 that have EVF.

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OP has $$ liimit so the A560 is out as that is coming in @ $849.

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Wrong. And there is no point whatsoever getting A500/A550 when for $50 to $100 more you can get a camera that is way better (A560). It's simply not worth saving a few dollars when there are huge list of features that you are getting (Video, contrast DETECT AF, newer AF system, MLU, DOF prev, Multi-shot NR, three shot HDR, sweep panorama, and more).

zepzr said:

zepzr said:

OP has $$ liimit so the A560 is out as that is coming in @ $849.

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Wrong. And there is no point whatsoever getting A500/A550 when for $50 to $100 more you can get a camera that is way better (A560). It's simply not worth saving a few dollars when there are huge list of features that you are getting (Video, contrast DETECT AF, newer AF system, MLU, DOF prev, Multi-shot NR, three shot HDR, sweep panorama, and more).

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And I surprised that anyone in the thread even recommended the A500/A550 which would be a horrible choice given A560/A580 would be shipping sometimes this month.

zepzr said:

And I surprised that anyone in the thread even recommended the A500/A550 which would be a horrible choice given A560/A580 would be shipping sometimes this month.

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First of all, a great camera is never a 'horrible choice' - a newer camera might have better specifications, but it doesn't make a previously good camera no longer good.

Second, the OP named a budget, and the sale price of the A500/550 puts them in that budget with lenses included. The new cameras are not in that budget.

Third, the OP stated he must have the camera exchanged and in his hands by 9/3/10. The A560/580 will NOT be available by 9/3/10. Therefore making the A560/580 a 'horrible recommendation'.

Some of us feel that recommendations should meet the OP's needs and stated time and budget constraints. The best camera the OP can get by September 3 from Sony is undoubtedly an A500 or A550, both of which are fine cameras with excellent abilities and very competitive with the other camera the OP named, the D5000, which is also a fine camera.

If the OP could wait or extend his trade-in time, certainly waiting for the A560 would be something strongly worth considering. But that's an 'if'. Not reality.

--
Justin
galleries: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

zackiedawg said:

Third, the OP stated he must have the camera exchanged and in his hands by 9/3/10. The A560/580 will NOT be available by 9/3/10. Therefore making the A560/580 a 'horrible recommendation'.

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Where in the original post does the OP says he must have the camera by 9/3/10? Quote that part. If he has an end-date on returning the camera, he sure can return it and wait a week more before buying the newer one. And his budget was $700, and it's definitely worth saving $50 more for A560 instead of buying A500/A550. That should have been the recommendation. There is no reason whatsoever buying A550/A500 when clearly A560 has very convincing features that are worth a lot more than $50 & a week more wait (video, CDAF, MLU, DOF prev, multi-shot NR, newer AF, three-shot hdr, sweep panorama, etc ).

zepzr said:

Where in the original post does the OP says he must have the camera by 9/3/10? Quote that part.

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It was by the 'original poster' but in a later post...here you go:

zepzr said:

Thanks for the helpful info, everyone! I will have to check the camera store tomorrow to see if they carry these specific Sony models. Unfortunately, I have a feeling they won't let me wait any further to exchange -- they already extended my deadline to 9/3 (that was a 2 week extension).

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If you read the whole thread, you can get more information from the original poster, and also see what other people already advised.

zepzr said:

If he has an end-date on returning the camera, he sure can return it and wait a week more before buying the newer one.

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Not true...if you read his explanation, he doesn't have the option to turn in the camera for cash or wait for a future purchase - he stated that he had to 'exchange' the camera, and had to be by that deadline he mentioned.

zepzr said:

And his budget was $700, and it's definitely worth saving $50 more for A560 instead of buying A500/A550.

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The A500 is as low as $450-500 body only...that's a lot less than the A560 price.

If one had the time and the budget to wait for the A560, it sounds like a fantastic camera and a nice set of improvements over the A500/550. If the person needs a good camera now, they can get the A500/550 and save some money for a nice lens. That's up to them to decide how to proceed, and up to whether they can get the camera shop to be more lenient and give him more time.

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Justin
galleries: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

zackiedawg said:

It was by the 'original poster' but in a later post...here you go:

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Yours (and others) recommendation for A500/A550 came before that date post by OP. In any case, if there is exchange only clause, he can return it and do the preorder for A560. A500 (and A550) both are over $600 with the kit lens on amazon.

zepzr said:

Yours (and others) recommendation for A500/A550 came before that date post by OP.

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My recommendation also included a reference to the A560, A33 and A55 as promising options, that may or may not be too late for him to consider. Since he was asking if any Sony cameras are comparable to the D5000, the A500/550 clearly fit in that description as very comparable to the D5000, I concentrated on currently available cameras with a reference to newly announced and future available cameras. And I was able to read a sense of urgency in his original post that indicated it might not be possible to wait (which was verified to be true in a later post).

zepzr said:

In any case, if there is exchange only clause, he can return it and do the preorder for A560. A500 (and A550) both are over $600 with the kit lens on amazon.

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If the company would let him do that, and if they are taking preorders, it's an option he can consider. Which is why I referenced those cameras too. If the A500 is over $600 at Amazon, then best to look elsewhere if considering that camera.

Whether the A560 is better than the A500/550 was never an argument - whether any Sony cameras were comparable to the D5000 and available now was the question. And the answer is yes. A500 and A550. In the near future, there will be more cameras to add to that answer.

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Justin
galleries: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

zepzr said:

And his budget was $700, and it's definitely worth saving $50 more for A560 instead of buying A500/A550. That should have been the recommendation.

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Why? You might consider the other features worth the extra $$ but the OP asked for cameras under $700. By all means mention others, but it is presumptious and arrogant to 'recommend' a camera that costs more than the OP's stated budget.

zepzr said:

There is no reason whatsoever buying A550/A500 when clearly A560 has very convincing features that are worth a lot more than $50 & a week more wait (video, CDAF, MLU, DOF prev, multi-shot NR, newer AF, three-shot hdr, sweep panorama, etc ).

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Features are only worth $50 (or whatever) if they're important to you. Given your past attitude towards DOF preview and MLU, for example, your comment appears rather odd.