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Help me decide A55 vs T3i vs D7000

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Neoplasticity

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OK, i'm ordering this tonight.

The D7000 is the most expensive but all the cameras are in my price range and price is not a consideration for me between these 3.

Things I like

1. Good low light performance ( I think all the cameras should do well but I think the D7000 has the slight edge here right?)

2. Articulating LCD (Canon and Sony have the edge here)

3. Good Movie mode (am I correct in assuming that the Sony is the best bet here because of phase detection autofocus during movie mode?) I've heard that the D7000 is better than the T3i here so I guess its Sony > Nikon > Canon for this.

4. Performance (this is where I'm unclear from the reviews.) The Sony review is old but they state that the performance is good. Anyone compared these head to head? Which camera has the quickest most accurate autofocus? Which camera has the best shot to shot times? Which camera feels the most responsive in operation like reviewing shots.

My plan is to get the body only and then get the Tamron 17-50 2.8 and the Sigma 70-200 2.8
 
if you like liveview, evf, non moving mirror, handheld panorama, multishots noise reduction and 10 fps at reasonable price.
 
Canon 60D and the Sony A580.

The A55 is a wonderful camera, but if you have not used the EVF (or are wanting the OVF aspect of a DSLR) you need to try it before you buy it - if at all possible. For an EVF it is very good.... but an OVF it isn't.

You may prefer it to an OVF, but you won't know until you try it.... They are truly very very different. I have an A55 and a Canon 60D and a D7000 (which will be going for sale).

--
Bob (formerly bobmax)
 
olynik969 said:
Canon 60D and the Sony A580.

The A55 is a wonderful camera, but if you have not used the EVF (or are wanting the OVF aspect of a DSLR) you need to try it before you buy it - if at all possible. For an EVF it is very good.... but an OVF it isn't.

You may prefer it to an OVF, but you won't know until you try it.... They are truly very very different. I have an A55 and a Canon 60D and a D7000 (which will be going for sale).
Which one will you be keeping and why?

--
Bob (formerly bobmax)
Click to expand...
 
Keeping the 60D and the A55. The D7000 will go (and I've always been a huge Nikon Fan).

--
Bob (formerly bobmax)
 
Haven't tried any of the 3 but from everything I've read I'd go with the D7000. Don't know anything about the Canon but good pentaprism OVF over EVF and added contol of D7000 would be my choice.
--
Dave
 
NONE. d5100^ or pentax k-5
 
1. nikon has the edge with sonycanon a close second

2. personally i prefer sony's implementation as i use it mainly for shots above head level. not as useful on a tripod though.

3. if you're not shooting in set up environments, the only way to get decent video is using phase detect af. have a search on contrast detect during video. its pretty bad.

4. sony has the fastest burst rate at 10fps. neither canikon comes close. accuracy is similar with nikon slightly ahead.

sony = best value for money body. lens choice with ssm restricting.
nikon = best overall quality in a traditional dslr way. boring imo.

canon = lenses lenses lenses. they've got too many really. a good thing if u ask me.

for the sony i would get the sigma 17 50mm 2.8 over the tamron since it has ssm which means better quality video. image quality is not bad at all. difference compared to the tamron is blown out of proportion.
Neoplasticity said:
OK, i'm ordering this tonight.

The D7000 is the most expensive but all the cameras are in my price range and price is not a consideration for me between these 3.

Things I like

1. Good low light performance ( I think all the cameras should do well but I think the D7000 has the slight edge here right?)

2. Articulating LCD (Canon and Sony have the edge here)

3. Good Movie mode (am I correct in assuming that the Sony is the best bet here because of phase detection autofocus during movie mode?) I've heard that the D7000 is better than the T3i here so I guess its Sony > Nikon > Canon for this.

4. Performance (this is where I'm unclear from the reviews.) The Sony review is old but they state that the performance is good. Anyone compared these head to head? Which camera has the quickest most accurate autofocus? Which camera has the best shot to shot times? Which camera feels the most responsive in operation like reviewing shots.

My plan is to get the body only and then get the Tamron 17-50 2.8 and the Sigma 70-200 2.8
Click to expand...
 
I just "personally" was unable to warm to the D7000. I've owned many Nikon bodies and I just could not adjust to the IQ of the D7000.

For the most part I shoot Jpegs and it is the only Nikon body (save the D200) that I could not get Jpegs out of that I was satisfied with. A few years back I had tried a Canon 30D and was very pleased w/the Jpeg IQ, but didn't like the flash results. So I decided to try the 60D and simply love it. I'm also getting great flash results w/it.

So.... that is why. Do I think the D7000 is a bad body? Absolutely NOT! Many people love it and it has some fantastic features. But it just doesn't work for me personally.

I got the A55 for a very light business travel body and so far am very encouraged w/the image results. I must admit I'm really having difficulty getting used to the EVF (outdoors). So time will tell if that is enough of a biggie for me to keep or get rid of it. So far - I think I can overcome the challenges I'm having w/it. It really is a nice, very light body with great features and image results.

--
Bob (formerly bobmax)
 
I chose the A55 for features -- I like new techy features and like the auto panorama, hand-held night shots, and the various HDR features. Several of these features take multiple pictures and merge them in the camera. And it shoots so fast you don't need a tripod. I was going after low light performance, and the A55 takes a hit because of the partial silvering of the mirror, but I was willing to take that hit.

For video, the A55 has some overheating problems if you want to take long videos. But remember, you can do video with a true SLR ONLY with the LCD (true of any "live view"). Can you see an LCD in daylight well enough to shoot? I can't.

I prefer EVFs over OVFs anyway, so that was a plus for the A55 over a Canon or Nikon.

I have a friend who did not take my advice to buy a Panasonic GH2 for video and instead got a Nikon of some sort. After he got it he realized he really can't see in the LCD and had to get a hoodman or something like that in order to shield the LCD.

--
Judy
http://nichollsphoto.com/
 
Was just curious. Well answered. I looked through my first A55 EVF today and, while usable, I just didn't care for it so I well understand the personal feel concept.
--
Dave
 
And that is the beauty of the evf...It is of last coming of age..just hope Sony sticks with it because it can only get better.The a 55 will be a good step up for the much anticipated a77 of sorts..The electronic wizardry of the a55 sets it apart
 
The A55 has a good EVF, but I wish they used the whole thing for displaying the image.

The T3i has a penta-mirror VF which means it is like looking down a long tunnel. It's bad for manually focusing and other things. Also, you lose all the cool features of an EVF

Not sure what the D7000 has.
 
Here is my take for what little it is worth.

Canon and Nikon are awesome if you want a film camera with a digital sensor. Neither of these companies has looked far outside this box when it comes to their cameras. In fact I will go so far as to say these two brands while best known for cameras are also the most stale of the brands. Not stale in new cameras but stale in looking outside of the film camera box.

Sony and to a lesser degree Panasonic in my opinion have done the most to innovate and look outside of the film camera with digital sensor box. This is why Sony is looking at and developing technology (translucent mirror, in camera HDR, sweep panorama, high end EVFs, etc.) to take digital cameras and make them far more than a film camera with a digital sensor.

Which you choose depends on what you want. If you want a film camera with a digital sensor and there is nothing wrong with that then Canon or Nikon is a good old fashioned well established brand that has good solid old camera like features with some new technologies. If you want a brand that is looking to see where they can take digital camera technology, take it in directions that are the same and very different from film cameras then Sony is the company to go with.

I have owned both Nikon (D90) and Canon (20D, Digital Rebel, 7D) and I have owned Sony (A900, A700 and now an A55) and outside of my Panasonic FZ20 and FZ30 the Sony's have been the cameras I have enjoyed the most and had the most fun with and have taken the most pictures with. The Canon's and Nikon's take nice enough pictures, but they just aren't fun. Ho-Hum is what I was describe them as.

Robert
--

The hardest thing about Photography is choosing a camera! After that it is all fun!
 
Well said!
RobertBarnett said:
Which you choose depends on what you want. If you want a film camera with a digital sensor and there is nothing wrong with that then Canon or Nikon is a good old fashioned well established brand that has good solid old camera like features with some new technologies. If you want a brand that is looking to see where they can take digital camera technology, take it in directions that are the same and very different from film cameras then Sony is the company to go with.
Click to expand...
...

The Canon's and Nikon's take nice enough pictures, but they just aren't fun. Ho-Hum is what I was describe them as.

--
Judy
http://nichollsphoto.com/
 
What is it like to shoot outdoors with a viewfinder like the Sony's, compared to a traditional viewfinder?
--
This is the world, the way I see it: http://twenty200.com
 
Stick a fast lens on the A55 -35mm f1.8 / 50mm 1.4 / 85mm f1.4- and with in-body IS you can use at least 2 stops slower shutter speed to capture those dusk or dimly-lit indoor scenes. That's something the Canon and Nikon cannot do.
 
To me, fun is using a camera that takes good pictures and includes the tools in terms of ergonomics, good OVF, program shift, etc which allows me to do so. My A700 is very much a "fun" camera to use--I would just like to see it upgraded with newer sensor, metering, and autofocus technology.
If I need to look at an electronic image to have fun I'll buy a video game.
--
Dave
 
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