digital camera guys

[moneypit]

ok finally goona step up and get a slr camera. Im thinking of the sony a300 for a few reasons I like the display screen and its alot cheaper than others I can get one NEW in box for 400 seems like the reviews are similar to the d60 and such anybody ever played with one

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665345641

 

[avbcon12]

I havent used a sony camera in a long time but my first experiences left a lot to be desired. maybe theyve changed though. I still have a sony point and shoot and it suffers from focus and white balance issues.

quickly looking at the specs, it doesnt look bad but I have no idea of how well it performs. that camera seems to have been out for about a year if not longer already.

I wouldnt get geeked about the flip screen, there shouldnt be any situation when your DLSR isnt up to your face if its not mounted on a tripod IMO.

 

[moneypit]

im thinking for shooting over crowds my wife is short

 

[AutoEuphoria]

I would look into a Canon RebelXS or one of the smaller Nikons. I shoot with a Rebel XS.

But whatever you decide to do, just do your research first. It's a big purchase, and hopefully one you won't have to make again for a long time. Figure out what kind of shooting you want to do, and what lenses you would need to do that kind of shooting. Figure out if there are good lenses available for the camera you are looking at that will allow you to do the type of shooting you are interested in. Don't be drawn in by the largest megapixel count. It's more than that...how big the sensor is, how good of quality the lens is (huge thing), if it fits in your hand well (ergonomic), etc.

Good luck with your search and purchase!

 

[MxRacerCam]

the only thing that scares me about that camera might be lens availability/cost.

 

[avbcon12]

Id still stick with canon/ nikon. otherwise just get a point and shoot for less $$

 

[moneypit]

its uses the "a" amounting system so it uses the same lense and Minolta and others theres adaptors offered so you can use any lense

 

[AutoEuphoria]

Well, just do your research...go to flickr and see if anyone has any pictures taken with that camera. Read some reviews.

Not saying it won't be a good one, but just saying do your homework before you buy

 

[moneypit]

im doing the home work also how big of a memory card is needed? 36gb big enough?

 

[MxRacerCam]

im doing the home work also how big of a memory card is needed? 36gb big enough?

i'd think you'd want something faster as opposed to bigger. most guys seem to like a good 8GB ultra or extreme III card.

 

[AutoEuphoria]

Depends on how many pictures you plan to take at one time. I have 3 4gb cards, and that was fine for me. I did fill all three up on my trip out to AZ though, and I think that was somewhere around 1000-1200 pictures, about 40% of which were in RAW.

And speed is definitely a necessity if you want to shoot a lot of pics in a row (continuous shooting)...which is really good for sports, shooting wildlife, airplanes, cars, trains, etc.

 

[moneypit]

Ok dumb question whats Raw? so a 4gb card will hold 400 pics? wow thats sweet 8gb will be more than enough if the wife takes 800 pics at a birthday party ill kill her

 

[moneypit]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...t_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance


best price ive found

 

[avbcon12]

Ok dumb question whats Raw? so a 4gb card will hold 400 pics? wow thats sweet 8gb will be more than enough if the wife takes 800 pics at a birthday party ill kill her

RAW is a file format better suited for higher quality pictures and better post processing.

by "Faster" people are refering to the speed that the card reads/ writes. the 4GB/ 8GB is its capacity. I have a 2GB card in my camera right now and with my 15.1megapixels in RAW it can hold about 91 pictures. obviously that sony will hold more wince its a lower MP camera. you could count on double the amount of pictures with a 4GB card and double that with an 8GB card.

for speed, it depends on how fast the camera reads/ writes. if its UDMA capable get a 200+ (35mb/s+ card). I use Sandisk extreme III's in my cameras and have yet to see one fail on me.

 

[avbcon12]

I cannot find on that sony link what speeds the camera is capable of... you can find the best peforming cards here based on different cameras.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007

 

[moneypit]

wow thats confusing

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SDCFX3-004G-A31-Extreme-CompactFlash-Package/dp/B0008D76L0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1246374228&sr=1-4#productPromotions"]Amazon.com: SanDisk SDCFX3-004G-A31 4 GB Extreme III CompactFlash Card (Retail Package): Camera & Photo[/ame]


seems like a nice fit

 

[JustANeon]

I always suggest Canon/Nikon, but the people who do end up buying Sony's seem to like them. If you aren't going to get too serious into photography then the lens availability and price don't matter as much.

 

[avbcon12]

seems like a nice fit

why? did you find out the card that the camera supports?

there are a ton of rebates going on right now:
http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=rebates&brand=SanDisk

 

[moneypit]

I hate rebates I always forget to mail them in

 

[avbcon12]

I hate rebates I always forget to mail them in

I hear ya but sometimes you gotta play the game... i know some people that actually got paid $0.45 to purchase 3 8GB extreme III cards with those rebates. not a bad deal. I would have jumped all over that if I knew it was happening at the time.