[Closed] DSLR help & advice

Go for the one that you like or feels nice, or that has the features you think you will need. Don't get hung up on image quality, they are all really good.

The Sony ones are great value for money. A lot of people want Canon or Nikon because of the market dominance or the name, which means Sony are having to try hard with features and pricing.

molgrips - yeah i think i like the sony a bit more. Will go and have a look this week
Cheers

I was going to buy one when it was the A330 - I liked the swivel screen and the fast automatic continuous autofocus in live-view. Which meant that by the time you'd framed the shot it was already in focus, so picture taking was almost instant.

Double posterino.

Canon ! you'll get heaps more lenses and wot-not 2nd hand than you will with a Sony, that's of course unless you is minted 🙂

Yeah Canon lens availability is good as is Nikon, but that could be a double edged sword depending on you 🙂

Personally, I'd recommend the Canon due to the greater range of compatible equipment available, such as lenses etc. I use Canon and the cameras and the lenses I have used have been excellent. Although Nikon are just as good and have comparable cameras and lenses.

If you know you want a camera for taking decent pictures but will only ever remain as an 'enthusiast', then go for which ever one you prefer. If you think you might want to take photography seriously in the future, then go for one of the main established brands such as Nikon or Canon.

But I don't know that much about Sony to be honest, perhaps they have established a good range of professional level bodies and lenses - ask in a shop if this is a concern for you.

Sony took over the old Minolta SLR system I believe, so many Minolta lenses are compatible.

Sigma & Tamron do a wide range of lenses that fit should the need arise.

EDIT - Very important to try them out and get which you are comfortable with.

My Bro-In-Law has a Canon 20D. The grip is too big for me and my hand aches after holding it for 10 mins.
My Nikon D80 grip is just right and I get on with the menu system better than Canon.
I looked at the 'small' Canons (350D at the time) but they felt too plasticky.
Again - the Olympus menu system/button layout seems hard for me to grasp, but that's probably down to the amount of time I've had to get used to the Nikon.

As per Stumpy...Minolta lenses fit the Sony range so you can still get cheap lenses on Ebay etc.

Minolta AF lenses are compatible with all Sony Alpha bodies and there are plenty out there. Perhaps not as much choice as for Nikon or Canon but enough to satisfy most enthusiast photographers. You also have 3rd party manufacturers like Sigma and Tamron turning out quality lenses.

Sony cameras have in-body image stabilisation (Canon and Nikon put this into the lenses). The upshot of this is that ANY compatible Sony or Minolta lens will be automatically image-stabilised. Olympus do the same.

And +1 for what molgrips says re. handling before you buy. I have a Sony a300 which feels just right in my hand but I use a Canon EOS450d at work and hate the feel of it (despite the fact that it's an excellent camera). Not dissing C or N, just noting that "feel" is an important factor which varies from person to person.

[EDIT - too slow!]

Olympus menu system isn't bad really, I don't think so. You can either button through to set everything or you can use one of the dedicated buttons on the body combined with the thumb wheel.

Flip out screen, light weight, small size and half price were what made me get my Oly.

Olympus do the same.

Yes, but not on the E400 series which I think might be in the OP's price range.

Have a look at [url= http://www.dyxum.com ]Dyxum[/url], it's a dedicated Sony dslr forum. Well worth a look if you're considering Sony.

Disclamer...I'd be the 1st to admit that I know virtually nothing about photography, so don't do anything rash based solely my input. Actually that goes for any of my comments, not just cameras!

Over the xmas hols I looked at buying an entry level DSLR, I ended up thinking the Pentax K-x was the best choice. Its in the right price range so worth a look in my view.

I would just add that in the end I decided against a DSLR, just too big for 99% of what I want it for. I think eventually I'll end up with a S95 (or possibly LX5).