Tempted to sell my Sony A300 kit and buy a Nikon D90

that was a good price to move up.

what are these two like:
Tamron 55-200 - Sigma 70-300 APO

i would look to get a zoom too at a later stage. does your tamron or sigma have VR? what does APO stand for?
 
p1tse said:
what are these two like:
Tamron 55-200 - Sigma 70-300 APO
Click to expand...
the Tamron 55-200 is reputed to perform well above it's price level but obviously needs quite a bit of light.

Have you considered the new A500/A550?
These have both Sony's fast AF LiveView & image sensor LiveView for critical manual focus & high ISO results look much improved over previous Alphas.
 
I see a lot of the posts are a direct comparison for gear / IS vs non IS etc.

How often do you find yourself shooting at slower shutter speeds that would make use of the in body IS function in your Sony. I'm talking below 1/30th here. If you are shooting at 1/30th and lower a lot, then think carefully before making your choice.

If however most of your shooting is over 1/30th (or 1/60th if you don't have steady hands) the don't think too hard about the IS thing.
 
I really dont think you need a better body, i'm not being rude, but do you really think you have outgrown the a300?

Why not just keep it untill you literally need another body.

Then in a year or so the A900 or the A850 would offer you better value for money than say a D700.

Now the A700 has been discountinued you can pick up a body for around £400, im talking local camera shops not online.
 
all fair points and something which is niggling me
obviously the d90 must be a better body than the a300 from a price comparison wise.

what is the a500 like compared to d90?

definately don't think i've outgrown it.

i don't shoot at lower shutter speed much. most of my pics are portraits and my tamron 28-75 f2.8 is great for indoor use too
 
ShawWellPete said:
It depends what you're shooting, you obviously getting more length but I think you will sacrifice quite a bit of quality.
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are you saying loosing quality with the nikon kit lens vs tamron f2.8?
 
still think that if you are desperate to change (& I still can't really work out why?) unless you need video wait a few weeks & at least handle/look at the A500/A550.
 
good point, not considered the a500/a550 at all

but i prefer the feel and layout of nikon's and d90 would be a step up (and final step i hope)

had a look at the a700 and just too chunky for my use
 
p1tse said:
had a look at the a700 and just too chunky for my use
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so would a Nikon D300 then - it's a different class of body the same as in Canon's line up the 40D/50D are different from the 450D/500D.

Honestly, unless you need video I would wait a week or 2 & handle an A550 otherwise you might be kicking yourself - at least that way you'll be sure.
 
had a quick look of the a500 online and it looks similar to a330 in shape and doesn't have a top LCD display

i'm just talking myself into it LOL
 
ShawWellPete said:
And all I'm saying is that a 28-75 2.8 with IS is better than one without. I miss the IS on the my old Sony A700 even though I now have a D700 with a Nikon 24-70 2.8.

So I don't think it's gimmicky
Click to expand...

I agree completly,. Fast glass doesn't always help with low light (in the same way that IS sometimes doesn't help)

If you need DOF (like shooting a 'couple'), then to get both people in focus - you may not have the option of shooting very fast.
Similarly if you are using IS to shoot a moving subject, then IS isn't really going to help if your shutter speeds are too low to freeze the action (if that's the intention)

Having IS is better than not having IS as it gives you more options.

But nothing really tops having amazing High ISO performance for low light work where you need to freeze the action, apart from there is usually a trade off against resolution (and cost!)
 
thanks

i have the a300 with inbuilt IS and tamron 28-75 f2.8

but how will it compare to:

d90 18-105 VR kit lens or tamron 28-75 f2.8 (non IS), as the d90 has higher ISO performance?
 
p1tse said:
had a quick look of the a500 online and it looks similar to a330 in shape and doesn't have a top LCD display

i'm just talking myself into it LOL
Click to expand...
go to a shop & handle it - apparently Sony UK started shipping stocks to retail this week.

I've never missed a top LCD - it's a hangover from film days but once we went to large back LCDs it's unnecessary as they can display more & larger.

p1tse said:
d90 18-105 VR kit lens or tamron 28-75 f2.8 (non IS), as the d90 has higher ISO performance?
Click to expand...

The A550 will have better higher ISO performance than the D90 (newer sensor & processing) - have you seen the sample shots?
having said that how often are you likely to use ISO 6400 (I'll allow the A550s 12800 setting for emergencies only ;))?
 
heidfirst said:
I've never missed a top LCD - it's a hangover from film days but once we went to large back LCDs it's unnecessary as they can display more & larger.
Click to expand...

Must admit I use the top LCD on my D90 much more than the back one.

I upgraded to the D90 from the D60 and I have never looked back, I absolutely love it. I tried a D300 (borrowed my mates for the day) and I didn't like the weight I much prefer the lighter D90.

As far as the 18-105 lens goes, it is a very useful lens and has produced some really good results but I recently invested in a 50mm f1.8 and its hardly been off the camera, I love it.

I would say upgrade if you feel you need too but draw up a shortlist and try them out in a shop.

I am bias towards the D90 but that's the one I felt most comfortable with, you may feel differently.

I have the 50mm F1.8, the 18-105 kit lens and the 55-200VR and I am happy. I did consider going up to a 70-300vr but I doubt I would use it that often so decided to stick with what I have.
 
hopefully will do a deal tomorrow on my sony kit

and then will probably look at a prime like 50mm or 35mm (depending on budget)
 
deal done

first quick impressions, wow the ISO on the d90 is superb, especially in low light indoor conditions
thanks for all the help
 
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