Calling all Sony Alpha users! (Part 5)

I sold my A900 to buy the A77, I use a lot of old legacy manual focus glass and with my poor eyesight (old b****r) I kept missing focus, now with the 77's live view it's much easier, still miss it though and have funds set aside to get it's replacement as soon as Sony deem fit to market it :lol:
 
just spoke to my insurers,and i am covered,BUT,only for a single item up to £1500.which may mean that if the a900 isn't repairable,that i won't get a direct replacement a900 :'(.


not sure what i will do then...as i don't have any spare cash since buying a new tripod and head last week....i so hope it is repairable.
 
stan the man said:
just spoke to my insurers,and i am covered,BUT,only for a single item up to £1500.which may mean that if the a900 isn't repairable,that i won't get a direct replacement a900 :'(.


not sure what i will do then...as i don't have any spare cash since buying a new tripod and head last week....i so hope it is repairable.
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I'm sure it won't come near that price, but I would change my insurers, I'm with Nationwide and everything is new for old.
Good Luck
John
 
helps said:
Anyone have got a57 yet? I'm curious about some samples and real user's experiences ;)
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Me too. However, I'm currently sorely tempted by a nice deal on an A65 I've seen. 630 quid with kit lens. I don't think the A57 will be cheaper than that for quite a while..
 
stan the man said:
just spoke to my insurers,and i am covered,BUT,only for a single item up to £1500.which may mean that if the a900 isn't repairable,that i won't get a direct replacement a900 :'(.
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Assuming this is your house contents policy, you might try someone else in future. I'm with Hiscox and while their excess is high, there is no single item limit and you don't have to notify them about ownership of individual high value items or collections, just ensure you have enough cover for the total value of your contents.

Hope the repair goes OK.
 
onomatopoeia said:
Assuming this is your house contents policy, you might try someone else in future. I'm with Hiscox and while their excess is high, there is no single item limit and you don't have to notify them about ownership of individual high value items or collections, just ensure you have enough cover for the total value of your contents.

Hope the repair goes OK.
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hi mark
yes,house contents policy.i should have raised my single item value when i got the a900 i suppose,but forgot all about it.i'm hoping the top section of the casing can be changed,as i love the a900.i used it last night,as i had promised a friend that suffers from MS,to photograph her and a bunch of others...doing a firewalk in aid of the MS society.the camera still works faultlessly,and it would be a damn shame if it gets written off :'(
 
okay,after speaking to my insurers[legal and general],they have asked me to get an estimate for a repair to the camera from sony.i have spoken to sony,and they have said that i have to pay £117 initially,when sending the camera in for an estimate,and if i[or my insurers] don't wish to proceed with the repair,it will be reduced to £54.surely,this is a bill my insurers should foot,as all i am liable for is the excess on my policy?
 
SussexBlue said:
I'm sure it won't come near that price, but I would change my insurers, I'm with Nationwide and everything is new for old.
Good Luck
John
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John, I am also with Nationwide, and there is a single item limit of £2000 on the policy I have.

I only recently got my A900 s/h - and with the scarcity of them new I am in two minds about adding it as a specified item - as it is unlikely they will be able to source one anyway.
Jessops still list them as £1999 (but only available in store, and I've no idea where has any stock), so could always give that price, and worst case i get that to spend on a 'new' s/h A900 - which is plenty!
 
Probably different policies, I have all my expensive photography equipment ie, over a couple of grand listed, goes back to when I was foolish enough to own overpriced gear with the word Nikon on :D
 
Currently deciding between the A57 and the A65! Which one would you say was the better camera overall? There's only so much I can tell by looking at specs. I can pick up an A65 + Kit Lens for around 630 new at the moment, which is about the same as the A57 minus lens. I really can't make up my mind though! As far as I can see, the A57 looks slightly better in many ways (higher ISO range, better burst rate, amongst other things), but I know the A65 is a higher model, are there any big differences I'm missing (besides 24mp).
 
George7 said:
Currently deciding between the A57 and the A65! Which one would you say was the better camera overall? There's only so much I can tell by looking at specs. I can pick up an A65 + Kit Lens for around 630 new at the moment, which is about the same as the A57 minus lens. I really can't make up my mind though! As far as I can see, the A57 looks slightly better in many ways (higher ISO range, better burst rate, amongst other things), but I know the A65 is a higher model, are there any big differences I'm missing (besides 24mp).
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It's tough..

The noise is worse on the 24MP A65, but it's not a million miles away, in the same way the 24MP resolution is only a bit more detail in real terms over a 16MP sensor, unless you have specific need for the absolute best in either, then it's more academic IMO.

The OLED viewfinder in the A65 is definitely better, the A57 is better then the A55 it replaces, but it's still not at the same level as the A65 (Size, progressive display nature, dynamic range, brightness)

The A57 12fps mode is only with limited resolution, the A65 does 10fps at full resolution, but quite frankly, it's still way too fast, the buffers fill up in no time (1 second or just over), I generally stick to the slower modes..

I think the only 'software feature' the A57 has is the auto-portrait mode (auto crops an image in the camera) and the enhanced digital zoom feature..

I'd personally go in to Jessops and look at the A65 (most stores have them) and if they don't have an A57, see if they have an A55, the viewfinder is somewhere between the two, but on price, if the A65 is cheaper, it's mighty tempting..

Had the A57 been a quantum leap in performance, I'd have suggested that, but it seems a confusing A65 with a 16MP sensor, giving that little better noise performance for a little less resolution at normal ISOs.
 
GPS is certainly nice. I was surprised they omitted it from the A57! I've got to say, I'm leaning closer to the A65 at the moment.. I've done a size comparison between the 2, and they're apparently identical. They look extremely similar too!
 
George7 said:
GPS is certainly nice. I was surprised they omitted it from the A57! I've got to say, I'm leaning closer to the A65 at the moment.. I've done a size comparison between the 2, and they're apparently identical. They look extremely similar too!
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It's worth bearing mind that GPS eats batteries. When I got my a55 I switched it off on day 2. Havent used it since.
 
Hmm. Disappointing it doesn't have the same sensor as the D800. It's not that far on from the A900.
 
Personally I hope they haven't gone pixel crazy, an A900 replacement with hopefully focus peaking and tethered shooting and better iso performance will get them more customers than poor iso with 36 m/pixels
 
I was assuming same iso standard as the D800 for those 36MP and the rest of those features for lots less money :)
 
srichards said:
Hmm. Disappointing it doesn't have the same sensor as the D800. It's not that far on from the A900.
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it's been suggested that part of the sensor supply deal is that Nikon get an "exclusive" period.
So Sony launch an FF soon with 24MP (but not the same sensor as in the A850/A900 so you can expect improvements) which will still be higher than Canon offer atm & then a 36Mp body later.
Interestingly I saw yesterday on Nikonrumors suggestions of a new, cheaper, lower MP FF body to come - bets on Sony 24MP sensor in that if it happens ;)
 
I suppose sony think it's easier to align with Nikon to beat up canon than it is to go out on a limb and try to take market share off both of them on its own :)
 
srichards said:
I was assuming same iso standard as the D800 for those 36MP and the rest of those features for lots less money :)
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Minus half a stop of high ISO noise performance, due to SLT mirror, of course.

An a77 body, with a 24mp FF sensor and the jpg processing of the a57, for around £2k will do me nicely.
 
I have no idea how the jpeg processing engine in a57 compares with other cameras but a 24MP FF high iso machine in a lovelly a77 body would certainly interest me.

Cash waiting, as they say !
 
I spoke to a Sony pro yesterday who mentioned that the forthcoming FF will have an improved EVF and will retail at around £1600-1700.
 
ArronTucker said:
I've seen a A35 for £279 Brand New which is tempting me =/
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I seen that today aswell. The eBay seller has never sold a thing before and is based in Hong Kong. I've bought loads from low feedback users and from HK but even that's too suspicious for me.

It's a shame, I've been waiting for months for a price drop in the a33/35/55.
 
Micehorns said:
I seen that today aswell. The eBay seller has never sold a thing before and is based in Hong Kong. I've bought loads from low feedback users and from HK but even that's too suspicious for me.

It's a shame, I've been waiting for months for a price drop in the a33/35/55.
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I only quickly glanced over it so thanks for pointing that out! :thumbs:

TBH the only real upgrade options I need / want is the live view and flip out screen for low angle automotive shots and the likes, the A330 etc. are tempting with them been around £200 leaving me with some money for accessories.
 
stan the man said:
well...£268 for new top plate and focussing screen for my a900 :'(
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All things considered I don't think that's to bad a price but from your point of view hardly worth claiming for through the insurance so it hurts. Still you'll soon have it back in A1 condition :thumbs:
 
USed to do a brave bit of photography years ago during my school & uni days, then went on to other things
Been looking about getting a new camera that I can use all round but also for sports like american football, football and kitesurfing.
Got it narrowed down to either the A35 or A55. Just wondering what your folks opinions would be on these cameras considering the A55 is an older design than the A35.
Does the extra money really justify the A55?
 
if you would like an adjustable screen or GPS etc. then, yes.
The A35's replacement A37 is to be announced very shortly though so maybe worth waiting to see how it compares.
 
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