Camera for my wife

Edwinrgarland

Edwinrgarland

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I recently got a Sony dslr. I didn't actually choose Sony specifically but one day in comet I saw an ex-display model at less than half price it was to good an offer to miss.

Since I got my dslr she has become more interested in photography - she only had a simple point and shoot.

I'm debating buying her a used dslr prob 6/8 megapixels.

Now it would make sense that we both have the same brand so we can swap lens. Should I buy her a used Canon / Nikon and sell my Sony or should I just get her an older Sony?
 
Firstly, forget about megapixels, they really have no bearing at all on the camera and is simply used by manufacturers of point and shoot systems as marketing gimmicks. All dslrs have more than enough mp.

What will your wife be shooting? It would make sense to buy a Sony so you can swap lenses, but I would not recommend the Sony system to anyone starting up from scratch as Canon / Nikon have more availability on used bodies, lenses and accessories.
 
Canon more so than Nikon have a wider lens range than Sony, so it might make sense to buy one or the other of these makes now should your photography take off in later years.
 
Get her the best camera and lens you ever wanted...then swap ;)
 
Jim has given some great advice there.


In the long term it would be more benificial for you to get her the likes of a Canon and get one for yourself aswell.

Sony haven't been in the DSLR industry for that long, unlike Canon & Nikon.

This means that their systems don't quite match up to the specs of the other brands ( in my opinion ) and accessories are not exactly widespread.

For example; Canon has a much wider and diverse range of lenses than Sony, and you'll also have no problem ebaying for example " lens cap for canon " but it'll take you a while longer to find something for a Sony.

In my honest opinion, i'd stay away from Sony DSLR's for a few years until we see where they're heading - ( if their kits good enough, range of equipment... etc... ) because at the moment they don't really rival Canon and Nikon.


Once you and the wife get hold of a couple canons ( maybe 20D/30D's ) you'll love them and you'll find that there is LOADS of gear out there for the camera - the list is endless.

Hope that helps !;)
 
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being a little harsh on Sony IMO, they are ex Minolta so you can use the old Minolta lenses like the excellent 'Beercan'.. and IS in body can be a help especially to the beginner.

I had a couple of Sonys and personally could'nt get on with them but they produced some excellent results.
 
I think it would depend on the lenses you have and whether you want to upgrade to a newer sony or jump brands.

I had a minolta 5d... was a good piece of kit until it needed to be fixed... never quite the same. Disagreed with heat ;)

Anyway, you can find lenses out there (I had a really nice 24mm f2.8 on the minolta for 30ukp from ebay).

So if you already have some nice lenses, how about upgrading to a newer (but second hand) camera, and letting your wife have the current one. You get to carry the lenses mind ;)

Alternatively, if you both like shooting the same things you'll both be um in discussinons over who gets which lens...

If you and your wife get on with the sony, stick with them. Get a newer body for you to play with, she can use your older body which you and her are probably used to, and you can get another lens (something in the range you use the most).



If you were to consider jumping ship, canon 30d-50d are meant to be good. Nikon side I'd go for d90, d200 or d300 used. Problem is you need to buy the cameras, cards and lenses; versus one camera and a new lens (or two).
 
It certainly makes sense for both of you to have the same system so you can share lenses, flashguns, etc.

Clearly selling your existing kit and buying two new systems will cost more than simply getting a second camera (assuming similar specs all round), so unless you feel a need to change then stick with what you have.

As usual, there have been a number of posts on the Canon / Nikon have more lenses than Sony - but how many lenses do you actually need / want ?

The gaps in the lens availability for Sony are

1) Super-telephoto. There is a 500 f/4 due to be released, but currently the longest new is the 70-400G (which is arguably the best lens of that type from any manufacturer). Of course, a 500 or longer lens will set you back over 2k, so not that common a purchase.

2) Tilt / Shift. Actually you can get a tilt/ shift for Sony by a 3rd party, but it's difficult to get hold of. Tilt / shift lenses are again something of a minority requirement.

In the meantime you have plenty of high quality options to spend your cash on, including AF Zeiss lenses (which are only available in Sony mount).
 
chrism_scotland said:
Theres a wide selection of used Sony gear, especially in the form of Minolta AF lenses, many a Sony user has bought a Minolta 50mm, 70-210 "Beercan" as their first lenses.

Plenty of choice in used kit you just need to look in the right places.
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That's the point, they are there alright, but a lot harder to find than their Canon and Nikon counterparts!
 
odd jim said:
That's the point, they are there alright, but a lot harder to find than their Canon and Nikon counterparts!
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Granted on classifieds here theres nowhere near as much Sony gear as there is Nikon or Canon but elsewhere there is a flowing abundant market of Sony/Minolta gear..
 
Get her a sony. You can share lenses and there is no need to buy lenses in the same focal range for another system. You can only have one on your camera at a time so sharing would be pretty easy ;) Plus you get in-body IS.

Don't worry about the lens choices. I have a wide range of focal lenses covered using either sony or minolta lenses and i get pretty good results out of those. If you ever reach a point where there are not enough Sony fit lenses to cover you (wont be any time soon if you are a beginner and may never be ;) ) then think about switching systems.

If photography is just a hobby for you (same here) buy whatever will save you money. Besides having more money to spend on lenses is always more fun ;)
 
iced_jacob said:
Get her a sony. You can share lenses and there is no need to buy lenses in the same focal range for another system. You can only have one on your camera at a time so sharing would be pretty easy ;) Plus you get in-body IS.

Don't worry about the lens choices. I have a wide range of focal lenses covered using either sony or minolta lenses and i get pretty good results out of those. If you ever reach a point where there are not enough Sony fit lenses to cover you (wont be any time soon if you are a beginner and may never be ;) ) then think about switching systems.

If photography is just a hobby for you (same here) buy whatever will save you money. Besides having more money to spend on lenses is always more fun ;)
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But that's only half the point ref used lenses. Fact - there's not as much used Sony stuff than Canon / Nikon. Therefore the supply and demand equation comes into play and the used items become more expansive than the Canon/Nikon equivalent. Therefore I could never recommend Sony to anyone starting a dslr system where used items are part if the equation, as they are with the op.

This isn't about criticising Sony, or defending their honour it's about presenting the arguments for and against based on the OPs needs.
 
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There are currently over 250 minolta AF lenses on eBay. Prices starting at around £30.
 
odd jim said:
But that's only half the point ref used lenses. Fact - there's not as much used Sony stuff than Canon / Nikon. Therefore the supply and demand equation comes into play and the used items become more expansive than the Canon/Nikon equivalent. Therefore I could never recommend Sony to anyone starting a dslr system where used items are part if the equation, as they are with the op.

This isn't about criticising Sony, or defending their honour it's about presenting the arguments for and against based on the OPs needs.
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That's a fact and i can't disagree. the thing is can you find the lens you need second hand? if you can it doesnt matter whether there is 1 or 100 available. What I am saying is that i got a 70-210 f4 lens for 90 pounds, a 50 f1.7 for 50 pounds a 35mm f1.8 for 100 etc...and i didn't have to wait long to find them.

anw I m just saying to the OP that since he already has a sony another sony would be the cheaper option, as lens sharing is gonna be a convenience. I m not saying Nikon or Canon are not worth it. They are just going to cost WAY more given the circumstances. If money is not an issue then I agree ;)
 
Thanks everyone for all your opinions, it's given me some food for thought.
As i'm happy with my Sony at the moment I think I will look for a used Sony body prob an A200.

When I'm looking at upgrading I will again look at all the options and depending how much I've invested in the Sony brand by that time will determine if I will stick with Sony or move to the likes of Canon or Nikon.
 
odd jim said:
But that's only half the point ref used lenses. Fact - there's not as much used Sony stuff than Canon / Nikon. Therefore the supply and demand equation comes into play and the used items become more expansive than the Canon/Nikon equivalent. Therefore I could never recommend Sony to anyone starting a dslr system where used items are part if the equation, as they are with the op.

This isn't about criticising Sony, or defending their honour it's about presenting the arguments for and against based on the OPs needs.
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You need to consider that there are a lot less Sony users than Canon / Nikon, so while supply might be less, so is demand, which balances the supply / demand equation.
 
Edwinrgarland said:
I recently got a Sony dslr. I didn't actually choose Sony specifically but one day in comet I saw an ex-display model at less than half price it was to good an offer to miss.

Since I got my dslr she has become more interested in photography - she only had a simple point and shoot.

I'm debating buying her a used dslr prob 6/8 megapixels.

Now it would make sense that we both have the same brand so we can swap lens. Should I buy her a used Canon / Nikon and sell my Sony or should I just get her an older Sony?
Click to expand...

How much are you looking to spend? I'v seen Sony A200's(10 megapixels) for around £150 used.
 
Again, what do megapixels have to do with this? The image quality comes from the lens predominantly and unless you are heavily (and I mean heavily) cropping megapixels have nothing to do with the image quality.
 
I say sell your sony and you both buy a canon or nikon. I prefer nikon myself as nikon user but you get a different answer from canon. So either one is good.

If you in a budget and can only buy 1 camera than give her your sony and you go buy yourself a canon or nikon. She can upgrade to a different body when she know how DSLR works and improve her skills.
 
I think the Sony's are a pretty good option so don't rule out keeping it. It is pretty easy to get hold of used Sony compatible lenses so you shouldn't have a problem getting hold of what you need.
You can easily pick up a used A230 for around £180 and if you already have some lenses your wife is good to go straight away.
If you go down the Nikon or Canon route you'll obviously be able to pull some funds back by selling the Sony set up you already have. This would probably cover most of the cost of one set up, then you'll just need to top up the funds to buy the second body. Depending on what you can get for the Sony you could probably swap to another brand for a similar sort of cost as buying another Sony body.
 
chrism_scotland said:
Granted on classifieds here theres nowhere near as much Sony gear as there is Nikon or Canon but elsewhere there is a flowing abundant market of Sony/Minolta gear..
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I couldn't agree more Chris. I found a 70 - 210 f4 Beercan (within a week of trying) for £72, 35 70 f4 Mini Beercan £45, and have added several more useful lenses from that era (when the lenses were built to last, and the optical quality was great).
I could not imagine buying a 400mm or over lens at the moment, so Canon or Nikon would not make any sense.
I see a lot of people recommending only Canon and Nikon, even to the extent of running down the other manufactuers. It doesn't make sense really.:shrug:
 
What about buying her a Sony nex? Should she wish to you can get an adapter to use some of your alpha mount lenses on it! I brought my wife a nex as a prezzy for taking pics of our new born and she's found it amazing for what she needs.
 
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