How does my Sony A300 + Tamron 28-70 f2.8 compare to Nikon D90?

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How does my Sony A300 + Tamron 28-75 f2.8 compare to Nikon D90 + 18-105mm VR Lens Kit?

I know there is a major price different, but want to know the benefits/ advantages of the D90.

I've built up a good system and enjoy it lots, but my first DSLR was a D40 and I miss the feel and menu of Nikon. Why the D90, it has live view like the A300, which is one of the main attractions.

I've also got alongside Tamron 28-70 f2.8, Tamron 11-18, Sony 18-200, Sony Grip, Sony Flash; so in theory if I sold it all I could get a D90.

This is just a thought and not top priority.
 
p1tse said:
Why the D90, it has live view like the A300, which is one of the main attractions.
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It has Liveview but not like the A300's.
On the other hand it will have a better ovf & it has video.

I'm sure that it's a step up from the A300 but it might be worth hanging on a bit to see what the A500/A550 are like.
 
I recently moved up from an a200 to a D90 + 18-105. A few of my first observations, although I have not had a good session out with it yet. -

1/ Jpegs straight from the camera are much better.
2/ Menu system / controls takes a bit of getting used to, but having owned a D40 should not be a problem to you.
3/ The D90 does feel more solid, I like the AF on the D90.
4/ I only just realised that the meter is the other way round to the a200, but can be flip around. So last weekend I was overexposing when I wanted to underexpose.
 
thanks

with so much in my system and only use mine on odd occasion hobby it doesn't make much sense to sell all the gear to get one body and one kit lens

i'll keep a keen eye on the d90 though, while i hope my whole system package will keep value of some sort
 
5/ The high ISO performance on the D90 is miles better.

I managed to break even when I sold all my Sony / Minolta kit. Mainly because I bought all my Minolta lenses about a year and a half ago.
 
but if he's looking at upgrading to a D90 then he should consider comparing it against the equivalent Sony (currently A700) & it's high ISO isn't miles better than that (an A700 with v4 firmware & a D300 are pretty much indistinguishable).
& the A700 would be cheaper even without considering the costs of changing glass.
You would expect that the A700 replacement (A500/A550?) will be at least as good & hopefully better again.
 
JDholic said:
Lens wise, I wouldn't compare the 28-75 f/2.8 Tamron with the 18-105VR f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. I would also add money to your budget to buy a decent bit of glass for the d90.
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(y)

Surely the decision is which body as opposed to body + lens? If you're happy with your Tamron lens, why not get the same but in Nikon fit?
 
JDHolic, i see you have a d90 and d40, what lens do you recommend with similar range?

good point sdb123, i think i would be happy with the tamron on the nikon. but for lens against lens, how does the 28-75 f/2.8 Tamron with the 18-105VR f/3.5-5.6 compare?

i know the d90 is alot more expensive, so would be an upgrade, so seeing if the benefits of one is worth the extra £ at the moment
 
p1tse said:
JDHolic, i see you have a d90 and d40, what lens do you recommend with similar range?

good point sdb123, i think i would be happy with the tamron on the nikon. but for lens against lens, how does the 28-75 f/2.8 Tamron with the 18-105VR f/3.5-5.6 compare?

i know the d90 is alot more expensive, so would be an upgrade, so seeing if the benefits of one is worth the extra £ at the moment
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At this present time I've only just upgraded to a Nikon 17-55 2.8. The three lens I now carry with me are my Sigma 10-20, the Nikon 17-55 and a Nikon 70-300VR.

Having never owned a 28-75 Tamron I can't comment on it's performance, but I'm sure for a f/2.8 lens it's probably a lot sharper than the 18-105VR. I found quite a lot of barrel distortion at 18mm and struggled to get a sharp photo with it. Maybe I had a bad copy? Though this was all before I owned the 17-55, I'm only now realising how soft it was. (y)

You could maybe go for a 17-50 Tamron, which I've read great reviews about. And also double that up with a 55-200VR. But I'd be happier with the longer 300 range that the 70-300 offers, but it's entirely down to personal preference.
 
JDholic said:
At this present time I've only just upgraded to a Nikon 17-55 2.8. The three lens I now carry with me are my Sigma 10-20, the Nikon 17-55 and a Nikon 70-300VR.

Having never owned a 28-75 Tamron I can't comment on it's performance, but I'm sure for a f/2.8 lens it's probably a lot sharper than the 18-105VR. I found quite a lot of barrel distortion at 18mm and struggled to get a sharp photo with it. Maybe I had a bad copy? Though this was all before I owned the 17-55, I'm only now realising how soft it was. (y)

You could maybe go for a 17-50 Tamron, which I've read great reviews about. And also double that up with a 55-200VR. But I'd be happier with the longer 300 range that the 70-300 offers, but it's entirely down to personal preference.
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I'd reckon your 17-50 must have been a bad one, I didn't find a huge difference between it and the 17-55. There is a difference in iq, but as to whether on it's own justifies £5-600....:thinking:
 
thanks again

let's put it another way:
how would a sony a300 vd nikon d90 be like if both were using a similar tamron 17-50 or 28-75 f2.8?
what advantages does the body add?
 
better build
better ovf
better high iso
more fps
video

but unless you need Liveview c/w tiltable screen & video so would an A700.
 
I've recently just got a D90 and if you're still thinking about a D90, may I suggest one of two places that are currently far cheaper than anyone else and both also offer 6 months intrest free. This may help the decision more.

You could trade in some Nectar points at Argos to help bring the cost down or use a cash back scheme for Argos, I use Quidco. Dixons do discount vouchers that might help bring the price down further. They recently (now expired) had a 4% discount on all photographic equipment, so that brought my D90 18-105mm kit down to £708 delivered.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/0561769/Trail/searchtext%3ENIKON+D90.htm

http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/store/dix_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1528080301.1245695737@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdjadehifmdhgecflgceggdhhmdgmh.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=288742&category_oid=

Also, Argos do the 70-300mm lens cheaper than anywhere else I've seen at the moment.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/0581543/Trail/searchtext%3ENIKON+70.htm

Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
until i get to play with one, i'm keeping mine

it would cost me too much to change to also get a similar system to what i have:
Sony 18-200, Sony Flash F42, Sony Battery Grip, Tamron 11-18, Tamron 28-75 f2.8

so i would look for an all in one lens, something sharper for portrait, wide angle for playing etc
 
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