new to dslr : the sony a200 dslr...

mani

mani

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Imran
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I'm starting up on the dslr scene and I've seen a great deal for a 2nd hand sony a200.

i've read about them and they do get recommended as an entry level quite alot

however i've read comments from users on other forums saying how the higher iso ability isnt so good and there's lots of noise and that i should just start off with one of the main two.

I'm planning to do a fair bit of night shooting (i work as a doorman at the weekends so it would be great to mill around after work.)

What i like about the sony is the inbuilt image stabalisation and maybe if this was branded by the big two the price would increase cause your buying into a name...

What would you recommend - i'm spending £250 on the a200 plus three lenses+8gb card. as i'm just starting up i dont want to go wallet crazy and splash on a bigger machine.
 
I've owned an A200 and it was a nice camera and whilst yes, it was noisy at high ISO it really depends on your level of expectation. If you are only every going to print 4x6" photos then you can get away with using much much higher ISO than if you're a pixel peeper.

What are the 3 lenses, £250 could be a proper bargain (and if one of them is fast then that will negate the ISO performance somewhat).
 
the 3 lenses are 18-70kit lens, an additional Tamron 70-300 lens, and a Sony 50mm f1.8 prime lens. i know the prime lens is quite expensive in itself.

i'm not a print my photo's out kinda guy i prefer to have them on the net and thats all really.
 
Well, with those lenses at that price I'd be ripping the seller's arm off!

Stick the 50mm on and you have more stops of light than any other 'beginner' camera with a standard kit lens.
 
yeah i've agreed the sale picking it up on saturday - he's away for work.

so with regards to the low light conditions it would be perfectly fine?
 
As said, it depends on your standards but using the 50mm will help loads and I think you'll be happy with that combo :)
 
just going off the a200 - how much difference in cost is there for a canon lens with and without image stabalisation
 
It isn't quite as simple as that as the in body stabilisation means that even a cheap 50mm prime lens is stabilised - you won't get that on a Canon...

Also it varies from lens to lens and as far as I know (don't do Canon) the easiest lens to compare is the 70-200L F4 as there is a IS and non-IS version - the price difference is hundreds of pounds.

For £250 you really won't get a better deal that the Sony, you'd be looking at spending at least £250 on a Canon body (probably way more) and then you'd need to buy lenses too.

edit: if you really want budget low light capability then I'd look at the Pentax K-r which is class leading in that respect (in body stabilisation too).
 
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yeah i've had a look at the pentax range too. i just felt that the sony deal i lined up was a good deal.

i probably will end up upgrading but not just yet - get the validation to myself that its worth while then i can.
 
mani said:
i just felt that the sony deal i lined up was a good deal.
Click to expand...

It's a stonking deal. When you reach the limits of what you have and want to upgrade you will get back more than you paid. Or, if at that point you stay with Sony and go to one of the higher spec APS-C bodies (e.g. a4xx/a5xx range) you will get the much improved high ISO performance and the lenses will still work.
 
what are the top line sony dslr's like?
 
The top model is the A900 which has 5fps continuous shooting, a full frame sensor (same one that Nikon use in the d3x which costs 3x as much) and i'm very happy with mine - its abilities far exceed my own.

puddleduck on here uses an A900 and his landscapes are stunning.
 
I still have my A200. Not up to the high ISO of my A500 but with a bit of post processing I've gotten good results at ISO 800 and even usable at 1600. While many will recommend the big two, the truth they won't tell you is that in the price class of the A200the big two aren't really any better at high ISO. Thats a good deal, good youve jumped on it, the A200 is a fun camera to grow on.
 
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thanks guys!!

ona - i tried to find a gallery for puddleduck but didnt see one in the search?

myrdhinn - exactly. tbh in that price range i know i wont get alot of bang for my buck compared to the big boy toys.
 
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