Newbie - Sony A300 or A350

Hi Guys

Thanks for all your help so far, I am afraid I have more questions and will probably have many more over the next few weeks too.

Firstly Sarin commented about the Tamron 70 - 300 saying :

Good points:

*Cheap - around the £100 mark.
*Decent build.
*Macro option.

Bad points:

*Tend to suffer from chromatic abberation at anything past 2/3 zoom and gets even worse if working at f/4.
*Can hunt sometimes - annoying if you want to take quick pictures.
*Stiff zoom mechanism.

On this I have some questions.

1) What is a Macro option and what does it give you? (sorry for simple questions really am new to this)
2) What is chromatic abberation?
3) What does can hunt sometimes mean?

Also I am planning on trying to get to Jessops today if I have time to pick up a A300 with Kit lens, what price should I try and push them to sell this to me for. The list price is £332.76

Also should I try and get them to chuck stuff in like a memory card (what card should I go for?) and a bag?

Thanks in advance as usual

Paul
 
essexboy80 said:
Hi Guys

Thanks for all your help so far, I am afraid I have more questions and will probably have many more over the next few weeks too.

Firstly Sarin commented about the Tamron 70 - 300 saying :

Good points:

*Cheap - around the £100 mark.
*Decent build.
*Macro option.

Bad points:

*Tend to suffer from chromatic abberation at anything past 2/3 zoom and gets even worse if working at f/4.
*Can hunt sometimes - annoying if you want to take quick pictures.
*Stiff zoom mechanism.

On this I have some questions.

1) What is a Macro option and what does it give you? (sorry for simple questions really am new to this)
2) What is chromatic abberation?
3) What does can hunt sometimes mean?

Also I am planning on trying to get to Jessops today if I have time to pick up a A300 with Kit lens, what price should I try and push them to sell this to me for. The list price is £332.76

Also should I try and get them to chuck stuff in like a memory card (what card should I go for?) and a bag?

Thanks in advance as usual

Paul
Click to expand...

Can't comment on the lens, but Jessop's are not very competitive on bags and cards and I have heard mixed views on if they will do deals.

Bag example.

Jessop's
http://www.jessops.com/online.store...ducts/Lowepro/Slingshot 200AW-34701/Show.html

Most over places have it for under £50, Jacobs even had it for £30 before xmas.
 
1) What is a Macro option and what does it give you? (sorry for simple questions really am new to this)
2) What is chromatic abberation?
3) What does can hunt sometimes mean?

macro option means you can get quite close to objects like insects etc..but it's not a true macro lens with 1:1 magnification,as it will most likely be 1:3...but good results can be had with it.

i'm not sure about chromatic abberation,so i'll leave that to someone that knows

hunting is something a lens does when it's unable to lock on to focus.this is normally a problem in poor light conditions with basic model lens i believe.
 
just to add that i've no experience with either the tamron or sigma 70-300 lens,but did own the sony 75-300,and it's a pretty good lens IMO...but doesn't have the "macro" facility that the other two do,but if you want to do macro work,then a macro dedicated lens is the way to go...or get a set of extension tubes if cost is a factor (y)
 
i picked up a300 body only and went for sony 18-200, works well for me at the moment, although saving for something sharper
 
hi all

has anyone managed to get a deal out of jessops on a sony a300?

just went into jessops on oxford street and they wanted £332.76 for the camera with the kit lens.

they wouldn't even chuck in a memory car.

has anyone managed to secure a deal if so what did you get.

thanks
 
essexboy80 said:
hi all

has anyone managed to get a deal out of jessops on a sony a300?

just went into jessops on oxford street and they wanted £332.76 for the camera with the kit lens.

they wouldn't even chuck in a memory car.

has anyone managed to secure a deal if so what did you get.

thanks
Click to expand...

Dont think they will do any better then that mate as they are the only people selling the a300.

Get your memory card from Amazon 4GB Sandisk Extreme 3 £14.99
 
Happy Snapper said:
Dont think they will do any better then that mate as they are the only people selling the a300.
Click to expand...

Pixmania also sell it but Jessops are way cheaper.

To be fair, you're not really going to get anything else from Jessops when you're spending a little over £300, a memory card would be the equivalent of a hefty discount.
 
thats a shame, wonder if it is worth trying another branch, or just bite the bullet and pay for a memory card!

i assume the memory cards can be bought cheaper from other sources then jessops?
 
is there somewhere in london (maybe tottenham court road) that will be selling them that cheap?

if i get the camera tomorrow will be too impatient to wait for the memory card!
 
stan the man said:
lots of places that sell cheap memory...amazon(already mentioned)my memory and play.com to mention just a few...

jessops are deffo the cheapest for the A300....
Click to expand...

Oi! :bat: Play.com was mentioned too! :p
 
ahhh, so frustrated want to find a decent priced compact flash card somewhere near my office so i can play with the new camera tomorrow night!!!

shall i go 2gb or 4gb - assuming i can find a good price!!!
 
essexboy80 said:
ahhh, so frustrated want to find a decent priced compact flash card somewhere near my office so i can play with the new camera tomorrow night!!!

shall i go 2gb or 4gb - assuming i can find a good price!!!
Click to expand...

I would go for the 4GB one holds around 742 photos in jpeg
Do you know anybody thats into photography? maybe you should nick a card off them untill you get yours.
 
i don't know anybody that is into photography with a dslr.

unless anyone on hear works around mayfair and wants to lend me one ;-)

how big are pictures in RAW format?
 
i think it's a good start bundle.

what pics you thinking of taking? if not get the body only and choose a sharper and quicker lens
 
Seems like a pretty good deal to me, especially if you want to get started ASAP.
 
i went for sony 18-200, just because i wanted a general lens. but people say anything 4x zoom won't be as good etc.

if it's pics of your daughter, i've heard the tamron 17-50 is very sharp for the money. which is what i want to get next, as most shots are of friends and family.

and also want a wide angle to have a little fun on scenery etc.
 
Hi

I am going to get the twin lens bundle at lunchtime today.

Quick question before I go though.

Is it better to get the Tamron 70 - 300mm F4/5.6 DI LD Macro or the Sigma 70 - 300mm F4/5.6 DG Macro

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Paul
 
essexboy80 said:
Hi

I am going to get the twin lens bundle at lunchtime today.

Quick question before I go though.

Is it better to get the Tamron 70 - 300mm F4/5.6 DI LD Macro or the Sigma 70 - 300mm F4/5.6 DG Macro

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Paul
Click to expand...

Ive heard better things about the Sigma also I have the Sigma myself so I would say that but really its down to you.
 
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