Sony DSLR or Bridge camera?

Daysleeper40

Daysleeper40

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Hi all,

I have been planning on upgrading my Olympus mju 725 to a panasonic Lumix FZ18... but I may have the option of a discount on Sony gear instead.

My question to you is - do Sony have an equivelent to the FZ18, or would you recommend their entry level DSLR's?

Basically, if you had the option of naming a Sony camera / lens etc for a first time DSLR user - what would you pick. My original budget would be approx £200, but it's possible I could get a 50% discount on the Sony gear so aim for the £400 mark.
 
Go for the DSLR if you can afford it. it will do everything thing that the bridge will do and so much more, and it will still do point and shoot if you are lazy:D you will only kick yourself otherwise...
 
do you have any recommendation as to which Sony DSLR I should go for?

I am very much a newbie to DSLR's :thinking:
 
if im completely honest i know nothing about the sony range as they are fairly new to the DSLR scene and ive not looked lol. :shrug:
general rule of thumb is go for the best you can afford. in the case of looking at just sony the best you can afford will be the most expensive you can afford (y)
i know there are quite a few guys on her using Sony so im sure someone will be along soon to point you in the right direction.

good luck :wave:
 
The A350 is meant to be quite good but it may be over your budget.

otherwise think about the a200
 
I agree - the dslr will be better in the long run. In your budget, you'l be looking at the A(Alpha) 200 which would be a great beginners dslr: 10MP, Image stabilised etc. the only downside is the kit lens which is 18-55mm, so you wont get the reach of the Panasonic, but you could always expand your lens collection as your photography develops and more specifically into your chosen preferences.

Remember to also budget for a memory card - the dslr's dont have any internal memory like compacts, so without a memory card you wont be able to store ANY pictures. Play.com are usually pretty cheap for cards.
 
i have a sony alpha100 DSLR,and it's a cracking camera for a novice to start out with IMHO.i believe that since sony introduced their new range of DSLR's,you should be able to pick it up cheaper than what it was retailing for,but having said that,the new alpha 200,300 and 350 are a slight improvement on the alpha 100,with the 300 and 350 having the live view facility.

as has what's been said...you will not regret getting a DSLR over a bridge camera..much more versatile (y)
 
andrewc said:
Why Sony - Canon & Nikon have the bulk of the market and this is reflected in the amount of 3rd party accessories.
Click to expand...

As I said - I have the option of a big discount on Sony gear (via a family member who is contracting for Sony) - I wouldn't be able to afford the equvilent canon / nikon gear without this discount.

Thankyou all for the info - I will look at those you have mentioned and try and work out what would be best (y)
 
As I understand it the sony will work with all the older minolta lenses (which are dirt cheap on ebay), sony having taken over minolta to get the camera knowledge.

Does anyone know if the autofocus minolta SLR lenses work in autofocus on the A series?

I would def go with the dslr. what does the discount apply to ? list price or shop price? (think I saw a good price on the 350 in the paper comet or dixons or something)
 
andrewc said:
Why Sony - Canon & Nikon have the bulk of the market and this is reflected in the amount of 3rd party accessories.
Click to expand...

:thinking:Don't see why this should stop you getting a Sony :thumbsdown: It's not the amount of kit you can own but having the skill and talent on using what you do have.

I am happy with my Sony A100 and have managed to get together a good kit bag I just need to get out and learn how to use it. I think you will be very happy with any of the Sony range and on a direct price comparison I think the features available in Sony's range give you more: as an example the A350 comes with live preview you would need to buy a D300 to get that feature and I don't think that Canon have any with that feature on.

All I would say is that you need to bear in mind, if you do get on with a DSLR you may find that the consumer models in all ranges will hold you back to some degree creatively..... but then thats part of the challenge in finding ways of getting round these issues. Check out the limitations of the model you decide on beforehand so you don't get despondant further down the line.

[S1]Team Sony[/S1]
 
I have to admit to being quite tempted to buying into sony along with my nikon kit, but after looking at the prices of the lenses theres no way i would even concider it.

The bodies are fairly cheap but sony lenses are really expensive, you could buy third party lenses but that defeats the object, you should take time to study the kit your buying into for about a month and to be honest your better off going with nikon or canon you will get more for your money with either of those.
 
andrewc said:
Why Sony - Canon & Nikon have the bulk of the market and this is reflected in the amount of 3rd party accessories.
Click to expand...

At the end of the day, all the Sony gear is Minolta/Konica stuff anyway so there's a mass of used gear on the merket, plus some well-received Sony lenses too. have hear Sony are a bit of a dark horse when it comes to the DSLR market...
 
specialman said:
At the end of the day, all the Sony gear is Minolta/Konica stuff anyway so there's a mass of used gear on the merket, plus some well-received Sony lenses too. have hear Sony are a bit of a dark horse when it comes to the DSLR market...
Click to expand...

Very true, you will find some fantastic minolta lens bargains on ebay with a bit of patience.

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/items/Photography_Camera-Accessories_Camera-Lenses-Filters_minolta_W0QQ_nkwZminoltaQQQ5ftrksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em1QQQ5fcatrefZ1QQ_frdlpwlZ1QQ_ssovZ1
 
other than the lens i got when i bought my alpha100,i purchased a KM 50mm F1.7 prime lens on e-bay for £40.it is in excellent condition all round,and takes a fantastic shot,pin sharp etc..i recommend you get one if you decide to go the sony route.i've also got myself a sigma 105 F2.8 macro lens,filters etc etc,and it's coming along nicely now,but like hammerhead said...it's not the kit you have,it's getting out there and using it and learning...
 
Thankyou everyone for your help - I know it is how you use the kit that matters, not how expensive it is, but I didn't want to buy a Sony because of the discount and then find that I'd have been better off paying more for a different make in the long run.

From what everyone has said I am going to ask them to price up the A200 and A350 (with kit lenses) and see what they come up with. I would be happy buying thisrd party lenses further down the line and don't have a problem buying used gear either.

All in all it sounds like if I can get a Sony DSLR for the same price as I would have paid for the panasonic, then I can't go far wrong! :D
 
I had the same issue, and went for the Sony DSLR. My dad has the panasonic, and it is a great point and shoot, but with the DSLR I have a much bigger sensor size, meaning better quality pics, also more options available with lenses sizes / filters etc.
The only downside to a DSLR is its physical size and weight compared to the Panasonic, but that doesn't bother me.
 
The reason I suggested Canoink was that there is so much more stuff available. Third party support. This is reflected in secondhand values and also the prices of new kit.

I know its the photographer that makes to picture, not the kit, but if you're wanting to do it on the cheap, its probably easier with the market leaders.
 
celery said:
I had the same issue, and went for the Sony DSLR. My dad has the panasonic, and it is a great point and shoot, but with the DSLR I have a much bigger sensor size, meaning better quality pics, also more options available with lenses sizes / filters etc.
The only downside to a DSLR is its physical size and weight compared to the Panasonic, but that doesn't bother me.
Click to expand...

That is the one thing (apart from price of course) that is casting doubt over my getting a DSLR. I went into Jessops today to have a look and they just seem HUGE!

I'm sure I would get used to it though and would still have my P&S for the happy snaps and when it's not practical to take the DSLR (I'm a bit of a theme park junkie and I can see lugging kit around the likes of Universal Islands of Adventure to be a bit of a pain!). I'm getting really excited about all this now - lets just hope the price my friend comes p with is good otherwise I could be in for a bit of a wait for my new toy...

So which Sony do you have, how have you found it? I'm a complete newbie to DSLR's so I would be looking for relatively user friendly gear!
 
Whilst it's a no brainer going for DSLR over bridge you reall do need to think carefully before going Sony. As an example the 50mm 1.7 goes for between £40-60 on ebay and they'll be about twenty years old and had who knows how many owners. You can get a new canon/nikon one for that price through Kerso (do a search). That's just one example, whilst you may save some money on ebay you will save more on ebay with the other makes just because they have more items in the 2nd hand market. New prices on Sony lenses don't really compete either in most cases.

I've not used a Sony but the A100 is based on my Minolta 5D and it's very simple to use and ergonomic in it's design and I imagine they'd have carried that through to their newer models. check out http://www.dyxum.com for more information on the A-mount than you can shake a stick it.

One thing I've not seen mentioned which will save you money over the other brans is the fact you'll never need to buy image stabilised lenses becasue you've got it in the camera body.

Don't rush your decision (and if your mate can get discounts you could set up a nice little side line in selling us some realistically priced new gear!)
 
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