Sony A200 vs. Rebel XT

[j-spec]

Hey guys, I've decided to buy my first DSLR and get into this amazingly complicated world of photography.

I had made my choice to purchase a Sony A200 that comes with a 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 lens, which should be good for my needs at the current time. I've read tons of reviews on this and the only bad thing I came up with is that low light shooting is not the greatest. That kind of sucks as I was planning on taking pics of my gf during low light situations....lol, i'll leave it at that.
But seriously, am I looking at getting unusable pics in lower light situations with the A200? Does anybody have any personal experience with this camera?

Apparantly, the Rebel XT is much better in those cases, but I found the Sony to be much more user friendly (especially for a noob) and more comfortable in my hand and while I was shooting, which is why I'm still leaning towards the Sony.

Will I be seeing a significant difference in low light situations with these cameras? Keep in mind that I'm a noob, and I'm not exactly looking for pro quality pics...but still better quality then regular point and shoots. I know its an entry level DSLR so I guess I'm looking for entry level quality pics

BTW, the Sony A200 is currently on sale at Futureshop for 480! Plus another 10% off if you purchase online!
The Rebel XT is a refurb model for 430 which comes with a 50mm f1.8 lens.
This is for Canadian buyers, so if you're currently looking for a DSLR north of border, I suggest you take a look at Futureshop's website

What do you guys think? Sony or Rebel?

Thanks for the help!

 

[ChrisA]

Once you pick a brand you are going to be stuck with it for years. You will buy a second lens and maybe a flash and then when you need to upgrade the body you will buy one of the same brand so you can continue to use the lenses. So choose the brand you will want to be with.

I'd suggest you go with a company that has been making cameras for 50 years. Most of the major camera companies have been around that long. Sony is a new comer and who even knows if they will be making SLRs in 10 years? Look at Sony's line up of lenses. It does not compare with Canon's or Nikon's. That is why people go with Nikon or Canon, because you know they will have the product you want five years from now. Sony's lens line up is rather thin.

You have to think of an SLR as a system. the body is just one part and likely the body is the first part you will replace. dSLR bodies are like computers. You replace them periodically because the technology changes. Leses and flashes last "forever", technology there is mature and moves slowly. So when you buy that first Sony you are placing a heavy bet that you will want to buy another Sony body every five or so years. I'd say Canon or nikon is a safer bet.

Hey guys, I've decided to buy my first DSLR and get into this amazingly complicated world of photography.

I had made my choice to purchase a Sony A200 that comes with a 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 lens, which should be good for my needs at the current time. I've read tons of reviews on this and the only bad thing I came up with is that low light shooting is not the greatest. That kind of sucks as I was planning on taking pics of my gf during low light situations....lol, i'll leave it at that.
But seriously, am I looking at getting unusable pics in lower light situations with the A200? Does anybody have any personal experience with this camera?

Apparantly, the Rebel XT is much better in those cases, but I found the Sony to be much more user friendly (especially for a noob) and more comfortable in my hand and while I was shooting, which is why I'm still leaning towards the Sony.

Will I be seeing a significant difference in low light situations with these cameras? Keep in mind that I'm a noob, and I'm not exactly looking for pro quality pics...but still better quality then regular point and shoots. I know its an entry level DSLR so I guess I'm looking for entry level quality pics

BTW, the Sony A200 is currently on sale at Futureshop for 480! Plus another 10% off if you purchase online!
The Rebel XT is a refurb model for 430 which comes with a 50mm f1.8 lens.
This is for Canadian buyers, so if you're currently looking for a DSLR north of border, I suggest you take a look at Futureshop's website

What do you guys think? Sony or Rebel?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Abstract]

Hey guys, I've decided to buy my first DSLR and get into this amazingly complicated world of photography.

I had made my choice to purchase a Sony A200 that comes with a 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 lens, which should be good for my needs at the current time. I've read tons of reviews on this and the only bad thing I came up with is that low light shooting is not the greatest. That kind of sucks as I was planning on taking pics of my gf during low light situations....lol, i'll leave it at that.
But seriously, am I looking at getting unusable pics in lower light situations with the A200? Does anybody have any personal experience with this camera?

Apparantly, the Rebel XT is much better in those cases, but I found the Sony to be much more user friendly (especially for a noob) and more comfortable in my hand and while I was shooting, which is why I'm still leaning towards the Sony.

Will I be seeing a significant difference in low light situations with these cameras? Keep in mind that I'm a noob, and I'm not exactly looking for pro quality pics...but still better quality then regular point and shoots. I know its an entry level DSLR so I guess I'm looking for entry level quality pics

That's a great price at Futureshop, but does Best Buy have the same prices, or better? Same company, but remember to check.


Anyway, one thing that bothers me about camera reviews regarding noise is that they're highly exaggerated. Noise always looks horrible when you view an image at 1:1 (i.e. zoomed in). Also, in the case of DPReview, the noise review section doesn't include the noise reduction setting. It isn't turned on! Look at the NEXT PAGE. This is what the photos look like with NR turned on. For the main comparison with other cameras, they used the default setting (high ISO NR turned OFF), which obviously doesn't give the best results that the camera can offer. The benefits of having NR turned on obviously outweigh the disadvantages, judging by the photos.

They don't look bad. Honestly. You won't notice the difference between the A200, Nikon D60, or any entry DSLR on the market today.

I don't know much about the A200, but I'd definitely choose it over the Canon Rebel XT. Was never a fan of that camera. It felt lousy in my hand (infamous poor hand grip), the materials felt cheap, the build quality wasn't as good as the Nikon D50 or D70s (its main competitors at the time) and you had to go to the menu in order to change any setting.

 

[jhamerphoto]

I recently switched to Nikon because I'm going to be taking on photography as a career, but before that I shot with Sony for about two years. As a beginner, I started on the A100, and I loved it. Back then it was more than twice what you're paying for the A200k, but not much of the technology has changed. I would definitely recommend the camera to a beginner, especially with the value for the price. (I am also Canadian, so I know all the current DSLR prices haha.)

Regarding the comment about Sony not making cameras for 50+ years, maybe he has forgotten that Sony is simply the reincarnation of Minolta, a company that paved the way for photography in my opinion. (They did of course manufacture the first autofocus camera.) So Sony is backed by a ton of camera history, not to mention Nikon, being one of those 50+ brands trusts Sony to provide the Exmor image sensor for their D300 (which I just upgraded to from the Sony A700, which uses the exact same sensor)

Overall, I think you would make a great decision to purchase the A200, it should remain a fantastic camera and do the job you want.

 

[j-spec]

Thanks guys! This is exactly what I was hoping I would hear haha

I'm gonna be picking up the camera today or tommorow (unfortanutely I missed the 10% off sale, but 480 is still a great price IMO)

 

[ChrisA]

Regarding the comment about Sony not making cameras for 50+ years, maybe he has forgotten that Sony is simply the reincarnation of Minolta, a company that paved the way for photography in my opinion.

I didn't say that because I thought it takes 50 years to learn how to build cameras. No. The reason is that we can only judge the future by looking at past performance. We can assume Nikon is fully committed to the SLR market and will stick with it "forever". But we don't know if Sony it in it for the long haul. They have no history. They are not really a "camera company" they make consumer electronics and what happens if dSLRs loose favor with consumers in another 10 years? Sony is known to abandon product lines that don't sell.

One the other hand anyone who is buying a Sony SLR is likely not gong to be buying a ton of expensive equipment like a $2,500 lens. So the Sony users won't get burned to badly if Sony gets out of the SLR market. If you are going to make a "five digit commitment" do it with a company that you know will be around "forever".

Yes they did buy Minolta. I actually still have a Minolta SRT101, early 70s vintage. I remember I bought it because I was a student who couldn't afford a Nikon. Nikon back then was a least twice the cost of anything else on the market.

 

[Abstract]

(snip)

There are too many assumptions in your post.

I doubt Sony is just going to walk away from the camera market. Sony makes a lot of money from selling sensors, small digital cameras, and DSLRs. The marketshare values just released for the first half of 2008 indicate that Sony has an 8.9% marketshare in Japan (Nikon 40.7%, Canon 40.6%, Sony 8.9%, Olympus 5.3%, Pentax 4.4%), which is 3rd in that market. They're gaining a larger share of the DSLR market as they release more cameras. You may only consider Nikon and Canon as the serious, long-term camera makers because they've been around for ages and have served the pro community over that time. However, there is an even larger consumer market that knows Sony, have owned Sony digital cameras in the past, and will at least take a gander over at the Sony line-up when they're looking for an affordable way to get a DSLR.

Personally, I don't see why people care how far back a company history extends. I don't care. Different management, different market, (completely) different technology involved, and most importantly.......it's a different world.

If Sony continues to develop great sensors (CMOS and CCD), great camera bodies, and keep up with the rest of the market, then Leica, Pentax, and Olympus have a larger risk of disappearing than Sony.

 

[Fuzzy14]

So you went for the Sony then even though it was more expensive than the refurbished Canon? Interesting.

I also bought the Sony, and I like it and it does everything I want it to do, but I still think I would have preffered the Canon however in the UK the Sony was £80 (US$160?) cheaper so I couldn't justify the extra cost.

Now getting on my feet and considering buying more lenses and to be honest Canon has a better range. But Sony are improving and I've no doubt they'll still be going in medium future.

 

[j-spec]

So you went for the Sony then even though it was more expensive than the refurbished Canon? Interesting.

I also bought the Sony, and I like it and it does everything I want it to do, but I still think I would have preffered the Canon however in the UK the Sony was £80 (US$160?) cheaper so I couldn't justify the extra cost.

Now getting on my feet and considering buying more lenses and to be honest Canon has a better range. But Sony are improving and I've no doubt they'll still be going in medium future.

Just bought my Sony A200! What's awesome is I price matched at Bestbuy and the employee who was helping me actually gave another 20 bucks off when he rang it in!! haha, i paid only 459!!

And yeah, I decided to go with the Sony because the price difference in my mind was pretty negligable, and with the Sony, I got a camera which i found was MUCH more user friendly, actually felt better in my hand and came with a zoom lens, rather then a fixed lens (50mm with the Canon). I know zoom lens aren't always better (especially with the higher f-ratio), but I'm a beginner and I figured having a zoom lens would give me much more freedom to experiment with many different kinds of situations.
Plus, I guess there was kind of an intangible quality with the Sony that I really liked haha

Also, I'm not too worried about Sony dropping out of the DSLR game...this isn't a career for me, just a hobby. I do plan on progressing and intend to work at it, but I can't see Sony dropping out within the next 5 years, and if they do, by that time it might be a good time to upgrade anyways

When I was in the store playing around with the camera, I tried taking a shot of a close subject and adjusting the aperture to make the background all fuzzy (learned on DSLRtips.com). haha, I got that to work and it made me really excited to see what else I can try with this camera!!

Oh, BTW, does anybody know a good place in Canada where I can get the best prices on Compact Flash?

Thanks

 

[Abstract]

And yeah, I decided to go with the Sony because the price difference in my mind was pretty negligable, and with the Sony, I got a camera which i found was MUCH more user friendly, actually felt better in my hand and came with a zoom lens, rather then a fixed lens (50mm with the Canon). I know zoom lens aren't always better (especially with the higher f-ratio), but I'm a beginner and I figured having a zoom lens would give me much more freedom to experiment with many different kinds of situations.
Plus, I guess there was kind of an intangible quality with the Sony that I really liked haha

Good enough reasons to buy the Sony, I think. For an all-around lens, the lens you got gives you a lot of flexibility for everyday shooting.

And yes, the intangible feeling you get from the camera does count too.

 

[jhamerphoto]

Good places to get compact flash cards? What province are you in? If you're in Ontario, definitely Henry's. If not, sorry I can't be of much help hahaha.

 

[synth3tik]

I guess it all depends on what you will use your camera for (taking pictures is a given), but I personally am not a fan of the CCD image sensors. I much prefer a CMOS sensor. From what I have seen and what I had heard around message boards is that the CCDs (Nikons, and I think Sony) are not all that good for low light. The CMOS sensor (Canons), is a far superior image sensor.


Currently I myself am using a Canon rebel XT with old Nikon AI prime lenses. I like the set up a lot. It is the perfect mix of modern digital photography and good old days of excellent manual focus lenses.

 

[j-spec]

Good places to get compact flash cards? What province are you in? If you're in Ontario, definitely Henry's. If not, sorry I can't be of much help hahaha.

Do you know if Henry's ships? I'm in Alberta

Thanks for the help!

 

[Fuzzy14]

I bought a 4GB San Disc packaged with the camera from Amazon for 15 GBP extra, room enough for 1200 pictures.

I see Amazon Canada sell the same one for 47 Canadian (24 GBP) which I think is still reasonable, but I don't know what your usual going rate is.

Linky McLink

~Fuzzy