hi. just helping my friend out. he is trying to decide whether to take a 400D or a Sony Alpha. I think he has used Sony products his whole life so the shift is quite difficult. I couldn't even convince him to get a 2nd hand 300D/350D for starters. Appreciate if you can share your inputs.

I think he has used Sony products his whole life so the shift is quite difficult.


It's not that difficult, he can start either of the two products since he just starting anyway. It's a matter of the availability of lenses and accessories and after-sales support that your friend need to consider. :)

but canon has a wider range of lenses available ryt? plus is it true that canon lenses are cheaper esp. since 3rd party lenses are available?

nonetheless, thanks for your input. :)

Hi Buddy, Canon has wide array of lenses.

Speaking of third party lenses, Sony Alpha is KonicaMinolta mount so the third pary lenses was already available for Minolta and so with Sony Alpha mount.

You can you use old Minolta AF lenses if they are available. Canon and Minolta users can tell you exactly the prices.

whow! didn't know that. thanks jerome!

I have tested the two system and for feature specific Alpha has an edge but for quality I can say that 400D was over the edge, I might be bias on this cause I’m a Canon user, but these are my observations, the controls on the 400D was much familiar with me and I had a hard time taming the Alpha with regards to manual control of its shutter and aperture. Though you have to try it for yourself, but it only boils down to one's preference for whichever system you would choose it only matters how the way you will use it.

This is probably the reason why Sony will succeed in its foray into DSLRs. It's trying to nip dslr migration to nikon/canon in the bud by guiding their maturing pointandshooters to the Alpha series. Pretty smart, I should say.

have your friend considered nikon dslrs?

I'd go with the 400d over the Alpha due to the numerous lenses that will cater to your needs...but I'd prefer a NIKON system if I were you...just my personal preference...hehehehe :Grin:

i second the motion :)

I would go for a Canon. That wasn't much of a choice. If it were between a Canon or a Nikon. Then, its a hard decision. As far as the models(400D and Alpha) are concerned, are they at par? Price-wise or feature-wise?

The things I would consider would be support, performance, peripherals. Another point would be resale speed and resale value. 100% sure that Canon will sell really fast and the Sony would sit for some time.

canon user po kasi ako kaya i was forcing him to get a canon dslr. hehehe. :) but please highlight nikon's edge over canon para naman i can give him more option. ;)

a newbie's 2-cents' worth: the alpha is selling at about P70k, the 400d is selling at P48.5k. but sony's alpha has the image stabilization function in the body, so whatever lens you mount, it gets IS. canon puts its IS in the lens (but at a price). you can check out the lens prices in the internet. i have nothing to say about the quality of the pictures of these cameras, i'm a newbie.

whoa! 70K pala ang alpha. 30D na lang ako. tnx raul! :)

how is noise resolution at higher ISOs with the alpha?

this is the one thing that would make me go for canon over nikon/alpha. i like shooting in lowlight, wide open, so noise management is something that i would consider from a photo quality perspective.

most of us know that canon is the ISO king (or queen kung british :) ) but i think nikon is not far behind...

and sony? you be the judge

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydslra100/page30.asp
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dslr_a100-review/index.shtml

some say it's even noisier than olympus (no offense meant to oly users :) )

but honestly, unless you pixpel-peep everything and ALL your pictures will be printed on 4x5 feet or larger BILLBOARDS.... most dslrs will give you a decent pix almost everytime, even on high iso (800 and above)

ot: for most people (which may include me), the same scene shot at different iso's printed on a 5r may look the same and they may not even see the difference... so as far as I am concerned (ako lang naman -- a hobbyist), high ISO noise is not really a big issue yet... yet!!! but if a big company asks me to make them a full-blown meter by meter billboard, i might be forced to buy a canon...

having said all of that, i would recommend either a nikon d50 (for a real newbie dslr user) or a nikon d80 (i think it is cheaper than the alpha)... obvious bang nikonian ako hehe... 2 reasons... first, CLS (flash galing)... and second, nice set of lens offerings pati sa third party (sigma, tokina, tamron, etc)... plus you can use any lens mula nuon na nikon mount kasi pareho ang mount mula nung buhay pa si lolo ko hanggang ngayon... :)

or kung talagang alpha lang at 400d... 400d hands down... nice set of canon lenses available...

i think my friend is getting the 400D. pupunta na ata cya sa henry's. :)

i second the motion :)

:D It seems to me that brand biases are showing.

Funny because I am in the same situation; i.e., researching and canvassing for a dslr to call my own. I must say if it were just a matter of brand, I would definitely go for the Nikon...
but now I am almost at the point of info overload with all the reviews and feedback available for the different models (and brands) I am considering.

Archie (confused) :Shock:

archie,

i always hear people shifting to nikon as going to the "dark side". i really don't know what it means but i guess there is something in there that is worth experiencing.

im a canon user but im very intrigued.

@Buddy,
Same here, but so far, reading the reviews of canon models gives me the impression that these have more advantages over their Nikon counterparts. Then again, taking it with a grain of salt, perhaps those reviews were written by Canon users too.
:Thinking: Some of the writeups don't say

Archie

me too 400D!

archie,

my dad and a few of my uncles love nikon pero almost all of my friends use canon. maybe it is just more popular these days. either way, im betting ul get a good deal. so take it from me. trust your instincts and go get urself one para you can start firing away. :)

Canon 400D
http://static.flickr.com/95/248143932_c7cec2baab_o.jpg


Sony A100
http://static.flickr.com/97/248143931_5d72672d82_o.jpg

Sau, eto ba yung "apples to oranges" na comparison? :Grin:

@Sau

ang hirap namang mag-compare...

still go for 400D...no questions ask. already handled sony a100 and not contented with the feel.

I tried the Sony A100 at a store before, it really feels more like a toy than a camera. Ergonomics on a scale of 1-10 is probably 3.

Also tried the A100's IS or steady shot and it somehow failed to make a sharp image after a couple of attempts. It did finally worked in the end but the Canon's IS seems to be better. Of course i'm biased for Canon. :)

thanks a lot guys. my friend got himself a 400D last week...finally! never imagined him giving up his love for sony products. pero as a consolation, he got himself a 6mp cybershot pa din. hehehe.

canon eos 400D vs. Sony A100 = canon tech vs. (konicaMinolta tech) + Sony brand

" While Sony has some of the nicest digital cameras around, they've got nothin' in the way of single-lens reflex, so they've worked a partnership on DSLRs with Konica Minolta (http://www.engadget.com/search/?q=konica+minolta&submit=Go) ..."

Egadgets.com

wala akong panama dito but i'd go for the A100

- almost ALL AF lens works with the built in AntiShake ( do you know how much are IS lenses!)
- DR / DR+ for more dynamic range
- Carl Zeiss Lens Available for it
- 1.5 CF vs 1.6 CF (yeah i know it's small....)
- Wireless Flash is so easy (Minolta started it...)
- Lo80 (ISO 80, Low key)
yun lang po :)

A simple focusing speed test of the Canon 400D, Sony a100, and Samsung GX-10 with their respective lens kits. :) It's not exact science, but you do see a difference. Is this true din kaya in practical usage?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4za9azUHz4&eurl=


Off-topic, the GX-10's lens kit was sure audibly noisy.

...inconclusive test, since it could have set, the gx-10, to release priority rather than AF

Well I was comparing the a100 and 400D, but then again, wasn't the second to the last focus test on the GX-10 a misfocus showing it was using AF? I could be wrong. :S

Well I was comparing the a100 and 400D, but then again, wasn't the second to the last focus test on the GX-10 a misfocus showing it was using AF? I could be wrong. :S

if so that's one very fast AF machine :Grin:

the question that can make u decide is what will be ur lenses, how about flash, does it have accessories, where can u get it, is it compatible with other cameras, what existing system did you use. sony has made many hi tech products of the past -- minidisc.

Go for the 400D, the Alpha is a terrible camera.











**my feeble attempt at reverse psychology.












Of course, since the fact that this thread is in the Canon sub-forum and not in the general discussion area of DPP, says a lot.

If you need to shoot at ISo 800 and 1600, You'll goona love the canon.