Just curious, why did you choose Sony alpha over Canon and Nikon?:)

For me, because of the good reviews and the price. Bang for the buck! i bought mine in HK. hehe... Mejo disappointed lang sa availability of its lenses and accessories locally. :(

Long story :D
We all share your disappointment :P

For me, it was because of the ergonomics (it just felt right, everything made sense). Then I researched a bit, found out it was sharper and had higher resolution than the C and N models, and also had the fantastic G and CZ lenses. Sealed the deal for me. :)

Then, when I was on the top of Mt Kilimajaro, my A100 worked like a champ and kept on going. Several C 400D units from other climbers froze and would not work.

^Nice read Mike :)
The start of my Minolta story (film days) was my Canon friend told me to go Minolta MF! O_o :D So I ended up with the X300s :P

hmm... i think i'm destine for alpha :) (although im eyeing for d80 at first) normally just hold the camera and you would know :D


first impression about the alphas is what mike said... ergonomics! (101% sure of this even you ask any new alpha user here) SSS is a huge plus... screw the price :D cause d80 is much expensive than my a100 back then in local market and 12mos to pay in mall made me to get it without hesitation.

about the customer service and exagerated lens prices, i believe this will improve soon... ;) (as Sony bodies nowadays is head to head to its competitor... just recently :D)

I used to be canonite.. my bro is pro canon.. I think I grew up knowing it's the best.. but my first use was disappointing - menus are too deep to explore.. colors are not that impressive.. Then my eyes shifted to Nikon -- menus are user friendly, colors are better, but the D300 was way expensive -- I didn't want to settle for less.. Then someone persuaded me to check on Sony -- why not, it's the one inside D300 .. so I took the shot.. the rest is history...

For me first, i like sony, I followed the path of sony boombox, trinitron,sony walkman, wega, bravia. You can always say a word sharpness on these products (sound and video) So i was thinking, what about the picture? Then i decided to chooce Sony Alpha Over C and N.

Though some say it was a little dissapointment lens list of sony, for me its just a start. N and C had a long long history in photography. Thats why they have tons and tons of lens list.

becuase of the built in flash. :Grin: i don't know nothing about dslr back then and i don't know anyone that i can talk to. i had a t3 mag may issue and it featured canon 40d and suggested alternative cameras, one is a350. i reviewed the two dslr and i really thought that only the a350 has a built in flash. i am in a rush that time in picking for my dad is in HK and i thinks HK is a good place to purchase a dslr. beacuse of my impulsiveness i did go with a350 because it has built in flash and 14.1 megapixels and 2 lens.

right now my only regret is the services and products of sony phil, but i understand sony that they are new in dslr market.

i love my a350, DPP mag rated a350 better than canon 40D. something to be proud of especially when canon user thinks that their cam is the best.

no camera is the best, the best camera is the camera that you are using!

I've always been a long time Minolta fan - their colours, ergonomics and the technology they introduced into their cameras. Moving to Sony was just a logical progression.

nice! im starting to love my a350 more. :) cheers to all sonyite!:Smoke:

Sony had launched the A700 a couple of months back when I got mine. I researched about the A100 and stumbled upon a review for an A700 (that of course I never thought I'd buy). I was eyeing an A100 with 2 kit lenses from their catalogue at this Sony store in Filinvest, Alabang. There wasn't an actual A100 around and the sales clerk offered me a A700 which was at the time not even there (it was in another branch I remember). The clerk told me that they weren't certain if that unit would still be available but they'd check anyway and promised to let me know that same day. Later that day, I got my beloved A700 and we have never been apart ever since.


I once had a C p&s and videocam which weren't very user-friendly for me. I had some bad experiences with the videocam when I needed it the most on one family trip that we had... some condensation and pc upload issues. Out of frustration with those 2 gadgets, I shifted to a sony digicam and video cam where I found a whole new world of still and video technology. So when I finally woke up one day and succumbed to the calling of photography, I told myself, I'd not make a mistake and go for a Sony DSLR. The die was cast for me when I found out that Sony had merged with Minolta (another imaging legend) and created these Alphas. To top it all of, I was swept off my feet when I realised what kind of DSLR family I was marrying into ---- one with a gorgeous line up of Sony, CZ and G lenses! :) :) :)

in our tv video production most of our professional equipment are Sony ( Professional video camera " for indoor & outdoor shoot " , dv & dvd recorder, lcd tv etc etc etc.. thats the reason why i choose Sony Alpha! just wait for d next more years and you will see what Sony is all about in the field of photography... :) Go alpha!

...because of my P&S Sony S60 which have a manual mode..but not enough.
Almost bought a N D40x and C 400D during a IT show, but when I saw and played the A100, the ergonomics are much better than those 2 (for me)..as well as the SSS and other features.
..yeah read some reviews about A100 and it was compared to N models like D80 and D200 and wow they're using the same sensor and made by S itself.....so...dang! bought the A100 with 2 kit lenses on Oct. 23? (25?), 2007...itchy hands...then 3 months later the A200 was launched...:Sick:....I was hit by the bug called BBB...once you're hit...no cure..:D

becuase of the built in flash. :Grin: i don't know nothing about dslr back then and i don't know anyone that i can talk to. i had a t3 mag may issue and it featured canon 40d and suggested alternative cameras, one is a350. i reviewed the two dslr and i really thought that only the a350 has a built in flash. i am in a rush that time in picking for my dad is in HK and i thinks HK is a good place to purchase a dslr. beacuse of my impulsiveness i did go with a350 because it has built in flash and 14.1 megapixels and 2 lens.

right now my only regret is the services and products of sony phil, but i understand sony that they are new in dslr market.

i love my a350, DPP mag rated a350 better than canon 40D. something to be proud of especially when canon user thinks that their cam is the best.

no camera is the best, the best camera is the camera that you are using!

guys sorry its 450D not 40D. sorry not familiar with canon brands, alpha user eh! :Grin:

Hi guys! Let me share you my alpha story.

It's as if it's a novel. :Grin:

Well, I've been eyeing the A100 since I first saw it at a Sony store, I cant remember what branch it was coz everytime I pass by a Sony store at any mall, I would go in and see if theres a unit out to be tried. But prices are so damn high here that theres just no way of me affording such a hobby. I became interested in photography, because my gf's brother is working in Japan, and he bought a Sony H-5 which I was able to borrow at times from my gf. Then the camera was sold and my gf just had her PnS.

Well, time went on and I was able to put the alpha at the back of my head for some time. Actually, before I got my alpha, I was already looking at nikon for a cam, the d80 to be exact. Good feature set and all too! Well, such coincidences happen, my gf's brother (he bought a nikon d40x after selling his h5 camera) said that he had just upgraded, and it was a d80. So I was able to try out the camera when he returned. It just didnt feel right in my hands. Ergonomics maybe. And fortunately, my gf's brother told me about a "good buy" alpha that he saw back in Japan. And so, after talking about all hassles we may go into, payments, shipping and taxes; he sent the package a few after going back to Japan. After six days of waiting, overly anticipating, and paying my duty taxes, I was holding a box, "my alpha". (It was even funny, coz the lady that checked the package down at ems customs, asked me like: Toy, sigurado ka ba na digital to? Mukhang film to eh!)

So there. Hope it was not a waste of space and your reading time. :Grin:

Well, about Sony Phils, I went to Sony in Gateway, just happened to pass by then I remembered that I needed the lens hood for the lens, coz mine didn't arrive with one. I went and ask the "alpha boy", "sir, meron ba kayong available na lens hood, ito oh, (pointing at the lens hood that I need at their catalouge). Then the alpha boy answered like: "sir hindi po kami nagbebenta ng lens hood." And then I went like: "ano? eh bakit nasa catalouge nyo?". He was not able to answer after that. About the lens hood, I saw several for sale over the internet, but purchasing it by card and shipping, all that hassle, I was just trying to see if there is an easier way.

One more thing, I've read someone post about sony being new to the dslr market and another one about limited number of lenses. I'm like a "brand-loyal person" and have since then read anything that I can scour from the net about the alpha. Well, I would almost like to agree that Sony is new to the dslr market. But, almost all technology has been inherited from Konica Minolta, so as i've read, all minolta af lens would work with the alpha. So they are saying that all back catalouge af lens should work.


So there.

When I was a kid, my brother had the classic Minolta SLR and grew up using that camera. My sister then bought another Minolta, this time the Dynax series which I eventually inherited. Since I am a frustrated photographer, I purchased a zoom and wide angle lens for this camera. Then came the DLSR, I was initially eying the Maxumm 7D since I thought of recycling my lenses... having read the review and seeing the pictures, I actually fell in love with it since it looks very much like the classic Minolta camera I used to borrow from my brother. However, instinct tells me to wait for a better version. I waited..and waited.. and waited.. until A100 came out, read the review, felt that this is not the camera for me, so still waited.. and waited then finally A700 came out. Ordered it over the net, asked my sister in the US to bring it home and never regretted having to wait for more than two years for this beautiful camera.

To summarize, here are the common reason why we chose our alpha;

1.) from sony P&S want to upgrade to dslr
2.) has sony gears, lcd, psp... sony fanatic... somehow reason related to other sony products.
3.) love at first sight (better ergonomics) --> my reason :)
4.) minolta loyalist

In my experience reason why not sony which i heard from other people too (you can add more)

1.) Availability, most of the time you only see posters of the product even in SONY STORE. (my observation)... funny thing is they have alpha products in brochure which sales rep dont know about. (well i think this is understandable consider that sony has a lot of products)
2.) friends are using N and C.
3.) sony has dslr? which people dont know it just a continuation of minolta history.
4.) strong support (I attended photoworld last summer in glorietta and I CANT believe there is NO sony booth, are they really serious.)
5.) i saw store that display sony dslr but sales rep refer you to C and N is much better. :)


Well anyway even though... I am still fascinated the number of alpha users are increasing and sharing their experience that sony is better than the rest. I hope folks from SONY DSLR PHILS would be able to visit this website and realize it. I WISH there is a local store where we can see, buy and touch to try out ALL lenses, accessories and dslr bodies of sony in much competitive price and Sales Rep can answer diligently and knowledgeable on our questions about there products. i really envy C and N on this and their prices are much closer even price abroad.

A lot of people, friends, officemate and even my wife (who is N fan) ask me WHY SONY? ... I just let the photos do the explaining and tell them its only a camera :D...

I like the latter part - let the photo do the explaining...:Grin:





To summarize, here are the common reason why we chose our alpha;

1.) from sony P&S want to upgrade to dslr
2.) has sony gears, lcd, psp... sony fanatic... somehow reason related to other sony products.
3.) love at first sight (better ergonomics) --> my reason :)
4.) minolta loyalist

In my experience reason why not sony which i heard from other people too (you can add more)

1.) Availability, most of the time you only see posters of the product even in SONY STORE. (my observation)... funny thing is they have alpha products in brochure which sales rep dont know about. (well i think this is understandable consider that sony has a lot of products)
2.) friends are using N and C.
3.) sony has dslr? which people dont know it just a continuation of minolta history.
4.) strong support (I attended photoworld last summer in glorietta and I CANT believe there is NO sony booth, are they really serious.)
5.) i saw store that display sony dslr but sales rep refer you to C and N is much better. :)


Well anyway even though... I am still fascinated the number of alpha users are increasing and sharing their experience that sony is better than the rest. I hope folks from SONY DSLR PHILS would be able to visit this website and realize it. I WISH there is a local store where we can see, buy and touch to try out ALL lenses, accessories and dslr bodies of sony in much competitive price and Sales Rep can answer diligently and knowledgeable on our questions about there products. i really envy C and N on this and their prices are much closer even price abroad.

A lot of people, friends, officemate and even my wife (who is N fan) ask me WHY SONY? ... I just let the photos do the explaining and tell them its only a camera :D...

@jeff, are you doing a thesis on Sony? :D

SSS - can't shoot without it hehehe

@jeff, are you doing a thesis on Sony? :D

im thinking about it when i got my masteral course last sem :Grin: not bad! :) seriously every sony user has the same dilemna :Mad:

SSS - can't shoot without it hehehe

SUPER STEADY SHOT is a must for me as I have shakey hands :) ... i even use a 20+ year old lens and enjoy the same advantage of the newer IS lenses.

one reason: i love SONY :Grin::D:)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee39/JAZTINCLAIRE/sony.jpg

one reason: i love SONY :Grin::D:)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee39/JAZTINCLAIRE/sony.jpg


Then why is your monitor Viewsonic? Tsk tsk tsk

Then why is your monitor Viewsonic? Tsk tsk tsk

You forgot to mention the monitor on the right side, hehehe

oops! sorry! i forgot to removed my monitor hehehe. :Grin: