Overall opinions of Sony wanted

[charlestongirl]

Hi, I'm brand new here. I have lots of silly questions. Here's my first one.

What do you all in general think of Sony digital cameras? I've used one for awhile and love it, the quality is amazing and I it's not even an SLR. It's not your average point-and-shoot either. I didn't buy it, I sort of "aquired" it for awhile and it has a lot of advanced controls and wasn't cheap.

Anyway I have this buddy and she says I am really good, so she says I have to move up to an SLR. Basically she says you can't be a really good photographer if you use Sony. She says you outgrow it. My photo teacher says they aren't the best but they are getting better.

So just wondering, how do you feel about Sony? Anyone here loyal to them?

[alfatv]

It really depends on your needs.
Even Sony they are not all the same.
The best ones are probably DSC-F828, DSC-H1.
Next level is probably DSC-V1, DSC-W1/5/7.

[Dark Cobra]

I would like to comment on what the original poster said about his teacher stating "You'll NEVER be a real good photographer if you use Sony". Personally, if I were you I'd get a new "teacher" before a new camera.

It's a poor craftsman of any kind who blames his tools for his failure.

A camera is merely a light box. It simply opens an aperture to allow in light for a short burst of time. Some of the worlds greatest photographers utilized the simplest of light boxes for their fine work. Sadly, too many these days rely too much on fancy gizmos and bells and whistles fluff buttons.

Succintly put . . . having good equipment is necessary for sure . . . but far more important is the skill and creativity of the person behind the light box. So called "teachers" who put down a particular brand name are people who are far more "name brand conscious" than serious teachers of an artistic skill. Sony cameras along with any major brand camera are capable of taking outstanding images.

Canon and Nikon SLR folks sometimes insist their equipment alone is professional equipment. However, those with cameras with Leica and Zeiss optics will argue that theirs are superior. Medium format folks will argue that their equipment is the only way to go, Large format people will . . . well you get the point.

Any decent light box in the hands of a skillful and creative person can and have taken heart warming images for decades. Pick the camera "YOU" like . . . learn it inside and out . . . spend more time using and growing with it than worrying about brand names with the latest "gotta have gizmo crap features". Grab your camera, be proud of it, create and enjoy!

[impulsus]

Any decent light box in the hands of a skillful and creative person can and have taken heart warming images for decades. Pick the camera "YOU" like . . . learn it inside and out . . . spend more time using and growing with it than worrying about brand names with the latest "gotta have gizmo crap features". Grab your camera, be proud of it, create and enjoy!

You're post inspired me! Thanks!

Greetings from Argentina!

[Jason25]

I've had my H1 for about a month now and love it! Not one single problem or gripe. I'm looking forward to getting more accessories for it, especially the wide and tele converter lenses :)

[Balrog]

Sony's tech is usually good, and very nice for its price range; however their "proprietary-everything" ideology really irks me. They invent their own format / spec for everything under the sun, usually just by taking the going technology, tweaking it juuust a little so it becomes incompatible with everything else on the market, and then charging everyone extra for it.
Common industry formats are good for everyone. Sure, if you've invented something that really is vastly better than what's currently out there, that's great. But don't force Memory Stick or UMD or ATRAC or etc. junk on me when SD, DVD and MP3 are perfectly adequate.
They can't even stick to their OWN formats. How many different kinds of memory stick are there on the market now? The count was at 4, last I recall...

[Jason25]

Sony's tech is usually good, and very nice for its price range; however their "proprietary-everything" ideology really irks me. They invent their own format / spec for everything under the sun, usually just by taking the going technology, tweaking it juuust a little so it becomes incompatible with everything else on the market, and then charging everyone extra for it.
Common industry formats are good for everyone. Sure, if you've invented something that really is vastly better than what's currently out there, that's great. But don't force Memory Stick or UMD or ATRAC or etc. junk on me when SD, DVD and MP3 are perfectly adequate.
They can't even stick to their OWN formats. How many different kinds of memory stick are there on the market now? The count was at 4, last I recall...
That's my major gripe with Sony as a company in general. They make great stuff, just too proprietary. At least their cameras shoot jpg files instead of "sjpg" or something Sony-ish. :D

[Vich]

Anyway I have this buddy and she says I am really good, so she says I have to move up to an SLR. Basically she says you can't be a really good photographer if you use Sony. She says you outgrow it. My photo teacher says they aren't the best but they are getting better.In all fairness; this may have been in reference to Sony not being in the digital SLR market. That's scheduled to change, but they're entering late in the game to make make an impact.

My nephew takes fantasticly well composed and surprisingly high quality shots with his slim little Canon ELPH. However; when the light gets low, a better lense is called for, or a 1/2 second opportunity is missed due to shutter lag, his result will suffer.

Image creation is for sure more about what, when, how much, etc rather than electronics, but junky images can ruin even the best captures unless that junky look is what you were going for.

Just try taking a cheap photo copy of a great magazine photo and see which one you find more impressive and appealing.

In good lighting conditions, most of the better cameras will take very nice shots, however due to the tiny sensors they tend to push up the saturation and sharpening too much and, to the practiced eye, can look artificial and somehow cheap. I'd rather get equipment where this isn't an issue and focus on learning photography rather than overcoming equipment inadequacies - all due respect to the earlier poster.:rolleyes:

[jbonnie]

Hi,

I read your post and had to smile to myself. Up until two months ago, I owned a Sony DSC- F717. I was getting excellent photos. I was winning photo contests and all. Then my F717 broke and could not be repaired. Because I purchased the ESP when I first got the camera, it was replaced with another [very poplar name brand] camera. Well, because of the name brand itself, I had some very large expectations. Well, I printed off a few shots from my new name brand camera and went immediately into shock. The quality of the photos came nowhere near the Sony Cyber- shot DSC - F717. So today I ordered the Sony Cyber Shot DSC- R1. And I shall use the name brand camera as a "back-up" camera.

I agree with the previous poster, you need to get a new teacher instead of a new camera.

[hershey]

I began doing weddings and portraits with a sony f707. It was about the 5th sony I owned. I loved everyone of them. I currently use a fugi s7000 because I was missing out on the larger prints (16X20). I really miss the sony though and wish I would have kept one of them. In all honesty you can use the cheapist camera around and still get great photographs. Your talent is what makes it happen not the brand you use.