New SONY DSLR owners

[jr_rodriguez]

That's good advice. Thanks, Don.
Juan

[DonSchap]

LURKERS!

Yeah, we know you are out there .... join up. The DCRP is a lot more fun when people ask questions and the other members get a chance to meet you and offer some helpful advice. We are all in this, together, learning through shared experience ... as well as experiencing some of the stranger stuff, personally. We all benefit from this hidden knowledge. Don't keep it to yourself.

The COMMON BOND ... Photography with a SONY DSLR!

If you are waiting around for an invitation ... THIS IS IT!

Let's hear from ya!

[IdPlease]

Hi fellow photographers...

Well, first time owning a Sony DSLR, second time owning a DSLR period.. (first was a Olympus E-410)

Purchased a A700 DSLR on Thursday for a cracking price, but it came with the jamjar lens (18-70), not a patch on my Oly 14-42 .. was so frustrated with the quality of it, thought i'd brought a dog of a camera.

Prior to getting the Sony, I looked into 2 other bodies, but niether suited my needs. I happened to come across DCResource whilst seeking reviews on the Sony. So here I am.

I have ordered a Sigma 17-70 DC f/2.8-4.5 Lens to compliment the Sony. Looking forward to shooting with it.

Apart from the lens (but I got the Sony A700K (new not second user) for a hundred less than the body alone is retailing at the local high stores) the unit it's self is amazing, although I do have a lot to learn. Used it for 2 days, getting to know the features etc but kinda lost a little confidence due to the lens, no matter what I do, it's never sharp, crisp and puncy (not expecting it to be) as it's the bottom of the dregs lens.

As I siad, the unit is a gem, very responsive and always ready to go. I only shoot raw as I want the maximum detail and dynamic range I can get. Sony's software dont or wont work with my vista 64 rig, always messes up some helpxxx.dll and windows not boot (backups are useful).

Manged to get the sony software on the vista 32 laptop, but it's painfully slow.

I'm rambling .. the sony, yes it's really quick, shooting in bracket (3 frames -+2EV to create a HDR then stitch the 5 or more images into a panoramic software) it has heps of buffer, think I get an average of 13 images before the number in the eye piece drops to 0, which in my experance as amazing.

Hoping to share images once I get the Sigma lens, and obviously, pick your brains and experiance's to better help my level of photography. I'm just a level 0.5 beginner


Thanks, and be seeing you around..

Carl

[sparkie1263]

Welcome to the forum.

Frank

[DonSchap]

Welcome aboard, Carl.

I believe you will see significant improvement in your images once you lose that awful excuse for glass. I have tried to make it clear (pardon the pun) on this forum that the old "kit" lens is perhaps the worst example of proper glassware that has been produced ... and Canon did give it stiff competition with their own EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens.

Anyway ... you are making a wise move.

The α700 is a terrific DSLR and quite a bargain, at this time. It originally sold for $1399 when it was introduced two years ago. Learn how to use it well, as the α850/α900 Full Frame DSLRs are currently very close in operation and options to the α700.

[IdPlease]

Morning,

Yeah, I know it's an old camera but even said that, it's still far superior to my Olympus E-410. And being a amatuer in the DSLR scene, it has more than ample features for my needs. I could have got a nikon D300 or a Canon 50D (as I looked at them both) but the sony won due to the overall image quality and features I wanted, and obviously the price.

I don't care much for live view nor video, my E-410 has live view, and in the year or so of owning it I perhaps used live view twice.

Don't see me progressing for at least another year or two with a new body. My time with the camera is purely a hobby and nothing gets printed, all viewed on the computer (1920x1050 42" Samsung) and rarely published on the web.

At the moment, I'm just trying to find a good workflow and utlimately find the best raw conversion tool(s).

Not sure if DRO is for me or not yet, as the small experiments i've conducted seems to add noise in the shadows (but it all could be down to the lens). I'm positive an experianced user can make the A700 dance and produce excellent images.

Looking forward to recieving the Sigma lens, as the images i've seen on the web (considering they are jpg and possably been scaled and saved out with high compression) are far cleaner.

[bmac]

Hi, looks like I am the latest lurker to join the forum. My name is Bob and I live south of Seattle in Tacoma. I have a Sony A200. This is my first DSLR and I like the camera so far. Still using the kit lens....Ducking!! The lens purchase is what I have researching here trying to make a decision. I like the CZ 16-80 and the Tamron 17-50 2.8. Just not sure if it's worth the extra $$ for the CZ. Don mentioned the TAMRON 18-250 f/3.5-6.3 as a good all around lens as well. I need to make a decision soon as I am anxious to park the kit lens. Thanks, Bob

[jr_rodriguez]

Hi, looks like I am the latest lurker to join the forum. My name is Bob and I live south of Seattle in Tacoma. I have a Sony A200. This is my first DSLR and I like the camera so far. Still using the kit lens....Ducking!! The lens purchase is what I have researching here trying to make a decision. I like the CZ 16-80 and the Tamron 17-50 2.8. Just not sure if it's worth the extra $$ for the CZ. Don mentioned the TAMRON 18-250 f/3.5-6.3 as a good all around lens as well. I need to make a decision soon as I am anxious to park the kit lens. Thanks, Bob

Welcome to the forum, Bob.
Please post your adventures with the new lens, whichever you end up purchasing. I too have an A200, but I just have the two kit lenses plus the 50mm f/1.8. So far I really like the 50mm, and I'm saving my pennies so I can purchase the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8.

Juan

[DonSchap]

Still using the kit lens....Ducking!!

Sorry, kind of a ... "gut reaction!"

Bob, welcome to the forum ...

Choosing a first real DSLR lens kind of boils down to shooting indoors and outdoors. The 18-250 is the "Mom" lens ... when you want to keep it simple and are chasing down the kids in the yard or in the park ... THAT probably should be your "first" lens, uncontested.

When you go indoors, though ... light is more at a premium and the 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 tends to be too dark to use without some type of flash augmentation. Flash units are not cheap. The darker the lens, the higher the cost. As the chart, below, reveals with the "kit lens" versus the 18-200 class lens:



At 42mm, with the 18-200 class lens, the aperture is already at f/4 (that usually spells "get out the flash") The "kit lens" is already at its maximum base aperture of f/5.6 (the higher the f-number, the darker the image) ... a full stop darker than the 18-200 lens. That right there is reason enough to justify replacing the "kit."


Indoors is where the 17-50mm f/2.8 excels. It is also usable in the great outdoors, you just have to get much closer because it lacks telephoto length. Usually, the 17-50 is part of a basic two-lens solution. The other lens being the cheaper outdoor 70-300mm f/4-5.6 (see latest contest thread that ends on Oct 1, 2009) lens or the more expensive and brighter 70-200mm f/2.8 lens (indoor capability).

For more on these suggestions, you should review the first "sticky" thread in the SONY DSLR forum.

Anyway ... some basic things to consider. Good luck!

[Peekayoh]

................ Sony's software dont or wont work with my vista 64 rig, always messes up some helpxxx.dll and windows not boot (backups are useful).........

DxO Optics Pro works OK with Vista64.
Get a trial version here http://www.dxo.com/en/photo/trial_version