Sony A200 - any good or can I get better?

[tomosllyr]

I've been quite interested in photography for a while, and a few months ago bought a Fuji S2500HD bridge camera. It's a good camera and I've enjoyed using it, but am already quite frustrated by the lack of manual control.

As I'm a student, the main reason I went for a bridge was because of the price. So I'm now looking into a second hand digital SLR. Would rather spend less than, or very close to £200.

I've seen a Sony A200 for sale. I'm not expecting anything new for that price, but am I making the most of my budget with the A200? Are they any good? Should I look for anything else in that price range? Am I right in thinking the A200 is a 3 year old camera?

Any help for a novice is appreciated!

[shahmatt]

The A200 is about 3 years old. But if I recall correctly it wasn't the best performing DSLR for its time with a more noisier than average sensor. What lens does the camera come with?

Try sourcing for models like the Canon 450D, Nikon D3000 or Pentax K-x with kit lens. These models perform better with respect to image noise, and are at the least more future proof since Canon, Nikon and Pentax are still continuing on with the DSLR lens production whereas Sony has now seemingly moved on to the mirror-less camera genre.

[tomosllyr]

It comes with the standard 18-70mm lens, which I've read is rubbish so have got my eye on a few tamron's.

It's the newest camera I've found so far within my price range, but will keep an eye for the others you mentioned. Are they newer models then or were they just more superior at the time?

[shahmatt]

They were models of the same time period I think.

Pentax models have a slight edge over the others in that they are back compatible with most Pentax lenses produced over several decades. You may be able to get good deals on older lenses in the second hand market.

[tomosllyr]

So would I be better off waiting for something else to come up for the same price? Only reason I'm tempted by this one is because it's all in original condition/box plus it has insurance and warranty till middle of 2012. And it's priced at £150. But I don't mind waiting if people think I can get a better camera for the price.

[KCook]

When it comes to manual control, some of the button assignments and menus on my old Sony A200 were more useful to me than on my current Canon EOS 50D. As for the rubbish kit lens, this link will provide examples -

http://needsabeach.com/Albums/CityPark/

Kelly Cook