Canon 400d or Sony A100 - [Quad, please read!]

[KGB-911]

Hi Guys,

I am looking at buying a dSLR, i have looked at all available and have eliminated them one by one until i have ended up with a problem; i cant decided between the Canon 400d and the Sony Alpha (A100).

I went into my local camera shop to see if i could decide between them by playing with them, but that didnt help. I could only use the canon as the sony wasn't charged. But i got a good idea of the weight and feel of them, and i really cant decide.

The Sony has anti shake built in
Canon has more SLR experience, so will theirs be better? (I know that sony have used minoltas experience, but they still can't be as good as canon, can they?)

What do you think?

Canon Info: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/
Sony Info: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydslra100/

Thanks

 

[ChristopherP]

Nikon D80 ?

 

[Ian]

Quad's on his hols in the USA for a bit, but I'm sure he'll see this when he's back in a couple of weeks. I know nothing about cameras, so I won't give any advice

 

[muckshifter]

Hmmm ... Rootkit spyware, batteries exploding, passing off a DVD display as being Blu-Ray ... Hmmm?

What were the choices again ...

Oh, Quad is on vacation with a "do not disturb" sign on the door.

 

[Quadophile]

If I were to choose between the two I would not hesitate to go for the Canon D400 (period).

Now let me have fun on the holidays, will ya!!!!!

 

[KGB-911]

Nikon D80 ?

Too expensive

If I were to choose between the two I would not hesitate to go for the Canon D400 (period).

Thanks for taking the time out of your holiday - i think you may be right!

--

Chris, what camera are you using these days?

 

[Adywebb]

Chris, what camera are you using these days?

Looking at his sig, I would imagine its a Nikon D50

 

[ChristopherP]

It is a D50 (shock horror)

What makes you want a D-SLR over a point and shoot then Alasdair?

Personally i would choose Nikon over Canon... but thats preference.

Are you aware that this is an expensive hobby??

 

[silver]

I would say take a look at the d80, yes there's a price difference over the canon (abt 100 quid) but after you look at it at least then you'll know you weighed all the options,. viewfinder for instance is a lot better on the d80 might be important to you

Sil

 

[ChristopherP]

Nikon cameras have a superior build quality aswell.

Mines been thrown down the stairs and kicked off a desk with the lens attached and in no protective casing. Not a scratch.

Do yoiu have a basic understanding of D-SLR photography KGB? I.e. control of aperture, shutter speed, ISO etc? or is that something you are hoping to pick up?

 

[KGB-911]

It is a D50 (shock horror)

What makes you want a D-SLR over a point and shoot then Alasdair?

Personally i would choose Nikon over Canon... but thats preference.

Are you aware that this is an expensive hobby??

Chris, i have been using a Canon Powershot A95 for 2 years now, it is a good camera, but i need something that will let me expand on what i am doing - take photos from a distance, better quality.

I want more control over the photos, so i decided that an SLR is the way to go.

A lot of my shots are done using macro, and it is very limited using a point and shoot. I am aware that this is expensive, i have already looked into lenses, batteries etc.

I have looked into the Nikon D80, but i will look again.

 

[ChristopherP]

Don't know how much the Canon is...

But i would get this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nikon-D80-18-...hZ001QQcategoryZ31388QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

Comes with everything you need, and a good lens with a good range of zoon... i remember reading in a magazine that its a good lens.

£818.99 to your door - includes a 4Gb memory card, carry case etc etc...

They are the supplier that i used - good communication and fast delivery.

 

[ChristopherP]

A lot of my shots are done using macro, and it is very limited using a point and shoot. I am aware that this is expensive, i have already looked into lenses, batteries etc.

One thing you may want to note is that a lot of point and shoot cameras will focus MUCH closer to objects than D-SLR cameras with walk about lenses attached.

For me to be able to get close up shots i bought a Sigma 70-300mm APO Macro lense and it cost £170. Only then could i get really close up to things

 

[KGB-911]

One thing you may want to note is that a lot of point and shoot cameras will focus MUCH closer to objects than D-SLR cameras with walk about lenses attached.

For me to be able to get close up shots i bought a Sigma 70-300mm APO Macro lense and it cost £170. Only then could i get really close up to things

I will look at that one, but i will have to buy a decent telephoto lens on top of the one provided.

that adds a couple of hundred pounds on top. (im not after a £4.5k lens)

but, thanks for the help; i will need to work out how much money i have available.

 

[silver]

dslrs are expensive toys for sure,. 10mp cameras are fine but on a budget I'd actually check out the d50 - which lenses you choose (can afford) will make more difference to the image quality than the camera body (certainly between the newer dslrs around)

Sil

 

[ChristopherP]

D50 is a fantastic camera.

D70 is also good, not as good on some things as the D50, but has some extra features

D80 is amazing.

Get either of those, with a Sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro (Nikon Fit) Lens aswell as the kit lenses and you are laughing.

 

[KGB-911]

Does the Nikon D80 out perform the Canon 400d, or is it just that you prefer the make?

 

[silver]

it depends on how you define 'performance',. really it is very subjective and the only way to choose between cameras is to play with them and see what you like / dislike,.

really with a high quality lens all the dslrs are similar in terms of their image quality (the difference between 6 and 10mp is not much tbh) the way I would advise to pick between them is on handling, one camera will probably feel 'right' to you and another might feel horrible go play with them

Sil

 

[KGB-911]

it depends on how you define 'performance',. really it is very subjective and the only way to choose between cameras is to play with them and see what you like / dislike,.

really with a high quality lens all the dslrs are similar in terms of their image quality (the difference between 6 and 10mp is not much tbh) the way I would advise to pick between them is on handling, one camera will probably feel 'right' to you and another might feel horrible go play with them

Sil

I have played with both the sony and the canon, but they didnt have a battery for the sony, so i could not use it to see what it is like. to be honest, i prefer the feel of the sony - but i need to use it.

I dont really like the look of the nikon, and it is almost £300 more than the canon (once i have added prices of lenses etc.)

 

[silver]

just trying to give you more choices

I was looking at body only prices and there's abt 100 quid difference ?

EOS 400D Body £460.99
Nikon D80 £549.00
Nikon D50 Body £299.87

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk

Sil