Question - A77 should I buy?

[stoobiee]

I am planning to buy a new camera soon and have always bought Canon (My last camera being a 7D), I recently tested a Sony Alpha A77 and liked it, there seems to be a huge debate over the whole hig iso quality.

I know the Canon will deliver and so will the Sony but at lower iso's, the question is should I buy the Sony over the Canon?

Also will a firmware upgrade cure the iso issue?

Stoobiee

[gimp69]

Why do you want to move away from the excellent 7D?

[stoobiee]

It's not so much that as can the new A77 match or better the 7D?

I may buy the 7D because I know it delivers but I have tried the Sony and thought it was a good camera, but I did not thoroughly "road test" it

In terms of quality I know there have been question marks over the Sony's picture quality at higher ISO's so I wondered if anyone could say once and for all if the Sony is as good (or better than) the Canon? At the moment I will probably go with buying another Canon but wondered if any firmware updates will be released to cure the Sony's shortcomings?

[gimp69]

If you want high ISO jpeg then neither, you should be buying a Nikon.

I'd have the Sony A77's resolution up to 1600 and the Canon's high ISO after that (I'd actually get a Nikon though).

Personally I don't have a clue about why people make such a big deal out of high ISO jpegs, but it appears to be the latest fad I guess.

[stoobiee]

I agree, I tried one again the other day at my local camera dealer, the detail is amazing!!

I take your point regarding ISO values, and if I'm honest, I would never shoot above ISO 800 for most situations.

I am alos lucky in the fact that I don't have camera or lenses at the moment so for me it's a choice of body & lens and away I go.

Your point about stick with what you know.....I agree I know Canon, but I like the way the Sony handles, and I've never been afraid of trying new things!

Also, my local dealer has quoted me a deal price of £1570 for A77 body and 16-50 F2.8 lens.....mmmmm, what to do what to do?

[mcockshoot]

What should you do? Personally, I'd try to get it for less (I paid £1349 from Woking Sony Centre, unfortunately they are currently quoting £1499).

If you hop onto the Sony website and keep changing your "local" store you will find that some sell it (a lot) cheaper than others.

Don't ask me why.

Cheers,

MarkC

[mcockshoot]

A interesting question.

I think that you should first consider what you want from a DSLR (or DSLT in the case of the Sony), then you should look at what current investment in lenses and other accessories you have and last (but by no means least) you should look at the way the camera feels and how the buttons, menus, etc., work for you.

To be honest, the whole high ISO thing is a bit of a non issue unless you REALLY need to take fast shutter speed images in low light conditions.

Think back a few years to the Canon D10, D20 cameras (or the equivalent Nikons and Minoltas) - ISO 400 (maybe 800) was what you would consider using at the most. I have a Minolta 7D and have recently moved to a Sony Alpha 77. Image quality on the Sony at 1600 ISO is at least as good as on the Minolta at 400 ISO and I would consider using 3200 (or more!).

If you have a lot of expensive lenses then there is little point moving away from Canon (especially if you are used to the look and feel of them). For me, it would have cost the best part of £3000 to replace all of the lenses, etc., to move away from Minolta fit stuff so the choice was easy - plus I'm used to the Minolta/Sony way of doing things.

In summary, stick with what you're used to particularly if you like it and have lots of expensive attachments already.

However, I must say that he Alpha 77 is a FANTASTIC camera!

Cheers,

Mark C

Message was edited by: mcockshoot

Message was edited by: mcockshoot

[gimp69]

You are seeing different prices because Sony Centres aren't Sony, they are franchises.  There isn't any benefit from buying from a franchise, so just buy whereever is cheapest.

Sony franchises don't have stock, Jessops have dropped the A77+16-50mm to £1500 and it's in stock.

The Sony franchises are saying 2-4 weeks for the A77 body only and no idea for the A77+16-50mm.

Message was edited by: gimp69

Message was edited by: gimp69