Dilemma...D3100 or Sony Alpha 580

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I currently own a D3100 with the 18-55 and 55-200 along with a couple of batteries and a cheapo remote timer. Yesterday in the post I received a Sony Alpha 580 with the 18-55 lens from my Uncle with a note telling me it was mine if I wanted it or to trade it in and get some bits for my Nikon, or vice versa.

I can see from somewhere like snapsort that tecnically the Sony is actually a better camera than the D3100, but realistically, what are my upgrade paths going to be like? Would I better off for now keeping the 3100 and getting extra things like flash, prime lens etc. Or swap over to the Sony? Primarily I've been doing rugby photos at my local club so the fps is helpful.

Ideas please..
 
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Try them! You already know what the d3100 can do. Take the Sony next time and see how you get on. The Sony may be technically better but if you can't get on with it you'd be better sticking with what you have.
 
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There is no doubt that the A580 is the better body - as long as you are comfortable with it (but give it a decent try so that you are at least semi-familiar with where different settings are compared to the Nikon that you are very familiar with).

As for upgrade wise, as the D3100 is 1 of the Nikon's shorn of an in-body AF motor there are more lenses that will AF on the A580 than on the D3100 - & they will all be stabilised too!
 
Another vote for both of the above thought. I have just got a A580 and it is a great camera, that produces so great images. But at the end of the day if it doesn't fit your hands/feel right then sell it and get some Nikon bits. Although I know what I would do, go on come to the dark side LOL :thumbs:
 
Okay, I'm going to give the Sony a try next time I can get to a match. My only problem now is I don't have a lens for it with any reach. I've been looking at hire places this morning and found the following Alphamount Rental and Hire an Alpha Lens Does anyone have any experience with either of these two places or can recommend another?

Thanks for your help
 
The A580 is a great camera. It's basically a D7000 feature wise. The D3100 is a base model. The a580 has DOF preview, decent live view and built in HDR modes.

For cheap long lenses then look at tamron and sigmas. They used to do 28-300s and you can pick those up for about £100. The el cheapo 70-300s are to be avoided. There's also the newer 18-250 that sony do and that sigma/tamron do versions of.
 
I'm looking into trading in the D3100 (as an option) and have just been given a price over the phone for the body, 18-55, 55-200 and the two batteries of around £245 unseen from LCE and am waiting for MBP to come back to me. I can use this towards a zoom for the Sony and then get a prime and flash for it at some point as I was going to get one of each for the Nikon. I am erring on the side of the Sony for now after reading comments here and a few more reviews online.
Thanks again everyone.
 
Sony 580 without a doubt ( not that Im biased or anything)


Les :lol:
 
Origin said:
I can use this towards a zoom for the Sony and then get a prime and flash for it at some point as I was going to get one of each for the Nikon. I am erring on the side of the Sony for now after reading comments here and a few more reviews online.
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if you stick with the Sony & 300mm is adequate then I suggest the Tamron SP 70-300 USD @ ~ £300-350. The Sony 70-300 G SSM is better but nothing like the 2x as much as it costs.
 
You could always sell both bodies and get a better Nikon body so you dont need to change lenses/accessories?
 
iced_jacob said:
You can get a much better price if you sell it here mate ;)
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Unfortunately I don't qualify for the classifieds yet and the rate I post, it will take me a while yet! There are a couple of other forums I could advertise it on though.

lolage said:
You could always sell both bodies and get a better Nikon body so you dont need to change lenses/accessories?
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I've thought about that too, but I don't think i would get much for just the Nikon body. I might do an inquiry about prices on the Sony too.

Any recommendations on which Nikon I should look to upgrade to if I do go with this option, I am happy to look at 2nd hand.

Thanks again for all the advice, it really is appreciated.
 
Origin said:
I've thought about that too, but I don't think i would get much for just the Nikon body. I might do an inquiry about prices on the Sony too.

Any recommendations on which Nikon I should look to upgrade to if I do go with this option, I am happy to look at 2nd hand.

Thanks again for all the advice, it really is appreciated.
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I'm guessing you could get £200-£250 for the body. They go for about £300 with the 18-55 kit lens.

As for a good nikon body to upgrade to you could look at the D90 or D7000 depending on your budget.
 
I've just been reading through your thread which has interested me as I have been looking at purchasing a Sony A580. How are you getting on with it? Would you recommend it?
 
Well I am still getting used to it to be honest. I got hold of a minolta beercan lens and had a go at the local 7s rugby tournament and also some football last weekend. Seem to be getting some decent shots with it. I like it, it's just getting to grips with a "more complicated" camera than what my Nikon was. I actually still have both, I need to get the Nikon up for sale. But to finally answer the question, yes, I do like the Sony too. The only thing I do find so far is that the menu screens seem a lot more complicated and fussy.
 
That's great, thanks. I've read a lot of reviews on it and they all seem to be good. Trouble is, they seem quite difficult to find now so I may have a problem getting hold of one!
 
Amz said:
That's great, thanks. I've read a lot of reviews on it and they all seem to be good. Trouble is, they seem quite difficult to find now so I may have a problem getting hold of one!
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I have been using the alpha 580 with various Minolta lenses and the 70-400G lens for the last two years. People viewing my photos are always very impressed. I have taken low light photos where other big brands failed. It is just sad that Sony did not market this model. Sony lenses are very expensive but you can get very excellent Minolta AF lenses on eBay.
 
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