I'm a Sony user, shall i change to Canon??

R

rasmusrok1

Suspended / Banned
Messages
632
Name
Jonny
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi

So recently i have been wanting to upgrade my camera equipment, partly just because people seem to use them more and i dont like the feel of nikon.

So what are the pros of upgrading/changing to canon from sony?
Which camera and lens should i buy?

At the moment i have alpha 300, kit lens and 50mm lens with a tripod too. I would like to have a 50mm and a better starter lens. I will sell my old kit on here probably.

Thanks for all the help!! Examples of why i should/could change and what combinations of body/lens i should use, would be greatly apreciated. I shoot stock for money and i am most interested in landscape photography.

Jonny
 
Of course you should. :)

Next -
 
Depends whether you want to pay more for the same features. If you do then move to canon ;)

What does the A300 not do that you wish it did?

A better starter lens might be the tamron 17-50 f2.8, assuming you have the sony 18-55. If you have the sony 18-70 then any lens and a milk bottle bottom would be better. Old minolta lenses are good value for money and produce decent images.
 
i changed from sony to canon (but you already know that because you bought my flash lol i hope jessops got that problem sorted) i don't regret the change at all, even though i'm using an older camera with almost half the resolution.

noise from my a390 was one of the gripes i had with it, the 30d i have now deals with things much better imo. the build quality is also a lot better on the 30d (metal body rather than plastic) the only downside for me is the lack of liveview and the quick af system sony utilises.

i only have the 50mm 1.8 on the 30d at the minute but i'll be adding a tamron 17-50 2.8 once i get my mot sorted next week :) the canon 50mm isn't as well made as the minolta 50mm 1.7 but it's not that bad and it's cheap.

i would go for an xxd, personally i would consider anything from the 20d forward (the 30d has a slightly bigger rear lcd and adds spot metering plus a couple of other extras but they share the same sensor).
 
OK - I'll try to be a bit more helpful.

My Pentax occupies a similar place in the market to Sony. I bought the Canon because of limitations in the K20's focus speed and lack of longer lenses. Saying that there are circumstances when the Pentax takes a better picture.

The revelation I found when I got the Canon was the amount of lenses and general accesories available.
 
Oggy said:
OK - I'll try to be a bit more helpful.

My Pentax occupies a similar place in the market to Sony. I bought the Canon because of limitations in the K20's focus speed and lack of longer lenses. Saying that there are circumstances when the Pentax takes a better picture.

The revelation I found when I got the Canon was the amount of lenses and general accesories available.
Click to expand...

agreed, the classifieds on here prove that point
 
Can I ask you why you feel the need to change and why you feel that a Canon would be an upgrade. You're already selling photos so there can't be much wrong there, you'll be better off spending your money on a quality Sony lens.
 
The main reason I am thinking of switching is due to the selection of lenses available in the classifieds section.

Also I think I want HD video on it, thinking of trying to sell stock video.

Do you think there is realy no reason to change?
 
As for HD video, you could upgrade to an a580/560. Then you could use the lenses you have now without having to start all over again.
 
How much is it? I only have a 50mm so not hard to change.
 
The sony A580 and the A55 both have full HD video.

What's your budget to change?
 
lexie said:
noise from my a390 was one of the gripes i had with it, the 30d i have now deals with things much better imo. the build quality is also a lot better on the 30d (metal body rather than plastic)
Click to expand...
& if you had swapped to an A700 you would have probably been even happier still ... ;) Not really fair comparing different classes of camera, you might as well say that he should get a D3X.
The A390 uses a CCD sensor whereas the 30D is CMOS. CMOS is better for less noise at high ISO than CCD but imo CCD images look better at low ISO than those from CMOS.

rasmusrok1 said:
The main reason I am thinking of switching is due to the selection of lenses available in the classifieds section.
Click to expand...
what in particular are you looking to get?
 
Last edited:
heidfirst said:
& if you had swapped to an A700 you would have probably been even happier still ... ;) Not really fair comparing different classes of camera, you might as well say that he should get a D3X.
The A390 uses a CCD sensor whereas the 30D is CMOS. CMOS is better for less noise at high ISO than CCD but imo CCD images look better at low ISO than those from CMOS.


what in particular are you looking to get?
Click to expand...

eventually, i would like to upgrade the kit lens first, add a zoom and a wide angle.
 
all of those are easily achievable within the Sony mount.
 
Last edited:
Check what you would really get for your current Sony gear first. Might not be as much as you hoped.
 
heidfirst said:
& if you had swapped to an A700 you would have probably been even happier still ... ;) Not really fair comparing different classes of camera, you might as well say that he should get a D3X.
The A390 uses a CCD sensor whereas the 30D is CMOS. CMOS is better for less noise at high ISO than CCD but imo CCD images look better at low ISO than those from CMOS.


what in particular are you looking to get?
Click to expand...

noise wasn't the only reason i changed from the a390 (and sony as a whole), i wanted the addition of a top plate lcd, a better choice of lenses available on the second hand market, and the most important one was that i didn't fancy using the evf viewfinders which sony is pushing with their new cameras.

i was originally planning to get the a700's replacement, and all the specs sounded good. right up untill the evf was revealed. if i had of bought an a700 where would i go after that? a850/900, i've heard rumours of a full-frame with an evf coming from sony but like i say it's just rumours as far as i know.

canon offer me a range of bodies i can upgrade through which i'm happier with so in my eyes it was a better choice for me and what i want.

please don't think i'm a sony hater, i loved my a390 while i had it. i just didn't like the direction the brand was moving in
 
I'd look at dyxum.com as there is tons of info on lenses. Then check out ffordes, carmarthen cameras and harrison cameras as they all have second hand sony stuff.

Noise on the 3 series isn't great. The cmos sensors are much better. But I'd agree that at iso 100 the ccd is slightly better so I use my 350 when it is bright and sunny and use the 580 when it is a bit manky or indoors. To get the quality of the sony 16mb cmos aps-c sensor from canon you have to be at the 7d level or above.

Basically you're looking at needing £500 in total for either choice. Staying or switching to achieve what you want.

Pentax do a cheap hd video enabled camera at £350 but it'll probably be ccd. It's your cheapest choice for hd video. Canon 1100d new is the cheapest canon and I think the nikon D5000 is the cheapest nikon. Pentax will also offers in body stabilisation and you can use all old pentax lenses which might offer you a decent range of second hand stuff.

On the other hand a reasonable HD video camera can be had for £200.

I think you should make use of what you have and save up at least £500, preferably more, then you'll have a better choice and get a significant upgrade rather than a potentially sideways one.
 
It wont be impartial advice here! The Sony guy and gals will say stay, the others will say move.

Both sides will offer arguments for and against the change and they will both be right.

The advantage for Canon is obviously the choice of lenses and accessories available (thats why I chose Canon from the outset), but being honest, looking at the kit you have and the kit you seem to want, you havnt pushed the boundaries kit wise as yet and maybe wont do so for a while, so I'm wondering why you find the lower amount of Sony compatible kit restrictive at the moment?
 
rasmusrok1 said:
So what are the pros of upgrading/changing to canon from sony?
Click to expand...

If you go to Canon you lose access to the autofocus Zeiss lenses. However you gain access to some £5000+ specialist lenses that have no equivalent in a-mount. Some of these (e.g. 400/2.8) are important to people shooting sports, for example.


I skipped the argument about whether the next Sonys will have EVF by buying an a900, as 5fps is important to me (I know, I could have got a d3x which uses the same sensor and also does 5fps). There's nothing it doesn't do that I need and it way exceeds the abilities of the operator when I'm using it ;), so I can't see me needing to replace it unless it breaks. Hopefully by the time that happens, whatever gremlins there are with evf will be ironed out.
 
Ok so I wish I did t have so much to think about!! I now am not sure about the move at all. If I stay what initial set-up do you guys recommend? First I want to upgrade my kit lens so what body/lens combo would work?
 
I am not a Sony guy, I am loving Nikon gear but...

A580 will give you in body stabilisation, HD video, a great sensor and a nice OVF. All for less than 500£... You can't get the above combination on Canon or Nikon, probably you can with Pentax but haven't looked into it.

I have been thinking switching to Sony or Pentax mainly cause of in body stabilisation, I am holding off though cause just got a 35mm 1.8 and it is far too much fun to give up!
 
I'd get an A580 and use the 18-55 kit lens that comes with it. It's much better than the 18-70. Jessops do 0% finance :)

If you like macro then the sigma 105mm dg ex for about £250 s/h is the bees. £400 new.

Don't touch the siggy 70-300 with a ten foot pole. It's rubbish.

Minolta 50mm 1.7 is pretty good. So are the 'beercan' lenses.

I got a sigma 19-35 but I'm not sure it is any better than the 18-55 kit image quality wise.

All this set were taken on an a350 with the 18-55 kit lens:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/srichgtr/sets/72157626883526648/

Having looked at Dyxum and Carl Zeiss lens image examples, they are awesome. Never seen such 3d looking images. Even of ordinary things like boat's life rings you can practically smell the plastic and feel the rough edges. Amazing.
 
Basically....yes. Change. It's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

I won't buy another DSLR until Canon bring out something approaching MF, which is rumoured to be sooner rather than later...
 
rasmusrok1 said:
If I stay what initial set-up do you guys recommend? First I want to upgrade my kit lens so what body/lens combo would work?
Click to expand...
unless you really want video I would be tempted to stay with the A300 & spend the money on lenses.
Tamron 17-50/2.8 (~£300 new, £250 for grey market) would be a big improvement on the kit 18-70.

vrapan said:
I have been thinking switching to Sony or Pentax mainly cause of in body stabilisation, I am holding off though cause just got a 35mm 1.8 and it is far too much fun to give up!
Click to expand...
Sony do a similar 35/1.8 ... ;)
 
Last edited:
The OP needs to decide exactly what direction his photography is heading in. I currently have the Sony A700 which is a great camera. But I do more sports than anything else so I have just about decided on jumping ship and going for a Canon 7D due to its better AF and better choice of 'sports' lenses.
The OP needs to look at all options and go in to a camera shop and get a hands on feel for the various cameras he is interested in and gain information from the sales staff.
Then you will be in a better position to decide.
 
Sgt_Bilko99 said:
The OP needs to decide exactly what direction his photography is heading in. I currently have the Sony A700 which is a great camera. But I do more sports than anything else so I have just about decided on jumping ship and going for a Canon 7D due to its better AF and better choice of 'sports' lenses.
The OP needs to look at all options and go in to a camera shop and get a hands on feel for the various cameras he is interested in and gain information from the sales staff.
Then you will be in a better position to decide.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
The OP needs to decide if there is any specific advantage he'll gain from swapping to canon. For an awful lot of people, anything they need from sony is nearly as good, as good, or better than canon's equivalents.
I don't think the OP has said anything so far that would make me think he'll get any advantage from swapping.
As others have said, the money is better invested in better lenses for your current camera.
 
Last edited:
srichards said:
To get the quality of the sony 16mb cmos aps-c sensor from canon you have to be at the 7d level or above.
Click to expand...

Not really. The 7D, 60D, 550D and 600D all share the same 18MP sensor. This sensor isn't *quite* as good as the Sony 16MP sensor at highest ISO settings, however.
 
rasmusrok1 said:
Hi

So recently i have been wanting to upgrade my camera equipment, partly just because people seem to use them more and i dont like the feel of nikon.

So what are the pros of upgrading/changing to canon from sony?
Which camera and lens should i buy?

At the moment i have alpha 300, kit lens and 50mm lens with a tripod too. I would like to have a 50mm and a better starter lens. I will sell my old kit on here probably.

Thanks for all the help!! Examples of why i should/could change and what combinations of body/lens i should use, would be greatly apreciated. I shoot stock for money and i am most interested in landscape photography.

Jonny
Click to expand...

I recomend canon (as i have one) btu start with the 1000D it is ideal as a first canon and get a 250mm lens
 
Don't make the mistake that I made when I upgraded my camera from the Sony A200 to the Sony A700 before I even mastered the A200.What I should have done is spend the money on some decent glass instead of thinking that it was the camera that was holding me back.Love my A700 now though but I'm only just getting the around to owning a decent lens after forking out money for the A700.
 
From what youve listed theres no point in switching systems. More importantly dont forget Sony has built in IS, youll lose this by switching. Looking at your lens line up it doesnt consist of very expensive lenses, cheaper lenses tend not to have IS.
 
Hmmm from what I am reading it would not be a good idea to change systems. I think I am going to stay with Sony. I went to Jessops and had a play with the a580 and some equivalent slt cameras. Anybody know much about the SLT cameras? What lens would be good to replace my kit lens?
 
Get good glass first!
 
The SLTs take the same lenses as the slrs but sigma have known issues with SLTs so you are best steering clear of second hand sigmas. I think sigma will do some of their lenses FOC if you offer them an SLT receipt and a receipt for the lens. Not sure whether it applies to second hand lenses or just ones bought new.
 
:gag::gag:...and you get electronic viewfinders rather than optical viewfinders with the SLT bodies.

I cant stand electronic viewfinders (hereon in known as EVF's)
 
You have had oodles of advice, you are selling stock images ergo you should know what you need, nobody can go and buy one for you, it's up to you to decide, from reading your replies it's becoming obvious you haven't got a clue what to do therefore I would suggest forgetting changing brands atm and as you've been told already, get some better glass
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top