New to DSLR's would the Sony A200 be a good choice

wiggy1983

wiggy1983

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danny ruddock
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Hi I'm looking for any info that could be given.

I looking at getting into Photography just for my own pleasure not Professional.

I have look at Canon and nikon's as well but just can't make up my mind but i have seen the following camera Sony A200 for just under £200 and i think this is a great deal.

I currently have a point and shoot Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS10 but with working away from home in Israel for the next 9 month i have plenty of time on my hands and want to do something creative with it.

I would mostly want to do landscape,flowers,portraits and more so plenty of picture of my dog when i get back home.

I currently in my spare time do some montages and some photo manipulation which i learnt at college but mainly using press release photo packs/ game images (i will post some when i figure out how to do it on here) about xbox games,the forces,tv shows but would really like to use my own photo's i have taken.

Anyway thats enough waffling on here is the camera i was looking at SONY ALPHA a200 10.2MP DIGITAL SLR CAMERA with SONY 18-70 f3.5-5.6 ZOOM LENS £200

Do you think it would be a good buy or could you's maybe suggest another I'm working to a budget of under £300 as I think in time once i get used to and right into slr's i would upgrade to a more expensive slr. But as i'm a complete novice with slr's i think buying a good second hand system would be the best way to go.
 
The a200 was my first DLSR back in 2008 and it's really easy to use, although you still need to understand how the camera works to get the best pictures (shutter speeds, aperture, ISO).

Whilst the camera is very good value (although it was only just over £200.00 NEW 3 years ago..!), it has a few downsides IMO:

* No liveview (can't take photos using the rear LCD as a viewfinder, like on a compact)
* Poor high ISO capability (shooting in lower light conditions, without flash, will give grainy images)
* 18-70mm kit lens is not very good. At the wide end (18mm) the sides are poor.

But...it does have image stabilisation built in, which should help avoid camera shake when shooting at slower shutter speeds.

The other problem with the Sony range at the moment is the difficult upgrade path. You could go a200 -> a580 (a good leap in camera performance), but after that all you are left with is the pro spec full frame cameras or the aged a700.

For £200.00 though, it's very good value.
 
I started with the A200 and it is deffo a great beginners DSLR.Good choice of old minolta lenses as well for you to pick up pretty cheap.
 
So would you say maybe look towards a nikon or canon then cause i know these have plenty of lenses available and upgrading would be easier as i would not like get used to one kind of camera and have to swap to a different brand and have to start over again.

But as i said i'm a complete novice the info i get here will make up my mind on which one to get.

Could u recommend a entry level slr?
 
manualfocus-g said:
The other problem with the Sony range at the moment is the difficult upgrade path. You could go a200 -> a580 (a good leap in camera performance), but after that all you are left with is the pro spec full frame cameras or the aged a700.
Click to expand...

Why not the a390, a490, a33, a55, a560, or a35 (announced today)? Or any of the discontinued, but still available, models. Then there's the a77 (expected in July).

I don't see any shortage of upgrade options.
 
I started with an A200, now have the A700 and kept the A200 as a second body, or for when I want something smaller and lighter than the a700.

It is a great camera to learn on - the 18-70 kit is better than many claim, and some copies are actually quite good.

Pick up a s/h 50 f/1.7 and 70-300 (sigma, Tamrom) or 75-300 (Sony, Minolta) and for ~£350 you'll have something that will cover from 18-300, with low light (50 f/1.7) / shallow DOF options and Image Stabilisation.
 
Thanks for the info much appreciated
 
it's a very good DSLR to cut your teeth on for little cost.
As others have said it's main drawback is that as it uses a CCD sensor it gets noisier at high ISO quicker than a CMOS equipped DSLR - however, imo CCD images look better at low ISO than CMOS so if you are a mainly landscape shooter it will possibly work to your advantage but if you want to do a lot of low-light shooting without flash it's not the best.
 
Johnd2000 said:
Why not the a390, a490, a33, a55, a560, or a35 (announced today)? Or any of the discontinued, but still available, models. Then there's the a77 (expected in July).

I don't see any shortage of upgrade options.
Click to expand...

Yes, but there's no semi-pro body to grow into there...there's plenty of low end newer cameras with improved features (high ISO performance, higher resolution LCD for example), but nothing with a pro body and spec to match, unless you go full frame. The A77 may well bridge that gap, but it doesn't exist at the moment.
 
manualfocus-g said:
The A77 may well bridge that gap, but it doesn't exist at the moment.
Click to expand...
he doesn't need it to exist at the moment ;) - he's looking at buying a s/h A200.
The A77 supposedly will be announced on July 7th with availability ~ September.
 
heidfirst said:
he doesn't need it to exist at the moment ;) - he's looking at buying a s/h A200.
The A77 supposedly will be announced on July 7th with availability ~ September.
Click to expand...

Ah but Sony users have been waiting 3-4 years for that announcement :lol:

Seriously, Sony make some great DSLRs and if they can get the a700 replacement out soon then the lineup will look a LOT better. But...will users want to move to an SLT? Will Sony make a higher end model WITH an OVF? Who knows! :lol:
 
manualfocus-g said:
Ah but Sony users have been waiting 3-4 years for that announcement :lol:
Click to expand...
that would presume that we were looking for it's replacement as soon as it was available. (& we weren't ;) ).
True Sony have missed a cycle but imo it's only in the last year that the A700 has started to look slightly dated (I would still take 1 over a 40D or 50D) & it's still very capable.

Seriously, Sony make some great DSLRs and if they can get the a700 replacement out soon then the lineup will look a LOT better. But...will users want to move to an SLT? Will Sony make a higher end model WITH an OVF? Who knows! :lol:
Click to expand...
I think that you will find that in the not too distant future OVFs will be the exception rather than the rule for all DSLR manufacturers.
 
I started out with the A200 and found it easy to use and it produced what i consider to be good quality photos. Now have the A550 which has Live View but to be honest, i dont use it that often, perhaps that is a failing on my part and should learn to use it.

As a starter, the A200 is a good place to start, plus they seem to hold their price quite well - i sold mine for £12 less than i paid for after 2 years.

Alan
 
Woulkd this lens fit an a200?

Sigma 75-300mm 1:4.5 5.6 AF Zoom Lens
 
I am in the same boat - I only have about £200 to spend on DSLR with lens and have been looking at Sony A200s because I've had one in the past, but am wondering if there are any other cameras I am overlooking that I could get in that price range. Going forward I would like to get the most affordable macro lens or at least an option that can provide me a half decent macro set-up. After that I'm not sure.
 
heidfirst said:
I think that you will find that in the not too distant future OVFs will be the exception rather than the rule for all DSLR manufacturers.
Click to expand...

Hmm, maybe. But I can still see plenty of Sony users jumping ship in the short term if there isn't an a700 replacement with OVF announced (based on reading threads on Dxyum).

Anyway, we're going OT ;)
 
Still off topic :D but I can see the new full frame Sony maybe getting a switchable ovf/evf, incidentally I remember reading somewhere that only 25% of photographers surveyed would resist buying a camera with an evf :shrug:
 
I tend to take rumour sites with a huge pinch of salt, but from official Sony sources it's clear there will be no a7xx (ie with an OVF).

I doubt there will be a FF with OVF either, but Sony did say last year that they considered FF shooters a more conservative market and therefore the jury was still out on EVF v OVF at that level. I suspect they may hedge their bets like they did with the a55/a580, but much will depend on how the a77 sells.

Not sure whether a switchable EVF/OVF is possible, assuming the fixed mirror stays (for video). Wasn't it the loss of light to the VF that ultimately killed the canon pellicle cam?
 
Johnd2000 said:
. Wasn't it the loss of light to the VF that ultimately killed the canon pellicle cam?
Click to expand...
a) whereas the Canon lost 2/3 stop the Sony SLT loses 1/3 stop & compensates for that by increased gain to the EVF.
b) afaik the main problem was more that the (mylar?) material that Canon used for the pellicle degraded over time
 
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