Nikon D60 v Sony Alpha A300

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Pistolpete

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This is probably a case of "The grass is always greener" but about a month ago I bought a Nikon D60 as my first DSLR. I had initially considered buying something in the £800+ range (D90, Canon EOS 40D etc) but decided against spending that kind of money on the basis I am a complete beginner and might not give that much time to photography.

A friend of mine liked my camera and decided to buy one himself so I went to the Jessops website to forward him the link. This is where the trouble started. Whilst on the site I noticed a Sony Alpha A300 for slightly less than I paid for the Nikon D60 and the specification appears to be better than the D60 in all areas - plus is has some additional features.

I'm now considering off-loading the D60 on ebay and losing a few quid and then buying the A300. Am I being completely stupid? (As my wife thinks I am)
 
fabs said:
What has the Sony got that the Nikon hasn't (That you want/need)?
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The lens is slighter "bigger" (18mm to 70mm as opposed to 18mm to 55mm), It has Live Preview with tilting LCD screen and the ISO sensitivity is larger. Not entirely sure if that adds up to enough to swap it but I just wondered if anyone had an opinion on the A300 as you tend to hear more about Canon and Nikon (In my experience)
 
It's a tricky one, I'd advise actually going and handling an A300 before making any decisions based purely on specification. I had one for a short while and was actually quite impressed with it. It has, as you say, quite a few bells and whistles that the D60 doesn't,but whether I'd buy one in preference to a D60 or a Canon 400D or whatever, I'm not so sure.....
 
Pistolpete said:
The lens is slighter "bigger" (18mm to 70mm as opposed to 18mm to 55mm), It has Live Preview with tilting LCD screen and the ISO sensitivity is larger. Not entirely sure if that adds up to enough to swap it but I just wondered if anyone had an opinion on the A300 as you tend to hear more about Canon and Nikon (In my experience)
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That's quite a list. Does the D60 have in body AF motor? I know that's a niggle for some D40 users. I suppose you could always sell your mate your D60 if that's what he's after. I take it you haven't invest too much in lenses yet. If not, now would be the time to switch if you are going to. Also, make sure you hande the A300 first, no point in switching if you then find you don't like the way the camera feels or don't get on with the controls or layout.
 
fabs said:
That's quite a list. Does the D60 have in body AF motor? I know that's a niggle for some D40 users. I suppose you could always sell your mate your D60 if that's what he's after. I take it you haven't invest too much in lenses yet. If not, now would be the time to switch if you are going to. Also, make sure you hande the A300 first, no point in switching if you then find you don't like the way the camera feels or don't get on with the controls or layout.
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As I understand it the D60 needs AF lenses but that's not a massive concern of mine to be honest. As for selling to my mate - he has less idea about this than me so if I decided to go for the A300 I'll have to give him the heads up as well. I really should be happy with what I've got and stop worrying about it all!
 
I have an A300. I like it alot and would readily recommend it.

I know nothing of the equivalent Canon / Nikon cameras.

You'll need a very strong reason to change particularly if it means you lose cash.

Perhaps you should trust your first instinct.
 
Tough one.
I know just after I got my D40 I saw the a200 and started thinking about a switch for the in body AF motor. But decided against it as it would mean loosing on what I had already bought. Plus the kit lens on the Nikon is said to be better than the Sony kit lens. Knowing id use the kit lens alot I decided to stick. Im happy I did as I find the menu (for me) is more intuative and the camera just felt better in my hands. A visit to a shop may also confirm this for you or you may find you want to swap more.
 
I'm considering switching from Sony to Nikon but I think for a beginner set up you can not beat Sony/Minolta mainly because of the in body Image stabilisation and stack of old Minolta lenses available.

A300 + Beercan 70-210 F4 gives you a constant aperture stabilised setup for peanuts.
 
ShawWellPete said:
I'm considering switching from Sony to Nikon but I think for a beginner set up you can not beat Sony/Minolta mainly because of the in body Image stabilisation and stack of old Minolta lenses available.

A300 + Beercan 70-210 F4 gives you a constant aperture stabilised setup for peanuts.
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Might be worth explaining why your considering the swap for the OP, never know he may want to head in the same direction as you?
Just a though?
 
I'll take the advice and handle the Sony in a shop before I make up my mind but I think I'll end up going for it.
 
If you aren't fussed for the moving screen and the liveview, then go for the a200 as they are exactly the same camera. Last time I looked, argos were selling the a200 with kit lens for £260. Bargain at that price!!:thumbs:
 
DpM said:
Might be worth explaining why your considering the swap for the OP, never know he may want to head in the same direction as you?
Just a though?
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I'm getting a nearly free D700 to play with and the high ISO performance is something I know I'm going to love. I may decide to keep my Alpha 700 and Sony/Minolta kit but not sure yet.

I still think that at the budget end you can't beat Sony, if they produced a body with half the magapixels of the A900 and the low noise of the D3 (and I was getting one for free) I would not leave.
 
I couldn't help noticing quite a lot of top quality shots posted on here, taken with the A300, and was very impressed.
 
Pistolpete said:
Whilst on the site I noticed a Sony Alpha A300 for slightly less than I paid for the Nikon D60 and the specification appears to be better than the D60 in all areas - plus is has some additional features.
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the A200 is more the equivalent of the D60 & imo is far better value than the D60.
The A300 adds liveview with a movable rear screen but has a poorer optical viewfinder than the A200.
 
Are the better features of the Sony really going to make much difference to the finished pic. It would have to be very good in order to make me change. If hadn't bought the Nikon then I'd say yes go ahead bbuy the Sony, but as you have bought the Nikon, you'll lose about £100. Is it really worth chaging. You might then see something a bit better than the Sony and then think about changing that, it could go on and on.
 
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