should i switch??

JonesNav

JonesNav

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Hi folks.

I'm fairly new to dslr photography and currently own a Sony alpha 200 with kit lens and borrow a minolta telephoto every now and again.

I've just started a diploma course so I'm looking to take my capture more seriously.

From looking at photography mags I'm seeing nikon and canon are obviously the leading brands for dslr .. Just wondering if people think I should switch to one of these before I start spending all my cash on lenses for the Sony???

Any advice appreciated!

Cheers

G
 
In any market there are brands with larger market share. Doesn't necessarily mean that they offer anything that is substantially better than smaller brands. Smaller brands usually have to offer superior features or value for money or both to compete in the same marketplace.

If you're happy with the features and lenses you want that sony offers then I'd stick with it. If you're not then switch before you build a collection of lenses.
 
Thanks srichards.

At the moment I'm happy with my camera as I'm still learning the basics so I'm not really pushing the limits of it's functions. From the Sony models I've looked at the seems to be a bit of a gap in the models offered compared to nikon and canon but I suppose by the time I get to the level where I need a really good camera there will be new models out anyway.

Cheers
 
JonesNav said:
Hi folks.

I'm fairly new to dslr photography and currently own a Sony alpha 200 with kit lens and borrow a minolta telephoto every now and again.

I've just started a diploma course so I'm looking to take my capture more seriously.

From looking at photography mags I'm seeing nikon and canon are obviously the leading brands for dslr .. Just wondering if people think I should switch to one of these before I start spending all my cash on lenses for the Sony???

Any advice appreciated!

Cheers

G
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Don't forget Pentax if you are considering a switch. the K-5 is a fantastic camera! :)
 
If you want the biggest selection of lenses and accessories, especially flash, including high-end specialist stuff, go Nikon/Canon.

If you would like a large choice of cheaper used equipment, both to buy and sell, go Nikon/Canon.

If you are happy with middle of the road, popular gear, as most folks are, Sony is fine.

If you're going to swap, do it soon - before you get locked into owning a lot of Sony.
 
Or alternatively

If you want every lens on your camera stabilised, go Sony / Pentax / Olympus
If you want Auto-Focus Zeiss Lenses go Sony
If you want unique lenses like the 135 STF go Sony
If you want a system that allows you to use any Minolta AF lens (over 20 years worth) go Sony

There are pro's and cons to all of the brands - the biggest point in favour of Canon / Nikon is their large market share means it is easy to find a store stocking the gear you are interested in.

As far as range of lenses go, you should find anything you want in Sony mount, unless you are looking at specialist (tilt/shift) or super-telephoto (2k+ price bracket). As mentioned above, Sony also are the only brand with AF Zeiss lenses (if your budget can stretch that far - like all top glass it is expensive).

You don't mention what sort of budget you have for more gear - which might, in the end, turn out to be a significant factor in your choice. At the 'budget' end, the A200 is hard to beat - add a Minolta 50 f/1.7 for wide aperture, shallow DOF options, and a Sigma or Tamron 70-300 (I assume you have the 18-70 kit lens) and for a reasonably modest investment you have a good range of options.

In the meantime, use the cash you save by not swapping systems at this point to get good quality accessories - tripod, Lee Filters (if you want to do landscapes), etc. that are not dependant on the brand of camera you are using.

Then, when you have done your diploma, and better understand the advantages and limitations different options give, and if you want to start spending more serious amounts of cash, you will not have a large brand specific investment to tie you in (Switching brands will cost money, so the last thing you want to do now is switch to Canon only to decide Nikon fits your style better in a years time, or vice versa).
 
From what I've read and viewed on line Sony seem to have much better sensors than Canon at the moment so if you want to switch away from Sony moving to another manufacturer using Sony sensors but offering a wider range of lenses / accessories seems to be the thing to think about.

This is very interesting...

http://testcams.com/blog/2011/05/03/nikon-dx-vs-canon-aps-c-dynamic-range/

Of course it's always possible that Canon may catch up with better sensor technology in upcoming models in the future and if they do that they could be back on the list of options to think about but at the moment, looking at what's possible with Sony sensors, I personally wouldn't switch to Canon based on what they have on the shelf today unless you want something that the others don't offer like the MP-E or something.
 
I wouldn't change until you find something the Sony can't do, or there is a lens/equipment you can't get for the Sony. :shrug:
 
thanks for the advice so far ... interesting to see some pentax fans throwing their ideas in as i had not really considered this brand before.

Im thinking maybe i'll keep the a200 until i complete the course and see where i get on from there. I may get a few second hand minolta lenses so i dont break the bank as in see they are rated highly and have good resale value.
 
The wireless flash isn't a problem with sony as you can do wireless triggering like the KM cameras used to. Set the flash to slave, body to wireless flash and it triggers automatically off camera. You can also buy a standard hot shoe with pc sync from interfit for £15 which means you can use standard pc sync and standard hot shoe devices.
 
You are just going to get a shedload of personal bias and personal preference - "I own a Sony/Nikon/Canon/Pentax/Olympus therefore I will extol the virtues of the Sony/Nikon/Canon/Pentax/Olympus system". The facts? Yes, there are two manufacturers that are more popular, that have a larger market share. Is a Sony right for you? You are at a stage where essentially it doesn't matter because you just want a camera that you can change settings to learn from, but it depends where you see yourself. If you just want to take photos recreationally with maybe a few lenses, the Sony system will be fine. It's only if you head down any niche roads that you may not necessarily have the leeway that you'd get with the Canikon systems.

But if you are happy with the way the Sony alpha cameras work for you then that is all that matters.
 
freecom2 said:
If you just want to take photos recreationally with maybe a few lenses, the Sony system will be fine.that is all that matters.
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Interesting, I have the 900 and shoot motorsports for a few magazines with no problems, and landscapes, and gardens, and macro's, and a few product shots for work oh and some wildlife and occasionally I will just shoot for the hell of it.

I know you are going to get fans of the two 'flocks' trying to persuade you that they are better, but 'really'. . . .

What you should be asking yourself is:

How does the camera 'feel' in your hands
How easy is the menu system especially quick changes 'on the fly'
Are YOU happy with the resulting shots you take

If the answer to the above is yes then keep the Sony, if the answer is no then I suggest hiring a body and a couple of lenses for a weekend (minimum) and trying it out, then try another make - yes you will be paying out just to try BUT it's cheaper than changing and then realising that you have chosen wrongly.

.DAVID.
 
David Stallard said:
Interesting, I have the 900 and shoot motorsports for a few magazines with no problems, and landscapes, and gardens, and macro's, and a few product shots for work oh and some wildlife and occasionally I will just shoot for the hell of it.
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Which is precisely why I said 'niche'. None of those things that you mentioned are niche. I tried very hard to not step on anyone's toes - frankly, if you want to be indignant at posts that are critical of the Sony Alpha system, you need to take issue with some of the earlier posts, not mine. Niche, things like tilt-shift lenses which are completely lacking.

And since the top end Nikon and Sony cameras share similar, if not identical sensors, clearly it's either the bodies or the lenses where Nikon has an advantage, if the sensors are likely to perform similarly between the systems.

Besides, trampling on what I said and then essentially repeating my final sentence? :thumbs:
 
:cool: Please accept my apologies, I meant no offence it just seems that every time 'the' question is asked it's always the same answers for the 'two'.

.DAVID.

Someone has to stand up for the underdog ;)
 
David Stallard said:
:cool: Please accept my apologies, I meant no offence it just seems that every time 'the' question is asked it's always the same answers for the 'two'.
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Very gracious of you - I too am very aware of it, I enjoy using my Nikon but people do seem to have a certain amount of tunnel vision with regards to picking from the manufacturers sometimes. Pentax also makes some incredibly competent DSLRs, with an amazing amount of compatibility for lenses back to the 70s and even 60s with an M42-K-mount adapter, but I guess market share often ends up speaking for itself.

My post was maybe worded a bit too harshly; at least you weren't like many other people who would be stupid enough like me to respond rudely. G'day! :)
 
I'm still interested to find out what these 'niche' products/areas are that aren't available in Sony fit. The lensbaby tilt/shift is now.

It still always boils down to what you find easiest to use and what gives you results you are happy with. Doesn't really matter what the brand name is.
 
JonesNav said:
From the Sony models I've looked at the seems to be a bit of a gap in the models offered compared to nikon and canon but I suppose by the time I get to the level where I need a really good camera there will be new models out anyway.
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A77 is supposed to be announce in ~1 month, possibly 2 new FF models next year.

freecom2 said:
Niche, things like tilt-shift lenses which are completely lacking.
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Tilt/shift for Alpha are available - there just aren't Sony branded ones (yet).
For probably 98% of people there are adequate lenses. For the other 2% that have a need & the budget they know what lens they need & that dictates the body.
 
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srichards said:
I'm still interested to find out what these 'niche' products/areas are that aren't available in Sony fit. The lensbaby tilt/shift is now.

It still always boils down to what you find easiest to use and what gives you results you are happy with. Doesn't really matter what the brand name is.
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Where are you looking Suz? Both Canon and Nikon have more than double the number of lenses available, and a lot of those are not niche either. You may not need to buy them, but you can't hire them either - which I do from time to time.

Sony's exclusive flash hot-shoe fitting is a basic marketing error - as others that have tried the same trick in the past have discovered, eg Nikon, which was actually an improvement but never caught on. You can get around the Sony fit, but it's just a PITA. And it's not even better.

Sony's market share is reflected in the amount of used equipment available - check the for sale sections here, and compare what's available for Canon and Nikon. Canon has over 40% market share of DSLRs, Nikon close behind. Sony are in single figures, and they're not growing.

I would also question Sony's commitment to the DSLR market. They are far more interested in their compact system cameras, the NEX range, and will launch three of those for every DSLR. Quite rightly too - that's where they can make serious money, which is exactly what they're doing.

None of which is intened to suggest that Sony don't make excellent cameras and lenses, or that buying into the Sony system is a bad idea so long as you know the potential limitations. I think it's great that people buy other brands apart from Canikon, they need the competition, but Sony are not getting my money and when folks ask my advice, I tell them why.
 
srichards said:
I'm still interested to find out what these 'niche' products/areas are that aren't available in Sony fit. The lensbaby tilt/shift is now.

It still always boils down to what you find easiest to use and what gives you results you are happy with. Doesn't really matter what the brand name is.
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The lensbaby tilt shift isn't really up to the quality of a standard tilt/shift lens such as the Canon TS-E 24mm

Sony really need to jump on this market fast because people do use them - and with the excellent full frame sensorts Sony employ a good tilt shift lens could well tempt folk in if it was priced well
 
The other manufacturers bulk out their ranges with IS and non IS versions for a start. Take those out of the equation and is there a particular lens range or primes that aren't covered adequately by sony fit lenses? That's the nub of the question I was asking :)
 
RichardtheSane said:
The lensbaby tilt shift isn't really up to the quality of a standard tilt/shift lens such as the Canon TS-E 24mm

Sony really need to jump on this market fast because people do use them - and with the excellent full frame sensorts Sony employ a good tilt shift lens could well tempt folk in if it was priced well
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Had a quick dig and there is a high quality tilt shift available:

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/hot-new-schneider-kreuznach-tilt-shift-lenses-for-sony/

And argos seem to be listing an 85mm tilt shift for £200 made by sony themselves so there are two other tilt shift options other than the lensbaby.

I don't know how that compares with canon/nikon options in this area.
 
As much as I hate to admit it - HoppyUK is correct.

As much as I love the a900 and the glass I have.

Unless Sony have a change of mind and start producing pro glass and bodies they will lose out on the pro market, they seem to fixed on the high end compacts / bridge cameras and the translucent mirror technology. I wont be going anywhere until the 900 dies so that's a while yet at least

.DAVID.
 
If you plan on doing photography professionally then maybe there is merit on going with one of the two bigger brands. Otherwise for the enthusiast / hobbyist the smaller more obscure players in the market have some very interesting offerings indeed.

I moved over to Pentax because of the mix of features a K-5 could offer that no model in Nikon's line up could. Very happy so far! :)
 
+1 for pentax

I'm not too familiar with the sony system, but I know they use in body SR which is a major plus point over the canikon system.

Another plus size for pentax is body size, and availability of pocket friendly prime lenses. Canon and Nikon systems are designed around their full frame cameras, and the best lenses are sized and priced accordingly.

A huge canon SLR will draw a lot of (unwelcome) attention, and is hardly pocket friendly. I shoot a pro grade 1dmk3, but for my travel cam I would shoot a pentax k5 not a 600d, because the small size of the 600d is overshadowed by the huge FF lenses I have to use which would mean i'd have to invest in all new glass anyway


Pentax is a good system because you can use any pentax M lens from the 70's, and you should be able to use any brand flash gun (in manual mode)
 
Hi,

I have an m42 adaptor and my fave lens is the 28mm vivitar f2.5.


Ok so I need a hell of a lot of practice because my shots miss the focus more than hit it lol, but you can get adaptors for most of the brands now.

So find the lens you want (preferably at a price you want) and adapt it to your fave camera :D


OP: Good luck deciding on your camera route - recommend you stay with the sony for a while then when you have some savings and the itch to upgrade due to shortcomings becomes too much, see whats on the market :)
 
HoppyUK said:
Sony's exclusive flash hot-shoe fitting is a basic marketing error - as others that have tried the same trick in the past have discovered, eg Nikon, which was actually an improvement but never caught on. You can get around the Sony fit, but it's just a PITA. And it's not even better.
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subjective -lots of people do think that it's better.

Canon has over 40% market share of DSLRs, Nikon close behind. Sony are in single figures, and they're not growing.
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wrong, Sony is approaching 20% (depends which area & time period etc. you look at) & definitely is growing market share.

RichardtheSane said:
The lensbaby tilt shift isn't really up to the quality of a standard tilt/shift lens such as the Canon TS-E 24mm

Sony really need to jump on this market fast because people do use them - and with the excellent full frame sensorts Sony employ a good tilt shift lens could well tempt folk in if it was priced well
Click to expand...
Arax/Hartblei & Schneider are available in Alpha mount. It is a very niche market though (e.g. Nikon sell ~1000 85mm PC lenses per year, about the same for the 45mm & ~2500 28mm PC whilst producing 4 million + DSLR bodies...).

David Stallard said:
Unless Sony have a change of mind and start producing pro glass and bodies they will lose out on the pro market,
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it's probably a fair comment but Sony already have a lot of glass that is of a pro level & there is more coming.
& whilst the A900 isn't officially a pro body it's certainly capable of being used by a pro to produce pro results - supposedly 2012 should see 2 new FFs.
I'm sure that Sony will properly address the pro market at some point but it's probably not that profitable in it's own right & therefore not the highest priority - the bulk of profits are made in the lower levels of the DSLR market.
 
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mrjames said:
+1 for pentax

I'm not too familiar with the sony system, but I know they use in body SR which is a major plus point over the canikon system.

Another plus size for pentax is body size, and availability of pocket friendly prime lenses. Canon and Nikon systems are designed around their full frame cameras, and the best lenses are sized and priced accordingly.

A huge canon SLR will draw a lot of (unwelcome) attention, and is hardly pocket friendly. I shoot a pro grade 1dmk3, but for my travel cam I would shoot a pentax k5 not a 600d, because the small size of the 600d is overshadowed by the huge FF lenses I have to use which would mean i'd have to invest in all new glass anyway


Pentax is a good system because you can use any pentax M lens from the 70's, and you should be able to use any brand flash gun (in manual mode)
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Since when?? Without trying to start a topic within a topic, this is simply untrue. Canon has a whole specialist section specifically for the crop format in the EF-S lenses. There are amazing lenses for crop only, such as the 10-22 usm, 17-55 f/2.8 usm, 60mm f/2.8 Macro usm, 15-85 usm etc etc. To say Canon (or Nikon) is based solely around thier FF bodies is utterly baseless as they have invested very heavily in the crop format, more so than most others.
 
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srichards said:
Had a quick dig and there is a high quality tilt shift available:

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/hot-new-schneider-kreuznach-tilt-shift-lenses-for-sony/

And argos seem to be listing an 85mm tilt shift for £200 made by sony themselves so there are two other tilt shift options other than the lensbaby.

I don't know how that compares with canon/nikon options in this area.
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That Schneider fits any camera, it's not a Sony. I think you've invented the other one ;)

Taking a real life example, look at the lenses I use, listed left. Canon 17-40L 4, 24-105L 4, 70-200L 4. Sony doesn't have anything to match any of those, only the much bigger, heavier and more expensive f/2.8 versions - which Canon also offers.

heidfirst said:
subjective -lots of people do think that it's better.
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Not if you hang around the lighting section here.

wrong, Sony is approaching 20% (depends which area & time period etc. you look at) & definitely is growing market share.
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Not wrong. Your Sony figure includes NEX camera sales, which are big and growing fast - but they're not DSLRs. Market share figures (there are lots about if you google) are hard to be too specific about. As you say, they vary by country, time frames, exports vs sales, and in many cases they now just list 'interchgangeable lens cameras' which of course includes the NEX range, MFTs cameras etc. And that completely skews historical comparisons.

Canikon have nothing to worry about in the DSLR market, but how much longer they can ignore the new Compact System Camera sector (Sony NEX, Olympus Pen etc) is a different question. Not long is the obvious answer, but I suspect it will be worth waiting for.

Arax/Hartblei & Schneider are available in Alpha mount. It is a very niche market though.
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Yes, very niche. I can't see a couple of T&S lenses changing Sony's fortunes much, but they are relatively weak throughout the range, as per my example above, and they have almost nothing over 300mm.
 
I think when choosing a manufacturer there are two things to consider, how does the camera feel and can I get all the lenses/accessories I need.

The first bit of advice everyone gives when choosing a camera is to try them and see what fits. I would add to that how far you plan to get into photography, which is hard to know for definite when you're starting out, which is why it is hardly mentioned.

Most people get the camera and the kit lens, normally 16/18mm-55/85mm, and may not get another lens. Some may get a zoom, 55/70mm-200/300mm, some a 50mm, some a macro, and some a wide angle. All manufacturers have lenses to cover those lenses pretty well, or have third party lens manufacturers which fill in the blanks in their range. It is when you stray outside those 'standards' that choices narrow away from big two of Canon and Nikon.

It would be nice for there to be 4 or 5 manufacturers closer to each other in what they offer, but Canon and Nikon have a lead that will be hard for the rest to close. Sony after an initial gains after buying Minolta have I think plateaued, Pentax were late to the game in relation to the big two and while offer good cameras at the moment, offered confusion with their partnership with Samsung who offered almost the same cameras, but cheaper. And Olympus went there own way with the 4/3 system, which may have offered small sized cameras, but suffered from bad high ISO performance and a small range of lenses for the 4/3 system.

If Sony can build upon the translucent mirror technology then they could make gains, but as with Olympus, are they that interested in the SLR (Sony SLR/SLT) market to build up their lenses and accessories? :shrug:

Yes, if you are getting a camera choose the one that feels right, but of you plan to get serious, or even have professional ambitions, then I would go Canon or Nikon.

And yes, before you say it, I know that there will be professionals using all types of camera, but most use the big two, and most hire companies have equipment for the big two.


Just my 2p because I'm bored. :lol:
 
HoppyUK said:
but they are relatively weak throughout the range, as per my example above, and they have almost nothing over 300mm.
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I disagree that they are relatively weak throughout the range - remember that we don't need IS & non-IS lenses. If you look at an image stabilised system we have a bigger range than either Canon or Nikon as every lens becomes stabilised.
I'm not saying that it's a perfect system but it really isn't an issue for all but a few % of the market & as I said for those people the lens often dictates the body & not the other way around.

Sony have a pretty well sorted consumer range & the top end is fairly well covered with the exception of "exotics" which of course includes T/S & ultra teles.
The 70-400 is best in class, virtually as sharp as a prime & when the 500/4 finally makes it to retail that, the 300/2.8 & a 1.4TC will cover an awful lot of that need. (again Nikon sell about 1000 each year of each of their 400/2.8, 500/4 & 600/4 compared to in excess of 4 million bodies)

You can certainly argue that we don't have the /4 range of teles that Canon has but neither does Nikon or indeed anybody else & improved sensors with higher ISOs are lessening the need from a light-gathering pov.

Oh & of course there are always Tamron, Sigma & the occasional Tokina 3rd party lenses too.
 
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Ok, I'm gonna stick my neck out here, and this may upset some people. I don't mean to and I apologise if I do.

Please read and digest these first two paragraphs before coming to an emotional conclusion if you are a Sony user.

I dont understand why someone would choose the Sony system over Canon / Nikon in the first instance. There I said it!

The reason I say this is this - Sony's are excellent cameras. They have supurb sensors and do have some wonderful lenses. However, by choosing the Sony system, you do lose out on soooo much lovely kit, so much inexpensive used stuff and a whole plethora of 'additional' kit. I say I like the Sony cameras themselves as I have used them on more than one occation as a shooting buddy of mine uses Sony's. But he is forever frustrated when looking for used goods.

For example, a couple of used purchases by me in the recent months - A canon 35mm f/2 and a Kenko 2x MC-7 TC. New, approx £500 worth of gear. I got both of these used, and both only a few months old on purchase. I paid about £180 for both, in total. My shooting buddy with the Sony can only dream of getting so much good gear for so little and is still hunting for a used TC to use at Silverstone (ok, he may be a little fussy with his wallet)! Of course you can get Kenko extenders for Sony, but they are so few and far between on the used market, and when you do find them the prices are still premium, and the used market is where I'm spending most of my money these days!

As I said to start with, this is not a trolling post as I do really like the cameras Sony make (except the EVF bodies, urrgggh!) but I cant understand why, in the first instance, you would choose the Sony system over any other system as you will always end up, generally speaking, paying more for your gear.

Just my opinion of course, and Ive tried to put it across as reasonably as I feasibility can, but I'm still expecting a degree of flaming!
 
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odd jim said:
I dont understand why someone would choose the Sony system over Canon / Nikon in the first instance. There I said it!

The reason I say this is this - Sony's are excellent cameras. They have supurb sensors and do have some wonderful lenses. However, by choosing the Sony system, you do lose out on soooo much lovely kit, so much inexpensive used stuff and a whole plethora of 'additional' kit. I say I like the Sony cameras themselves as I have used them on more than one occation as a shooting buddy of mine uses Sony's.!
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The vast majority of DSLR buyers never buy an additional lens. The next largest segment buy 1 or maybe 2.
The type of person that is on here & similar forums who may well have 5+ are very much in the minority so for most people it's just not an issue & Sony often offers the best value.
Similarly people who buy second hand are a small % of the market so again for most people it's not an issue.
& there is s/h kit out there although as Sony's market share grows it is pushing up s/h prices.

You like the cameras, you like the sensors, you like the lenses (all of which become stabilised) so it comes down to what you don't like.
You tell me what "sooo much lovely kit" do I miss out on? The only thing that would interest me & that I could justify spending the money on would be something like an MPE65 (although there is the old Minolta 1-3x).
Quite a few of Sony's lenses are best in class & I've always preferred Minolta/Sony handling to Canon.
If I was to change system it would be to Nikon but my main lens is the 70-400 G which neither Canon or Nikon can currently touch. My second main lens is a Tamron 180mm Macro (stabilised on the body of course) - again can't be replicated on Canon or Nikon.
You see my needs aren't your needs & someone else will have different needs so he/she'll buy a Pentax etc. etc.
 
heidfirst said:
The vast majority of DSLR buyers never buy an additional lens. The next largest segment buy 1 or maybe 2.
The type of person that is on here & similar forums who may well have 5+ are very much in the minority so for most people it's just not an issue & Sony often offers the best value.
Similarly people who buy second hand are a small % of the market so again for most people it's not an issue.
& there is s/h kit out there although as Sony's market share grows it is pushing up s/h prices.

You like the cameras, you like the sensors, you like the lenses (all of which become stabilised) so it comes down to what you don't like.
You tell me what "sooo much lovely kit" do I miss out on? The only thing that would interest me & that I could justify spending the money on would be something like an MPE65 (although there is the old Minolta 1-3x).
Quite a few of Sony's lenses are best in class & I've always preferred Minolta/Sony handling to Canon.
If I was to change system it would be to Nikon but my main lens is the 70-400 G which neither Canon or Nikon can currently touch. My second main lens is a Tamron 180mm Macro (stabilised on the body of course) - again can't be replicated on Canon or Nikon.
You see my needs aren't your needs & someone else will have different needs so he/she'll buy a Pentax etc. etc.
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Indeed and I agree with a lot you've said, which is why I stressed its just my opinion. And I guess this is something for the OP to consider. Have a look at whats available for the Sony system right now, and what he might like in the future. But, I do believe the used market is the photographers friend. I have some excellent lenses and other items that I simply could not justify buying new. And these items were as new, and you wouldn't tell the difference and the savings I've made already are in the thousands, let alone what they may total in a few years time!

The fact of the matter is, good gear is ultimately less expensive with Canon or Nikon at the moment at least. But I do appreciate some users don't look beyond the cost of the initial body and lens.

I'm not saying he should or shouldn't swap, but I do think the OP should consider what I've said, even if he ignores it!
 
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Lol ok!
 
i recently changed from sony to canon so i thought i would add my thoughts to this discussion.

as much as i enjoyed using my sony a390 i had issues with the direction sony was moving in regarding it's slr/slt's. there is a glaring gap in the sony line-up from 'beginner' to 'pro' level, the a700 replacement has been too long in coming to the market but finally it seems to about to make an appearance.

this leads to my next gripe, the a77 will be an slt with an electronic viewfinder, which i didn't want. sony seem to be keen to push this system so my decision was made for me from when i heard this as i had been holding out for the a700 replacement. i even considered a used a700 but the question if what upgrade was available after that was a concern.

once i had decided i was gonna sell my sony minolta kit i went to the local jessops to have a play with some canons. i choose canon because of the availability of the 70-200 f4 after having a minolta of a similar spec(70-210 f4 beercan). i had a play with a 60d which would have taken up all the money i made from selling my sony gear, so instead i bought a gripped 30d from the classifieds on here. i was able to add a new 50mm 1.8 and a used sigma 24-70 2.8 with the rest of the money.

the availability of cheap used kit from both canon and nikon was a major bonus of changing systems for me. i work on a budget like a lot of people on here so making my cash stretch as far as possible is important to me. i know people will say that there is a lot of minolta equipment available to sony users which is true, but the amount of canon/nikon kit far outweighs this.
 
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