Sony A57 or A58?

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Crotalid

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Hi, i had a thread up six months ago..Decided in the end to go for the Sony A57, but due to exams and being in my last year at Uni i thought i would not get one till i graduate (easily distracted lol).

I see the A58 was recently released. Is there much difference between the two apart from the obvious specs like the MP's? Which one would you say is a better choice for the long term, as i intend to keep this camera for quite some time.

Generally speaking i will be shooting my subjects from 10cm to 60cm. I take it the kit lens will not be sufficient?

At the moment, i am still shooting with my iPhone :lol:, still manage to get some decent shots however.





 
I own the a57 and its a great camera, most people say the a58 is a slight downgrade but you can get one from amazon for £329 + amazon give you a £30 voucher to use so its a bit of a steal. The kit lens has a minimum focus distance of 25cm according to dxsym.com so if you need to be closer you need a macro lens.
You sure the pics were shot with an i phone? You got quite a narrow dof there, pretty impressive if you did.
 
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danolive1 said:
I own the a57 and its a great camera, most people say the a58 is a slight downgrade but you can get one from amazon for £329 + amazon give you a £30 voucher to use so its a bit of a steal. The kit lens has a minimum focus distance of 25cm according to dxsym.com so if you need to be closer you need a macro lens.
You sure the pics were shot with an i phone? You got quite a narrow dof there, pretty impressive if you did.
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Yeah i've noticed that, i think the A57 is £370 odd which isn't much different. You can get a refurb from Sony for £299 with the 18-55mm. But I'm not sure how good a refurb would be, having said that it does come with a 12 month warranty.

What type of macro would allow me to be relatively far away (40-50cm) but still get a good close up? Something like a 100mm?

Yep! If i upload the picture to flickr, it comes up with my iPhone 4s:thumbs: It's the only camera i have at the moment lol.

pingu666 said:
the 16-50 has close focus, 18-55 is pretty average
Click to expand...

Cheers, will have a look at it.
 
Crotalid said:
Yeah i've noticed that, i think the A57 is £370 odd which isn't much different. You can get a refurb from Sony for £299 with the 18-55mm. But I'm not sure how good a refurb would be, having said that it does come with a 12 month warranty.

What type of macro would allow me to be relatively far away (40-50cm) but still get a good close up? Something like a 100mm?

Yep! If i upload the picture to flickr, it comes up with my iPhone 4s:thumbs: It's the only camera i have at the moment lol.

Cheers, will have a look at it.
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The refurbished items on the Sony site are, as far as I know, pretty good, I wouldn't be worried about buying from there.

Regarding 'Macro' - I think what you actually want (if I am remembering the previous thread correctly) is something that will focus from short distances (which is commonly a feature of a macro lens) rather than requiring a 'true' macro (1:1 image size - IE Can fill the frame with an object the same size as the sensor).

I am assuming here that you are currently shooting at 10-60cm as that is the distance you need with your present camera, rather than some other reason for being close to the snakes.

Take a look at either the Tamron 70-300 Di LD Macro or Sigma 70-300 DG APO Macro - both will give a 1:2 magnification - so will fill the frame with a subject ~ 5cmx3cm at a working distance of just under 1m.

They are both 'budget' tele zooms, but should be fine for you main use, plus will give you a longer zoom to go with the kit lens for when you are out and about.
 
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Faldrax said:
The refurbished items on the Sony site are, as far as I know, pretty good, I wouldn't be worried about buying from there.

Regarding 'Macro' - I think what you actually want (if I am remembering the previous thread correctly) is something that will focus from short distances (which is commonly a feature of a macro lens) rather than requiring a 'true' macro (1:1 image size - IE Can fill the frame with an object the same size as the sensor).

I am assuming here that you are currently shooting at 10-60cm as that is the distance you need with your present camera, rather than some other reason for being close to the snakes.

Take a look at either the Tamron 70-300 Di LD Macro or Sigma 70-300 DG APO Macro - both will give a 1:2 magnification - so will fill the frame with a subject ~ 5cmx3cm at a working distance of just under 1m.

They are both 'budget' tele zooms, but should be fine for you main use, plus will give you a longer zoom to go with the kit lens for when you are out and about.
Click to expand...

I think you've hit the nail on the head :)

Yeah, well at present I'm shooting from around 7cm+ but that's due to 1) my snakes being small at present 2) camera capabilities. But as they get bigger obviously I cannot use my phone for safety.

So I'd like something that would give me similar pics but at a safer distance, and crisper images than the iPhone produces.

I think those are the types of lenses I'm looking for, so thanks!
 
If you want to get a handle on the range of lenses (new and old) for the Sony A Mount, the best place to look is Dyxum

Given how Sony are so often 'discounted' due to lack of lens choice, the list is bewilderingly long at first, but once you have the hang og how to filter it for what you want it's great.

The scores need to be regarded as a guide, rather than absolute values - check how many people review a lens, if it's less than 10, the numbers can easily be biased by one review giving extreme scores.
 
In a nutshell the A58 gives you the new 20mp sensor (probably a bit better in low light?) - "The sensor is very good. Maybe two thirds to a full stop better than the a57 at ISO 3200." - Kirk Tuck review on amazon.com

Plus a better oled evf (viewfinder).

Those are the 2 main differences I think - in other ways it's a slight downgrade on the A57 so more of a replacement for the A37.

The A57 gives you a horizon level, better overall build quality (metal lens mount), a much higher res rear lcd which swivels whereas the A58 one tilts, higher fps rate and bigger buffer. Maybe a few other minor things?

So it depends what your priorities are - A58 is great value at £299 with the £30 credit offer), you might have to be quick if you want a new A57 with stocks limited at £370 ish, Wilkinson still have stock: http://www.wilkinson.co.uk/sony-a57-value-kit-3.html

I got my A57 as a refurb from Sony by the way (£299) and it looked like new (but had no stickers on it or anything). You get the same warranty as new and could always send it back within 7 days if not happy (distance selling regs) - they a had a few more in recently but none in now so you would need to check the outlet site frequently. They also had A58 refurbs for £269 (also gone now).

There is a review of the A58 here:
http://itsnotthecamera.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/my-sony-slt-a-58-review-part-i/
http://itsnotthecamera.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/my-own-little-a58-review-part-ii/
 
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Faldrax said:
If you want to get a handle on the range of lenses (new and old) for the Sony A Mount, the best place to look is Dyxum

Given how Sony are so often 'discounted' due to lack of lens choice, the list is bewilderingly long at first, but once you have the hang og how to filter it for what you want it's great.

The scores need to be regarded as a guide, rather than absolute values - check how many people review a lens, if it's less than 10, the numbers can easily be biased by one review giving extreme scores.
Click to expand...

Thank you, will do!

applemint said:
In a nutshell the A58 gives you the new 20mp sensor (probably a bit better in low light?) - "The sensor is very good. Maybe two thirds to a full stop better than the a57 at ISO 3200." - Kirk Tuck review on amazon.com

Plus a better oled evf (viewfinder).

Those are the 2 main differences I think - in other ways it's a slight downgrade on the A57 so more of a replacement for the A37.

The A57 gives you a horizon level, better overall build quality (metal lens mount), a much higher res rear lcd which swivels whereas the A58 one tilts, higher fps rate and bigger buffer. Maybe a few other minor things?

So it depends what your priorities are - A58 is great value at £299 with the £30 credit offer), you might have to be quick if you want a new A57 with stocks limited at £370 ish, Wilkinson still have stock: http://www.wilkinson.co.uk/sony-a57-value-kit-3.html

I got my A57 as a refurb from Sony by the way (£299) and it looked like new (but had no stickers on it or anything). You get the same warranty as new and could always send it back within 7 days if not happy (distance selling regs) - they a had a few more in recently but none in now so you would need to check the outlet site frequently. They also had A58 refurbs for £269 (also gone now).

There is a review of the A58 here:
http://itsnotthecamera.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/my-sony-slt-a-58-review-part-i/
http://itsnotthecamera.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/my-own-little-a58-review-part-ii/
Click to expand...

Thanks, there isn't really much between them then, i think I am going to go with the A57 mainly for the swiveling screen as that will be quite handy for my purposes! They've got some in at the moment, so it says on their site, so will order one now.

Just checked and they don't have it in stock haha! Will try Wilkinsons.
 
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