sony alpha 550 or nikon d90

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Hi i am new to this and wondered what would be the best camera for me. I am going to be taking a few football shots along with the usual family and amimal shot along with landscape.

I am looking at the sony a550 with twin lens kit or the d90 with single lens. Both are same price but what do you think will be best for me??

Or is it best to go for the older sony a700 but no live view??

Thanks in advance
 
Yes, Sony's hotshoe can be a pain, but adapters are as cheap as chips from ebay. As for liveview, do you need it? do you want it? I bought my A700 two years ago and bought a second one earlier this year so if you can get hold of one (and don't want liveview ;)) then you won't be disappointed. The build quality is better that the A550 as well, the A700 having a magnesium alloy body.
 
Yes, Sony's hotshoe can be a pain, but adapters are as cheap as chips from ebay.


Have you come across an adapter to mount old Minolta flashes onto Alphas'

I have a Dynax 500si film camera with the current hotshoe mount, and an old Minolta 7000 AF body which takes my 1800AF flash.
 
As well as looking at the cost of the start up kit, it's worth investigating the cost (and availability) of any future purchases like flashes, other lenses, remotes and the like. Look at second hand stocks as well (look at Konica Minolta stuff as well as Sony - they're the same fitting) - some brands are better served than others. It may be worth looking at the availability of hire lenses too - if you want/need a fast telephoto for a weekend, you don't want to have to spend thousands on buying one if you can help it!

One last thing - don't forget to try the choices on to see which fit you best. Do the buttons fall nicely under your fingers and thumbs? Does your nose press any of the buttons when the camera's to your eye? Is the review/live view screen visible in daylight?
 
i had the very same problem, in the end i went for the sony alpha a550...i debated with my self for near 3 weeks...(drivin myself mad) i think the sony is a better built camera, feels better in my hands...
 
I also had the same debate as I had an old Minolta zoom lens I could have used on the Sony. But when I read numerous reviews the Nikon always came out on top so I went for the Nikon D90 and love it.

Anyway I sold the Minolta lens that I bought for £100 years back for £80 so not to bad
 
Yes, Sony's hotshoe can be a pain, but adapters are as cheap as chips from ebay. As for liveview, do you need it? do you want it? I bought my A700 two years ago and bought a second one earlier this year so if you can get hold of one (and don't want liveview ;)) then you won't be disappointed. The build quality is better that the A550 as well, the A700 having a magnesium alloy body.


The hotshoe can be a pain but the built quality is better? :lol:

I'd say get the D90. Served me as a great camera. Plus you'll find Nikon has more resources and if it ever breaks down it'll be cheaper to repair.

And sometimes, you do actually need LiveView. It's better to have it, than not.
 
The hotshoe can be a pain but the built quality is better? :lol:}

Curious as to what's so funny, especially as you've put two completely unrelated things in that one sentence.

The hotshot is a pain when it comes to wireless flash triggers - not particularly funny

The A700 has a magnesium alloy body and is extremely well built and would almost certainly stand more knocks than the plastic bodied A550. - again, not particularly funny

All this is pretty moot anyway, given the date of the thread.
 
I spent hours in the shop trying out Canons and Nikons, I went for the A500 in the end purely because it was comfortable. As for features etc they all have something the other one hasnt, have a play with different cameras and go for what feels good to you . After all its no use buying a camera that you cannot comfortably reach all the buttons on!
I really like my Sony and feel part of an exclusive club just because you dont see many around.
 
I went for the A500 in the end purely because it was comfortable. As for features etc they all have something the other one hasnt,

That's the most important thing really! And yes, there are swings and roundabouts re features.
 
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