Sony A100 vs other DSLR's: help please!

[Ivan]

Well, I think I may end up buying a dSLR before the end of the weekend, but now my biggest problem is "which one???":jumping:

Long story short, I went to Best Buy last night and spotted an A100 and A200, and after playing around with it for about 20 minutes with the A100, I was enamored. However, I was still left wondering what the differences between both of the cameras were (other than the slightly cheaper feeling of the A200).

I spend part of last night and this morning doing about as much reading as I could on the A100, A200, and a whole plethora of cameras, and the only conclusion that I could come to was this:

The A200 seems to be aimed more towards the starter DSLR Canon and Nikon crowd while the A100 [basically a rebadged Minolta Maxxum 5D/7D] was aimed more towards the higher end Canon and Nikon crowd (like the D80).

And now I'm sitting here literally scratching my head and thinking "******?".

So now two more dilemas have come up:

A) From all the reviews that I've read, the A100 seems to have more manual and intuitive controls than the A200, which I find more appealing. The A200 is less noisy than the A100 at higher ISO's. Now, you would think that I would find that interesting or appealing, but from the examples that I've seen, that's only an issue at a level of detail that I don't see myself fretting over anytime soon (at least not until I have devoted a LARGE amount of time into everything that is photography, from image composition to mastering the minutae of the software available).

B) For the same price as either one of the cameras (the A100 and A200), I could buy this Nikon D40 kit, but one of the biggest things (if not hte only thing) that I find so attractive on the Sony cameras is their anti-shake system, which the D40 doesn't have. I come from P&S's, and one of my biggest gripes with them, and in par the reason I am making the plunge into DSLR territory, is that whenever I took a picture w/o the flash, it almost always came out blurry and shaky. Turn the flash on and voila! Perfect, but it's no longer the image I wante to capture.

So now I'm going back and forth between which one, but I am decidedly leaning towards the A100. I just dont' know if I would be missing much by not going to the newer A200.

I guess the actual question that I'm asking you guys is what are y'alls thoughts and opinions?

Btw, these are some of the links that I've been looking at all morning long:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dslr_a200-review/index.shtml

http://www.cameralabs.com/features/10Megapixel_DSLR_test/page6.shtml

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/nikon/d40-review/

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dslr_a100-review/

And a bunch more...

 

[UK4X4]

I was a sony camera fan......untill I got my Nikon.......anti shake....great in point and shoots, not a feature I'd be interested in when looking at DSLR's.

I have a D70 and love it, 4000meters through the amazon and the like, and works like a dream, probably about time I cleaned it....as its almost 5 years old.

The only issues I've had were static buildup in a soft top jeep, causing it to lockup and a broken view finder rubber.

To me the colours in the Nikon are more real life than the other sony's I've had, if you like the brightness you can always edit them if required.

I won't be going back to sony for cameras.....but for large screen TV's they get my vote

 

[cnskate]

I had an A100 and the images were incredibly soft so I returned it. I'm sticking with Canon or Nikon.

 

[PhoenixGSU]

I'd go with Canon or Nikon. I prefer Canon for the button layout.

http://www.cameralabs.com/features/10Megapixel_DSLR_test/page3d.shtml

 

[TrailBlazer03]

I'd go with Canon or Nikon. I prefer Canon for the button layout.

http://www.cameralabs.com/features/10Megapixel_DSLR_test/page3d.shtml

Yeah I agree. Canons button layout is much more comfortable to the hand.

 

[Photog]

Sorry for the long post. This might be helpful for others looking for a new DSLR system, also.

If you are asking which body to choose (A100 or A200), get the A100.

My actual suggestion would be to choose the glass first, and then get a camera for it. This is where the Sony falls behind. Nikon, Canon and Pentax lenses are a bit better than the Sony (Minolta) lenses. Camera bodies will come and go; but good glass will last and last.

At the level of the Canon 40D, Nikon D200, or Pentax K20D, it just depends on which camera feels better to you. Their quality and ability are all fairly close.

Do your shopping at a large camera store, where you can pick up the cameras, check out the lenses, etc.

Have a list of things to do, to help sort out the cameras.

Bring a CF card and an SD card with you (with your name & number on the back).

1) Pick up the camera, and install one of your cards.
2) Format the card.
3) Adjust Aperture, Shutter speed, Exposure.
4) Adjust the flash power.
5) Change white balance.
6) Set custom white balance.
7) Switch lenses (for starters - choose each brand's best 24-70mm and 70-200mm) There are others, these are just for starters.
8) Take a few pictures, to see how quickly & smoothly the lens works.
9) How easy is it to see and adjust your settings, while looking through the viewfinder.
10) Remove your memory card.

If you do all these things, with each camera (using your check list), you will find some that are not user friendly, and some that are very intuitive (for you). You will feel the difference in size and handeling, etc.

Anything with 8 Megapixels or more will do just fine. Don't fall for the "more Mpix is better" BS. These cameras will probably range from 8 to 14 megapixels.

If you still like the A100, then get it. You will be happy knowing the others would not meet your needs, and you chose the best camera for you and your needs.