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"works well with minolta lens" on by Andreousinc
Pros: love the Auto Focus as well as manual control in addition to auto and manual setting great learning DSLR
Cons: no live view or video
Summary: best learning DSLR for the Money
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"As a pro photographer I love this dslr for walkabout." on by MichaelMcGrath
Pros: Better for portraiture , and landscapes, than the Canon 40D.
Built-in anti shake lets me use my AF Minolta lenses on Steadyshot, this is much better than any Nikon or Canon, handier too!
Snazzy-looking, the women notice its style.Cons: The excellent kit lens, SAM 18-55 , ghosted, but only once in several hundred outdoor test-shots. This was sorted by fitting an independent -make deeper lenshood.
Summary: Excellent for most photographic work except fast sport, but then I have no interest in any sport!
So this jewel of a camera suits me perfectly for everyday walkabout, so light, small and stylish, I hardly know it's there, I forget I have it on!
Good viewfinder with dioptre adjustment for me as a spectacle wearer , and as I have small hands with thin artistic fingers, I actually like the grip as well, it adds lines of classical style to the good looks of this camera that attracts admiring looks in public.
I've got better photos with this camera than a friend who is a press photographer with his Canon 7D and L lenses, but then I am a professional photographer of 44 years standing - I think that too many pixels are packed into the Canon 7D , otherwise a good camera itself, but I prefer this Sony Alpha despite it being called ' entry level' , yes it is , but it makes fabulous colour enlargements to 16X20 inch , as good as a 16X20 that I got from my Pentax Spotmatic with Takumar 50/1.4 of my recently dearly departed sister Angela on her wedding day back in August 1976 , that was my all -time favourite as I went all-out that lovely day back then to get the better of my friend, the professional Oliver , with his Hasselblad - I did!
That's how good this camera can be , that's how good the Sony Alpha range can be, every bit as good as if not better than Canikon.
The battery holds a good charge too for all day continuous shooting without worry , it charges fast as well.
And Sony Zeiss lenses are available too.
I've already shot beautifully on manual on this camera with my own Zeiss 135/f3.5 and my Flektogon 35/2.4 on adaptor, I am well pleased.
This camera has never let me down , I have comnplete and total confidence in it, the lens ghosted but only that once.
I suggest you buy it with the Sony Zeiss 16-80 lens. -
"Simple, Fast Focus, Fun to use, Great Pictures" on by jayzarkara
Pros: VERY FAST focus. plenty of preset modes, tailored to 6 separate settings. Taking incredible pictures is easy, if you have the right settings. steady shot is effective in anything other than nighttime shooting w/o flash. for that, use a tripod
Cons: grip is uncomfortable. feels, as they say, "plastic-ie". auto-focus assist light not very effective in low light [uses flash to try to focus, works 50% of the time]
Summary: As my first true dSLR, I was impressed at the capabilities it offers versus a point-and-shoot camera. Very fast focus (as you bring your eye to the viewfinder, it automatically starts to focus). the screen turns off when you bring your eye up to it (pro). hard to handle with a 55-300mm lens on it. not a lot to grip on the body, so by a sturdy lens (you'll be holding the rig by the lens mostly).
all around, an excellent entry level DSLR, especially for those new to the camera type. tends to HELP you along if you get lost in the settings, which is rare. everything is, like it says in the editor's review, easily found and smartly placed.
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