not true because the Alpha doesn't display much of any noise until you crank the ISO past 800.......rare are the occasions that you have to ever go above 400, at least for the pics i take. indoor stadiums are well lit with bright white lights.

NOW i will say that the Sony can lack in nighttime pictures if you don't know what you're doing.

as for Mr X - the only reason i mentioned the nutswinging is because it always happens. at the mention of anything other than Nikon or Canon, all the N/C people get offended that anyone would consider a camera other than what they use. GET OVER IT! how am i a Sony nutswinger. see, you swing because you blindly defend Canon or Nikon based on name. i merely mentioned another option for the guy and again...........TRUE PICTURE QUALITY LAYS BEHIND THE LENS. but hey, Sony sucks huh......i suppose that would answer why Nikon uses Sony image sensors?

anyways, to the OP......the Nikons, Canons, Sonys, Pentax, etc are actually all nice cameras. the big thing is, how easily do you want to be able to walk into a random camera shop and get a lens? in all honesty, you only NEED two or three lenses. a long zoom, a short zoom and MAYBE a nice prime lens.......all of which can be found online cheaper than in stores anyway, so who cares about accessories. in the end, it's up to you and any camera you choose should do you good. good luck.

jim

 

When did I said Sony sucks? When did I get offended? I like them, just not too much support for them and I'm not too familiar with them so I can't recommend them. I know my D70s has a Sony sensor.

Not trying to say that every one does this, but I remember when I got my D70s. I said the same thing "all I need is a good zoom lens and the one that comes with the camera and that should be it". Now I'm looking for a Macro and wide angle lens, external flash, filters, blah blah blah.

 

i understand what you're saying, to be honest i was a tad upset to find out that the A-100 only accepts Sony flashes due to it's proprietary hot shoe. but other than that, with the current line of lenses (to include Carl Zeiss) and being able to use older Konica-Minolta lenses, i have never had an issue finding a lens.

with that being said, my buddy has a Canon 20D and i have used it. a bit bulky IMHO, but takes nice shots. like i said, pretty much any DSLR camera out there takes good shots.

jim

 

Well lets not argue about it and show the guy were to get it with a good beginners kit .

 

agreed.

but it's hard to choose! i know that i did lots of research before i purchaced my camera, especially on www.dpreview.com. but i will say that i would've been happy with any camera i got, be it the 20D, D80 or A-100.

i must say, if anyone is looking at P&S cameras, there is NO comparison. the Sony DSC-R1 is the best, hands down, no contest.........even now and the camera is almost two years old.

anyways, i don't know how to help this guy.

jim

 

thanx about lots of inputs! I'll just stick with canon or nikon.

can you guys tell me good photography web site? i'm sure there are a lot of them so i can't pick..., i need to learn basic stuffs like what 'mm' stands for how does it work, etc....

 

Thats the opening of the lense, basically the smaller the number the bigger the lense opens. Thus you can take pics in low light or create a good bokeh,
And also its a faster lense. the downside are weight and $$$. Go visit dpreview.com and bhphoto.com for more info.

Edit: I would suggest you googled thecameraprofessionals first tho....

 

www.dpreview.com

they have a ton of info on the site, mainly about equipment but a great site for research.

also here is a forum that can be pretty helpful in terms of general photography stuff - www.haknslash.com/fotorealm

jim

 

Also, not trying to be a d1ck or a smart ***, but these books will help you. Just go to your local Barnes & Noble or equivalent and pick you up something like that.

 

I didn't say the Alpha's ISO image quality was bad; the Canon's are just better, especially at higher ISO's.

As I mentioned, for sports or action photography, even with pro stadium lighting, to get shutter speeds of 1/250 or 1/500 to ensure that there is no motion blur, you will need ISO 800-1600-3200.