Sony A330 DSLR

jackieblack

Hi
I'm thinking about treating myself to a DSLR :j
Used to have a Ricoh KR-10 years ago, had to give it up due to deteriorating eyesight - now I have contact lenses, the cameras have autofocus, and I've had a little windfall to justify the frivolity of the purchase!

Am looking at Sony A330 from Jessops, £399 - £60 cashback ( http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/76249/show.html?cm_re=210709-_-Home-_-DSLR_a330 ) plus a Tamron 70-300mm zoom for another £100

Sony - because I've had a couple of Sony compact digital cameras which I've been quite pleased with and because the nice man at Jessops said the Sonys stood 'head and shoulders' above the other makes in that price range (up to £500)
A330 - I understand is a Jessops exclusive model - basically an A230 but with liveview (for an extra £50)
Have also considered A380 for the extra MP at an extra £100

Any opinions?

Marty_J

I think it's quite possible that Jessops make more money selling Sonys (though it's also possible the salesperson just really likes them).

Either way, I'd very much disagree with him. I've always stuck to Nikon or Canon, as neither company makes a bad camera, and if you need an accessory for something, it'll be available. Just look at any gathering of professional photographers, and it's all Nikon and Canon as far as the eye can see.

What really turns me off the Sonys though, is that they use their stupid Sony Memory Sticks instead of using SD or CF cards. They've came down quite a bit in price in the past few years, so it's not as much of an issue, but for me it's the principle of the thing. Sony love their proprietary connections and whatnot that won't work with anything else you own, and that's why I try to avoid anything made by Sony.

kevsan

I would also second a canon or nikon... edging towards nikon, for your price take a look at the D3000. Most importantly have a play with the different makes, and see what works for you.

on the specfic model you suggested...

It is not uncommon for a camera manufacturer to release an incremental upgrade to an existing model - we have seen this in the past from basically all the major players. Sometimes the new camera will lose some of its predecessor's functionality while adding new features. It is, however, quite unusual to see a new camera that is a clear step back from the previous iteration without offering any novelties or improvements worth mentioning.

The Sony A330 appears to be one such camera. Its immediate forebear the Alpha A300 was a somewhat chunky but generally well designed DSLR that offered good handling and ease of use thanks to its sensible user interface and fairly good ergonomics. With the arrival of the Alpha A330, it has been replaced by an undeniably smaller but at the same time much less conveniently designed camera that is frankly uncomfortable to hold and sometimes frustrating to use. And that's a problem especially if we consider that the key word in the A330 announcement was 'ease-of-use'.

During our test of the new camera we got the strange feeling that the - new? - design team either had very little idea of what ease-of-use means to a photographer, or was explicitly instructed to design the A330 for non-photographers. That you need some half a dozen button presses to change the active AF point or enter a menu to pop up the flash when it's not in auto mode pretty much says it all. At the same time, certain things the camera could be expected to do automatically, such as switch to the second memory card when the first one fills up (provided there are two cards inserted, of course), must be done manually - again, not in the spirit of user friendliness.

Comparing a camera to its immediate predecessor is one thing, but what the Sony A330 will be measured against is its competition - and here the new offering still has the same advantages as the older A300; namely, fast Live View autofocus and no extra shutter lag or unnecessary mirror slapping. This alone earns it an 'Above Average' rating. Our recommendation, however, still goes to its predecessor the Alpha A300 or its higher-resolution sibling the A350, which offer the same advantage in a much better designed and ultimately easier-to-use body - so grab one until stocks last.

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/sony_a330_review

and the newer sony's support SD/SDHC cards as well as Memory Stick PRO Duocards

Marty_J

kevsan wrote: »

and the newer sony's support SD/SDHC cards as well as Memory Stick PRO Duocards

That's good to know. I checked the specs on Jessops' website, but it just said "Mem Stick PRO Duo".

I guess Sony are giving people the option of paying more for a memory card that will only work with Sony devices, or paying less for one that'll work with almost anything with a memory card slot.

Tough call!

kevsan

although on the A330 (so i assume on some of the others as well) you have to manually switch between the cards using a selector next to the car slots, rather than being able to do it on the fly etc. which seems like a bit of a design oversight to me.

jackieblack

Marty_J wrote: »

What really turns me off the Sonys though, is that they use their stupid Sony Memory Sticks instead of using SD or CF cards. They've came down quite a bit in price in the past few years, so it's not as much of an issue, but for me it's the principle of the thing. Sony love their proprietary connections and whatnot that won't work with anything else you own, and that's why I try to avoid anything made by Sony.

Not a problem - I've got several Sony Memory Sticks from the compacts

Marty_J

jackieblack wrote: »

Not a problem - I've got the Sony menory Sticks from the compacts

Have you considered a Nikon on Canon?

Do you have any reason to go with the Sony apart from the guy in Jessops saying they're better?

jackieblack

Only that I've had a couple of Sony compacts and other Sony products (camcorder, dvd recorder etc) and I've always found them reliable and easy to use. In my experience Sony stuff just works, with no faffing around or hassle.

Had a couple of Canon compacts at work which were a nightmare (although this was a few years ago) and a tuly dreadful Canon printer - now I know the DSLR is not a printer or a compact but it still puts me off Canon.

Don't know anything about Nikon, never used anything of theirs - reviews seem really mixed and more expensive (? - happy to be told I'm wrong about that though!)

Marty_J

I would argue that brand matters less when purchasing a compact camera. There are good compact cameras and there are bad ones obviously, but pretty much every well-known company that makes compacts does it reasonably well.

However, DSLRs are a different matter, as you're not just buying a camera. You're buying into a whole ecosystem, and you're probably going to be stuck in it for the duration. You'll buy lenses, flash guns, filters, remote controls, and goodness knows what else that will only work with the brand of camera you own. If, in a few years, you decide to get a new camera, you'll probably stick with the same brand so you can use all your accessories with it.

Nikon and Canon have been making consistently excellent cameras for the last 70 years or so, and they were both at the forefront of digital photography. Canon have been making digital cameras for 25 years (!), and Nikon made some of the first DSLRs (which were produced for NASA).

I'm sure the Sony is a good camera, but the Canon or Nikon ecosystem is an excellent place to be.

jaybee

I bought the Sony A330 earlier this year to replace a Canon EOS. The main reason was because it is a much lighter camera to hold (I have problems with my hands and grip so it's lightness suits me better). Sony have really entered the DSLR market and gained respect alongside Canon and Nikon.

jackieblack

Thanks for that. The Sony A330 did feel lighter than I had expected it to, and weight is an issue for me.

I'm expecting that whichever camera I buy now, plus the one or two lenses I'm expecting to need, I won't really want to add too much kit later on. Maybe a flashgun and one or two filters is probably all.

Is a UV filter an essential part of a basic kit?