woodie s wrote:
Ahhh uhh yes Goofy, I have heard of a paragraph. Unfortunately I know about as much about forums as I do digital and wasn't thinking about that.
Are you saying if I want nice depth of field be prepared to spend big bucks? Can I do as well will the Sony I have as compared to a lower end DSLR? Exactly WHAT cameras would you recommend?
One thing to keep in mind- some people read this forum on tablets and smart phones as well as huge monitors.
Depending on what you are shooting, you may be able to get satisfying shallow depth of field with your Sony.
It will depend on the aperture and distance you are using.
But it will be a whole lot easier to do it with a larger-sensored camera.
Read about half-way down in this site:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/digital-camera-sensor-size.htmThe sensor size is what will make the difference.
A high-end smaller sensor will never be able to get the same shallow depth of field as a low-end larger sensor camera given equivalent lenses. (Medium format will get even better but they are usually out of the price range for most)
Camera recommendations:
Despite what others may say, within similar sized sensors, brand will not make a difference.
What's important is that you're comfortable using the camera. The interface on one brand may make more sense to you than another.
If you still have (good) Minolta lenses, they may fit a Sony camera.
Not sure what kind of limitations you would have using those because I have no experience with them.
Canon & Nikon make full-frame cameras as well.
I shoot most of my stuff with a Nikon D800, but there are other models.
Canon makes some great cameras as well.
Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, Pentax and others make the somewhat smaller APS-C sensored cameras. You get about 1/2 stop more depth of field with these over a "full-frame" camera when using equivalent focal length lenses at the same aperture.
Olympus and Panasonic make cameras with an even smaller micro 4/3rds sensor.
Lenses made by them are interchangeable (a big plus).
Much more compact design, great for travel.
Anything smaller than these and you're not going to gain much.