boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Can anyone tell me if their is (other than $300) any real difference between a Sony a77 with an 18-135 lens and a Canon 70 d with the same setup. I know that the 70d is a new platform and as such it isn ot "tested". The answer will behelpful. By the way I have always felt that a camera without a canon or nikon lable is somehow not of equal qualty. This is no doubt a dumb attitude but there iti s anyway

TonyB55

I havent seen many pros using Sony. It rather depends on what you are trying to achieve. There is a lot more used lenses availble for Canon/Nikon. At the end of the day its your money.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

This may help http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-EOS-70D-vs-Sony-A77

Wink44 Loc: Montgomery AL

My first Minolta was a Maxxum 7000, followed by a Maxxum 9, then a Sony a100, and now a Sony a65-- point being my Minolta Maxxum lenses and flashes work well with my Sony. So you are not necessarily restricted to using just Sony alpha lenses. Likewise, after-market lens manufacturers (e.g., Vivitar) also offer a wide variety of alpha mount lenses for Sony. As noted by another poster, its your money-- I would suggest you consider the relatively higher costs for Canon and Nikon, versus at least equivalent quality of Sony alpha and Sony alpha -compatible products.

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Depends on what you want to use the camera for but I have yet to see any pros use Sony but there are loads being sold second hand, I assume then they buy a Canon or Nikon

:-D

James56 Loc: Nashville, Tennessee

I don't depend on snapsort...they are a bit biased, they gave my camera Sony A55 a poor review, Popular Photography gave it the "Camera of the Year" Hmmmm?

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

thanks. I don't think its a good idea to rely on 1 source for info on anything. Thats why UHH is such a good recourse.

Mickey88 Loc: Central Florida

to clarify, there are indeed pros using Sony, they are smaller in numbers not due to a lack of quality, but because Sony was late coming to the game. Initially Minolta thought digital was a fad that wouldn't last, when they realized they were wrong they tried to enter the market, but then sold out to Sony. Sony aquired the factories and the development team from minolta.
Anyone who really knows the history of cameras knows that Minolta was the leader in many developments. Now Sony is in the game and making a great product and providing some new firsts. As for the statement that people are selling their Sony's and getting Nikon or CAnon, that was stated as an assumption...they just as well might be buying newer Sony's.
I can share one true story, I have a friend who is a full time pro out of NY City, has been for around 40 years. a year or so ago, he rented a Sony and did a very thorough side by side test with his canon, controlled settings, similar lenses, different types of shots.. he was quite surprised that the Sony outperformed his Canon. so after many years of being a diehard canon shooter he sold his canon gear and now shoots Sony.
the bottom line is, Nikon,Canon,Sony, Pentax are all great cameras that will do the job it'a all about personal preference and what best fits your hands and needs

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Just to mention a single example, Trey Ratcliff claims in an hour long video he's now using a Sony NEX-7 in preference to his Nikon, and states his reasons. Don't have the link handy, but it's been posted here before. I'd call him a professional.

Pick the camera you like best, that offers the features you want, is comfortable in your hand, and don't worry about branding.

coolhoosier Loc: Dover, NH, USA

All true. For completeness, you could mention the merger between Minolta and Konica that complicated the big time entry into the digital market. That, and the decision to go with their proprietary hot shoe (a difficulty now addressed in the A99).

Me, I'm a pro using 2 Sony A850s, an A550, an A230, and an A55. My capital equipment wish list includes an A99.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It seems like the Sony gives you more camera for less money. I'm surprised snapsort doesn't give them a score. Usually they give each a number, so you can see a numerical difference between them.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That has to be one of the most stupid decisions in the camera industry. The NEX-6 has the standard hot shoe, but the NEX-7 has the Sony shoe. I'm sure that non-standard shoe has steered people to other brands.

brian43053 Loc: Buffalo, NY

Very well put Mickey88. I own the Sony A77 and love it. Though I'm far from a pro - I really love everything about it. The color reproduction is incredible, it's fast as all hell and the "kit' lens you can get with it is amazing. I, for one, am pretty tried of people thinking that Canon or Nikon are the only 2 camera makers on the planet and that everything else is inferior. I wonder how many would switch to Sony or some other brand if they could do a side by side comparison with their Canon or Nikon. I'm sure some would switch if they didn't already have a lot of $$$ tied up in their current camera.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Trey Ratcliff gave up his Nikon D800 for the Sony NEX.

http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2013/07/04/sony-nex-review-nikon-vs/

Brucej67 Loc: Cary, NC

In the USA there are many professionals who use a Sony, Gary Fong for one uses a A99. Personally one of my cameras is a Sony A77 and although a great camera it is an SLT while I prefer a DSLR and here is the reason, it is bad enough to do a wet sensor cleaning, but with the SLT if you get foreign matter that sticks to the SLT mirror that will not come off by blowing (you can not wet clean the mirror), you have to replace the entire mirror at $99 or send it to Sony and they charge more plus shipping.