dasloaf

If you want a camera for sports photography, the canon 7d is awesome, combine it with a 70-200mmf2.8 lens and you are ready to go.

brow3904 Loc: Upstate South Carolina

Check them all out and get the one that suits your pocketbook and type of photography best. You might even rent a couple to tryout in the field. I personally have a Sony and like it very much. Take a couple of classes, read a couple books, and snap, snap, snap and you will end up with some wonderful photographs and memories. Good Luck.

brian43053 Loc: Buffalo, NY

Thanx but i was looking for something wide a wider range - more like 30-200 or somewhere around that level. I've heard a lot of good things about Minolta - they are no longer in business - correct?

brow3904 Loc: Upstate South Carolina

Sony bought out Konica Minolta.

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

Correct, Minolta sold off their Camera line and it became Konica/Minolta who then sold out to Sony. Your A77 can use the Minolta lens I mentioned.

You had said that you wanted a "walk around lens". To me that means small and light weight. When you also say you want super wide range like 20~200mm (10X) if you combine that with a reasonably fast lens, like f/2.8 you are talking about a monstrously large lens. Every beginner thinks they want one lens to do everything for them. There is no such animal. I own a cz 24~70mm f/2.8. It's a good lens but it's big and heavy. I do take it on hikes but I'm a strong hiker. I would not recommend it as a "walk around lens". I would suggest you start with a narrow range high quality lens and do some of the zooming with your feet.

jimberton Loc: Michigan's Upper Peninsula

whichever camera body you buy...be sure to check out sigma lens for it. i just bought a sigma lens and it is super sharp!!

alggomas Loc: Wales, United Kingdom.

Well most of big photo firms offer good quality equipment.
However I would go to a camera shop and look and feel the main brands, Canon, Nikon,Sony,Olympus etc.
Then go for the brand you are happy with. Preferences aside, how keen are you? You could go for a 28-200mm or any combination. and a wide angled lens. There is no right answer.
I have a 17-35 wide angle an 85mm f1.8 USM and an F4L 70-200 USM. You do not have to get the best lenses in your brand. It really depends on what you want to do. I have been taking photos for years and have only now decided to go for prime or good glass. It is really up to you.
Having said this. Whats wrong with a good bridge camera?
However my first sentence should be your first port of call.

drjuice

I've been a Sony user ever since my first PnS from them. Then, when I'd saved up about $1500 to buy a DSLR, I went looking at Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, and Canon at a camera shop with which I'd had a long relationship.

I remember how awkward the first digital camera I had (a Canon) was to use and though they've gotten away from that, my sense was that I was still unhappy with what they'd done all those years ago. The others were about the same prices and I didn't see a dime's worth of difference to make me choose one over the other.

Then, my guy brought out the Sony alpha700 which, at first glance didn't seem a lot different from all the others. Then, we got into lenses and such like. I was interested in three lenses, one to buy right then, and the others after I got used to the camera. He brought out the lens I initially asked about and it was in a Minolta box.

It turns out that Minolta sold its lens business to Konica which later sold it to Sony (they didn't have a line of lenses when they first got into DSLRs). Since I had two Maxxams from before Minolta got out of the camera business and the lenses to use on them, I could use my serious glass from the old days and buy eventually buy two completely different lenses.

I have been very happy with my 700 and now my 77 (all the same lenses).

And, I'm very happy with their service policy. I got the extended warranty (not something I'd do very often) and every time I've done something stupid (or accidental), it's been 24 hours plus shipping time to get it repaired under warranty(though I will grant you it's very short trip for the express dudes with my camera in the back to get from LA county to San Diego for the repair). Whenever Sony has a show around here or at PMA and similar shows, I've always gotten my questions answered by really good people as soon as I raise them as I have from their online resources.

I once asked my guy at the camera store what their commission was (LONG after I bought my 700 and well before I bought my 77). He told me that his commission was the same percentage across the brands that he sold, regardless of Sony, Nikon, Kodak, or ....

Hope this helps.

v

lorvey Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

Just wanted to share my shopping experience when I decided to get my first DSLR a year ago. I also did not have old lenses that I wanted to use, so I looked at all camera brands.

I ruled out Nikon early in the process because, at the time, they did not make a camera with an LCD monitor that was movable, also referred to as an articulating LCD screen. This was important to me because I sometimes shoot with the camera above my head or sometimes low, even at ground level.

I compared the IQ of the Canon 60D with the Sony A580 and found the them to be the same. So I began to read more and more about the two cameras and companies. When I compared the features on the two cameras, I found the Sony brands to be ahead of Canon. Just one feature of note is the in-camera HDR capability. I also read considerable about the technology that Sony was offering in their mirrorless cameras, namely the A77 and earlier models.

Based on all of this, I got the impression that technologically, Canon and Nikon were coasting on their history and their existing customer base, and Sony was moving ahead. Of course, this is just my opinion. In the end this has a big influence on my purchase of the Sony a580. I have not been disappointed.

A very informative video link was posted a few days ago on UHH that discussed the future of digital cameras. You may want view this video before you make a purchase.

http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2012/01/04/dslrs-are-a-dying-breed-3rd-gen-cameras-are-the-future/?awt_l=FucPY&awt_m=K46rXbko6oHlCW

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

Thank you Lorvey, for that great link! I once had a professor tell me "A smart man, by definition, is someone who agrees with you." I'm not sure I like the term "3rd generation" or that Full Frame is over, however I totally agree that this is not the time to be buying a new camera. I'm sitting on my wallet waiting to see what Sony will be coming out with the end of this year. Until then I'm not buying any new cameras or lenses. I must admit I have a bias towards full frame lenses. This could be because I own so many of them. If it were not for the delay caused by the floods I was ready to buy a Nex-7. As I read the reviews written by others it became clear to me that it would be better to wait for the next generation of "mirror-less" cameras.

I would love to see a hybrid body that can accommodate both Alpha and the smaller Nex lenses. I hear rumors but I'm not convinced we will ever see that?

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Go to a camera store. Anyone that uses Canon is going to recommend Canon and same with the rest. A store is less apt to be biased unless they are crooks looking to sell the system that has the greatest margine or spiffs.

ALYN Loc: Lebanon, Indiana

Go with Olympus--especially if you have some Oly lenses. I have a couple of their small ultra-zoom models (up to 36X).
ALYN

ALYN Loc: Lebanon, Indiana

I will have to speak in defense of sales people. Not all are "crooks" but some are. SPFFS are important when you are selling on commission. An honest salesman will not lie about his merchandise; he will make an honest effort to sell a higher priced product. He has a family to feed. ALYN

bhfranklin Loc: Boston Area / Cape Cod

Search this site also for Sony & Alpha - some good discussions.

I have a Sony A55 and like the availability of used Minolta Maxxum lenses and, since the stabilization is built into the body you can buy the less expensive non IS or non-VR lenses.

We just had a discussion on morrorless cameras here also and the Sony's are some of this newer breed and , perhaps, a sign of the times. the Alpha 55 was camera of the year in 2011. (end of commercial)

Most users here are with Canon and Nikon, but there is a growing number of Sony users too.
and welcome aboard!

alggomas Loc: Wales, United Kingdom.

I think Sony have done a good trick with the stabalisation in the body ! No premium to pay for Is etc.