What next (DSLR)?
Discussion
Currently the Mrs has a Sony A330 with I think an 18-55 and a 55-200. As I understand it it's a fairly competent entry level DSLR and she certainly gets some good results with it.
On holiday over Christmas she did find several occasions when she could have done with a longer lens (wildlife), and she'd quite like to try getting some photos of stary skies but the A330's slowest shutter speed of 30 seconds isn't sufficient.
A bit of googling suggests there's a couple of 300mm f4.5 lenses available from Sony, the basic one (some second hand on ebay for £150 seems very cheap) or the G model with better optics. Is it going to be worth going for the more expensive lens on a fairly basic camera? Minolta lenses also fit but I don't know what options there are there.
Alternatively what camera would be a good upgrade from the A330, and how much money are we talking? Would it be worth sticking with a Sony body so she can continue to use her existing lenses, or are we better off selling the current setup and buying a kit with a couple of lenses?
On holiday over Christmas she did find several occasions when she could have done with a longer lens (wildlife), and she'd quite like to try getting some photos of stary skies but the A330's slowest shutter speed of 30 seconds isn't sufficient.
A bit of googling suggests there's a couple of 300mm f4.5 lenses available from Sony, the basic one (some second hand on ebay for £150 seems very cheap) or the G model with better optics. Is it going to be worth going for the more expensive lens on a fairly basic camera? Minolta lenses also fit but I don't know what options there are there.
Alternatively what camera would be a good upgrade from the A330, and how much money are we talking? Would it be worth sticking with a Sony body so she can continue to use her existing lenses, or are we better off selling the current setup and buying a kit with a couple of lenses?
The A330 does have a bulb mode which enables you to manually take exposures over 30 secs. Just set to manual mode and keep rotating the dial past 30 secs until it says bulb. Best to have a remote to use to avoid camera shake.
As for star shots, use a wide aperture (low number) and a high iso depending on what exposure you are getting.
The hardest part is focusing on infinity. Again set to manual focus and use Live view zoomed in to focus on the stars or the furthest thing you can see.
Obviously 30+secs will get you star trails, static star shots I dont think you can go much above 10-15 secs. There is a calculator on line to tell you the max exposure based on your focal length to not get trails.
Anyone feel free to correct any of that, there are lots of experts on here, I'm only a beginner.
As for star shots, use a wide aperture (low number) and a high iso depending on what exposure you are getting.
The hardest part is focusing on infinity. Again set to manual focus and use Live view zoomed in to focus on the stars or the furthest thing you can see.
Obviously 30+secs will get you star trails, static star shots I dont think you can go much above 10-15 secs. There is a calculator on line to tell you the max exposure based on your focal length to not get trails.
Anyone feel free to correct any of that, there are lots of experts on here, I'm only a beginner.
I've just upgraded from a Sony A500 to the Sony A77, so have a bit of knowledge of Sony cameras. The A330 is a fairly competent camera and it all depends how far your wife wants to push her photography as to whether she needs to upgrade.
The Sony camera bodies have image stabilisation built in, so you don't need to look for that feature in any lens that you buy.
I have the Sony 70-300mm G-series lens and it is a very good lens, although quite pricey nowadays. I bought it to replace a Tamron lens which I found very soft and disappointing when using it at full zoom. Sigma also make a 70-300mm lens for the Sony although I have no experience with it (I do have a Sigma 18-125 which is a decent lens for the money.
As was mentioned, for long exposures, use the bulb setting (manual) and a remote shutter release. I use a cable release on mine - a couple of quid on ebay.
The Sony camera bodies have image stabilisation built in, so you don't need to look for that feature in any lens that you buy.
I have the Sony 70-300mm G-series lens and it is a very good lens, although quite pricey nowadays. I bought it to replace a Tamron lens which I found very soft and disappointing when using it at full zoom. Sigma also make a 70-300mm lens for the Sony although I have no experience with it (I do have a Sigma 18-125 which is a decent lens for the money.
As was mentioned, for long exposures, use the bulb setting (manual) and a remote shutter release. I use a cable release on mine - a couple of quid on ebay.
percy said:
I have the Sony 70-300mm G-series lens and it is a very good lens, although quite pricey nowadays. I bought it to replace a Tamron lens which I found very soft and disappointing when using it at full zoom. Sigma also make a 70-300mm lens for the Sony although I have no experience with it (I do have a Sigma 18-125 which is a decent lens for the money.
Found a review slating the standard 300mm Sony lens, but the G series appears to be a lot better, but also £700 new. The basic Sigma 70-300 seems suspiciously cheap, can anyone explain the difference between the APO DG Macro and the DSG OS one on this link that explains the extra £100?
http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/c/299/Sigma-Sony-...
As you can probably tell I don't know a lot about all this, and generally leave my Canon Powershot in Auto mode
From what I gather, the OS lens has image stabilisation built-in (Optical Stabiity). As I mentioned in my previous post, the Sony cameras have this built into the body already - I'm not 100% sure whether you will gain any extra with it being in the lens too. There are 2 others - the APO DG and the DG. The APO version reputedly produces sharper images and generally gets better reviews.
For better advice, give Digital Depot a call - http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk/ They're based in Stevenage and sell a good range of Sony DSLRs and lenses at a very reasonable price. They're a friendly independent camera shop.
For better advice, give Digital Depot a call - http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk/ They're based in Stevenage and sell a good range of Sony DSLRs and lenses at a very reasonable price. They're a friendly independent camera shop.
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