My first real DSLR

Hi Guys and Gals,
Looking for a wee bit of advice on which to go with, My heart or my head. This being the Sony a380 or the Nikon D5000. It would be solely for Landscape and Macro and mabey the odd general use, for example holiday snaps. Thank you and i would be grateful for your advice on this thread.

Thanks again, :thumbsup:
Greg Forsyth,
Perth, Scotland

Just answered this, but:

The Sony 300 series is about the best Live View in the business and having all your lenses (even used, high value Minolta glass - own any a-mount lenses?) image stabilized. If these two things are not important, look elsewhere. Also, check the recently discontinued A300/350 if the A330/380 doesn't fit your hands/style. - TF

i agree for close up shots having the sony live view function is really great,i may have the nikon d300,but i will still not give up my sony h5 with a 3 inch lcd live view,works wonders on close up shots.

Thanks, so far for the help, but please keep advising me if you haven't already done so.

Thanks,

The Sony A350, which is nearly the same as the A380 with a preferable design and menu system, at least if fluent and on the fly function is important, the A380 provides an *easier* interface. The D5000 has a much better sensor, so ISO 1600+ and even 800 to a less extent will look better, image grain will be generally better on the Nikon. But the superior live view of the A380/350 and extra 2 megapixels is the perfect addition for macro work. The D5000 also has no screw-drive AF motor, so older lens are manual focus only, eliminating a lot of retrofitted AF lens. I would stick with the Sony, with a strong inclination towards the A350 vs the 380.

Wait for another week or two, the upcoming release (or just announcements) of new camera bodies and lens may introduce better options and/or lower prices.

nice, thanks. you've really made me think ;) thanks for this advice

I'm not as familiar with the recent Sony stuff. But I just finished a pro review for the Nikon D5000 and I was really impressed with it. Unlike the Sony DSLRs, the Nikon has a fully-articulated tilt-swivel LCD. And the Live View functionality should be pretty much the same as the Sony's. The Nikon has two things that the Sony doesn't though - great high-ISO image quality and video capture. I'm not one to say video is a good reason to choose one SLR over another. But if you're video-inclined, it's nice to have.

What I really liked about the D5000 was the ISO 800 and ISO 1600 image quality. The longer I used the camera, the more I found myself comfortably shooting at ISO 800. Even ISO 3200 was ok with me, under the right circumstances. For Nikon D5000 sample photos and to read my review:

Nikon D5000 Pro Review >>

This isn't to disparage the Sony in any way. I've been happy when I used the Sony DSLRs. But the D5000 really impressed me and I haven't used the more recent Sony cameras yet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Photo-John

I'm not as familiar with the recent Sony stuff. But I just finished a pro review for the Nikon D5000 and I was really impressed with it. Unlike the Sony DSLRs, the Nikon has a fully-articulated tilt-swivel LCD. And the Live View functionality should be pretty much the same as the Sony's. The Nikon has two things that the Sony doesn't though - great high-ISO image quality and video capture. I'm not one to say video is a good reason to choose one SLR over another. But if you're video-inclined, it's nice to have.

What I really liked about the D5000 was the ISO 800 and ISO 1600 image quality. The longer I used the camera, the more I found myself comfortably shooting at ISO 800. Even ISO 3200 was ok with me, under the right circumstances. For Nikon D5000 sample photos and to read my review:

Nikon D5000 Pro Review >>

This isn't to disparage the Sony in any way. I've been happy when I used the Sony DSLRs. But the D5000 really impressed me and I haven't used the more recent Sony cameras yet.

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The Sony Live View uses a second sensor off of the mirror so that it can use the same focus mechanism as the viewfinder. Way better/faster than using contrast focus off of the main sensor. - TF

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Originally Posted by OldClicker

The Sony Live View uses a second sensor off of the mirror so that it can use the same focus mechanism as the viewfinder. Way better/faster than using contrast focus off of the main sensor. - TF

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Right - I did know that. Recent cameras I've used have had pretty decent Live View auto focus. The Sony probably isbetter. However, the next question is, how important is fast Live View AF, anyway? When I use Live View, I'm usually on a tripod and focusing manually.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Photo-John

Right - I did know that. Recent cameras I've used have had pretty decent Live View auto focus. The Sony probably isbetter. However, the next question is, how important is fast Live View AF, anyway? When I use Live View, I'm usually on a tripod and focusing manually.

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As always, when something is the 'best', it's the best for the way I use it. For instance, I can have it sitting next to me on a tripod while I'm at my computer with the lens sticking out the window, see a bird, aim with Live View and hit the remote button. If I had to get up and look through the viewfinder, the bird would be gone and I wouldn't get anything else done. In other words, I have found fast-focus Live View to be extremely useful. It sometimes seems to me that many 'old timers' simply refuse to learn how to use something different??? - TF

To reitterate - the inclination I had towards the Sony was mainly driven by the lack of AF screw drive motor in the Nikon. To me I think thats a very limiting factor, if this is not a limiting factor to you then the inclination is null. The Nikon does have the better sensor and IQ will be better than the Sony.

Less then the week or two I thought - Sony now announced a new A500 series which may also merit a look. Theyre competing with Nikons D90 at ~ $150 less. Wait a bit and see how this market addition effects the price of competing cameras, I'd suspect you could be seeing a price drop in the Canon 40D and the Nikon D90 as well, the more cameras you have to pick from the better!