Camera Labs

Hi! I really need your help. Im deciding which camerato buy:
The Sony Alpha A100
or
The Canon EOS400D

Im a newbie in photography
hence this will also be my first DSLR.

Im looking for a device that takes great images anytime and anywhere without having to process it in photoshop. A device that also has some extra features like chaing the color to sepia and stuff.


Your opinion is greatly appreciated and will help me choose the best camera for me.
Thank You

Yeochinh

Hi Yeochinh, welcome to the Cameralabs forums!

This is the same question many people are asking! Both are very good cameras, and offer similar quality. The Sony has the advantage of anti-shake, although you may prefer the look and the feel of the Canon. It can be very helpful to pick up both cameras in person to see which you prefer in terms of look and feel - not to mention brand.

To find out about their differences, read our 10 Megapixel DSLR group test at: http://www.cameralabs.com/features/10Me ... DSLR_test/

and also have a look at the video I made for all three here:

http://www.cameralabs.com/features/10Me ... page7.shtm

These should help you make your decision!

Gordon

Thanks for the answer Im specifically looking for a camera that enables me to capture really fast subjects without blur. Isa the canon better in this area?

Hi Yeochinh, well anti-shake only combats camera-shake and won't help capture fast moving subjects.

If you want to capture fast-moving subjects you'll need a camera which responds quickly and offers fast shutter speeds. If the light isn't fantastically bright, you'll also need high ISO sensitivity to achieve those fast shutter speeds.

Almost any DSLR will give you all of this, and also good results at the higher ISOs you'll probably need to use. So both the Sony and Canon can be fine for the job, although the Canon gives slightly better results at higher ISOs.

Two things to consider though:

1: Both the A100 and XTi offer 3fps continuous shooting. if you need to fire off more pictures per second, consider the Canon 30D which has 5fps; although everyone's expecting its successor to be announced by Autumn, or even much sooner.

2: The brightness and focusing spdeed of the lens is crucial for shooting fast subjects, and sadly the kit lenses which are bundled with these cameras will inevitably disappoint under these conditions. So if you're serious about this kind of photography, you should consider buying a faster, brghter lens sooner rather than later - and right now, Canon has the lead over Sony in these kinds of lenses.

What kind of subjects will you be photographing? Wildlife? Racing cars?

Gordon

Thanks again for the reply Gordon
Im going to deal more with wildlife photography. Some of my friends told me to get the body of the 400D and sigma 18-200mm lenses. I also am putting into consideration of getting the EOS30D. Canon offered to give me a very god deal if i get the 400D body and the 70-300mm lens. Im still thinking about it though. Do you think the 400D with sigma 18-200mm lenses are good? what about the 70-300mm lens?


Yeochinh

Hi, the Sigma 18-200mm lens represents great value, but it's not the world's fastest or quietest focuser.

See our Sigma review: www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Sigma18200mm/

If you want fast and quiet focusing on your Canon body, you'll need a Canon lens with USM. This is the name of their quick and quiet focusing system. That said, some USM lenses are much better than others, so it depends how much you want to spend, and how far away that wildlife is!

You might be best-off getting the 400D or 30D with the 18-55mm kit lens for general use, then get an additional longer zoom for your wildlife work - like a 70-200 or 70-300 range. I'd also go for an IS model for the long zoom lens to help combat camera shake.

If you live near a camera store, ask if you can try the camera with one of these lenses and nip outisde to see how fast it can focus on people walking by. it'll give you a good idea of how well they perform, and whether they'll be up to your requirements.

Gordon