Just curious - Why Sony?

[rshunk]

I've been meaning to ask this of other Sony users here for while: Why Sony? What made you decide that Sony was the way to go when it came time for you to purchase your camera? Why choose "the new kid on the block" over other, more established, camera companies?

For me, I've been a Minolta shooter for over 20 years and have too many lenses that fit the Minolta AF mount to even consider changing to another brand. I started with Minolta AF film cameras in the mid-80's and progressed into the digital realm with the release of the KM-7D.

Once Minolta (Konica-Minolta) sold their camera division to Sony and Sony decided to keep the same AF mount - I knew that some of my favorite lenses would continue to be used for many years to come.

When Sony introduced the A700 last year - I knew it was the camera I wanted, so I pre-ordered it and never looked back. Sony took the best of the KM-7D and added their own "wow!" features to create a camera thet still blows me away everytime I use it.

Okay - your turn. Why Sony?


Bob S.

[tbnj]

I had a really hard time deciding. I looked hard at Sony, Pentax, Canon and Nikon. The Sony felt a lot better in my hands than the Canon. Don't recall if I played much with any Nikons before deciding.

I liked that I could get good quality Minolta lenses that would fit it, at good prices. All of the reviews I read about the Sony were good (started with the A100 and now have the A700). The pricing on them was very good at the time.

As I recall, what finally pushed me over to Sony was the in body IS. I liked that whatever lens I put on it would be stabilized. I've been happy with my decision. Aside from the annoying proprietary hot shoe mount (which really isn't hard to deal with), I love my Sony.

[Mr. Pickles]

I don't have a Sony, but they aren't really the new kid on the block. They bought out Konica-Minolta, and from what I knew, the people for KM went along with the purchase. So nothing really changed except for the name on the front, and maybe some new styling ideas and such. It took them a bit to ramp up and get it going, but they seem to be going well now....especially with a FF very high MP sensor, and don't forget, Sony has long been the sensor of choice for Nikon, even before Sony bought KM....

[rshunk]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pickles

I don't have a Sony, but they aren't really the new kid on the block. They bought out Konica-Minolta, and from what I knew, the people for KM went along with the purchase. So nothing really changed except for the name on the front, and maybe some new styling ideas and such. It took them a bit to ramp up and get it going, but they seem to be going well now....especially with a FF very high MP sensor, and don't forget, Sony has long been the sensor of choice for Nikon, even before Sony bought KM....

I understand what you're saying, but as a DSLR brand name, they are still pretty new - no matter whats under the hood (so to speak), which is exactly why I went with Sony (or stayed with Minolta, depending on how you look at it).

Sony seems to be doing well in the market so that's why I was asking what made people choose them over more long-standing names on the market. Was it price? Ergonomics? Name recognition? You had a ton of Minolta gear? Or was it something else?


Bob S.

[Lee4145]

When it's time to send my 7D to the second chair I'll be getting one.
The reason will largely be because it fits a good bit of Minolta gear I already have.

[Ardea]

I have always had Sony digitals, so I was familiar enough with their p&s cameras to use them out of the box. It made sense to go with the A100 when it was released--I found literally no bad reviews of it (I inherited the compulsion to research every purchase to death from my dad), and since I do most of my shooting from a kayak, having the image stabilization built into the camera was a big deal, given that tripod use was impractical and I didn't want to pay more for the lenses. The A700 was a logical upgrade for me since I had lots of lenses from my A100 purchase.

HOWEVER, all that said, I jumped ship. I have kept the A700 as a backup but moved to the Nikon D300. I had to, because of the lack of quality lenses for the Sony. Oh, they'll be out in a few years, but I need them now. I wanted more choice. I sold the lenses for the Sony that were non-vital and kept the rest--but I have not picked the camera up since getting the D300 in July. <Sigh>

[Tom BELL]

I bought mine after looking at prices and equipment. Sony had a better deal. I bought a A350 with the 18-70 and 55-200 zooms. I couldn't ask for a better digital entry kit.

[kkart]

For the same reasons some of you have mentioned, my a350 will be on order this week, having used Minolta gear for numerous years and still actively using and shooting my 5D, it just makes sense!

[fjbyrne]

My first digital SLR was Konica Minolta 5D because IMO it was the best value at the time I purchased it. After the Sony buyout of KM's photo division I took a "wait and see" attitude. Sony had a couple of stumbles IMO but overall have performed really well. I think the A700 and A900 are real photographer's cameras with features that are optimized for taking still photos.

As a side note I find it very interesting the Canon and Nikon are taking the more "P&S" route with their higher-end cameras than Sony (live view and video comes to mind). I would have expected Sony to lead this consumer oriented approach instead of the "photographer's tool" approach (but let me add that I am not bashing live view or video - don't have either so I don't know what I may be missing). Looks like the original KM folks still have a lot of pull in the new Sony division which is a VERY good thing IMO.

[Tom BELL]

Well, I've had my 350 for about a month now. I want a macro lens and a stobe, that should do it.

[Tom BELL]

And better places to shoot.

[dFlyer]

My first DSLR was a canon 20D, didn't like the IQ, when the A100 came out I got it for the 10 MP and much lower price than the 20D. I liked the IQ at low ISO over the 20D so sold it and got the A700 when it came out. Since FW v4 the A700 is all I use and Love it.

Gary

[ZigZak]

Like tbnj I spent hours/days reading articles about DSLR before I decided to buy my first DSLR Sony Alpha 100.

I was very happy with that camera, but after a year I decided to go one step further and buy the Alpha 700 instead and I've never regretted that change.

I recall, what finally pushed me over to Sony was the in body IS and the easy-handling of the camera.

Regards
ZigZak

[twixpix]

Originally Posted by rshunk

For me, I've been a Minolta shooter for over 20 years and have too many lenses that fit the Minolta AF mount to even consider changing to another brand. I started with Minolta AF film cameras in the mid-80's and progressed into the digital realm with the release of the KM-7D.


When Sony introduced the A700 last year - I knew it was the camera I wanted, so I pre-ordered it and never looked back. Sony took the best of the KM-7D and added their own "wow!" features to create a camera thet still blows me away everytime I use it.

Okay - your turn. Why Sony?


Bob S.

Similar story here, except I now own the A900, the thing is though I don't use any of the Minolta glass I had from my film days so looking back, I could've gone in another direction in the switch to digital. It's now a mixture of more recently acquired vintage Minolta lenses (beercan, etc.), a Sigma and mainly new Sony ones. I still am happy with the decision!

David

[ShutterBug]

Originally Posted by rshunk

I've been meaning to ask this of other Sony users here for while: Why Sony? What made you decide that Sony was the way to go when it came time for you to purchase your camera? Why choose "the new kid on the block" over other, more established, camera companies?

For me, I've been a Minolta shooter for over 20 years and have too many lenses that fit the Minolta AF mount to even consider changing to another brand. I started with Minolta AF film cameras in the mid-80's and progressed into the digital realm with the release of the KM-7D.

Once Minolta (Konica-Minolta) sold their camera division to Sony and Sony decided to keep the same AF mount - I knew that some of my favorite lenses would continue to be used for many years to come.

When Sony introduced the A700 last year - I knew it was the camera I wanted, so I pre-ordered it and never looked back. Sony took the best of the KM-7D and added their own "wow!" features to create a camera thet still blows me away everytime I use it.

Okay - your turn. Why Sony?


Bob S.

Ok, here's a summary of what's in my gear room;

Bodies: 2 x A700, & 2 x A900
Flashes: 2 x HVL-F58AM, 1 x HVL-42AM, 1 x 5600HS
Lenses: 18 in total covering full focal ranges with additions of 2 Sony ZEISS the Plannar T 85mm & 16-80mm Vario

Like yourself, I was similarly a Minolta guy. Obviously when Minolta gave up its camera division to SONY, I gladly jumped in and picked up my very first DSLR the A100 some 2 years ago and now I have a plathora of SONY bodies and lenses. I am totally sold on SONY photography! To me, the A700 is much like a BMW roadster, while the A900 is the Mercedes CLS coupe. Mighty machines these two!

Of all the SONY lenses, I think only their Carl Zeiss & G lenses stands out very well in performance. And they need to buck up on their lens designs - they should drop those fine ribbed zoom rings for something much easier to clean and doesn't gather grime and dirt particles so easily! Also, they ought to step up production of lenses now that the A900 is in circulation.

In terms of brand name product relation, I think we should all be glad it is SONY and not some other names we might find ourselves hard put to utter when asked "what camera are you using?" At least SONY has already been producing some pretty decent Point & Shoots for some decades, and they are mighty BIG as an establishment that produces a wide range of electronic products. However, the only gripe I have about SONY, is in their eye-popping pricing tradition.

[alpha200]

For me it was Minolta technology, great price, excellent reviews and very important for me - ergonomics. Felt much better in my hand than Canon or Nikon. Plus, the best feature - Steady Shot inside the body, comparing to big names and lens IS. For price I paid, my Alpha brought way more standard features than same category Canon or Nikon.

[sarah_9]

Hello,

Why Sony, because Sony is the best, i have Sony camcorder , Sony camera and even Sony LCD, their quality is superb, i recently purchased a camcorder from online shoppers auction, and its working is awesome the quality of pictures is far more better than any other company`s product.


Regards,
sarah_9

[Jose]

Sony is the rude awakening for Canon and Nikon...it already makes some of the sensors used in Nikon's top cameras. And Sony lenses are optically outstanding performers.

[TheRileyFactor]

I seriously considered buying a Sony before ultimately pulling the trigger on a 20d. The in-body IS is a very attractive feature, and the Sony's stack up VERY well to the competition. If I could have bought an a700 at the same pricepoint as I bought my 20d, I may be telling a different story here today, but as it was I felt I needed the more robust body of the 20d and it was about the same price (actually a bit lower) than I could have bought an a100.

I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Sony. I like having mutiple brands of exceptional quality for a product, it pushes the others to make better cameras, especially with the DR wars that are about to begin!

-Daniel

[Jaqian]

I looked around at a few different brands. I had a Nikon D70 for abouot two months but didn't like it and wasn't overly pushed on Canon. I was looking at either Olympus or Sony, I thought Sony was better value and especially with all the Minolta glass available.

So I bought a used A100 (€200) in pwo (like new) with the 18-70 kit lens and then bought a Minolta Dynax 300si (€50) purely for its Cosina 70-210mm AF and its 35-70mm AF. Will also check out M42 lens for a bit of fun.

I was also able to sell my Fuji S9000 for €200, which means I basically got a free upgrade

I want a flash and 50mm lens next