A700 vs D90

[dormy]

well i went sony because of in-body IS

 

[reaper3075]

Just to throw another option into the works, would an A100 be worth considering to get less noise and faster focusing ?

Cheers

goodness No.. the A100 is the worst of the lot in terms of focusing and noise.

anyway, features and noise control wise, the D90 wins hands down.

but ask yourself, do u often shoot with high ISO? do you need live view? do you need face detection? if you do, go for the D90.

if not, get the A700 and carry on your Minolta legacy.

 

[mmice]

anyway, features and noise control wise, the D90 wins hands down.

but ask yourself, do u often shoot with high ISO? do you need live view? do you need face detection? if you do, go for the D90.

You are spot on there ... the push for the upgrade is only for high ISO... 70-80% of my shooting is done indoor on children with no flash. I don't really need very high iso, but i need low noise till up to ISO 800 (1600 if i'm being greedy) :bsmilie: I've never used liveview or face detection etc.. so I am guessing i can live without it

So its sounds like the A700 would work out as the solution

 

[kingfishers]

hallo have to wait long long before that happen:sticktong

 

[MontoyaSG]

You are spot on there ... the push for the upgrade is only for high ISO... 70-80% of my shooting is done indoor on children with no flash. I don't really need very high iso, but i need low noise till up to ISO 800 (1600 if i'm being greedy) :bsmilie: I've never used liveview or face detection etc.. so I am guessing i can live without it

So its sounds like the A700 would work out as the solution

A700 is able to produce usable shots up till ISO1600 & also has a faster AF motor compared to the A200

if you're looking for fast AF you should look for a lens with a smaller zoom range or a prime

 

[Rashkae]

Sensor is the only aspect that the D90 can best A700, well from my point of view at least. But if you want to switch camp, you don't need an excuse. By all mean, do it.

The D90 uses a modifies A700 sensor. It's a refined and improved A700 sensor, which makes sense when you consider the A700 has been out for quite a while now, and is due for an overhaul anyway.

 

[navlem]

You are spot on there ... the push for the upgrade is only for high ISO... 70-80% of my shooting is done indoor on children with no flash. I don't really need very high iso, but i need low noise till up to ISO 800 (1600 if i'm being greedy) :bsmilie: I've never used liveview or face detection etc.. so I am guessing i can live without it

So its sounds like the A700 would work out as the solution

This pic is taken at ISO1600 with a700

See if the noise is good enough for you

 

[weishengg]

cleaner than i had expected, did you use any NR?

This pic is taken at ISO1600 with a700

See if the noise is good enough for you

 

[navlem]

cleaner than i had expected, did you use any NR?

Was on v4 firmware, NR off.

Didn't really like Sony's method of NRing..

Makes the pictures look smudged. Like watercolour liddat.

 

[Anson]

One thing I don't like about the D90, is that despite having Face-detection in it's LiveView's AF..... The ability for phrase detection AF (in LV) is taken out... Hence the only way to AF in LV is the very slow contrast detection... :thumbsd:

This make the LV's AF "unusable" for stage event shooting... :think: Thus the main reason why I choose my 450D instead...

 

[navlem]

One thing I don't like about the D90, is that despite having Face-detection in it's LiveView's AF..... The ability for phrase detection AF (in LV) is taken out... Hence the only way to AF in LV is the very slow contrast detection... :thumbsd:

This make the LV's AF "unusable" for stage event shooting... :think: Thus the main reason why I choose my 450D instead...

If you are really into liveview, get Sony A300 or A350

Definitely faster and better than 450D

 

[Anson]

If you are really into liveview, get Sony A300 or A350

Definitely faster and better than 450D

I agree... the LV's AF in the A300 & A350 (same button for AF & taking shot) is much faster than those found in the 450D. Actually before I got my 450D, I was really considering the it with the A300 (the A350's high ISO performance are not so promising:think.

In the end, having a more balance OVF & LV's AF on the 450D win me over (and also I got a quite a good deal)...

 

[navlem]

As an ex-A300 user, and I have also used my friend's 450D before.

I find 450D's liveview useless

But definitely its noise at high ISO is better

 

[Anson]

As an ex-A300 user, and I have also used my friend's 450D before.

I find 450D's liveview useless

But definitely its noise at high ISO is better

Try again with LV's AF phrase-detection instead of contrast detection... With practice it gets better... have tried it in a few event shooting before (too crowded and did not bring a ladder).

 

[navlem]

Try again with LV's AF phrase-detection instead of contrast detection... With practice it gets better... have tried it in a few event shooting before (too crowded and did not bring a ladder).

Didn't know that 450D has option for you to change the way of focusing in LV...will try it when i get the chance to

 

[mannfai]

You are spot on there ... the push for the upgrade is only for high ISO... 70-80% of my shooting is done indoor on children with no flash. I don't really need very high iso, but i need low noise till up to ISO 800 (1600 if i'm being greedy) :bsmilie: I've never used liveview or face detection etc.. so I am guessing i can live without it

So its sounds like the A700 would work out as the solution

Bro...your usage pattern very similar to mine too. I have A700 also used to shoot my 2 kids indoors mostly. Because of my needs, I own fast lenses only (1.4/50, 2.8/16-50, beercan) and also have added a flash (F42) to my arsenal. Getting a flash and learning to handle it well will certainly solve your noise issue.

Below are 2 photos of my son. One without flash...and another with flash. No PP to both photos.

No flash used.

With flash.

 

[spidercrown]

If focusing speed is your concern, you may not wan D90, although, thr's no slow issue on field. But comparing the near to infinity focusing, canon and sony seems faster and more responsive to me.
As for noise handling, D90 cud be one of the best for DX type of sensor.

 

[Anson]

Didn't know that 450D has option for you to change the way of focusing in LV...will try it when i get the chance to

Yup... it does... but it's not as fast as the A300/350 but useful if you forgot your ladder... :bsmilie:

 

[Elisha82]

i have had the a200, a300 and now the a700. before getting the a700, i almost switched camps to the D90 or 50D.

here's the D90 pros:

• newer tweaked sensor compared to the a700/D300
• slightly better high ISO performance
• video mode
• higher magnification OVF

cons of the D90:

• plastic body
• not environmentally sealed
• gay silver shutter button ( i didn't like this ;p)
• no in-body IS

pros of the a700:

• built of magnesium alloy and aluminum
• environment sealing
• faster FPS
• faster shutter speed 1/8000th
• bigger size
• much more custom configurable options
• in-body IS (every lens you mount will be stabilized)
• comes with remote control

cons of the a700:

• no LiveView

also the a700 is a semi-pro / serious amateur body whereas the D90 is more of an advanced beginner body.

but remember that v4 made high ISO performance better on the a700. so v5 may improve it more.

you can improve high ISO noise by using Creative Style settings like "Standard", Sharpness +2, Brightness -2, Zone Matching -1 and DRO+

 

[Rashkae]

you can improve high ISO noise by using Creative Style settings like "Standard", Sharpness +2, Brightness -2, Zone Matching -1 and DRO+

Yup, that's the Agorabasta approach. Only applies to JPEG though.

RAW in V4 is quite nice, and to be honest, I didn't really have complaints before V4 either.