sony a700 or nikon d90?

[Rashkae]

I think that Nikon is a better choice.
Talking about reputation and reliability, Nikon cameras (SLR & DSLR) is more established as compared to Sony DSLR (not sure whether they have film cameras).

Sony Alpha was taken over from Minolta. Very rich history.

 

[Rashkae]

Wrong info from u. D90 is mid-range body. Refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_D90

You really believe that? The D90 is not a mid-range body. Nikon's mid-range is the DXXX series. The d90 may be the "high-end" entry-level DSLR, but it's still entry-level.

Wiki is written by anyone. If you want to, you could go in and say it's their pro-spec body.

 

[ronaldlee007]

We have to trust two of you then? haha Read here more : http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Nikon_D90/index.shtml
By the way, not so important. If it's hard for u two to accept it's mid range body, then forget it. Don't dirty this thread.

Some useful reference to OP.
a) http://bythom.com/nikond90review.htm
b) http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d90.htm
c) http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Nikon_D90/design.shtml

 

[tank0085]

Omg.. think there will be a war of words soon. To thread starter, to quell both camps... Please please for goodness sake buy both d90 and a700.

 

[ronaldlee007]

Omg.. think there will be a war of words soon. To thread starter, to quell both camps... Please please for goodness sake buy both d90 and a700.

No worry. We are here to help OP and not to mislead with wrong info. :thumbsup:
More for OP to read up.
http://www.digitalreview.ca/content/Nikon-D90-D80-D300-Canon-50D-Compared.shtml

 

[cthep2]

A700 is a great cam but our bros said it all, it depends on your preference.

For your additional reference :
Yes, AF with A700 really rockz :thumbsup:
For High ISO - how about this -> http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/a700-iso6400-here_topic41088_page1.html

Cheers!

 

[ronaldlee007]

A700 is a great cam but our bros said it all, it depends on your preference.

For your additional reference :
Yes, AF with A700 really rockz :thumbsup:
For High ISO - how about this -> http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/a700-iso6400-here_topic41088_page1.html

Cheers!

Very nice. :thumbsup:

ISO3200 shoot by NikonD90.
http://www.photomalaysia.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=109002&d=1247054123

 

[spidercrown]

Yup he got the point. I'm D90 user, and u can hardly freez the sudden move object with the kit lens. But, for non-build in motor lens eg. 50mm F1.8, it responsed really fast. But haven't had the chance to try on the higher end type of lens though.

Probably I am in a good position to advise a bit since I got the chance to own both cameras for brief period. I did an intensive comparison 2 months ago to see which cam should I keep.

I just concentrate on these 2 points since it was the decisive factor for me.

Noise:
- Yes, you are right, many reviews do say D90 do better in noise control and I also agree with that. But it will only be obvious when it's ISO1600 and above. Anything lower is the same.
- However, do note that at ISO1600 and ISO3200, the colour rendition of A700 is still superior and vibrant as per it's ISO800 and below. While D90, the colours start to become a little dull and lose some details at shadow areas due to noise reduction.
- For dark areas like shadows, D90 has no noise even at ISO1600 and slight noise at ISO3200. A700 does have some visible colour noise at shadow areas for ISO1600 and above but it's only visible when you view the picture 100% on PC. If you print, you won't notice them.
- For bright area like white surfaces, A700 is still noiseless even at ISO3200 while D90 has some sparkles of noise visible.

So you must take note of this, whether you like the noise to be at dark area or bright area. A rough gauge is D90 is roughly 1/2 stop better than A700 in terms of noise at dark areas only.

AF Speed:
- D90 has good AF speed and accurate. However only for still objects or things that doesn't move suddenly. I have used the 18-105 kit and 35/1.8G lens and I can only get about 10-20% sharp images of my moving son as D90 did not AF fast enough for slight movement or sudden change of directions of my son.
- A700, couple with it's eye-start feature, capture 70-80% sharp images of my son, while only using the 18-250 lens which many claimed to be slow in AF. So I guess it's the AF function of A700 that was fast enough to do slight adjustments to cater to my son's movement.

Summary:

So in the end, it's really what you want to shoot with the camera. If you shoot mostly still objects (landscape/portraits) and in low light condition, then D90 might be good. However, take note of the details in shadow areas and slight sparkles of noise in bright areas.

If you normally shoot fast moving objects (kids/sports) in moderate light, then A700 will do better.

Don't be too overly concerned about the lens variety. Though Sony does not have as much lenses as the others, it is well equipped by 3rd party ones. And since you are going for Tamron 17-50, then it is not much concerned for you anyway.

I mostly use 3rd party lenses like Tamron 17-50 and Sigma 30 as I find them more affordable and meet my needs better.

In fact, even if the manufacturer has 200 lenses in their arsenal, I dun think you will buy all of them anyway. And not all their lenses are good though, only some are legendary...and legendary lenses comes with a high price...

 

[circuitboy]

Wow! thanks for the overwhelming response. it's so nice to hear opinions from those who have first hand experience of both camera.i can buy the A700 body slightly lower than d90 body outside singapore so price is not an issue. I will be using tamron and other 3rd party lens so CZ and other expensive sony lens is not a problem.

 

[circuitboy]

has anyone here have A700 + tamron 17-50mm f2.8? does the built-in stabilizer really helps lens w/out IS? I mean, is there a noticeable difference? anyone tested?

 

[Ouverture]

has anyone here have A700 + tamron 17-50mm f2.8? does the built-in stabilizer really helps lens w/out IS? I mean, is there a noticeable difference? anyone tested?

Yes, A700 with Tam1750 here.

With SSS on, I can shoot handheld at 1/15s, 50mm and still get sharp pictures. I believe its about 2-3 stops advantage.

 

[godzila]

Hello circuitboy, I Read your post and your new camera buying confusion. Here i am sharing info on Sony A700 and Nikon D90. Here you can get nice info on these digital cameras and you can decide that which one is good for you.

Best of Luck,

 

[circuitboy]

Yes, A700 with Tam1750 here.

With SSS on, I can shoot handheld at 1/15s, 50mm and still get sharp pictures. I believe its about 2-3 stops advantage.

wow! impressive!


how about after sales service for sony? how is it? i read that we can send to sony service center for sensor cleaning..etc. how often?

 

[Galdor]

wow! impressive!


how about after sales service for sony? how is it? i read that we can send to sony service center for sensor cleaning..etc. how often?

So far SSC's service is acceptable. I wouldn't say fantastic but they get the job done. If you ask the customer service staff behind the counter something technical of course they may not be able to answer you, but usually when you send your cam in the turnaround time is pretty fast and the technician will call you to give you an update. :thumbsup:
Sensor cleaning wise, you can send it in as often as you want during the warranty period, otherwise it will be chargable but so far I haven't had the need to send my in after close to 2 years of usage.

 

[XkaOnslaught]

wow! impressive!


how about after sales service for sony? how is it? i read that we can send to sony service center for sensor cleaning..etc. how often?

as many times as you want, as long as the camera has warranty remaining, its free.

 

[Rashkae]

And you can drop it off at any Sonystyle. So if you live north, you can drop it off at Bishan, etc.

 

[circuitboy]

Hope to hear more opinions from people who were able to experience both cams.

re: a700's battery life.how is it? i read that there is no 3rd part bat available and original bat is expensive..
if i buy a vertical grip, what modelis recommended?

 

[Rashkae]

Hope to hear more opinions from people who were able to experience both cams.

re: a700's battery life.how is it? i read that there is no 3rd part bat available and original bat is expensive..
if i buy a vertical grip, what modelis recommended?

The battery life is pretty good! There are third-party ones available, but the original is well worth it for the exact % readout that infolithium provides.

For the VG, get the original Sony. It's one of the best VGs out there, fully reproducing the controls on the VG.

 

[XkaOnslaught]

Hope to hear more opinions from people who were able to experience both cams.

re: a700's battery life.how is it? i read that there is no 3rd part bat available and original bat is expensive..
if i buy a vertical grip, what modelis recommended?

for the vert grip, i dont remember having any third party grips for the A700. there are for the lower end models.

 

[Galdor]

Hope to hear more opinions from people who were able to experience both cams.

re: a700's battery life.how is it? i read that there is no 3rd part bat available and original bat is expensive..
if i buy a vertical grip, what modelis recommended?

Battery life is very good. @ fully charged batteries is more than sufficient for me to cover a whole day's wedding event with enough battery juice for me to review the pictures on my way home. And IIRC, only Sony's infolithium battery is precise enough to let you know how much battery juice there are and if you use the original battery grip, it is smart enough to drain the battery which has a lower power level first.

The battery itself is not that expensive if you take the above features into consideration and I think it's even cheaper than the battery of the Panasonic G1's. Of course you can opt for the cheaper 3rd party ones which will not give you these features.