Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Digital Cameras
I am just your average guy that loves to take pictures but I was getting tired of the poor quality of my point and shoot cameras and the inability to catch good shots of my kids playing sports. I bought a used 35mm SLR Minolta to get my feet wet with an SLR and picked up a few books on how to take pictures. Now it was time to take the plunge into digital SLR. I researched for weeks and found that most of the digital SLR cameras were out of my price range then I found a new Sony a200 one night on ebay for under $300. I was trying to figure out why so cheap- I read great reviews on this camera. I bought it and paced my house for a week waiting for it to arrive scared to death that I made a mistake. I was wrong, I love it. The camera is easy to use and takes great pictures right out of the box in auto mode. With some reading and playing around with it I learned to use the advanced settings and am taking great pictures. The menu is easy to use. The focus is fast and I rarely miss my shot waiting for the camera. The battery lasts a LONG time, I have taken hundreds and hundreds of shots and am still on the VERY FIRST CHARGE! The a200 is a great camera to start with and you wont have to upgrade when you want to get more advanced. My uncle has a Cannon and he paid 3 times more for his than I did. At our last family function he wouldn't put my camera down. He loves it and is pretty upset he paid so much more for his. He actually offered me a trade! Another great thing is that this camera has the "a mount" which means it accepts any lens that is an "a mount". All of my Minolta lenses work great with this Sony and cost much less than the cannon specific lenses. So if you want a great SLR camera but are on a budget then BUY THIS CAMERA! Hell, even if you are loaded and you don't care how much you spend, still buy this camera. You won't regret it. I do suggest that you do a little reading (lots of books at your local library)into how to use the advanced settings of an SLR and take a little time to practice with it. You will be happy you did.Read full review
The first thing I felt was that I liked the way it fited in my hand and the feeling of having a real camera, not a toy. Then I looked into the manual and got amazed by all that functions and automatics and also the programming and free style modes, I'm far from a professional photografer and became a little apprehensive abou my capacity of dealing with all that. After assembling all the parts, wich was easy, I put the camera in the most plain automatic and started to shoot in every direction. With flash, without flash, macro, medium distance, long distance, everything looked fantastic when I puted it on my PC and viewd it on the monitor (I have upgraded the resolution of my monitor to cope with the quality of my photos). By now I have tested the other types of automatics and none have disappointed me. When I have the time I shall exploit all those functions, I'm sure I have still much pleasent hours to extract from this machine. However I felt a little disappointed by the lack of a "live viewer" function. It's a fact that it is not mentioned in the technical caracteristics but I've never considered the hypothesis of a camera of this tipe not having it.Read full review
At the moment i am teaching myself about this really nice camera. I am so happy to have it as i used to have a similar camera until i dropped it in my local creek two times. I will not be dropping this anywhere. I love that it came with a camera case like new,, a book, lens covers, 2 memory cards, a battery charger, a digital filter set (new), 2 lens cleaner cloths, a Sony lens 75 - 300mm like new. I am a very happy customer. I have found nothing wrong with this purchase.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I bought the A200 because I also own an older Minolta Maxxum film camera that uses the same lenses. The built in anti-shake feature made all my old lenses anti-shake, verses Nikon and Cannon's need to buy separate expensive lenses to get this feature. The A200 is very easy to use, with a well laid out, easy to understand menu. There are enough advanced features for beginners to grow into for a long time. So, you will not get board with this camera any time soon. The picture quality very good for a camera in this price range. The images do tend to be on the "soft" side, but it great for portrait work and personally I think that many of other DSLR's images are overly sharp to the point of being unnatural. Some people complain about it not having the live view feature, but I grew up shooting film SLR's and am use to not having it. If you need live view, choose the A300 or A350. My only real complaint about the camera is not with its function, but with Sony's pricing of its accessories. They tend to be proprietary in nature and over priced compared to the other brands. The saving grace is that the after market is starting to fill in some of the need for more reasonable priced accessories. Plus, many of the old Minolta parts that will work with these Alpha series cameras are available here on eBay for good prices. Overall, I am quite happy with this camera and would recommend it to any aspiring photographer.Read full review
When I set out to buy a digital SLR I was first looking at the Nikon D40 ($499) and the Canon Rebel XTi ($599). I was turned off by the D40 due to it's 6MP sensor and lack of JPEG (fine) + Raw capabilities. I ended up passing on the Canon Rebel XTI because of the complaints about the low-quality kit lens which would've added costs beyond it's initial price tag. Looking in various photography forums I discovered the Sony Alpha being recommended to other people looking in the same price range I was. It had a 10.1MP sensor, a good lens and was in the same price range as the Rebel XTi. I'm really happy with the purchase. Picture quality is excellent with the kit lens (SAL-1870). I also purchased the SAL-55200 telephoto lens and it is also a very nice lens for the money. The battery life on the camera is excellent. The auto-focus is super fast and delving into the manual a bit will reveal many powerful configuration options (I don't think a lot of the Nikon and Canon fans who are critical of this camera ever did that because I've seen claims made on forums that just aren't true).Read full review
I did considerable research on this and other brands of entry-level DSLR's and this is an incredible camera for the money. This camera has the quality, features and extras of other brands costing 2-3 times more. SONY really got it right with the ALPHA series and I can only imagine how good the more expensive cameras in this lineup are if the A200 is any indicator. On top of how nice the actual camera is, we got a load of extras with it, including wide-angle and telephoto lenses that make for a complete set-up. Picture quality is magnificent. I would not be ashamed to generate 8.5 x 11 portraits with this camera. I got this for my daughter as a gift and she is in a High School photography class and has done all sorts of artsy type shots with amazing results. She also uses my mother's old Canon AE-1 film SLR and I think the results from the SONY digital are comparable when it comes to her technique at this point. I would not hesitate to recommend this camera to anyone interested in an entry-level DSLR camera from a really reputable manufacturer.Read full review
Hi All! I want to tell you a few words about this camera. I bought it for about 1 year ago. It's nice cause now the price for it $400. It's real DSLR. You have to understand, that sensor in A200 more sensitive than in A100, it's mean less noise. I took a few pictures from Nikon D60 and from Sony A200 with similar lenses, ISO, F and I know now, that more noise in Nikon! It's paradox, but D60 more expensive and it's Nikon. So I rate Sony A200 with Excellent, cause it's best DSLR camera for you if you want to start taking pictures professional. If you want to spend less money it's for you, if you have a lot of money, you have to buy Nikon D300 or Canon 5D, but the price will be not $400. And about lens. Kit Lens in Alpha very bad. You have to buy UltraZoom like Tamron 18-250 or something like 18-50 with f2.8 and your pictures will be great. Anyway for this price Sony A200 is an excellent probuctRead full review
I absolutely LOVE this camera!! I chose the Sony Alpha DSLR based on three factors: #1 - Image stabilization/anti-shake is in the body instead of the lens as on the Canon & Nikon DSLRs. #2 - I am able to utilize AF lenses from the Minolta line of cameras going back 20 years. There are a lot of Minolta A-mount lenses out there that work great with the Alpha models. #3 - The Sony Alpha A200 DSLR was chosen the best entry level DSLR for 2008. The body of the Alpha fits my hands much better than the Canon or the Nikon. However, I do realize that "fit" is a personal thing for each user. If you're currently shopping for a DSLR, I suggest you take a look at the Sony Alpha series as an option to the Canon Digital Eos and the Nikon D series. Considering the costs of accessory lenses, I think you'll be surprised with what you'll find in the Sony Alpha.Read full review
This Camera does not disappoint. The features are great, especially the anti-shake. The one draw back to be aware of is the LCD screen, You will only see the scene after the picture has been taken. The a300 has what Sony calls the liveview LCD. The picture quality is outstanding, which was what I was hoping for since the camera guys all told me to spend more on the Canon or Nikon cameras.
We bought this camera for our daughter to get a start in photography. It's her first camera and from everything I've heard from her she loves it. The pictures seem to be top quality. The only thing concerning the features that I would probably not care for is that you can't use the screen to take the picture but must use the viewfinder. She never had that so she doesn't miss it.