Sony A200 or Olympus E420? DSLR advice for Photojournalism student.

[speakyb]

Hi guys,

This is my first post so I hope it's in the right place.

I'm just about to begin a course on Photojournalism. I need an entry level DSLR and the two I'm considering are Sony's A200 (£250 inc kit lens) and the Olympus E420 (£290 inc kit lens).

I have read what seems like a million reviews and comparisons and I am completely torn. I have been and held both and although I liked the feel of the Olympus slightly more, I cannot decide.

So, can anyone give me any advice as to which camera is best value for money? If you have any other suggestions on camera's then please feel free. My budget s £300 max.

Thanks for your time!

Megan.

[eddiewood]

Originally Posted by speakyb

Hi guys,

This is my first post so I hope it's in the right place.

I'm just about to begin a course on Photojournalism. I need an entry level DSLR and the two I'm considering are Sony's A200 (£250 inc kit lens) and the Olympus E420 (£290 inc kit lens).

I have read what seems like a million reviews and comparisons and I am completely torn. I have been and held both and although I liked the feel of the Olympus slightly more, I cannot decide.

So, can anyone give me any advice as to which camera is best value for money? If you have any other suggestions on camera's then please feel free. My budget s £300 max.

Thanks for your time!

Megan.

Either will do. However. What about a second-hand Nikon or Canon body? As you progress it's more likely that you'll want to use one of these lens systems

* What lenses are they expecting you to bring?

[speakyb]

I have considered the scond hand option but I'm not a fan of sites like ebay, having been ripped off a few years ago.

I was told that for now I need a lens with a 28mm (or wider) focal length with f/3.5 or faster.

And soon will need a lens with focal length upto 200mm with f/4 or faster.

I know that Olympus lenses are a lot more expensive, but the kit lenses that come with both would be alright for now. Do you know if either of the kit lenses are better quality?

[RandomLee]

I have an A200, and a friend has an Oly E-420.... so I've used both and can say I doubt you will be dissappointed with either of them. Both great value and both produce great images.

One thing to note is that the kit lens on the Oly is far superior to the kit lens that comes with the Sony. For a start the build quality is a lot better, and it also has a manual foucs ring which the Sony kit lens doesn't (can be annoying!). Quite a nice range on it too.

However, something I didnt like about the Oly is the menu system... after using the Sony it just feels old and badly thought out. That's just me though, and this probably wont be a problem to a new user as you'll have to get used to the menus and layout of either camera anyway.

I had my money to spend again I'd still go for the Sony as personally I thought the Oly felt too small in my hand when I tired it in the shop.... but the fact you thought it felt good just goes to show everyone is different when it comes to ergonomics!

If you do go for the A200 then consider getting yourself a Minolta AF f1.7 50mm, or the new Sony f1.8 50mm that's just come out. I'm not sure about 28mm lenses mind you, but they will exist either by Sony or Minolta (and possibly Sigma).

[Lewis201]

Is this a university degree course with a view to you becoming a professional photo journalist or just a college course with a view to you pursuing it as a hobby? If it's the former, then you really need to consider the system you're buying into first and foremost.

[eddiewood]

Originally Posted by speakyb

I have considered the scond hand option but I'm not a fan of sites like ebay, having been ripped off a few years ago.

I was told that for now I need a lens with a 28mm (or wider) focal length with f/3.5 or faster.

And soon will need a lens with focal length upto 200mm with f/4 or faster.

I know that Olympus lenses are a lot more expensive, but the kit lenses that come with both would be alright for now. Do you know if either of the kit lenses are better quality?

There are plenty of camera shops on-line, such as Second hand cameras, camera part exchange, digital cameras UK, used cameras, photographic shops, England that do second-hand kit. They deliver from any branch, they have a Manchester branch too.

There is also another shop in Manchester The Real Camera Company - Manchester Camera Retailer

Might be worth having a look at used Canon and Nikons before committing yourself to a particular lens system.

As far as Sony is concerned, if you get it with the 18-70mm lens then you aren't going to be getting f3.5 for long.

18mm = f3.5
24mm = f4
28mm = f4.5
35mm = f5.6
50mm = f5.6
70mm = f5.6

So you'll already be needing a faster 28mm lens. Something like a prime lens such as the Minolta 28mm f2.8.

If you fancy a proper look at an A200, I live in Manchester and have one. By all means come and have a play with my A200 and collection of lenses if you want, it's no problem

[HelloMoto]

I bought a Canon 1000D with 18-55mm IS lens kit off here for £315. While the A200 does appear to have more features I was looking longterm as the lens system is mainly what I'll be buying into. The body will be replaced one day, but the glass you can keep forever.

Canon and Nikon seem to have the pro tog market sewn up, so if you are looking to make a living from it one day I'd maybe steer more towards Canon/Nikon.

[TonyH]

Originally Posted by speakyb

I have considered the scond hand option but I'm not a fan of sites like ebay, having been ripped off a few years ago.

I was told that for now I need a lens with a 28mm (or wider) focal length with f/3.5 or faster.

And soon will need a lens with focal length upto 200mm with f/4 or faster.

I know that Olympus lenses are a lot more expensive, but the kit lenses that come with both would be alright for now. Do you know if either of the kit lenses are better quality?

Wow this is not going to be cheap, 28mm wide F3.5 or faster = £££ and they want you to have a lens up to 200mm which is F4 or faster, you might have to spend £300+ on that. However if you get the Sony, a 70-210 'beercan' is constant F4 and you would pay about £120-150 for a second hand one.

Your looking at approx £700+ for all of the kit, look at going a bit more on the original purchase and get a better kit lens which fits one of the criteria you need.

[speakyb]

Wow, thanks for all the responses!

I know it's not going to be cheap, I've been looking at prices and it's going to cost a fortune. But like anything, if you want it enough then it's worth it.

I am wanting to take photojournalism to a professional level eventually, Canon and Nikon do seem to have a lot more lenses available but Sony and Olympus do have a good range too, plus I'm guessing their range will grow.

eddiewood, thanks for the link The London Camera Exchange is the one in Piccadilly Gardens I think? I've been there a few times. They have some good stock. I was going to go there on Saturday to see what second hand stuff they have.

I've checked the site and there is a used Canon 300D with a Sigma 18-50mm lens for £228. Or a used Canon 350D with 18-55mm lens for £249.

Would either of these cameras be worth looking into? Or should I stick to the first choices?

Sorry for all the questions, but thanks to everyone for all your help.

[RandomLee]

The 300D and 350D are getting on a bit now like, and for that price you can just about get the A200. The two Canons are a lot cheaper on eBay / forums too. Both will still take great pics, and you'll have bought into Canon which is no bad thing, but I think you would probably find yourself upgrading sooner than you would with a newer camera.

The Canon Outlet Store on eBay usually has good deals on refurbished 400Ds, which still come with a warranty. I was very tempted but would have been left with no cash for memory card, bag etc.

[eddiewood]

Originally Posted by speakyb

I've checked the site and there is a used Canon 300D with a Sigma 18-50mm lens for £228. Or a used Canon 350D with 18-55mm lens for £249.

Would either of these cameras be worth looking into? Or should I stick to the first choices?

Because you are wanting to go professional I'd start out with the 350D/400D and buy into the Canon lens system. You will go through camera bodies, but keep the lenses, so see the lenses as the investment.

Yes the A200 can be bought new for that and I love my Sony's but I would go down the Canon/Nikon route if I was going to make a career of it.

There is a 400D body here for £265. Don't know if it's a fair price though.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/digit...-usm-lens.html

[Jonstone]

The a200 is a nice entry level DSLR with some nice minolta lenses available at reasonable prices.

I am not too sure you need to worry about buying into a lens system as the sony seems to sell pretty well second hand maintaining a very high residual value, and considering the way new prices are going at the moment I can't see that changing much in the next two years so if you feel the need to change to a different system in the future you could just sell the sony setup and start again.

Given that you are hoping to take this up professionally then there is a good chance that you may want to upgrade your glass in the future anyway especially if going to a full frame body.

Edit: Are there any other features that you may need on the camera that may help to influence your decision, like continuous shooting speed, AEB, focusing speed?

[speakyb]

Well in the end I just went into Jacobs and spent a long time testing a few different camera systems to see which I liked most. I tried to take in all the advice I'd recieved from various people (which was confusing enough!). I spent what seems like hours quizzing the assistant and in the end I gave up on all the specifics and just chose the camera which I enjoyed using the most.

In the time I spent investigating, two things dawned on me;
If I am capable of taking good pictures, then I'm going to be capable regardless of the camera.
If I enjoy using a camera then I'm going to take more pictures and be more willing to carry it around.

So I figures that the most important thing was to choose the camera that felt right. I'm now very happy with my Olympus E420 and got it for a reasonable price of £260.

This probably sounds a bit crazy but I don't think I'd have ever made a decision otherwise!

I'm going to go to my tutor and get his advice on the best lenses to get as soon as I start my course. In the mean time I'm going to spend the summer enyoying my new camera.

Thanks again for all your help!

[leaky5]

Originally Posted by speakyb

I was told that for now I need a lens with a 28mm (or wider) focal length with f/3.5 or faster.

And soon will need a lens with focal length upto 200mm with f/4 or faster.

As mentioned before, the Sony kit lens will give you a maximum aperture of f3.5, but not for long. I had some very please results for this camera/lens combination.

You could pick up a Tamron 55-200 for around a £100 new, this will give you a maximum aperture of f4 at 55mm, but again at 200mm the maximum aperture is F5.6.

[willj12]

I used to have an Olympus E410, much the same as the E420, but sold it and bought the Sony A200. This was mostly because someone offered to buy it off me for £180 more than I payed for it but since buying the A200 I much prefer it to the E410, I found the lack of grip on the E410 made it much harder to hold. Another big plus for the Sony is lenses can be bought much cheaper second hand then with the Olympus.