Advice Please sony a55 or a65??

[wicheesehead]

I'm looking to move up from my canon G9. I like to take pictures of birds (eagles,ospreys, and backyard birds) and the grandkids. I'm not happy with the speed of my camera. I get lucky once in awhile and get a good picture but usually a lot of tail feathers:mad:

I'm looking at the sony a55 or sony a65. The lens I 'm considering are 18-55 and the 70-300.

Any thoughts and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance,

Sue

[pierces]

I'm looking to move up from my canon G9. I like to take pictures of birds (eagles,ospreys, and backyard birds) and the grandkids. I'm not happy with the speed of my camera. I get lucky once in awhile and get a good picture but usually a lot of tail feathers:mad:

I'm looking at the sony a55 or sony a65. The lens I 'm considering are 18-55 and the 70-300.

Any thoughts and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance,

Sue

 

All other considerations aside, if you are following moving action the A65 with it's 2.4m pixel OLED viewfinder is far superior to the one in the A55. I shoot with the A77 and it uses the save viewfinder so I am speaking from experience. I just spent an afternoon shooting high-school basketball in a gym with "ok" lighting and had zero issues following the action. No perceptible lag.

 

Beyond that, the ability to crop the 24MP images from the A65 significantly reduces your telephoto requirements. There are some sample images in my first-impressions article here: http://www.pptphoto.com/ArticlePages/A77.htm

 

The kit lens is ok and the 70-300 if it is the SAL70300G is a remarkable lens.

 

Hope that helped.

 

Dave

[wicheesehead]

Thank you for responding. So your saying the kit lens would be good for my needs (18-55) on the a65? Would this be a better all around lens DT 16-105mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens.

 

Thanks again, I enjoyed looking at your pictures,

Sue

[bukieco]

If I was shooting birds, I'd use a telephoto, not crop. You'd lose a lot of file information, in my opinion. That 70-300 and a good tripod/monopod would probably give you the results you expect, as well as make an excellent portrait lens. Make sure to use RAW; use RAW if you are for sure going to crop. I shot these with a Sigma 70-300 (handheld) on my Nikon d90

 

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And for an all around lens, the 16-105 is similar to what i have (focal length wise, i have a 18-105) and i find it much more useful than my old 18-55; because I get twice the range.

[dileep]

The A580 is nice too!

[pierces]

Thank you for responding. So your saying the kit lens would be good for my needs (18-55) on the a65? Would this be a better all around lens DT 16-105mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens.

 

Thanks again, I enjoyed looking at your pictures,

Sue

 

The best kit lens for the A65 would be the new SAL1650F28 that was released along with the A65 and A77. I only commented on the 18-55 because you mentioned it. The 16-105 is a good lens (superior to the 18-55 for sure) but for the $200 difference for the 16-50 Is a worthwhile upgrade if you are looking for a lens that will match the resolution of the A65 and will probably be on your camera 95% of the time.

 

Dave

[chipmaster]

Just remember if you are going to dive seriously into the DSLR market that your needs may grow beyond a couple lenses. IF you think your hobby will grow remember that you are buying a "system" make sure you buy into a make that has everything you may ever need.

 

Wildlife shooting can grow on you and you'll soon be wanting 300/400 2.8 lenses or even longer ones :eek:

[wicheesehead]

The best kit lens for the A65 would be the new SAL1650F28 that was released along with the A65 and A77. I only commented on the 18-55 because you mentioned it. The 16-105 is a good lens (superior to the 18-55 for sure) but for the $200 difference for the 16-50 Is a worthwhile upgrade if you are looking for a lens that will match the resolution of the A65 and will probably be on your camera 95% of the time.

 

Dave

 

 

Thanks for all your advice, I'm on a wait list at our local camera store for the a65 w/16-50f28 lens. I can't wait till I can start learning and taking some pictures. Especially since we are going to Alaska this year.

 

Thanks,

Sue

[pierces]

Thanks for all your advice, I'm on a wait list at our local camera store for the a65 w/16-50f28 lens. I can't wait till I can start learning and taking some pictures. Especially since we are going to Alaska this year.

 

Thanks,

Sue

 

When you go, rent an SAL70400G from someplace like LensRentals.com. I plan on purchasing one before we go back there in 2013 (for the fifth tjme...we love Alaska!) An amazing, best in class lens for all your wildlife needs!:D

 

Happy shooting with the A65!

 

Dave