Sony vs Nikon

[Kylie :)]

Hi

I am new to these forums, so hopefully I'm placing my question in the correct place!!

I bought a Sony a100 at the end of last year, and since then have really starting getting into photography. I know that the Sony has had some really good write-ups, but all I seem to really read about are Nikon and Canon.

I am now really wanting to extend my photography kit - in particular an external flash unit, and later more lenses. However, I am a little worried about spending my money extending my Sony kit, and wondering if I should be changing now to Nikon (/Canon) rather than spending my money and then later having to start out all over again! Some people have advised not going with Sony as it is not such a well-established brand with lenses etc in the DSLR market.

I know that Sony have higher end DSLRs too, so am not ruling out upgrading there at some point, ie: the a700.

So, I guess what I'm asking is... should I stick with Sony and extend that way, OR should I be thinking about moving to Nikon (/Canon)

Going back to the a100, one of my main issues at the moment is the high level of noise at ISO 800 (we have a dark house, where I take heaps of photos of my wee boy). Is the a700 any better? Is it worth upgrading to that just for that?

Would love to hear from any other a100/a700 users and why you chose Sony over Nikon/Canon.

OK, sorry about all the questions, and hopefully all this makes sense!!

Thanks in advance!

[i_luv_ph0tos]

Yeah.. I heard Nikon and Cannon has a good reputation on DSLRs but if you already bought an expensive cam.... (it should be good since it is expensive) why change it? As long as you read and follow all the techniques in this site you will do good....

[rickysu]

sony lenses is so expensive :D
nikon's is expensive too but nikkor lenses is easier to get.
A700 is an awsome camera. it will be good to change your a100 with a700... great significant change


it's not a problem with what brand is your camera, the man behind the camera :D

[RexK_Cozumel]

switching systems is generally very costly however if you really dont have much of a kit so far and you are wanting to switch now would be the time to do it before you spend a fortune on glass.

As for switching do you feel that you are restricted by the current offerings in lenses and accessories for your camera? If so then it might be time to switch. I know that the lens line up by Sony is pretty slim and what they do have is expensive but have you looked into third party glass like Sigma or Tamron? As for upgrading your camera body just for better iso preformance I think that is kinda silly. Your money would be better spend getting lighting gear. Again I am not too sure Sony offers a lot of options with off camera flashes either but if you dont mind the manual controls then you can use pretty much any flash.

So while I am a nikon owner and probably will be for life I am not saying that switching to nikon is necessarily the right move for you. Only you can really determine that.

[jdepould]

Sony licensed the K-M mount, so there is other glass available. I don't know about flashes though.

Nikon and Canon have the lion's share of the market, and as a result they have the most in terms of accessory choices. If you're only planning on being a hobbyist, then it probably won't be a huge issue.

I chose Nikon over Canon because I liked the handling. I looked at a bunch of the other manufacturers and the only cameras that had all the features I wanted were the Nikon and Canon.