sony a330 vs canon xsi (450d)

pacman.podge

hey guys im new to the whole slr photography and i am currently looking into buying a slr camera. i have narrowed my options to the two cameras above... (maybe not a wise idea i dont know...) the reason im picking these two is because of the live view functions and there basic enough to start off with.. plus there relatively cheap. ( on e-bay anyway.)
so im hoping you people with the knowhow out there can advise me on which would be best value for money regarding quality and performance etc etc.

Thanks a million !!!

Mycroft H

the sony probably has the better live view system and the image quality is quite good. i have the a200 and its basically the same without the live view and i love it

hopelessOne

As I understand it, the Sony liveview system is superior... plus you have body-integrated anti-shake which works with any lenses. On the downside, there are less Sony users around to ask questions of, trade lenses etc and the 2nd-hand lens market isn't quite as plentiful & cheap.

Personally, I'm a Sony a200 user and enjoy being different from the rest of the pack ;-)

Have you tried handling each camera? Ergonomics and menu layout might sway your decision more than specs.

CabanSail

TBH - Liveview is a bit of a Gimmick and really of use only in a few limited situations. (One of these is to point out the New DSLR Users who have come from compacts )

I have Liveview on my main Body & in almost 2 years have only had one occasion where it could have been useful & then I did not use it as I could not remember how to turn it on. I do use it on my Canon G9 as the viewfinder is not the best there & it does sort of suit Compacts. Though I do really like my G9 I find using Liveview quite annoying after a while & like getting back to a real camera.

Unless you have a situation which will really benefit from Liveview, then I would say don't make it an essential on your list. You will soon find with a DSLR that the Viewfinder is much more useful, intuitive & also easier on batteries.

Also both those Cameras are good Entry Level models. Canon & Sony are two of the three leading systems. Nikon being the other which swaps places with Canon regularly for the market lead.

Freddie59

CabanSail wrote: »

TBH - Liveview is a bit of a Gimmick and really of use only in a few limited situations.

Agree 100%. I waited for the 450D to come out just because of the Live View. I only used it twice. If you become proficient you won't even want to use it.

Martron

hopelessOne wrote: »

the 2nd-hand lens market isn't quite as plentiful & cheap.

.

do old minolta and konika lenses not fit them . surely there is a few of them knocking around

CabanSail

Martron wrote: »

do old minolta and konika lenses not fit them . surely there is a few of them knocking around

Minolta lenes do fit & they will have IS as it's done in the Body.

pacman.podge

Thanks guys this help is really appreciated. just another thing.... the difference in the resolution .... the sony being 10.2 and the canon being 12.2...... is this a big thing or is the difference going to be noticed unless i blow up a photo to.... a huge size anyway!

also if you say the live view shouldn't be top of my list well then would i be safe in saying the sony a230 is basically the same camera minus the live view system? and could that be an option?

CabanSail

The difference in 10Mp to 12Mp is not too much of an issue.

I know many have Liveview in their cameras & do not hear of it being used very often.

If the specs are much the same for the A230 & A 330 expect Liveview I would be looking at the cost difference.

There is also the Nikon D40 & D60 which are entry level models.

Mostly they are much the same but you have to decide what feels best to you & also where you plan to go with your photography in the future. You will be buying into a system. Nikon & Canon are the two major systems with Sony coming is a strong third these days.

bretttp1

Just an addition to the live view vs viewfinder debate, I personally find they both have their unique uses, the biggest plus of having the live view option is not to use it as a replacement for the view finder but to use it as a very useful tool to take photographs at unusual angles.
I just spent a couple of days at the Christmas markets in Munich and I have to say the combination of a gorrillapod slr zoom and the variable angle screen on a sony A350 was just a joy to use.

And I wouldn't take the difference in pixel count as a deciding factor in choosing a camera, they are both good choices.

One of the most important things in picking a camera is how they feel in use, when I bought my camera last year I narrowed my choice between the sony a350 and canon 450D and settled on the sony in the end for that reason, not for the live view function, but the more I've used the camera the more uses I've found for it.

BTW I already had a minolta 50mm f1.7 so that also influenced my decision.

hopelessOne

Martron wrote: »

do old minolta and konika lenses not fit them . surely there is a few of them knocking around

yep, old Minolta and Konica Minolta lenses work just fine... but the 2nd hand market is still smaller and therefore prices tend to be higher.

BowWow

hopelessOne wrote: »

yep, old Minolta and Konica Minolta lenses work just fine... but the 2nd hand market is still smaller and therefore prices tend to be higher.

Have an old Minolta Dynax500 with a Minolta 35-70AF lens. Will this lens fit/work on any of the newer Sony DSLR cameras?
Thanks.

Mycroft H

BowWow wrote: »

Have an old Minolta Dynax500 with a Minolta 35-70AF lens. Will this lens fit/work on any of the newer Sony DSLR cameras?
Thanks.

yep it will fit no problems.

great sharp little lens btw

BowWow

landyman wrote: »

yep it will fit no problems.

great sharp little lens btw

Thanks for that, now to find a reasonably priced body.