Sony A200

Posted by Jonathan Ng | Filed under Personal

Sony unveiled the A100 dSLR replacement model at CES a few days back, boasting ISO sensitivities of up to 3200 and an optional battery grip. Specs (and a bunch of pictures) can be found here at dpreview.

Sony A200

The good news was, no need to all the way to Las Vegas to check out the new A200 - it’s right here in Malaysia! Yes, there’s an ongoing roadshow by Sony at Mid Valley.

alpharoadshow.jpg

I took a several shots with my own CF card using the Sony A200. The crop below is taken at ISO 1600, down-sized by 50%. Noise control is pretty impressive I’d say, compared to my current DSC-V3. Hah!!

ISO 1600

The A200 has a comfortable grip. There are dedicated buttons for ISO and drive mode on top, AEL and exposure compensation button on the rear. However, I find the drive button a bit hard to reach with the thumb. At RM 1,999, it’s a bargain! Heck, it’s newer and cheaper than the Canon EOS 400D. There’s a big BUT though - Sony lenses. They’re friggin expensive! The best example is the 70-200mm lens. Sony’s cost about RM 1-2k more than the Canon’s. Whatever happened to the economical reasons for built in image stabalizers.

If I were to get the A200, I’d get the single kit (18-70mm lens) and get myself a Sony 50mm f1.4 lens. It’s about RM 1200, roughly the same as Canon’s 50mm f1.4, though Canon’s has USM. I can try to get a used Minolta 50mm f1.7 at around RM 300.

Well, I’ll be waiting to see what Canon has to offer come PMA at the end of the month - more importantly perhaps, is how much the 400D’s price will drop to.

Permalink | January 12th, 2008

5 Responses to “Sony A200”

  1. KOKahKOK Says:
    January 22nd, 2008 at 2:14 pm

    Woo…so wait for Cannon EOS 400d price to drop? which one u prefer?

  2. Jonathan Ng Says:
    January 22nd, 2008 at 6:52 pm

    I prefer the Sony. But, Sony lens are expensive.. so most likely will hunt for a 2nd hand 400D :)

  3. NoktahHitam Says:
    January 24th, 2008 at 7:16 pm

    Do you know where the sell in Malaysia?

    400d is about 2200 if Im not mistake.

    You do know you can buy 3rd party lense right? (Dont ask me, I dont where to get those)

  4. Jonathan Ng Says:
    January 24th, 2008 at 8:47 pm

    Not all 3rd party lenses have mounts for Sony, and 3rd party no suitable fast lens.

    The A200 goes as low as RM 1850 with single kit lens.

  5. Albert Ng Says:
    February 4th, 2008 at 3:56 am

    There is the Sigma 30mm F1.4 as a 3rd party fast lens.

    Third party lenses for the Sony include about all of Sigma’s current range (the 70-200mm F2.8 and 50-150mm F2.8 II were, until recently, only available for Nikon and Canon, but are now available for Sony and Pentax).

    Tamron makes all their lenses in Sony mount because Sony owns part of Tamron. Hence, a 17-50mm F2.8 is a great deal, and their upcoming 70-200mm F2.8 is another good buy too.

    If you’re not into dumping insane wads of cash for a overhyped F2.8 lens, the Minolta 70-210mm F4 beercan is a must find. At RM1000 max it’s still a lot cheaper than the Canon 70-200mm F4 L non-IS at RM2500.

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