[andy]

My 'trusty' old Canon 20D was and still is towards the end of its life and given that it's "only" 8MP and last time when I tried even my good old 50mm didn't focus any more, I decided it's time for a father's day present to myself. After some research the final contenders were the Canon 5d Mk II or Mk III and the Sony A77, but when I looked at the price of the Mk III i very quickly came to the conclusion "THAT ain't gonna happen".

Looking at what a Canon Mk II can offer I was almost ready to plunk down some serious money when it finally hit me: My still working investment in Canon was one lens, and that wasn't the greatest one (28-135) non L. At that point it hit me: I could change systems without loosing too much and to make a long story short, instead of the full frame Canon 5D Mk II I ended up with a new Sony A77 and the acclaimed 18-50/f2.8

Went out yesterday and so far I am very happy with the results.

Nothing don to this picture other than a very gentle crop and the color corrected (original is a 6000x4000 raw image, yes you can count the legs on the ant -> Original)

 

[Munmi]

EXCELENT CHOICE!!! I have owned the Sony A77 for about 3 months and am still amazed at its abilities. For me it is an upgrade from the Konica-Minolta 7d which was a 6.1 mp body. The A77 is 24.3mp at its finest settings. Even at its mid-range quality settings, it is still twice the MP as the KM 7d. The electroninc viewfinder may have been a bit of concern before purchase, but was quickly accepted after a short time of use.

I had been waiting for quite some time for Sony to come out with something that would fill my needs as I could not afford to switch brands because of so much invested in lenses and accessories for the KM/Sony line. Very happy with the A77. I trust you will be too.

 

[BennyBob]

Great clarity, Andy! I may have to update my old Nikon stuff someday.

 

[Dick]

My 'trusty' old Canon 20D was and still is towards the end of its life and given that it's "only" 8MP and last time when I tried even my good old 50mm didn't focus any more, I decided it's time for a father's day present to myself. After some research the final contenders were the Canon 5d Mk II or Mk III and the Sony A77, but when I looked at the price of the Mk III i very quickly came to the conclusion "THAT ain't gonna happen".

Looking at what a Canon Mk II can offer I was almost ready to plunk down some serious money when it finally hit me: My still working investment in Canon was one lens, and that wasn't the greatest one (28-135) non L. At that point it hit me: I could change systems without loosing too much and to make a long story short, instead of the full frame Canon 5D Mk II I ended up with a new Sony A77 and the acclaimed 18-50/f2.8

Went out yesterday and so far I am very happy with the results.

Nothing don to this picture other than a very gentle crop and the color corrected (original is a 6000x4000 raw image, yes you can count the legs on the ant -> Originalhttp://www.ple.org/2012-06-16__08-05-18.jpg)

Howdy Andy - hope all is well with you and Karen. Question for ya - I wuz archiving thru the Photography forum in search of info about a camera for Cheryl to take to Budapest for her annual vacation. I didn't wanna camera that wuz too intensive in setting up for each shot (she's camera challenged for that!), so am thinking more in line with the point-n-shoot smallish cameras without any attachments, etc. I have a coupla months to get one, so am just looking for info at this point - which wuz my reason for navigating thru the Photo forum.

In doing so, I remembered you had a thread about 'Father's Day present' and a keen picture of a flower with an ant on one of the petals. Turns out I can't retrieve it now, so am wondering where it went - is it my problem, or has it been deleted at the link site? Anyway, just thought that wuz a good example to show Cheryl what a pro-camera can do versus the little cheap point-n-shoot. She won't go the pro-camera one for sure - maybe take a few with her iPhone, and more on one of the p-n-shoot that will load up a usb card.

Take care, Andy - no worries on the picture disappearing; just thought I'd mention it. Best always.