Mike Anderson
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I’ve had the A700 a week now and I’ve played with it a little. What I will say is that it’s nothing like my old A100. Everything about it seems to be a major improvement. One thing I love is the big high resolution screen. If you mess up something on a shot it’ll be visible on this screen. The next major improvement is the low noise at higher ISO. There is some noise that starts around 800 but from 800 to 6400 it really doesn’t seem to get much worse. I’ll say that so far it has met and even exceeded my expectations where high ISO and noise are concerned. Another big improvement is the focus speed. This one doesn’t search near as much in low light and the speed seems about the same as any other DSLR I’ve played with in this price range.
Something I just found last night was a separate conveniently placed button that releases the AF motor so you can go to manual focus without moving the camera away from your face. Great idea and really handy for low light macro!! All the buttons like ISO, WB, Drive, AE lock are also easy to get to and remember. These features are also available on the screen menu which is huge and I haven’t spent enough time going through all the menu options yet. As far as button placement and user friendly menu options I have zero complaints, its very user friendly.
Most of what I have shot has been on the 2.8 Macro lens. The IQ on the Macro shots so far is very impressive. I played around with some Turkey a few days ago with the 400mm Sigma 5.6 APO and they are better then I’ve been getting, but still not as good as I want. I’d love to hand this lens to John B. and see if he can make it come alive. I shot these birds from about 100+ yards away. Is that too far to get detailed crops with that lens?? Maybe I’m expecting it to do something it just can’t do?? I’m sure it’s just a nut loose behind the lens.
The one negative I’ve found so far is that it eats the battery much faster then the A100 did but that must be due in part to the big screen. Needs a top view LCD like Nikon.
That’s all I got so far. I’m sure as I continue to learn and use it I’ll find more but right now I’m very, very, happy with this purchase.
I’ll also add that if your in the market for a DSLR and aren’t already married to Canon or Nikon,,, consider Sony. TheA350 is a hell of a camera for the price and the 700 is cheaper then others in the same catagory!! There is some great older glass from Minolta, and Sony and Zeiss are making some very high end optics as well. I spent hours and hours and more hours comparing the D40, D300 and the A700. And though I really want to own Canon (like owning a Sage rod) I couldn’t see selling all my stuff for what on paper is a lesser camera in a lot of categories but defiantly not all. The D300 appears to be the king in this category (until the D50) but to switch to Nikon would have cost me an extra $400 for the camera alone, plus reacquiring all the flash and lenses would be another big expensive pain in the butt.
So for now at least I’m satisfied with my camera. I’m considering auditing a class at the local college so that I might be able to use this thing to its full potential someday. I’ll post some stuff as it comes. I plan to do a hiking trip this weekend since the falls should be looking good now. Can’t wait to see what turns up.
Go to jail for what. Come on man, anyone stupid enough to pay $50,000 for a Bigfoot frozen like a popsicle in a chest freezer,, from some dudes in Georgia,, gets what he deserves..
BTW I have a breeding pair of very rare Giant Sea monkeys that I’d part with for $200.00
Really like the first shot and the last shot is just awesome. Mind sharing the exif data?
There was a picture I remember from the Olympics montage of a spent shotgun shell being ejected and it had some blue smoke still coming out of the spent end. It was one of those images of nothing of real importance but it still held your attention somehow.
With Live view already in a lot of the new DSLR’s I doubt it’d be much harder to record the data that’s being fed to the Viewfinder. I’d be willing to bet they’ll hold off on the record feature until they’ve milked all they can out of live view.
The Cir polarizer on my 400mm gets stuck alot. I can’t force it loose by turning the knurled threaded part but if I spin the glass back and forth a few times it always breaks loose.
That’s impressive Carter. The 700 is supposed to be a lot better at high ISO settings. I’ll post some stuff after I get it and we’ll see just how well it works.
The Zeiss prime lenses get rave reviews and I have a 16-80 Zeiss that’s a dandy little zoom but the real jewels are the old Minolta lenses that can be had for a lot less jingle. The 55mm 2.8 is a prime example of a really great lens for under $300. I think Leica was involved in the making of that one. Then there is the 55mm f1.4 that works wonders in low light and can be had for around $100.
I was really on the fence about going ahead and buying a Cannon or Nikon but I‘ve already invested so much in lenses and strobes and I wasn’t ready to just give those away just to buy into a name. I’ll stick with Sony until my skill improves beyond my camera which I doubt will happen anytime soon.
Todd we’ll need to test it out on you pretty soon.
Sadly it isn’t just the Japanese who are doing this.
Carter the shark scene was pretty impressive. The kind relationship that seems to exist between Dolphins and Humans is fascinating.
I thought the study on communications was also intriguing. I wonder if we’ll someday break the code and be able to communicate.I’ve had a few encounters with wild Dolphins while on off shore fishing trips. Although the Captains hate them, they made the trip for me. They would come up to the boat stick their head out of the water and look right at you. Every now and again one would slap its tail on the surface like a beaver on steroids.
I’m confident that they were trying to communicate to me that I needed to catch another undersized Red Snapper. 🙂Yea Brett and they’re at it again recently along with China.
I’m no tree hugger by a long shot but something about this kind of killing just makes my blood boil.
Here’s a video that demonstrates the slaughter a lot better then I can with a keyboard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkgCTDqQYBEWow thanks guys!
Didn’t use any polarizers on any of those shots. My Zeiss only takes a really thin one and I haven’t found one I want yet. The first 5 were done with an old but highly aclaimed minolta 50mm 2.8 macro lens. It’s an amazing piece of glass that even a rank amauteure like myself can get good shots with. http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/detail.asp?IDLens=93 None have been PS’d but I added some saturation to a few of them.It’s funny the last shot was just a quick pop before he released the fish. Thanks for the input it’s good to hear what people like and compare to what I like.
BTW Todd you might have a future as a hand model…
Thanks for the reply John You answered my questions as well as I could have expected. BTW I cut and paste a lot of your advice and tips from this board. You’re a real asset to the place and thanks again for the time and patience you give us wannabes.
Thanks for the response. I didn’t realize the HSM’s operated like that. I’m also glad to hear that my results are not just related to equipment.
Eric it’s rare that I would go with just a camera and no fishing rod… Sure as I do the fish would be busting everywhere and I’d have nothing to throw at them.
Like everything else I’ve learned I’m picking everything up the hard way by trial and error and help from folks like we have here so thanks again.
It sure would be fun to spend some time with a real nature photog.Todd you aren’t the first to have issues with Flouro tippet material. I don’t know what happens to the stuff but some friends of mine have had a few spools go bad as well. As a lot of folks here know I use the 200 yard spools of Seaguar carbon pro or Maxima has a new 100% fluro line out (spinning gear line) in 2, 4, 6, and 8 pound test. I spool it up on regular tippet spools with a drill.
I do keep a real spool of 7x fluro tippet just in case they get really picky but I rarely if ever use the stuff.
