Thursday, December 1, 2011

Love-at-first-sony! This relationship had better work. It will be too expensive to switch (yet again)..

I just picked up the a65. I was in line for the a77 but it's not in stock. I could switch within 2-3 weeks if the a77 comes in but if there's such a thing as love-at-first-sight, it's happened to me! I've been around the block (Nikon D100, D70, D80, D90, Fuji S2PRO, Canon 5D, 5D2, 40D, 60D, Olympus E1, E3, E-30, E-330) averaging over 100,000 clicks a year at work and at play.... but this a65  is the real sweetheart. I might just stay with this instead of the a77.... or use this a65 as a backup to an a77.

Some major plus points:
-SteadyShot allows me to shot 1/2nd sharp (f2.8 at 75mm equivalent). Without SteadyShot, my sharpest is at 1/30th (50-year-old hands will do that to you).
-Focus Peaking.... a godsend when using manual lenses.
-EVF.... I've forgotten about optical finders already.
-Ergonomics, controls... usually an acquired taste but just overnight, I'm already comfortable with it.
-24MP sensor... noisy at 3200 but I expect noise at !SO3200. Anyways, its a killer resolution and one has to use a premium lens to realize this potential. I got the DT16-50 (should have been classified as a premium G lens) and it is NICE!

Some minor plus points:
- lens corrections in the camera body,
- panorama feature,
- twilight mode really works.

So-so HDR but then I'm used to Photomatix.

I have a video shoot this Saturday and on Monday (4 hours each) so we'll see how the video works for me. It better because this is the main reason I switched from Canon to Sony.

The major downers for me are: 
-the lack of weather sealing (a77 has it). I shoot weddings and I've been splashed a few times so it matters.
-The a77 also has 150,000 actuations versus the a65's 100,000. The $400 price difference is about the price of a shutter replacement.
-No PC sync socket. A must for using pocket wizards.

I love this camera! I hope this love-at-first-sight becomes a long term relationship! 

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