First Sony DSLR a suggestion

<p>Hi.Film was (and still is) my big love as well as old mechanical cameras.Since I have few Minolta AF lenses (20,28/f2,35/f2,50/f1.4,100mm macro,100mm/soft focus,28-135 and 85mm/f1.4) I though to give a try to a Sony DSLR.<br>

I plan to use it for my kids mostly and casual events.So I guess it should focus sufficiently fast and have simple interface (like a dedicated WB and exposure compensation buttons ).Probably below 1000 if possible.<br>

I am asking since I have no experience with Sony digital,just with the Maxxum cameras .Thank you in advance</p>

<p>Nice stash of lenses. Have you checked prices on them lately? You might be pleasantly surprised. ;-)</p>

<p>Any camera will provide you with what you want, but all under $1000 have an APS-sized sensor. So, each lens will provide a FOV 1.5x longer. So, your widest lens will be 30mm equivalent. You may need to grab a lens like a 17-50 2.8 zoom to backfill your range.</p>

<p>Full frame will cost you around $1800.</p>

<p>The big differences in the current models is live view and movie mode. You should do some research and decide if you need those features.</p>

<p>Greg</p>

<p>Hello Mihail,<br>

All generations of Minolta/Maxxum AF lenses and a vast majority of accessories will work on the Alpha series cameras. I have been a Minolta/Maxxum user since the seventies. About 18 months ago I was in a similar situation, I had 3 Maxxum film Bodies and wanted to make the full jump to digital. I have a lot of lenses also, So I bought a Alpha 100, Then in february I upgraded to a A700.There is a great site for Minolta/Sony users www.dyxum.com that has Alot of information on Alpha Cameras and lenses and various equipment. you can see the individual specs on the current and past alpha models. Hope this helps Phil</p>

<p>Are you coming from a late generation Minolta? If so and you had the Maxxum 7, then the closest non full frame Sony that handles the same is the A700. The next step down is the A550. The only thing to bear in mind is that there has been speculation that the A700 is due to be superceded. Only problem is when that is going to happen and when it does, will it be priced less than $1000. Otherwise, the A700 remains an excellent camera though not cutting edge.<br>

As Gregory, has mentioned, you have some excellent lenses which will transfer across to digital with no issues. And as he said, you might want possibly want a wider lens, though 20mm on APS-C is not too bad depending on your usage.</p>

<p>if you get a kit lens that is 17-50mm or whatever it is, it should be wide enough to bring you out wide enough on a crop body. I got a few sony bodies 2 yrs ago and I really like the results I am getting with them. All of the minolta lenses work just fine. Only one lens didn't work because it is a 3rd party lens, however my tamron lens (new) is awesome! if your budget wasn't limited, the a850 would be ideal, so to budget things you are going to need to step down a few models in the lineup.</p>

<p>Thank you for all the answers.<br>

Greg: I doubt that I will use the live view or the movie feature.You are right the prices spiked up from when I bought them few years ago<br>

Jiun:I have more or less all the Minolta film bodies.Looks like the A700 was discontinued ,I couldn't find it new anymore.<br>

Sheri:I love my small prime lenses so I want to avoid zooms,although probably the new ones are very good.<br>

All these made me buy probably the A850 since I will have the same focal lengths and not to have to buy additional lenses.Is more than I planned but ... .<br>

I will try one in the store today.Thank you for all the great advices</p>

<p>A bit late to chip in but I thought I should mention that I still saw a new a700 for sale in Fry's Electronics yesterday (their Manhattan Beach store). At over $900 they're not exactly asking a bargain price for it, but there are still some new ones around, even online in amazon.</p>

<p>And if you don't mind getting a barely used one at a more reasonable price then you can keep an eye out in the buy/sell section of dyxum.com and in the online catalog of keh, an a700 or two shows up in either fairly regularly.</p>