fstaples

<p>I currently have the a77 and I'm blown away with it's capabilities, especially in the sports action area. Not bragging but I also have 2 a55s, an a350 and the a900. I also keep on hand a Minolta 7D, just in case. I plan on ordering the a99 as soon as it becomes available. However, a word of caution - be prepared to spend mega dollars when you go to FF. Most of the old Minolta glass will work but it takes experience to shoot in FF and actually get a shot of what you see in the viewfinder. I will more than likely sell my a900 to help offset the cost of the a99.</p>

<p>I might as well jump in here. Here's my contribution using an a55 with a Minolta 35-70mm 1:4(22) Macro. IMHO, a very good combination.</p><div></div>

<p>I ordered the a77 yesterday from Sony - expected ship date is Oct 19th. I'm very pleased with my a55 and a900 and the a77 is a step in the right direction. Particularly interested in seeing the improvements in the EVF. Just curious but does anyone know if the a77 will use the same batteries as the a55 or a900?</p>

<p>Got on line earlier today and ordered the a77 body only from Sony. Expected ship date is Oct 19. With tax it came to $1535 - that's about $400 more than I was expecting. I had planned on keeping my a55 but I may have to let it go to make up the difference and possibly get a grip. I am very pleased my the a55 and expect the a77 to be even better. The price was higher than expected but still a bargain in my opinion.</p>

<p>I called Sony earlier this week trying to pry an announcement date out of them with no luck. Last year, I ordered the a55 in August as soon as it was announced and it was delivered October 10th. I suspect a similar scenario with the a77. I will order the a77 as soon as I'm allowed to do so. I'm not at all concerned about the quality of the a77; my only concern is the battery configuration. The a900 and a55 use two different size batteries - what will the a77 use?</p>

<p>Matt, JDM, David, Alex DC, Kevin, Rico - Thanks so much. My questions are answered and I have gained valueable info/links that I can refer back to whenever needed. This has been the most informative forum I have ever been involved in! Bravo! This is the sort of thing that makes Photo.net so unique - photographers willing to help one another regardless of the level of expertise. Thanks again and Happy New Year to one and all! Frank</p>

<p>Alex DC - My market will be everyone on the calendar, their friends, relatives and neighbors. Basically, anyone who wants a copy. I agree you are right about minors - a parental permission is called for. I'm from a small town of less than 4,000 and don't really anticipate any problems. As I said before, there won't be any promotional message but my name as photographer is all that needs to be said. I take photos (mostly school sports) for the local paper plus one other in a close, larger city of over 60K. In addition to that, the nearest TV station posts many of my photos as a public service. I see a trend here in these responses - if it just doesn't feel right, get a release!</p>

<p>Thanks. I'm in the US. And, yes, I meant printer, not publisher. There will be no promotional message, just a collage of photos on each page of the calendar. I will not specify the profit, if any, going to anyone else. I was hoping that I could simply take photos of people at different events such as high school sports, stores, the mall, etc without the need of a release. Is that possible?</p>

<p>I've read several forum Q&A's here but now I'm going to be very specific. My goal is to take photos all through 2011 - some will be portraits, some groups but most will be taken as the opportunity arises - none in a studio. Near the end of the year, I will assemble these photos as a collage with different photos for each page of a calendar and title it, for instance, "Home Town Folks". I intend to pay a publisher to produce the calendars and I will sell them for a profit. I may or may not give any profit to a worthy cause, say, the local chamber of commerce. Will I need a model release signed by everyone I photograph? Or is that the responsibility of the publisher (with my assistance)? Please give this your best shot!</p>

<p>I use the a55 primarily because of its many functions/modes/screens. It's great for sports action such as football under lights and basketball in a gym and I use a Minolta 28-75 f2.8, a Sigma 28-70 f2.8 or a Sigma 70-210 f2.8 APO for those action shots. Until I got the a55, the a900 was my primary camera and I used a Tamron 28-300 as my walk around lens. I can hardly believe it but I'll reach for the a55 before the a900! I also have the a350 as a backup to either of these cameras. In case you haven't seen it yet (I just got mine today), the January 2011 issue of Popular Photography chose the Sony a55 as Camera of the Year. Seems I made a good choice way back in August 2010!</p>

<p>Thanks everyone. Lots of good advice and recommendations. This is what makes Photo.net such a great site!</p>

<p>Bob Sunley - I'm located in beautiful, sunny, dowtown Piggott, AR , pop. 3,777. Thanks</p>

<p>I actually have a few photos that I would like to have enlarged and sell or give to relatives/friends as gifts. I need your advice on what lab or company to use for these enlargements to get the best quality for the price. Thanks</p>

<p>I haven't looked for it stores. I ordered my a55 from Sony in August and got an anticipated ship date of Oct 10th - it arrived Oct 10th! I orderd the a55 mainly to use in sports action shots and it has performed exceptionally - even better than I expected. Yes, like any new model, there is a learning curve; it seems very small and less quality compared to my a900, the EVF took a while to get used to, the battery life is shorter than I would like and there will be no vertical grip available but spare batteries are available for $20-30 from B&H. On the positive side, once I learned the controls it is extremely easy to use, the HD video is absolutely fantastic, it works with all my current Minolta lenses (and other) lenses, the continuous focus and 10 fps is awesome, and you'll be very hard pressed to find another camera with all it has to offer for under $1000. In summary, I continue to be a very satisfied Sony user.</p><div></div>

<p>Scott, Thanks for the review before ever receiving the camera! I agree 100% and that's why I have ordered the camera. I hope Carl doesn't think I was criticizing his review - that wasn't my point at all. After reading the reviews, the technical data and talking personally with a Sony tech on the phone, I decided I would give the a55 a try. I certainly haven't been disappointed with the a900. Of course, cameras are like computers - todays latest design is obsolete in a few months. But, that's OK because if the a5xx series improves on the a55, I'll be ready. I'm all for innovative advancements. I'll post a review here once I get the camera. Sorry, but I do not have any experience with the Sigma 8-16. I have a few Sigma lenses and so far they all work on the a900. Thanks again.</p>

<p>Will,<br>

You have the perfect perspective on this whole review thing. I probably took Carl's review as a "let's bash Sony" instead of merely a review by a professional not happy with the Sony marketing strategy. Regardless of Carl's review or anyone else's, the bottomline is whether or not I'm happy with the camera's performance and I'm sure I will be. There will no doubt be improvements to the a55 in the next couple of years and once again I'll upgrade (remember, I STILL keep a Minolta 7D on hand). Thanks for your input and putting up with "one of the masses". If there ever was such a thing as a beginner, I'm it! Thanks again.</p>

<p>Will, thanks. Took your advice and read the reviews by Carl and Michael. I'm still happy with my decision to order the a55 and actually, that's all that matters isn't it? Anyway, I'm a Sony fan and some folks aren't and never will be. Here's what I posted as a reply to Carl's review;<br>

This is for Carl. Let me start by saying I have ordered one of the new Sony a55's (to be shipped October 10) and currently own a Minolta 7D, a Sony a350 and a Sony a900. I've read your review of the 55 and all the forum questions and answers that go with it and I want to thank you for your time and honesty. After reading your review, I went to Luminous Landscape and read the review by Michael Reichmann. Obviously, the two of you are on opposite ends of the grading scale. I will go with Michael's positive review due mostly to the fact that his review is based on hands on experience. I seem to remember that when the 900 was first being introduced, before anyone actually had one to test in their hands, there was also a lot of negative comments made based strictly on reading technical data. The Sony 900 has proven to be a full frame masterpiece of the camera. I suspect the Sony 55 will be the forerunner of camera technology of the future. Yes, I'm sure there's room for improvement as there always is on the first models of new technology. Also, I'm sure it's difficult for diehard Nikon and Cannon owners to admit that maybe, just maybe, Sony is on to something. Once I get the a55 and run it through the rugged tests that only a true non-expert amateur can, I'll post a review here. Camera reviews are like beauty pageants, the winner changes with each new judge.</p>

<p>Of course it matters what others think or I wouldn't have asked the question. That's what forums are for and you have to be willing to accept the negative responses along with the positive. And, you never know, someone might actually have tips or techniques that prove helpful. I will post my opinion of the a55 once I receive it.</p>

<p>I placed an order with Sony last week for the new Sony a55 SLT. I was wondering if anyone out there has any insight as to what to expect from this latest Sony camera? Any experience with this camera? Sony says mine should be shipped by 10 Oct 2010. I'm enjoying my a350 and a900 but really looking forward to the speed of the a55. Thanks</p>

<p>This may sound a little crazy to some but I would like to go to Afganastan to photograph our troops as they serve our country and fight to spread freedom and democracy. I would concentrate on both men and women as they perform their duties. Specific attention would be on the combat patrols as they pack gear to go on a mission never knowing if this will be their last. When they return from the mission, I would concentrate on the faces for expressions as they are debriefed. As a retired Army Sergeant Major, I know what to watch for and get it recorded. I would need some rugged photo equipment to make this happen. Thanks</p>

<p>This is a no-brainer for me - I've thought about this for a long time. I have always wanted to photograph veterans who are now grandfathers or great grandfathers with their grandsons or great grandsons. I would incorporate any of their military memorobilia such uniforms, weapons, photographs as young men/soldiers, medals and ribbons, etc. I want to capture that stark contrast of age and youth and stress that the youth has been made possible by the sacrifices made by those veterans. Traveling the world to do this would indeed be wonderful (Japan, Germany, England, France, Poland, Viet Nam and the US) but I could do a lot right here in the US at locations such as our National Cemeteries (Arlington). I wouldn't need a lot of equipment either because I prefer natural settings. After I'm done, I would want to publish a photobook and provide copies to all the subjects.</p>

<p>Most of my Friday night football shots at night under the lights come out blurred if the subject is moving. The photos are great if the subject is still. I'm using a Sigma 28-200 f1:3.5-5.6. Is the lens my prblem or what settings can I use on the camera with the current lens to solve this problem? I'm missing a lot of great shots!</p>