© 2008 mervyn

Meet Al

I can has shiny new… DSLR? Yeah, I has shiny new DSLR. Got the Sony Alpha a200 single lens kit from Sungai Wang last night.

Random pics after the break.

The guys at the Boeing store sold the single lens (18-70mm f/3.5-5.6) kit plus an additional 2GB CF Ultra II, a sub-par tripod, Sony Bag, UV filter and LCD cover for 1919.

About the design: The body feels more plasticky than I’m used to on the 350D, but it’s also a tad bit larger and heavier.

The viewfinder and LCD has wayyyy more real estate than the Canon, which I heart! 2.7inch LCD bitch XD. That’s nearly as big as those found on P&S cams these days.

Why sony, not canon?

Okay, obviously the reasoning given by Dr. Tan, Tjinz and the like are that if I bought Canon, the lenses would be cheaper and I’d be able to utilize the current Canon’s accessories like external flash and macro lens etc.

But the thing is the Canon 450D is about 3000 ringgit if I’m not mistaken. That’s alot of money. I might not be around to take advantage of those extras on the Canon a little over a year from now.

As for lenses, some time from now if I think third party lenses are appropriate, I’d look into a Tamron. Something like a 18-60 2.8 perhaps. 

Why didn’t I go for the Sony a300?

I’d say it was because I couldn’t justify 600 ringgit on Live View.

Another interesting point to note is that while you zoom in from rotating clockwise on the old Canon, this Alpha zooms in by rotating the other way around. I still find myself rotating out while I meant to do the opposite.

The shutter speed is rather loud, and so is the AF. Apparently these are appealing to some. The first hit me, but the second didn’t.

 

I don’t know la… I love this cam, but can’t help but feel as if the built quality is cheap. Which it isn’t, really. It just feels that way. Possibly due to the hollowness and plasticky texture. Then again, if I wanted a nice texture, I’d have went and splurge 3k on a Nikon.

Click meh!

Ending this post with a pic of a book called Animal Farm (which I recommend to anyone interested with Marxism and porpaganda+dictatorship). Penguin Publ. had this crazy idea where people will buy books with empty covers so they can draw their own. I outsourced mine to Su Fern, who drew what you see above. X)

Between some reallllly corny names for an electronic gadget, I ended up with Al for this one. Go figure.

11 Comments

  1. HoTsHoT
    Posted June 10, 2008 at 3:32 pm | #

    See what above?

    [Reply]

  2. Posted June 11, 2008 at 2:38 am | #

    ehhh the animals so cute! for a moment i thought you drew them!

    [Reply]

  3. Posted June 12, 2008 at 2:24 am | #

    hotshot: corrected.

    sulynn: hahah that’s what my family says as well. very cute drawings

    [Reply]

  4. Posted June 12, 2008 at 4:05 am | #

    Did I?

    Jayelle’s last blog post..Those Six Days In Singapore

    [Reply]

  5. Posted June 12, 2008 at 5:16 pm | #

    Sweet. Photoblog come soon and own me k?

    Dr. Tan’s last blog post..Squeak

    [Reply]

  6. Posted June 12, 2008 at 8:14 pm | #

    I’ll give a thumbs up to Sony’s in-built image stabilizer which Canon/Nikon doesn’t offer to protect their IS/VR lenses.

    Heh it seems that Sony is assimilating Nikon’s turning direction to zoom in/out. Did you meet the lady boss at Boeing? She’s “funny”.

    Anyway, whether it’s plasticky or not, if it performs well you should be a very happy owner.

    tjiN’z’s last blog post..Nikon Photo Contest International 2008-2009

    [Reply]

  7. Posted June 13, 2008 at 3:12 am | #

    jayelle : family in general. you didn’t.

    dr. tan : =p when the student becomes the master…

    tjin’z: HAHA. yeah not just funny. abit rude imho. some guy from middle east asked “Mam, could you lower this by 5 ringgit? *forgot what he was holding*

    Woman: No. *walks away*

    walao.

    [Reply]

  8. Sable
    Posted June 13, 2008 at 3:01 pm | #

    Hi Al.
    Cool camera. Agree with tjin’z about the in-camera IS. Have not used a Sony DSLR before though, so I can’t say much. The Nikon’s zoom rotation is also in the opposite direction as that of Canon’s. Which means its the same as the Sony’s. I always thought they were standard.. *shrugs*

    [Reply]

  9. meldee
    Posted June 14, 2008 at 2:59 pm | #

    ho ho ho another shutterbug. hola, brother.

    i know, prices of DSLRs are nuts. that’s why i bought second hand from a trusted vendor :P

    and yes…animal farm is an awesome book! good taste in lit.

    [Reply]

  10. mervyn
    Posted June 16, 2008 at 4:37 pm | #

    sable: I think standardizing is one thing Nikon Sony Canon and Olympus doesn’t want. So they can push their costly exclusive brand lenses… for e.g. my Sony’s flash hotshoe. It only accepts sony flashes. #&*^!@

    melody: hola, sister. yeah, i loved Animal Farm. =)

    [Reply]

  11. Posted June 23, 2008 at 9:24 am | #

    Think of how a screw turns – clockwise to enter and shorten in length. Based on this logic, Sony/Minolta has followed the way lenses have been from ages ago; clockwise (from front) to shorten (going wide) and clockwise to infinity.

    Heh even normal shaped ISO hotshoes aren’t compatible; the pins aren’t in the same location. You’d have to tape over pins like Dr. Tan did. One benefit of the Sony/Minolta iISO hotshoe is the quick release function which only made its way to other brands in their latest iteration of flashes. Really.

    [Reply]

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