Anyone bought a DSLR yet?
 

I just ordered a Sony Alpha A100 DSL which appears to be an upgraded version of the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D.

I have a lot of Minolta AF and MF equipment and was pretty upset at them for pulling out of the camera market earlier this year. I heard that there were reliability issues with the 7d and 5d cameras , so I was hoping to get a DSLR that will work with my lenses after they ironed out their problems.

Yesterday I found out that Sony bought the designs from Minolta and their new DSLR is basically a 10.2 MP version of the Maxxum 7d.

I just purchased one from a company called Royal Camera (http://royalcamera.com).

I think I may be in for a serious shafting. To my horror, it appears that these guys may be crooks as they are getting slated on the Internet.

So my questions are:

1. Has anyone used this Sony A-100 or Maxxum 7d? what are your thoughts?
2. Has anyone bought from these guys?

I think I may have to brace myself for a dispute with Amex.

Alabassi, I'm in the camera business and I can tell you without hesitation to stay away from Minolta/Konica or anything based upon their designs.

If you can get out of this purchase that you've already made, you should stick with something like Nikon, Canon, or Olympus, if you want a DSLR. All three of those are good quality products.

Personally, I think you are better off to buy stuff like that locally. It's nice to have a human being across the counter with whom you feel confident. They can give you good advice, help you to find things (accessories) you need, and when something goes wrong, you know where to find them.

I hope everything works out for you.

Thanks
 

Thanks for your advise, I have been thinking long and hard about switching systems. The only thing that motivated me towards the Sony is that it has the Minolta AF mount which means I can use all of my existing lenses, my flash other accessories. The built in AntiShake feature is also attractive.

I could sell all my film gear on eBay and switch but that is a serious effort.

Minolta
 

A long time ago, when the Maxxum's came out (remember them?), I used to beg people NOT to buy them. We had so much trouble with them and so many returns, they just were not worth the effort. Still video came along and they got worse. When the digital cameras came out, they seemed to be even worse still.

Don't like to knock somebody else's choice, but get out of it if you can. Get one of the three brands I mentioned and you'll be much happier. Sonly is fine for commercial/industrial video equipment and I guess for consumer electronics. I'm not impressed with their digital still photography equipment for many reasons.

There's my two cents worth. If it helps, I'm glad to be able to offer it.

Dee

Makes sense
 

I understand, when I sold Cell Phones in the mid 90's I would say the same to my customers. If you want to buy a Cellphone , stick with Nokia, Motorola or Ericsson. Sony make good Walkmans and Phillips make good shavers. But the thee companies above make excellent phones.

I still stick to that policy even though the gap is narrower. I have however had very little problems with my Minolta MF equipment. I have an X-700 and an Olympus OM-4. The OM has been to the repair shop a few times, and is sucks batteries like they are going out of fashion. The X-700 has never given me any trouble.

We'll see how it goes, if they mess my order up, then I may switch to the Nikon D80

I used to own many Minolta cameras and had a bunch of lenses. I finally got tired of the lack of service and support.

I've switched to Canon and never looked back.

I have the Rebel Digital (one of the earlier models, so mine is only a 6.3 MP model). The newer ones have more MPs, come in black and are priced for less. I guess you always pay a price for being the kid in the block with the new toy.

I would highly recommend Canon.

Dee8go, are you a retailer?

Ernesto, our company has a retail division, I am in our construction division. If you're interested in something, let me know.

However, I must tell you that the camera business has such razor-thin margins, that you can probably get just about as good a deal on a camera one place as another.

Some retailers strip the boxes on cameras to lower the advertised price and then try to sell you the stuff you should have gotten anyhow. There is also a gray market in the photographic business. It is not much of an issue these days since the dollar has become so weak.

Dee8go, I usually buy my stuff from Canoga Camera, here in So. California.

Their prices are usally pretty good and the sales staff is well versed on the products they sell.

I hate when people go to a local retailer, waste the guy's time learning about the various products and then buy from one of the NY mail order houses like BH or Abe's. Seems kinda of unfair to do that.

I was asking if you are a retailer because whenever I can, I like to do business with people from this board. :D

I could tell
 

I figured that's what you were getting at. I appreciate that. I don't actually sell cameras myself, but I am into photography. I also appreciate the people in my community who go to the trouble and expense of operating a store, maintaining inventory, and paying people who know what they're talking about to sell the products.

I keep thinking that one of these days the tide will turn and people will get tired of patronizing big box stores, Walmart, etc. and once again appreciate the value of having someone local to do business with who has made a commitment to the products. Hopefully, this isn't just a pipe dream.

Got out of the sale!
 

OK I got out of the deal, the company mentioned above appears to be run by Scum bags. Pretty much everything I read was true. The guy tried to sell me accessories at over inflated prices which I refused and then when I asked him on an ETA for shipping, he said 4-6 weeks.

I kindly asked him to cancel my order and he refused so I told him that I will send him an email to confirm cancellation and then raise a dispute with my credit card company right away.

He then told me to ring again and speak to someone else who will cancel my order!

So I tried to pay peanuts, and got a monkey.

Now, go see somebody local who knows what they're doing and give them your camera business. If they are like our store, they aren't making a fortune off your business, but they are more likely to treat you well.

Glad you got out of the other transaction. Good luck.

Canon.:hat:

Canon is the leader in consumer/pro digital photography; I own a 5D for almost a year and the quality is amazing.

Nothing beats that CMOS....