SONY Alpha 200

[The Goat]

Dear All,

I had joined this site when it came in - but then have been pretty inactive due to various reasons of shifting of jobs, locations and everything...

Now I have moved to Chennai...

I bought a Sony Alpha 200 - with a basic need to start off photography as a hobby and found this DSLR to be fitting my budget having all the features that was there in the starting DSLR range and has a lens of 18-70mm, compared to the other Canon, Nikon etc which had a 18-55mm lens.

Having bought that - mostly I have just been able to understand the various modes, read about it mostly from Wikipedia and experimentation that am doing it as of now.

Needed a few things from you pros out there:-

1. Is there a complete info on the Sony Alpha 200 - where in am able to understand all the modes and functionalities? I could not find one specifically, hence asking you.

2. Does anyone have this model? If so, please do share info with me so that I can PM you(read:bother you!!! :) ) to get a better grip on my camera.

3. Are there some documents or stuff that will help me understand the modes - A/P/M/S and the ISO definitions so that I can read it up and then start experimenting? The reason am asking this is - am finding bits n pieces of info here and there and that is making me cringe - and everytime I use the various modes - I end up confusing myself all the more.

4. Software suggestions to edit the photos? I am having an i-Mac with me - please suggest softwares for the mac.

I know am asking a lot in the first post itself, but then I seriously want to develop this hobby and take it further as a stress buster for me - as the job am in - it's super pressure and I need to unwind. Please help me out.

[KrishnenduKes]

Query Approved

Welcome back Goat. Good to see you posting finally and with relevant questions. I wanted to ask you, you bought the SONY Alpha 200 without a User's Manual. That is pretty strange. Anyway, lets see if someone out here can help out.

[The Goat]

Thanks for the approval Krishnendu... I have the basic user manual that Sony gives out with all its DSLR... but specific to this... where it can help me develop the understanding deeper is kind of limited with the standard user manual... Hence looking out for something... in fact today found a review of the camera in imaging-resource.com website.. have taken the download and would try to figure out something more about the camera... Thought should ask help from the pros.. hence the query here!!! Am sure someone should have a SONY ALPHA 200 here in this group. Praying!!!

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

if you want to learn your modes,there is nothing better than actually sitting with your camera and fiddling with it.when you fiddle your mind registers every minute detail of the camera,its functioning and use.in the end when u are actually doing shoots with that,you can easily come to know which one will work for the given condition.

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=DSLRA200K

full manual and instruction guide.ie download if you dont have.

P mode is where camera sets the shutter speed and aperture.

A mode is where you set the aperture and camera sets the shutter speed.

S mode is where u set the shutter speed and camera sets the aperture.

M is full manual.you set everything and let the camera be a dumbo.


if you want to only click,go on P mode first.

if you want bokeh and blur go to A mode and keep the aperture high.ie a low value.in your kit lens case it will be 3.5.if you want more sharp images,bring your aperture down.ie higher value.

if you want to freeze things S mode is the way.or u want long exposures again S mode.

M is where you manipulate everything!

those are just starters.

if you have mac then photoshop or aperture will do good.

[KrishnenduKes]

@Anvancy: You jumped me to it. Thanks for the info

I will add to what Anvancy said:

P mode is where camera sets the shutter speed and aperture, also known as Programme Mode.

A mode is where you set the aperture and camera sets the shutter speed, also known as Aperture Priority Mode.

S mode is where u set the shutter speed and camera sets the aperture, Also known as Shutterspeed Priority Mode.

M is full manual.you set everything and let the camera be a dumbo, as the name suggests, Manual mode, where you set the shutter speed and the Aperture, both.

You wanna know more, just ask.

[Aryan]

Congratulations Goat for getting the Sony A200.

I would like to know what kind of lenses does a Sony D-SLR take? I have always felt comfortable using Canons and Nikons (although I do not own a Nikon D-SLR) because I know there are plethora of lenses from the OEM manufacturers plus the third-party manufacturers (like Sigma, Tamron, etc.) which provide some good quality lenses to be used with these.

Does Tamron, Sigma make lenses for the Sony D-SLRs? Or is Carl Zeiss the only option? Then again, Zeiss doesn't come cheap (comparatively speaking).

[The Goat]

@ Anvancy & Krish - thanks a ton for starting from the basics!!! Seriously it helped - infact was discussing with my friend today about the modes again - and didn't come up trumps on all the modes!!! :). One post here and things are clear... I was clear about the S mode only (not withstanding the Auto Mode :D).

It surely is a start for me with this now. Infact, y'day it rained in Chennai and obviously there was a power shut down that happened. I took a few snaps in the S Mode - shall share it with you by tonight - as am in office right now. Was trying the long exposure sitting in my balcony... Do advice...

@ Aryan - thanks mate. As to the lenses that are compatible:-
1. Sony Alpha Line Lenses
2. Carl Zeiss Lenses
3. Minolta Lenses

These are the three that are compatible with the Alpha. That's what I have come to know so far!!! :)

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

@ Anvancy & Krish - thanks a ton for starting from the basics!!! Seriously it helped - infact was discussing with my friend today about the modes again - and didn't come up trumps on all the modes!!! :). One post here and things are clear... I was clear about the S mode only (not withstanding the Auto Mode :D).

It surely is a start for me with this now. Infact, y'day it rained in Chennai and obviously there was a power shut down that happened. I took a few snaps in the S Mode - shall share it with you by tonight - as am in office right now. Was trying the long exposure sitting in my balcony... Do advice...

@ Aryan - thanks mate. As to the lenses that are compatible:-
1. Sony Alpha Line Lenses
2. Carl Zeiss Lenses
3. Minolta Lenses

These are the three that are compatible with the Alpha. That's what I have come to know so far!!! :)

the zeiss and minolta lenses are truly in their own league.no L or N can defeat that.

[The Goat]

Hey All... these were the snaps that I talked about in the morning...
Completely unedited (read: dunno how to do it ) hence no watermarking too!!!

Await your comments...

The first drops of rain...f/5.6 - 2s exposure
http://images.orkut.com/orkut/photos/OgAAAGQeral1uwarGMyECMTZoSpM9ClxiF9vwB_NqAY1Oh5knj vF0aDpBOgaptQPOl1k4xPco64dq433BZa12_wa_pkAm1T1UGcK qKN4GL7ndseI3GNfkS4ZfQf0.jpg

The Car in the dark...f/5.6 - 1s exposure
http://images.orkut.com/orkut/photos/OQAAAFuTX25thzGtspa8FzgB2Esd5CAHVTKIFJQCdwRIL58MX0 wJrnCENQpdcpPUAYMsBgY9dUvWX5Vrs0-HYdBXHhAAm1T1UOaa6LtBAtMSe9MZfAy0SsxZB8C6.jpg

The car in the light of another approaching vehicle... f/5.6 - 1.3s exposure
http://images.orkut.com/orkut/photos/OQAAAGcCyZ_tMTCGSk4s8aYpdBSF8TmehIjOrWhHHfOE1Gyy6j aBGkkrTJWSUA1rGP935omlg9Csn6mg8FBghrMShiAAm1T1UDCi e6FhBm0mgsOD2mfPPn7DW73U.jpg

The final one - huge gust of wind and leaves moving... tried it... f/5.6 - 1.3s exposure
http://images.orkut.com/orkut/photos/OgAAAJ5yZ5JWysaZi0TR8HQqbeeAlzjavxsyCr1oPL1PpJZemX W-PUn0P7qVflWMuwiwRi9H06qGo7w0WO5LS5mQ7BUAm1T1UK6sPN 5DVjeit1TMMb_Tr3Ya6gyj.jpg

Will await your comments with all enthusiasm...

[KrishnenduKes]

Hey All... these were the snaps that I talked about in the morning...
Completely unedited (read: dunno how to do it ) hence no watermarking too!!!

Await your comments...

The first drops of rain...f/5.6 - 2s exposure

Since these are all kind of "long exposure" photographs, (slow shutter speed) as you can see yourself from the Exif that you have provided, there is a lot of camera shake. If there is camera shake, photographs will not be razor sharp!

Solution: Opening the aperture more and increasing the ISO rating will increase the shutter speed and "freeze" the movement and thus significantly reduce shake, especially in very low light conditions that you have shot in.

[The Goat]

Solution: Opening the aperture more and increasing the ISO rating will increase the shutter speed and "freeze" the movement and thus significantly reduce shake, especially in very low light conditions that you have shot in.

Krish - when you talk about opening the aperture - how do I do that - I mean... should I first then set the aperture and then the shutter speed - basically operate in the manual mode - 'coz I operated on the Shutter Priority and then saw the pics which gave the f/5.6 to be there...

And what precisely does ISO do? I have read about ISO being high can introduce noise where as increases stability in a photo - and lots of stuff... In simpler terms - what is ISO and how is it relevant to the photography?

I know am asking a lot of questions and hope you guys aren't feeling bad about this...

[synn]

http://www.photonhead.com/simcam/

That should clear most of your doubts.

[KrishnenduKes]

http://www.photonhead.com/simcam/

That should clear most of your doubts.

Thanks Synn. That is a great site. I tried out most of the settings there and got the results instantaneously. Good site for a beginner. Nice one.

[The Goat]

Thanks a ton synn and as rightly told by Krish... it is super cool... will keep checking that out for sure!!!

[synn]

You're welcome, guys. I came across the link as I was looking through some forum. I have suggested it to a few people since then and they all found it useful.