Sony A550 vs Nikon D90

[kaipium]

Anybody have experience with both the A550 and D90? Am wondering which model I should buy.

I have a Nikon D70 used for more than 5 years old. Started looking at the A330 as it is smaller and cheaper (thought of getting it for my daughter as she sometimes use the dslr). Then, I realise that the A550 performs much better than the A330. THis makes the A550 my target (couple with the 18-250 lens).

Now that the A550 seems very low in stock, I look around and remember the D90 which I think cost about the same as A550 for body only.

Now I am getting confused. Can some kind soul help me think this through? Thanks.

 

[torak]

If u already have Nikon lenses, then its better to buy d90, save money on lenses. But If for some reason that u dont have Nikon lenses anymore, then get a550

 

[kaipium]

I do have the Nikkor 18-200 VR lens.

I compared the 2 bodies and the specs seem quite similar. The main feature difference is that D90 can take video while the A550 lcd is tiltable.

 

[maxwell207]

if i alrdy hav 18-200 VR lens.. i ll definitely continue with Nikon ..

 

[tehzeh]

Sony A550- 14.2 megapixels
D90- 12.3 megapixels

Sony A550- 7fps
D90- 4.5fps

And a few more differences... and D90 has an extra screen on top of the camera...

 

[Titan10k]

Feature wise, A550 is better, but the D90 is slightly better built and has much better OVF. A550 is smaller and lighter. I'm not sure about the current price of D90, but i doubt it's around A550 level. Should be more expensive i think.

It all comes down to your 18-200 VR. If you bought it brand new, it surely loses quite a bit of value by now, i'd say stick to Nikon. The loss is not worth taking. Else if you bought it 2nd hand, you should be able to sell it back without much loss. If this is the case, there's no worry switching to Sony.

 

[weishengg]

personally, i liked the sony's "quick AF liveview"

for all the cheesiness of the name, its actually very very handy when i need other people to take photos for me (i.e. waiters to take group photos in restaurants, my gf takes photos for me during my graduation, parents take photos for me+gf etc...) it makes the dslr intuitive like a compact PnS, except for the additional weight.
the tiltable lcd screen is really handy for me too when taking photos of my pet cats.

so, just something for you to ponder about

 

[hoppie]

i would say stick to nikon, get a nikon D90, it's a good cam.

 

[ayatokamina]

i would recommend D90. I used to own a D90 and I'm very satisfied with it, did some assignment shots with it and I'm very satisfied. And when coupled with your 18-200 VR you won't have to buy the kit, just the body will do at around $1380.

 

[kaipium]

Thanks all for your views. Guess next is to get my hand on the D90 to feel it.

 

[boombox]

These two cameras are quite similar in performance. Got my hands on both cameras before, and they both feel good and confident in my hands.

As a alpha user, I would have normally would recomend the A550, but since you have a 18-200 VR, I'd recommend that you get the D90 body instead. Selling the lens would incur a loss - not too good I think.

 

[kaipium]

New question.

How do you feel using the lens viewer (is that what it is called?) instead of the Live view? I tried the A500 today and thought that the lcd screen is much closer to the cheek than normal dslr.

Any comments?

 

[boombox]

New question.

How do you feel using the lens viewer (is that what it is called?) instead of the Live view? I tried the A500 today and thought that the lcd screen is much closer to the cheek than normal dslr.

Any comments?

Hi...

It's called Optical View Finder.

the a500 has a (rather quite limited) articulating screen - the thickness of which brings it rather close to the cheek than normal DSLRs.