“The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing”
--Jean Baptiste Colbert

But folks in the USA are also meant to declare & pay those "use" taxes in their annual return just that very few do ...


it also depends upon the position from which you see it - if you are unemployed & in need of health care then you would much prefer that people that are healthy & in work pay taxes to support you whereas if you are healthy & in work & not of charitable disposition you would probably want to keep as much as possible for yourself.
As you say, which is "better" overall?

Wandering back on topic. I'd be curious to know what Dusty is considering in the Nikon range.

That's a question I've yet to look seriously at. I have to look at my total investment in lenses and flash and determine what it would take to get me there in Nikon, versus just stocking up on Alpha and riding it out for a few more years.

Either way it's a big outlay, but I may be better off just getting a 580 or 900 and sticking w/ Alpha a few more years, and grinding every dollar I can out of the system.

Selling it off and switching now means I lose a lot of value, as used sales never gets you close to where the cost of new is.

I really don't want to be dual systems, and build up a Nikon system over the years. Maybe in a year when we settle my Dad's estates there may be enough left to just make the switch in one fell swoop. But a couple of primes, some good Nikon and Tamron/Sigma glass plus flashes may be too much to put out all at once.

Dusty

Well if you want to "switch" then you can take the slower route that I have my strategy is:

1: Buy no more A mount equipment
2: Gradually sell off less used lenses etc
3: Drop down to one flash unit (I sold my other 2)
4: Sell off unused film bodies (you don't get much but it clears space)

That's worked quite well for me though I have some more stuff to offload (bit by bit) I still use the 5d's but I will not replace them should they die. And they act as a back up to the Nikon. In some ways I don't even have to dump "everything", you just take your time easy to do with lenses though some of mine are worth not that much (not sure why the s/h market seems poor right now for some of the classic oldies) Eventually I might just offload the remaining stuff at "yes please" prices until then it's a slower process for me. (exotic stuff will sell though no problems ala in demand lenses)

I speak only for myself but I would absolutely not buy an A900 or put any more cash into A mount. You would be far better served picking up a body (say D7000 or something) and start building up on the basics. You won't even miss A mount I don't second glance anything any-more they just don't make what I want. I too felt that maybe I should get an A580 or even a s/h A700 and stick it out. I am glad I decided not to do that I'm very happy with what Nikon offer in both bodies and lenses.

I truth I wasted years in angst and minor self torture hoping and wishing Sony would make a camera that I wanted, they never did so ultimately I wasted my time. Don't make the same mistake I did. I would say the same to Walt if he were here..time to move on for OVF folks. That time came and went with SLT

Dusty and Barry, why don't you try for a bit of time the EVF.
I am sure all camera manufacturers sooner or later will go EVF.
Then what? you will regret you sold some really good lenses.
I can say I got used to the EVF.

I had the A55, now the A65.

After using the EVF for over a year and finding it so useful, I find looking through an OVF to be very primitive thing. It's already like a throw-back in time. Looking through a friend's A900 or another friend's D7000, I feel like I'm missing something. Couldn't go back.

Nex 7 will be coming once it's in stock
Ed

I'm open to doing a review on the A77 I've had a few on AMW I wrote and they took some time too.
So if Sony send me a loaner unit I'll seriously look at it and attempt an impartial review. And that's a serious offer too
(I suspect I'll be waiting though!)

As for "buying it" and trying it well at this moment my funds are better served elsewhere.

Doc,

Take your A77 and set up in a tree stand at twilight with a long zoom. Look for your quarry and track it to within range and and a good open spot to shoot. Put your rifle scope up to your eye and take the shot.

What's that? EVF caused night blindness and that 16 point buck got away?

Now you see my aversion to EVF. I won't let anyone have anything brighter than an LCD watch up in the stand with me. It takes only a bit of extraneous light to kill your night vision. It's even worse when you're hunting coyotes, since it's even darker when they come out.

Dusty

I would think nice binoculars with large exit pupil would be a much better tool for tracking game at twilight and handily beat any OVF.

And wouldn't the sound of the mirror-flipping shutter be enough to send a buck into the next county?

You can carry one less piece of equipment by letting the camera double as a spotting scope, since your going to use it afterwards to take shots of your trophy!

Dusty

OK then, lets carry this to the next logical step. Couldn't you leave the long zoom at home, replace it with binoculars and use a short zoom or prime for trophy shots.

And further, since equipment load is an issue, if we're just talking trophy shots, wouldn't a decent compact digicam be sufficient?

Ed

A good set of binoculars are expensive, and since I already own a long tele, I use it. I also don't have a cheap digi-cam and the reason I would want my DSLR is picture quality. So, yes, I'm sure I could do it another way, but at more expense, and I'm dollar limited.

So, for me to go with a technology that has lots of limits I don't like to stay with a system I do like means I have to make a choice. I will eventually abandon the Alpha system - or, to paraphrase Ronald Reagan "I didn't leave the Alpha system, they left me!"

Nikon has what I want, albeit at higher prices and w/o IBIS. Pentax looked good, but Barry's problems with them and my lack of faith in their long term sustainability means I'll avoid them. I never much liked Canon, except for their printers.

If Sony would commit to keeping the OVF alive, I'd commit to staying with the Alpha system. However they seem to have made it clear they don't want us, they want P&S upgraders who are more interested in every wiz-bang gizmo mode on their camera than the guy who just wants a straight forward, reliable quality product.

Dusty

Just an idea Dusty but if you hate EVF's as much as I do, you should not waste any more time on A Mount. Grab a Nikon have a play see how you feel. I'm getting along well with them. Sony are not interested in OVF users so move to a company that is.

I only looked at Pentax for IBIS mostly and bang per buck bodies. K-5 is nice but I have no faith in Pentax (I never even got a reply to my letters from Pentax)
My motto now is if you are not happy walk away. I've moved mount twice in 18 months..now I'm happy

Barry Fitzgerald may be more right than he thinks by stating this
Just paid a visit to SAR and found this rumour if you can call it that in view of Paul Genge's unequivocal statements on SLT being the future even on FF.
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/genge-we ... more-dslr/

So the time would appear to have arrived for those addicted to OVF to consider their long term camera ownership position.
My personal situation is crystal clear now. I will purchase the NEX-7 when prices drop a bit and focus on E-mount W/A and standard zooms when products appear that can outperform my 16mm pancake, W/A adapter and 18-55mm zoom. The decision to go with NEX-7 (as a final camera purchase) has been further cemented on finding out that Lightroom 4 and CS6 will not work on WinXP SP3. I have no intention of upgrading my PC used for image preparation and storage to Vista or 7. Fortunately NEX-7 is now covered by LR3.6.