Specifically for the discussion of the A-mount DSLR range
Forum rules
No more than three images or three external links allowed in any post or reply. Please trim quotations and do not include images in quotes unless essential.
bfitzgerald wrote:I think the point regarding pop photo is like many publications (printed or on-line) you have to take it as a bit of fun and not that seriously. I certainly would not suggest anyone made a buying choice reading a pop photo review and that applies to other mags as well really very few good review ones out there.
Pop Photo's Lens reviews are quite good IMHO. Camera reviews... well, most reviewers don't review cameras/lenses than they don't like.
General perception is that positive reviews have, most of the times, an add budget behind. And negative reviewers have, most of the times, an agenda.
I personally don't care that much about reviews but people do take it seriously when they are shopping for a new camera. I think someone that want to be a "educated buyer" will give more credit to a reputable magazine/webzine like Pop Photo or DPR, rater than what people says on forums.
"Carl just flat out missed the boat on this one. He is now slowly winding back to the Sony camp via the A580 which is also a superior camera in many ways. He knows he goofed up on the no A33 recommendation for anyone but was just not happy with Sony at the time and let that get in the way of his review. Oh well he is not the first person to go down that road and won't be the last."
Do me a favor, I'm asking politely. Don't speak for me or interpret anything yourself about what I'm thinking. I think that's a bad habit in any situation.
I still think the same way about the A33, I thought long and hard about it and I still won't recommend it. I stick by what I said and have no regrets saying anything I've said in the review. I made good points and critical points too.
Why is it so hard to believe that I meant what I said, it's just an opinion like any review is? One person's opinion.
I stand by my opinion, and will continue to stand by my opinion.
Just because I'm smitten with the A580 doesn't mean I'm back in a camp or reversing my position or anything like that at all. I simply think its a better camera, and heck yeah I'm going to recommend it.
tom power 53 wrote:Only the "technicians" don't love this camera. Multiple big positives versus a few minor negatives for the average user.
I'm not interested on the SLT cameras because a) I need a OVF for work and only A7xx or A900/A850 fulfill that need, or b) I want a really small high IQ camera that I can have with me all the time, and the NEX fulfill that need.
But I think the SLT is a smart solution and if I were ready for upgrade my Dimage A2 or Sony R717-like camera. And I think it is a smart choice for travel photography (still and motion)
tom power 53 wrote:
What is the saying "can't please all the people all the time". Applies perfectly to the A55. Perfect example of this is the AlphaMountWorld site which could not recommend the A33 to any buyer. Ha Ha - talk about not being able to see the forest because of the trees.
Carl's website? well, I think he realize long time ago that he will never have the free camera. He also realized too late that Sony (Minolta either, BTW) doesn't really listen to the "outsiders" and he took it personally... Whatever.
Pako,
Just to clear up your apparent confusion. I don't need free cameras and never wanted any, too easy to be influenced that way. And Sony does listen to feedback. When you review cameras and deal with these companies on a one on one basis, perhaps then you'll realize that.
Carl you are quite impressive in your inability to back down.
We now have DPR with their gold award for the the SLT and Pop photography with their naming the A55 the camera of the year and you still are saying the A33 should not be recommended to any buyer.
We of course don't have room here to list all the other positive reviews.
Maybe you should stick to your own website? Grow some thicker skin? Re review the A33 after some more thought? Maybe it might be a good camera for a few people? No I guess not.
tom power 53 wrote:Carl you are quite impressive in your inability to back down.
Maybe you should stick to your own website? Grow some thicker skin?
Why do we even care what Carl recommends? He has no authority or influence. Let him recommend whatever he wants. It makes no difference. A55 has been recommended by almost every review. DPR gold, Dave's pick, Popphoto camera of the year, invention of the year by the Times magazine, the New York Times, Klaus on photozone, etc etc. Why should we even care what Carl and Barry recommend? They didn't recommend Nex either, but that made no difference to Nex popularity.
Some folks seem to be missing the point of a review..it has to have a personal opinion and you take from that what you want.
I can't give an in depth review of the A55 I only grabbed on briefly and it didn't do a lot for me being honest. I would recommend users who want video with AF and a high FPS to take a look at as it might well meet their needs better than other cameras. But I don't think it's going to appeal to more traditional shooters.
Ditto on the NEX does absolutely nothing for me at all, but that does not mean I would tell folks to ignore it have a look and see what you think.
On the A580 not tried that so I'm basing my views purely on some stuff that I wanted that isn't there. I think it's a decent improvement on the A550 as they put some stuff back, but not enough IMO for someone like me (and yes to me those points are important). Just because the A55 got a DPR gold and other positive reviews does not mean it's the best choice for everyone.
There is a difference between the phrase 'This camera is not good for me' and the phrase 'This camera is not good for anyone'.
The first is a clearly personal subjective opinion, which cannot be debated. The second is telling other people what is good for them, and is inevitably wrong, as evidenced by all the happy A33 and A55 users.
Carl made a major mistake in the construction of the review, when he passed from dealing with his own views to recommending others to reject the A33. This was a petty act driven by who knows what in his relationship with sony. He certainly appears to be more than a little emotional about the whole thing, when it should be anything but.
I'd rather a more picky and critical review than a "Gold Award" DPR let's be nice to it review. Some glaring points missed as well I don't see a con for overheating in DPR's review. They pulled their punches on that one. Namby pamby review sites and mag reviews are ten a penny nowadays it's about time some of them actually threw a few punches now and then.
Sure in the greater scheme of things DRP are not too bad but only if you read "what digital camera" which is utterly devoid of any serious critique at all, it's embarrassing to pretend to be a review site and not do reviews!
So barry you've become an avid DSLR/DSLT video fan now? Overheating only happens with video shooting, so if you only do stills (as you say you do) there is no problem whatsoever: indeed all the other video dslrs overheat too. Search good for canon 7D overheating and see what you find...
So, you don't like reviews unless they agree with your prejudices, in which case they suddenly become impeccable examples of rigorous, objective, expert technical journalism. All is clear to me now.
I don't have prejudices I simply feel review sites (most of them) are not critical enough in general.
What is clear to me is that you'll argue for crippling products and state issues are "non issues" in forum posts even when the user actually makes a valid point.
Let's put things in context if I were doing an A580 review (and I'm not!) I would mention that things were put back (but let's be blunt put back is not the same as added!) I would also mark it down for other areas that were not looked at..silly stuff like ISO not in the VF, AEL spot toggle, DMF and lack of customisation, jpeg NR lack of control, P shift etc etc. It would likely still get a fairly positive review, but you can't avoid talking about those points.
That doesn't mean the camera sucks, the trick is to balance the pros and cons and try to make a review that can convey points and not put them out of context either the good or bad ones. I'm sure readers are smart enough to be able to see if xyz good and bad is going to influence their purchase choice. As overheating is an issue and widely reported it needs to be mentioned, not doing so robs the reader of valuable information.
Mike you need to understand the word before you use it. From Wikepedia: A prejudice is a prejudgement, an assumption made about someone or something before having adequate knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy
The points raised about xyz features are "pure facts" they are not open to any kind of debate it is black and white. Any reviewer has an obligation to point out areas like this..unless you can prove the A550 has MLU, and DOF preview etc etc (which they do not) I feel the use of the word Prejudiced is entirely inappropriate. I'd suggest investing in a dictionary before posting on forums.
But of course you'll continue to spam forums with your dismissal of any valid point. Up to you but you're not kidding anyone around here.
tom power 53 wrote:Carl you are quite impressive in your inability to back down.
We now have DPR with their gold award for the the SLT and Pop photography with their naming the A55 the camera of the year and you still are saying the A33 should not be recommended to any buyer.
We of course don't have room here to list all the other positive reviews.
Maybe you should stick to your own website? Grow some thicker skin? Re review the A33 after some more thought? Maybe it might be a good camera for a few people? No I guess not.
There's nothing really impressive about sticking to my honest opinion Tom, unless of course that concept is too difficult to understand. Of course then I'd understand why you'd think that.
I guess you can go on taking my conclusion out of context, but this is what I said for others who haven't read it:
"As is, I have a hard time recommending either camera until Sony work out just a few of the design restrictions with the menu system/features, and improve the Jpeg quality to the level it should be at in the first place. When/if Sony do that, then I think I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a future SLT design."
Doesn't sound all that doomsday to me at all. You and Mike and a couple others however really do try to make things sound much worse than they are.
Well Barry you do make a few good points about the A580. The problem is if it includes to many features then what can differentiate it from the advanced amateur A7X A7XX we hope to see at some point soon? This is a business Sony is running so they do need to maximise their profits and differentiate their product line.
As far as the AMW review of the SLT - a goof when saying the camera is not recommendable to anyone - and a goof of major proportions as the camera is certainly very good for many people. Best if the site owner owned up to this fact not continually putting out this opinion that the camera is unacceptable to anyone. A review is supposed to be factual for all readers when you recommend your findings to all of them - not the reviewers narrow slice of needs. If he wanted to say that for people with certain needs this camera is not an acceptable option that would be fine and correct - but he stated this as for all buyers.
Bad screw up as the camera is truly great for many people - not everyone certainly - but many people. Now he goes from site to site defending this review which will not help his position just bring attention to it. I am sure he is a good guy but has lost his perspective on the SLT cameras it seems.
