A700 replacement 2011 25MP...

[alphaomega]

Great pictures Walt. Good to see you back after an absence. Yes, the Sony A700 is still a great camera and I have been going through quite a number of Jpegs taken by my son with mostly Tamron's 18-250mm zoom. I think even the Jpegs greatly benefit from going through LR3. Keeping away from those at 250mm (375mm APS-C) they are remarkably sharp at 100%. Hard to believe.

[bfitzgerald]

I like it Walt..The

"Sony a700 pentaprism OVF DSLR" description is great as well good on ya

[WaltKnapp]

I like it Walt..The

"Sony a700 pentaprism OVF DSLR" description is great as well good on ya

Since there is clearly a lot of confusion on what's a DSLR I want to make sure people know exactly what I'm using. The DSLR label is so damaged now as not to define anything, particularly with beginners in Sony.

Walt

[WaltKnapp]

Great pictures Walt. Good to see you back after an absence. Yes, the Sony A700 is still a great camera and I have been going through quite a number of Jpegs taken by my son with mostly Tamron's 18-250mm zoom. I think even the Jpegs greatly benefit from going through LR3. Keeping away from those at 250mm (375mm APS-C) they are remarkably sharp at 100%. Hard to believe.

The Sony 18-250 is an excellent zoom too. It's still my one lens walkabout/travel solutions. I'm interested in the Tamron 18-270 when it's out in A mount.

Most of my jpegs are barely touched by PP. That Luna Moth is as shot, only resized, for instance.

I'm actually phasing down all my sony camera forums and won't be joining any new ones. The flaming and personal attacks will eventually drive me out if the poor ability for real discussion does not, though not before the saga of death of DSLR and OVF with sony plays out to it's end in the next year or so. I do have to plan where I'm going. And yes I do really like my current A mount system with the a700s. Really spoiled having several a700s so I can have multiple cameras with different lenses mounted all of which take exactly the same setting pattern. Hopefully they will keep going for many years, they need to now.

Been thinking I may continue in non brand specific nature/landscape forums. They are so much nicer. My wife was smarter than me and only participates in those with her extensive photography so I'm reading some already. And she from time to time grabs my photos to show folks there. When I manage to get something she does not, we often are out on photographic forays together.

Walt

[bakubo]

Been thinking I may continue in non brand specific nature/landscape forums. They are so much nicer.

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s I used to like http://www.photo.net but haven't spent much time there lately. Their forums are still very active, I think, though. Although they have some brand related forums they have lots of other forums focused on various types of photography, etc. I recommend you check them out.

I took a quick look at your photos. Great work!

[Lonnie Utah]

getdpi.com has a sony section and lots of other stuff. The traffic over there is sometimes a bit slow.

[WaltKnapp]

getdpi.com has a sony section and lots of other stuff. The traffic over there is sometimes a bit slow.

Maybe I did not make it clear, after reading lots of sony forums I've come to the conclusion that they are just about the worst camera forums to carry on real discussions of the Sony equipment. Far too many beginners telling us all what to do when often they have never done what they are talking about. And getting angry at us when we don't do as they order. So I'm cutting back on the Sony forums I'm now in and certainly see no reason to add new ones.

So I'm thinking in terms of going to subject specific forums. Like nature or landscape, or macro or such, some of which I'm already in. Won't get Sony equipment specific stuff but don't get much of that now anyway that's at the advanced level.

Walt

[Simmondsphotography]

As a long time member of GetDPI forum I can also confirm that it is a well run forum. Any personal attacks are quickly dealt with by the Administrators which usually result in a prompt reprimand or eviction from the forum. I find that the majority of members are pro or semi pro photographers who are always very willing as is David Kirkpatrick here, to assist new owners and even new beginners to DSLR photography.

[WaltKnapp]

As a long time member of GetDPI forum I can also confirm that it is a well run forum. Any personal attacks are quickly dealt with by the Administrators which usually result in a prompt reprimand or eviction from the forum. I find that the majority of members are pro or semi pro photographers who are always very willing as is David Kirkpatrick here, to assist new owners and even new beginners to DSLR photography.

Remember, that is only the first faltering step to good discussions in depth.

Walt

[mike2008]

As a long time member of GetDPI forum I can also confirm that it is a well run forum. Any personal attacks are quickly dealt with by the Administrators which usually result in a prompt reprimand or eviction from the forum. I find that the majority of members are pro or semi pro photographers who are always very willing as is David Kirkpatrick here, to assist new owners and even new beginners to DSLR photography.

Remember, that is only the first faltering step to good discussions in depth.

Walt

It appears that you're definition of a 'good discussion in depth' is to select a terrifically narrow area of photography and try to browbeat everyone into believing that the first priority for any dslr system is to work perfectly in that incredibly narrow application, whilst ranting, criticising and complaining about the world in general while you're at it.

Uh, no, thanks all the same. You can keep your 'good discussion in depth'.

[alphaomega]

mike2008, Walt Knapp is a very accomplished photographer in his field of work. He has a lot of money invested in Minolta/Sony equipment and like the rest of us he is simply pushing for Sony to enable him to continue his work without having to invest ten thousands of dollars in competitive equipment when his current Minolta/Sony setup expires through old age and wear. I sympathise with his view that some of the discussions on DPR leave a lot to be desired and I switched to here in the hope that the tone is a bit more "rarified". I have learned a lot from various contributors and Walt is one of these when he decides to make an appearance. A lot of photographers of note have areas where the specialise and reach a level of attainment. The necessary equipment is one of the foundations for reaching such levels. Read his contributions on the "Tiger" thread in the DSLR section.

[bfitzgerald]

I'd still suggest that if Walt is waiting for an APS-C A700 replacement with an OVF he is not going to be pleased and it is very unlikely to happen. The only way to extend the OVF "experience" at the moment appears to be moving to another maker. Of course you can still use the equipment you have as I do mine on A mount.

However even the die hard hold out I am the SLT news shattered what confidence I had left in Sony to deliver products that meet my needs. It's really either a case of continued torture or making a move which unfortunately means starting from scratch which is why it's quite a difficult decision. Regardless I think Walt is better off with another system.

Really once you get to use other makers cameras you wonder why you didn't move sooner

[mike2008]

I'd still suggest that if Walt is waiting for an APS-C A700 replacement with an OVF he is not going to be pleased and it is very unlikely to happen. The only way to extend the OVF "experience" at the moment appears to be moving to another maker. Of course you can still use the equipment you have as I do mine on A mount.

However even the die hard hold out I am the SLT news shattered what confidence I had left in Sony to deliver products that meet my needs. It's really either a case of continued torture or making a move which unfortunately means starting from scratch which is why it's quite a difficult decision. Regardless I think Walt is better off with another system.

Really once you get to use other makers cameras you wonder why you didn't move sooner

I completely agree with your analysis. Traditional users seeking OVF-based DSLR solutions will be very ill-served by sony for the forseeable future. Better to switch now and move on, leaving the sony alpha forums to users who are actually using and enjoying the new alpha gear rather than whingeing about sony and the new users.

[pakodominguez]

However even the die hard hold out I am the SLT news shattered what confidence I had left in Sony to deliver products that meet my needs. It's really either a case of continued torture or making a move

Can you please "make a move" and stop "torturing" us?

[bfitzgerald]

No

How my posts torture anybody is beyond any kind of comprehension anyway. Maybe you should find a place that only folks who agree with your POV post I'd recommend the Sony DSLR forum on DPR where anyone who does not love Sony is hounded and insulted to death