hey there. I´m about to buy my first DSLR within the upcoming few weeks and I cannot decide between the Sony Alpha 300, Canon EOS 450D and the Nikon D80.

I used to prefer the 450D at first, due to its look and price, but after I red some reviews I recognized that it lacks an integrated image stabilization ( anti shake ).
I wanted to ask how important that anti shake is, especially considering the fact that I will shoot freehand most of the times I guess. what do you think, and which cam would you advice me to buy?

Yeah VR is fairly useful... saves you a few stops on shutter speed if you really need it.

For example, I can shoot fairly well at 1/100th (as long as the subject isn't moving also) with VR.. where as I'd probably not shoot at anything lower than 1/160th without it.
It shouldn't be the sole deciding attribute for your camera selection, but it is nice to have.

Oh, and I'd probably say that the D5000 would be a pretty good choice if you're in that price range.

It really depends on what you plan on using it for. Bright outside shots don't really require it. If you plan on shooting *inside without a tripod you should probably consider it. *(Note, any low light situation)

I can't really say anything about any of it except the Sony A300, that's what I use and so far it's been great. There is VR on the camera body itself unlike some other cameras which only have it in certain lenses, so you could use a 30 year old Minolta MD lens and still have the VR working for you.

The Sony A300 can also use any Sony lens, many Carl Zeiss lenses, Sigma lenses, Minolta AF lenses and Minolta MD/MC lenses with an adapter. There are a few more then that, but those are the ones I know of off the top of my head.

I use a a200 and it's amazing.

plus, nikon uses sony's image stabilizer.

Sony all the way.

thanks guys. I tend to buy the sony alpha 300 at the moment. will get some more info soon when I go in a store. hopefully those guys know what they´re talking about..........

more opinions are appreciated

oh and another question:

would you guys recommend buying the cam on the internet via eebay or something similar, or shall I buy it in a store? I´m afraid if I buy it on the internet I could get problems with guarantees and stuff.

This post was edited by RoOkieTeRra on Aug 19 2009 10:21am

It's nice, but not a deal breaker, there are plenty of other ways to stabilise the camera, ie resting it against walls, rocks, railings, whatever.

Really, the only two things you should be looking at are sensor quality and lenses, they're the only two important things, and out of those, lenses are the most important.

WarCow says he can't shoot below 1/100, even with VR, which seems odd, because I frequently shoot at 1/60 and get no visible shake, this is with a 20 year old camera, when there was no such thing as VR technology, barring a tripod. Even 1/30th occasionally works.


Are there any particular images you'll want to be taking? If you intend to shoot lots at night, it might well prove important to you, as would working in low light conditions when you don't want noise in your shots. In situations like that, VR is great, but still, not neccesary.

well I did not chose a particular type of images I will be wanting to shoot. I wanna try alot of portrait photography and land- / city scapes. I wanna try out almost everything basically, in order to see what I like the most.

E: I could also just train my hands so they´re not shaking at all if I shoot freehand

This post was edited by RoOkieTeRra on Aug 19 2009 10:26am

There should be plenty of available light in scenarios like that, especially with portraits, as you tend to shoot those at low f stops, so for the things you've mentioned, it really isn't important.