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Sony Body Price Sony appear to have priced their latest line of cameras very well into the market, the a700 is at a particularly attractive price considering its specification. It is a good comparison to the Nikon D300 in terms of specification and shows that a very clear business relationship exists between Nikon and Sony. Its now obviously more than just a case of Sony supplying chips to Nikon. Nikon are giving the new boy a helping hand in camera design - and that is a very good thing. Yes the D300 has a step up in build quality and a good few extras, far too many to mention but the Sony has the in camera SSSI chip which in my mind calls the two cameras 'equal'. In that case the Sony a700 price is exceptionally good, it beats the D300 in price. However to get into the chunk of market share that Sony wants, they really do quite badly need to check their lens prices. |
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Sony Lens Prices This is where it goes pear shaped, the prices shown below are all lifted from the same website, a well known UK (in the UK, not an import house) website. To be fair and open, I'm listing every single Sony prime and the one pro level zoom and its equivalent in Canon and Nikon. As a side note, Pentax have just announced a 200/2.8 and a 300/4 with their own version of SSM and these are at lower than used Minolta prices, so there will be some extra competition coming from Pentax (the only other player to do in-camera anti-shake). I won't embarrass Sony any further by also showing the Sigma prices. |
| Color Codes |
| highest price | middle price | lowest price | not represented |
| FishEye | 20mm f2.8 | 28mm f2.8 | ||
| £665 Sony 16/2.8 | £579 Sony 20/2.8 (not SSM) | £169 Sony 28/2.8 | ||
| £449 Canon 15/2.8 | £318 Canon 20/2.8 USM | £135 Canon 28/2.8 | ||
| £475 Nikon 16/2.8 | £350 Nikon 20/2.8 (not AFS) | £169 Nikon 28/2.8 | ||
| All old and reliable designs, the Sony has a new coating. | The Nikon is a purple fringing dog, the Canon is soft, the Sony is great! But this is nearly £600!! | None of these stand out as good lenses and are best left in the shop, if anything the Canon is the better glass. | ||
| 35mm f1.4 | 50mm f1.4 | 50/60 Macro | ||
| £997 Sony 35/1.4 (not SSM) | £279 Sony 50/1.4 (not SSM) | £409 Sony 50/2.8 | ||
| £927 Canon 35/1.4 USM | £223 Canon 50/1.4 USM | £245 Canon 60/2.8 | ||
| £xxx Nikon - no lens | £189 Nikon 50/1.4 (not AFS) | £259 Nikon 60/2.8 | ||
| About the same price, but the Canon gives you USM. Nikon are missing, but they had a manual focus version. | The Canon is the nicest of the lot, the USM and stunning focusing speed! | That Sony price is quite painful, the Nikon is just about to be replaced with a new N coated version, at about £370. | ||
| 85mm f1.2/f1.4 | 85mm f1.8 | 100mm f2 | ||
| £997 Sony 85/1.4 (not SSM) | £xxx Sony - no lens | £xxx Sony - no lens | ||
| £1258 Canon 85/1.2 USM II | £259 Canon 85/1.8 USM | £299 Canon 100/2 USM | ||
| £749 Nikon 85/1.4 (not AFS) | £249 Nikon 85/1.8 (not AFS) | £xxx Nikon - no lens (DC only) | ||
| Okay, anyone who has one of these loves it, the Canon is an f1.2. | Pretty well the same price in CAF/NAF here, Sony are missing an entry. CAF is USM. | Only Canon holding this alternative to the 85 or 135 spot. Yes Nikon do a DC, Sony nothing. | ||
| 100/105 Macro | 135 fast | 135 STF/DC | ||
| £599 Sony 100/2.8 (not SSM) | £1045 Sony 135/1.8 (not SSM) | £1039 Sony 135/2.8 STF (f4.5) mf | ||
| £349 Canon 100/2.8 USM | £672 Canon 135/2 USM | £xxx Canon - no lens | ||
| £498 Nikon 100/2.8 VR AFS | £849 Nikon 135/2 DC (not AFS) | £849 Nikon 135/2 DC (f2) af | ||
| So Nikon can get AFS and VR in under the non SSM Sony price. All are cracking lenses. Wide price range. | That is a chunk of cash to outlay for the Sony. Canon hold an amazing lens here for the price, Nikon offer DC. | Four figures for a Sony manual focus STF that is giving f4.5 in terms of light. Nikon is auto focus and f2.0! | ||
| 300mm f2.8 | 1.4x | 2x | ||
| £4275 Sony 300/2.8 SSM | £365 Sony 1.4x | £409 Sony 2x | ||
| £2925 Canon 300/2.8 IS USM | £219 Canon 1.4x | £209 Canon 2x | ||
| £2789 Nikon 300/2.8 VR AFS | £289 Nikon 1.4x | £279 Nikon 2x | ||
| What the FUCK?! | Sony price tag stands out. | Sony price tag stands out. | ||
| 16/17-35mm f2.8 Pro | 24-70mm f2.8 Pro | 70-200mm f2.8 | ||
| £xxx Sony - no lens | £xxx Sony - no lens | £1759 Sony 70-200/2.8 SSM | ||
| £1069 Canon 16-35/2.8 USM | £829 Canon 24-70/2.8 USM | £1247 Canon 70-200/2.8 IS USM | ||
| £1099 Nikon 17-35/2.8 AFS | £1149 Nikon 24-70/2.8 AFS | £1148 Nikon 70-200/2.8 VR AFS | ||
| Fair competitors and nothing from Sony. | The Nikon is brand new with a new coating, price is steep compared to Canon. Sony is not yet availble. | Here Nikon re-dress the 24-70 differential a little bit. Sony must be thinking that SSM is unusual? | ||
| If you have a warm and fluffy feeling for your Minolta or Sony lenses, the I suggest you do not read page 2 |