After spending endless time reviewing articles and talking with several camera and photography professionals, I took the plunge, and finally moved up from a point and shoot super zoom (a small Nikon), with the generous aid of my lovely wife as a birthday present. It has been truly a revelation, in terms of both video and photo quality. Like everything else, it's all about tradeoffs. The larger APS-C sensor (in most digital SLRS and larger format ILC like the Sony NEX series) means a bigger body, more weight, larger lenses, and of course more money for all that glass, but also means much better low light performance, higher detail, and faster performance. The difference in low light is really huge, where a point and shoot struggles to produce a decent 4x6 print, while an APS-C camera can produce a decent 8x10 at ISO 1600. I initially struggled with the question of what lens to get with the camera - the standard kit lens and a modest telephone (75-200) or a superzoom lens like the... Read more

The camera and the SAL18250 lens are excellent. Pictures come out beautiful. The zoom range of the lens is excellent. However, due to its small camera body and the weight of the lens it is difficult to hold the camera using right hand only. The center of gravity tries to tilt the camera forward (especially with the lens extended out) and the grip area is smaller than the old Sony A200. But it is OK to hold it with both hand. Overall it is a good camera lens combination for an all around camera.

I've had a Canon EOS 450 for several years and wanted to upgrade. What I wanted was a camera with HD video (EOS 450 doesn't even have video feature), at least 16 mp resolution, fast burst, swirl screen, and good photo quality for sure. First of cause I was still looking at Canon lines of DSLR cameras, such as EOS 60D. Although I am an avid user of all sorts of digital cameras (I have about 6 or 7 point-and-shoot or SLR DCs), I don't really like going out with a heavy and bulky camera bag so actually my most used cameras are long room all-in-one cameras, which are my Sony DSC-HX5V and Canon PS S3. I am not willing to go all the way to Canon EOS 7D or 5D Mark since I don't think I need those professional level machines and those are heavy.

I've used Canon for long time and mostly they are of good photo quality, but with a SLR camera, lenses are more important, and Canon's low end kit lenses (the ones I have with my EOS 450) are not that great, photos with these lenses are... Read more