We buy cams to take pictures - not to look at how nice the cam is. I dunno... maybe they buy their cams and then put it into a glass case and display it in their living room?

As long as it can take nice pic and you find it easy to use, then that's all that really matters.

Ahh.... So my predictions seem to be right so far...

The A500 is indeed the A100's true successor. Just a tad under the specs of the A700 and will compete at the price point for the D90 range.

I forsee that the true A700 replacement (and hopefully will be Sony's APS-C flagship) will come next year and will probably have more kick-ass features. Expect to pay around RM5k for this monster.

A850 - budget FF to cater for those who wanna go FF on a shoestring (hey! it rhymes!). The A900 will remain as FF flagship until a replacement comes (end of next year, maybe).

Why compare? The two are both cameras that can be used to get great pics. Just select the one that you feel most comfortable with and then go out there and take pics.

Although a great cam can make your life a bit easier, it's more the person behind the cam when it comes to getting great pics. The camera is just a tool. You don't ask a great painter what kind of brush he uses when you see one of his works, do you?

Both the models you mentioned are entry level models. So what is there to compare? It's like comparing Toyota Vios with Honda City. Which is better? Hard to say. Depends on the driver also lor....

It's not like you're comparing A330 with 5D mkII or 1D mkIII. Then it's like comparing Proton Saga to Mercedes ler...

I agree with neo_lam. If driver is so bad, drive Mercedes also will crash ler...

Moo : Get well soon, ok? Don't worry about Saturday.

Neither! I'm still happy with my A100 despite what people say about it. And yes, it's kinda old compared to the recent models but hey it still packs a punch!

If I were to buy a new cam it would be the upcoming A850 FF ler! But no budget at the moment.

Ya! That's what I'm hoping too and hoping that it can go lower still after a couple of months...

Braynumb : RM1.5k can buy one new lens ler.... besides the A850 is not that much different than the A900 mah...

The A100 has a lot more buffer than the A200/A300. It scrolls through pics at a blinding speed when you review them on cam. Try it on the A200 and you will notice the lag.

The A700 should be the same as the A100 I suspect so a 133x Kingston card should be fine.

You can use the 'Sunny F16' rule. I.e. on bright sunny days outdoors, set your aperture to F16 and your shutter speed to whatever ISO setting you are using e.g.

F16 and using ISO 100 thus your shutter speed should be 1/100

If using F8 then your shutter speed should increase accordingly. F8, ISO100 so shutter speed should be 1/200

In the above photo, the ISO is 200 and aperture is F9 and shutter speed is 1/320 thus can be said as using the Sunny F16 rule lor...

OR

You can try to learn and master the Ansel Adams' zone system and lock your exposure on a spot that you identify as the optimum mid range exposure level and let the camera take care of the highlights and shadows.


DISCLAIMER:
The above is based on my understanding of the F16 rule and the zone system and may or may not be correct and accurate. If I am mistaken, then by all means please correct me on it.