It's Digital Camera Time!!!

I think it's time to take the Digital SLR plunge. Now to decide. Here's the three top runners (Although I'll admit the Canon is way in third). I am soliciting any advice. I haven't dug a lot into pricing yet, other than to know that this is going to set us back about $1000.

Hmmmmm


My front runner is the Sony Alpha 100. Why? The CCD arrays in the Nikon are made by Sony. (i.e. Sony knows the sensing technology). They bought the camera biz from Minolta/Konica. I have a Minolta Maxxum film SLR and it LOOKS like the two lenses I have will work with the digital. I have to totally verify that. If it's true, I may need to go no further. It got great reviews in one photo mag I read. It ranked high for low-light conditions. Plus I read one review that said the flash was AWESOME. (Plus I have a flash unit that would likely fit for even more flah power)
Cons: Not as user friendly. No "sports" mode as an auto mode. My main concern? It's Sony's first digital SLR camera. This is actually a big concern. My years as an engineer have taught me to be wary of initial releases. So I'm really torn about this if I truly can re-use my existing lenses.






The close second? The Nikon D80 It seems to get consistantly high ranks and a co-worker whose photography I respect is highly recommending this one to me. He thinks Nikon lenses are the best, albeit a bit heavy. It's about $100 more than the other two, but "well worth it", I've read. It seems to consistantly get top reviews anywhere rankings are made. Again, great in low light conditions.

Con? The price. Especially if I really can re-use my current lenses on the Sony.


A distant third? The Canon Digitial Rebel XTi. I think I need to take a good look at it since it is so ubiquitous. So many people can't be wrong (can they? :-)). But it seems to rank higher in user-friendlyness than for things like picture quality. (Maybe that's why so many people own one) No great raves on the optics like for Nikon and Sony/Minolta/Konica. I'd be surprised if I end up with this one (because I hate to run with the "in crowd"), but want to make sure to give it a look.




My list of things I still need to look at:

CCD Hardware (This is like the film)
Software that the camera uses to convert the CCD to files..what sort of stuff is it doing?
File outputs. Including what can be done to alter the raw files.
Lenses (Self explanatory)
Batteries (Life, Price, Availability)
Memory choices

Now that I've decided to go for it, I'd bet that I'll have one ordered or (hopefully)in my paws before my birthday (a mere 8 days away). Once I decide, I'll take my best online price to National Camera Exchange and see if they'll match it. I suspect they will.

Wish me luck