[futurism]

im travelling more and more lately, off to tokyo in a couple of weeks, and I like to carry a small camera with me wherever I go. I dont even bother to take my dslr with me on trips as carrying it is a pain

however the canon s90 seems pretty awesome
f/2.0 lense
image stabilisation
huge iso with decent noise reduction
shoots in raw
and fits in your pocket

might have to get one, can be had for $400 if you are cool with grey imports

[dkabab]

S90 is an awesome camera. Another similar contender is the panasonic Lumix lx3.
Both with f2.0 lenses etc....

[mondi]

S90 is an awesome camera. Another similar contender is the panasonic Lumix lx3.
Both with f2.0 lenses etc....

You got any S90's that have fallen off the back of a truck????   

[dkabab]

Nope. Not sure if it's discontinued or not, but we havnt had one in stock for 3-4 months. They were $699 rrp. 

[cel]

Dave, thanks for your help

I was looking into the A850, which is being sold on BH for US$2,000. Not sure why, but I really enjoy the Sony.

My lenses (the 18-70 and 75-300) both are the lenses that came with the camera when I bought it over 3 years ago and I'm planning on upgrading those as well at some point (sigh.... money) so it wouldn't be too big an issue if I wouldn't be able to use them on the new cam (I'd still have my 'old' one anways).

What are the drawbacks of a full frame camera? Are all lenses for it very very pricey?

What's the A550 like compared to my camera now, is it a great upgrade, could I get a lot more out of it before that one needs upgrading?

[dkabab]

Full frame is great, but yeah you will need lenses that suit. There are 2 types of 70-300 Sony make, the G version will suit the full frame. Since Sony lenses are pretty hard to come by, and quite pricey. If you're going to replace lenses aswell, then I would strongly pursuade you to change to canon or nikon. There's no point being different for the sake of it. Choice of lenses is a big issue if you want to jump in deeper.
Another thing with full frame is for example, 50mm is 50mm. On a crop body it's closer to 75mm. Whether that effects you Is entirely up to what you shoot.
Now, as for the pros, full frame is amazing for low light, my d700 continues to amaze me as to how high ISO I can shoot and not be effected by noise.... 6400+
you can't do that with a crop body, as far as I have experienced.

[Doctor]

Dave's on the money there, whether to go full frame or crop also comes down to what you shoot. I wont be buying a FF camera anytime soon as I shoot mostly motorsport, so a 400mm lens on my 7d becomes a 640mm lens in reality when the crop factor is taken into account. This is handy as it give you that bit longer focal length that is sometimes required.

Gotta agree with Dave with the dont be different for the sake of it thing, good glass from either Canon or Nikon is a fair whack cheaper than the Sony stuff, plus you get the benefit of being able to use other peoples gear with the same make. Its really handy at times shooting with a bunch of Canon users for me, as we can swap lenses and stuff without a worry, shooting with Dave on the other hand is useless, I can steal anything of his!

[cel]

Really appreciate your feedback Dave.

As I have been using the Sony for quite a while, I'd like to stick to it (not a case of being different for the sake of it, but I just really love and enjoy my camera and would preferably like to continue with it).

That's why I'm looking into all my options for it and see what the best move is to upgrade. Your feedback is giving me some ideas of what I can and cannot do and I'm glad I've got quite some time to look into it a lot more

Would the A550 be considered a proper step up from my camera?

[Doctor]

not a case of being different for the sake of it, but I just really love and enjoy my camera and would preferably like to continue with it

Thats one of the most important things, you have to enjoy using it, no point having a camera that gathers dust cos you cant stand using it

[dkabab]

I honestly don't spend too much time playing with or selling sonys. You have an a100 right? The a550 will definatley be an upgrade, but not a giant leap forward. I havnt looked intothe a850 yet, on the iPhone atm.
I'll do some research into it for you, see if it's worth it.

Don't change brands just because I said so, but do consider it.