It's official - the Sony a57 is on its way

The deal is done...

I am now the proud owner of a Sony a57 SLT (single lens translucent) digital camera.

I sent my Olympus gear over to Christchurch this weekend past (thanks Levi for taking it for me), to be assessed for trade-in. Initially I was excited by a Fuji X-T20 body (see previous post here), but quickly realised I would get much more bang-for-my-buck if I went the Sony route (and I'm all for bang-for-my-buck!). You can read more about that here.

Late last evening (as I write this) I was contacted by the camera store owner who gave me a very good price for my Olympus gear (thanks Greg), and who also said the Fuji X-T20 was still waiting there for me! In the interim, I had been discussing other options with another member of his staff (hi Adam), and had come to the conclusion that the a57 was the one for me. This conversation obviously hadn't been passed on to the boss - who had even refused a sale for the X-T20 because he believed I wanted it. A quick email later, and I had outlined to Greg what I actually wanted as a trade-in for my micro four thirds gear. But how was I going to make it all happen?

My son is currently studying at the University of Canterbury (starting his second year in Computer Engineering), and Levi (who had picked up my camera gear in Greymouth) is one of his flatmates. So now Josh had my camera gear, and took it in today (as I write) to do the deal. I had outlined to him exactly what I had told Greg in my email of the previous evening, and had already received a reply from the store indicating that all would be ready when Josh got there. The stars were aligning.

Early this afternoon, I got a text from Josh saying he had the gear, and then about 10 minutes later I received an email from Greg at the store indicating the same. He also said that he had thrown in a spare battery (thanks Greg), and that I even had money left over that they would be happy to put into my bank account if I supplied them with a number. Which I immediately did. Wow! All this and money left over! How cool is that!?

So what am I actually getting, you may ask? What did I manage to score for my trade-in?

Well of course for a start there's the Sony SLT a57 body, with charger and batteries (x2). But it also came as a kit, together with the Sony DT 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 super-zoom lens (see above). This will be an absolutely perfect walk-around lens that will probably be on the camera 80% of the time. At least whenever I'm capturing 'daily' life. Yes, I know that the f/3.5-6.3 variable aperture is fairly slow. But it was on my Olympus 12-50mm kit lens as well, and I loved that lens for its versatility. And optically it wasn't bad either.

The Sony DT 18-250mm (SAL18250) is an incredibly versatile lens - ranging as it does from 27-375mm in focal length (35mm full-frame equivalent). I will, of course, test it out once it is my hot little hands. It may not be a 'stellar' performer, but it also might not be that bad? I've tested the Canon 18-55mm kit lens before against an 'L' lens, and the 18-55 held its own admirably. So we shall see.

Add to this the Sony 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 - another 'kit' lens that was cheap, but fills a niche that I like to have filled in my bag. I've written a few times before that I'm not a big telephoto shooter, but when I need it, I need it (if you get what I mean). I already know that this lens will be 'soft' wide open at 300mm. So guess what. I won't shoot it wide open at 300m 😆

With a 112-450mm focal length (in 35mm terms), as with the 18-250mm, it has a pretty impressive range. I'm sure that the 75-300mm will perform better than the 18-250 at the 200-250mm end (although that remains to be seen), so I've got it for two reasons. First because it was cheap 😂 And Second, because it will be the lens that I reach for when I want/need that extreme 450mm focal length (birds,sports,wildlife etc). I could be wrong, but I'm betting that the Sony 75-300mm will be 'good enough' for what I need it to do? Again, testing will be done.

Finally, it will all come in a Tenba 10L Solstice Sling backpack - in black. The Solstice is also second hand, but from what I can tell from the listing on their site, the only thing wrong is that it's missing its rain cover. Which I never use. So no big deal...

I wanted a sling-style backpack for the Sony gear, especially if I decide to carry most (or all) of it with me on a trip. The sling style backpacks are hugely versatile - offering the carrying convenience of a backpack, with the ease and accessibility of a messenger bag. When you get to somewhere you want to take a photo, simply 'sling' the bag around to the front for easy access to your camera. Ingenious! I used to have a Lowepro Sling backpack and loved it. So I'm looking forward to using the Tenba.

So there you have it. A camera, two lenses, and a backpack - plus change... Not a bad trade-in deal if you ask me.

The final stroke of luck... Macey's parents (my son Joshua's other flatmate) are going to Christchurch this coming weekend, and can bring the Sony gear back with them. So I haven't had to pay courier fees to get the gear there, or back again! Brilliant. It will mean that I don't get the gear until after this coming weekend - but never mind. Until then at least I've still got the Sony a99 to get along with. Not a bad fill-in option...