just purchase the A100K - suggestions on memory to buy

[dxpaap]

Just purchased my first DLSR, selected the A100, that was hard decision!!

Anyway, need to get some memory - just to get started.

Was wondering if the type of memory matters (type I or II, Sony vs no name brand). Any thoughts?

do some perform better then others? will the cheapo work fine?

thanks

Dave

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Sandisk Ultras or Extremes are consistently up there as far as speed and quality goes. Proprietary memory standards make bunny sad

Dang you memory stick and xD! *waves paw in air*

 

[AmigaMan]

you don't need memory stick on the Alpha (although you can use one with the supplied adapter). Compact Flash is what it takes by default. I bought my Alpha with a Sandisk Extreme 2GB CF card as a combo from B&H and it works great. I know Transcend has a CF card on Newegg that's reasonably priced and has lots of good reviews.

 

[Kelvrick]

I got myself an Adata 4gb 266x from frys for 45 bucks. Have a lexar professional 1gb I got with the cam that I use as backup.

 

[dxpaap]

Thxs, I ordered the Adata 2gb 266x from frys - looking forward to trying my (wife's) new camera!

Any suggestions on a second battery? are there decent 3rd party batteries for the A100 out there?

Davep

 

[AndrewR]

I've heard some bad stories about the 3rd party batteries and some fine stories. I have an Energizer battery for my Maxxum 7D, but I never went for a complete off brand. It's a pricey battery, and the battery life for the Sony is fantastic so I would recommend getting a second Sony. I need to pick one up, but I haven't needed it yet (avg life of 750 shots is accurate!).

Back on the memory, stick with CF. I use Sandisk Ultra IIs (2GB x 3), but some people have been recommending Transcend lately as being very high speed and very inexpensive. My next purchase will likely be one of those. My oddball is a Lexar 80x Professional 1GB, which is a nice, fast card as well.

I used to think I couldn't fill up 7GB, but I came close at an airshow the other weekend -- I had about 1.5GB left and that was really only the Thunderbirds and a few (40) other shots. If we had been there for more flying, I would have run out of room. Need to pick up another 4GB or so.

 

[GrJohnso]

I've been happy with Sandisk Extreme III 2gb and A-Data 4gb 266x. Both perform same for me when shooting raw continuous...

Batteries are open to debate. Some swear that you should go Sony only, others have had good luck with some of the generic eBay special stuff out there. I have yet to pick up an extra battery, so I can't comment yet. When a really bad battery can really kill your camera, the question is: Do you trust your $500+ camera to a $10 battery? Or is another $50 worth protecting your investment?

Anyway, I'll probably buy a generic for a backup, but stick with my Sony battery for primary use until someone like Energizer or a similar reputable 3rd party comes along with a substitute.

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: GrJohnso
the question is: Do you trust your $500+ camera to a $10 battery? Or is another $50 worth protecting your investment?

That's exactly why I won't buy a 3rd party battery. I figure if the battery craps out and destroys my camera, is Sony more likely to replace or fix it for free if it was a Sony or a 3rd party battery? You've already spent several hundred dollars at this point on the lens(es) and body, $50 extra dollars isn't going to kill you

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: GrJohnso
the question is: Do you trust your $500+ camera to a $10 battery? Or is another $50 worth protecting your investment?

That's exactly why I won't buy a 3rd party battery. I figure if the battery craps out and destroys my camera, is Sony more likely to replace or fix it for free if it was a Sony or a 3rd party battery? You've already spent several hundred dollars at this point on the lens(es) and body, $50 extra dollars isn't going to kill you

Several HUNDRED dollars...???

More! :Q

 

[foghorn67]

I put about about 1000-1500 images on my camera each weekend, and I assure you SterlingTek will not fry your camera. Seriously.
When it comes to batteries, i can't see why anyone would defend Sony. Really.

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: foghorn67
I put about about 1000-1500 images on my camera each weekend, and I assure you SterlingTek will not fry your camera. Seriously.
When it comes to batteries, i can't see why anyone would defend Sony. Really.

Sterlingtek has a good reputation as a 3rd party on all the forums I go to.

Dunno about sony's but 2000mah compared to canon 1300mah (not sure, is it that?) is a whole lot better.

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: foghorn67
I put about about 1000-1500 images on my camera each weekend, and I assure you SterlingTek will not fry your camera. Seriously.
When it comes to batteries, i can't see why anyone would defend Sony. Really.

it's not about defending Sony. It's about who will Sony support in case something happens? If I put a SterlingTek battery in my camera and it fries it, what do you think Sony will do? I'm not about to risk my thousands of dollars investment on what some guy on a forum says.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: foghorn67
I put about about 1000-1500 images on my camera each weekend, and I assure you SterlingTek will not fry your camera. Seriously.
When it comes to batteries, i can't see why anyone would defend Sony. Really.

it's not about defending Sony. It's about who will Sony support in case something happens? If I put a SterlingTek battery in my camera and it fries it, what do you think Sony will do? I'm not about to risk my thousands of dollars investment on what some guy on a forum says.

I can call SterlingTek during business hours and get someone on the phone within a blink.
I know for sure they stand behind their products. they are family owned, and I have never heard of them of having bad customer service.
I did get a DOA battery. But they took care of it.
Good luck with any large company doing the same in response time, including Canon (what I shoot with).
And no, don't try to use that as ammo. Sony made a headache for me when they decided to build crappy batteries themselves.

And it's not 'some guy on the forum' said. Do your research. Plenty of pros shoot with SterlingTek.

You are being a tad cynical about this.
Do you put Sony AA's in your flash?
Have you ever shot with a battery grip? Do you demand Sony AA's?
With your logic, I would never even hook a pc sync cord or a radio transmitter.

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: foghorn67
I put about about 1000-1500 images on my camera each weekend, and I assure you SterlingTek will not fry your camera. Seriously.
When it comes to batteries, i can't see why anyone would defend Sony. Really.

it's not about defending Sony. It's about who will Sony support in case something happens? If I put a SterlingTek battery in my camera and it fries it, what do you think Sony will do? I'm not about to risk my thousands of dollars investment on what some guy on a forum says.

I can call SterlingTek during business hours and get someone on the phone within a blink.
I know for sure they stand behind their products. they are family owned, and I have never heard of them of having bad customer service.
I did get a DOA battery. But they took care of it.
Good luck with any large company doing the same in response time, including Canon (what I shoot with).
And no, don't try to use that as ammo. Sony made a headache for me when they decided to build crappy batteries themselves.

And it's not 'some guy on the forum' said. Do your research. Plenty of pros shoot with SterlingTek.

You are being a tad cynical about this.
Do you put Sony AA's in your flash?
Have you ever shot with a battery grip? Do you demand Sony AA's?
With your logic, I would never even hook a pc sync cord or a radio transmitter.

point taken. However, you still didn't answer my question. For a flash, meh, if the battery blows it, then I'll buy a new one. But I've invested a lot of money in my camera body, I'm just worried about the risk of a 3rd party battery. I wasn't trying to be cynical, but you know, I can't just afford to drop $700 at the drop of a hat if some cheap 3rd party battery decides to go thermonuclear.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
point taken. However, you still didn't answer my question. For a flash, meh, if the battery blows it, then I'll buy a new one. But I've invested a lot of money in my camera body, I'm just worried about the risk of a 3rd party battery. I wasn't trying to be cynical, but you know, I can't just afford to drop $700 at the drop of a hat if some cheap 3rd party battery decides to go thermonuclear.

Okay, i am glad you got my point. And no, I don't blame you too much for not trusting third party. It's in our nature.
Anyway, just to make a wince a little. Flashes can go thermonuclear.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: foghorn67
I put about about 1000-1500 images on my camera each weekend, and I assure you SterlingTek will not fry your camera. Seriously.
When it comes to batteries, i can't see why anyone would defend Sony. Really.

it's not about defending Sony. It's about who will Sony support in case something happens? If I put a SterlingTek battery in my camera and it fries it, what do you think Sony will do? I'm not about to risk my thousands of dollars investment on what some guy on a forum says.

I can call SterlingTek during business hours and get someone on the phone within a blink.
I know for sure they stand behind their products. they are family owned, and I have never heard of them of having bad customer service.
I did get a DOA battery. But they took care of it.
Good luck with any large company doing the same in response time, including Canon (what I shoot with).
And no, don't try to use that as ammo. Sony made a headache for me when they decided to build crappy batteries themselves.

And it's not 'some guy on the forum' said. Do your research. Plenty of pros shoot with SterlingTek.

You are being a tad cynical about this.
Do you put Sony AA's in your flash?
Have you ever shot with a battery grip? Do you demand Sony AA's?
With your logic, I would never even hook a pc sync cord or a radio transmitter.

Does anyone else find it amusing that someone with the sig, "All people that generalize are stupid" is saying that all Sony batteries are crap??

Sony may have screwed the pooch on laptop batteries, but their InfoLithiums in cameras are excellent in every respect. The Alpha marks my 4th Sony camera, and each one has had a fantastic battery that surpasses its competition (I've had Kodak and Canon cameras as well).

SterlingTek may make great batteries, but if they burn my Alpha, Sony is not going to honor the warranty. That's $600 wasted for a cost savings of $20-30 on the battery. Now, I'm not an accountant, but I'm also not a gambler. It's worth the piece of mind for me. Pros can afford to have disposable equipment to an extent. Most of us mortals cannot.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

About two weeks ago I bought $100+ worth of batteries from Sterlingtek.

4 batteries for my XT
2 batteries for my 30D
2 batteries for my Panasonic TZ1

I've used Sterlingtek batteries for years and have never had them crap out on me. The cells state that they are made in Japan. There might even be a fair chance that Sterlingtek batteries are produced in the same plant as Canon and Sony batteries.

Batteries don't just randomly explode inside a camera. The battery compartment is designed to keep the battery safe and the contacts are recessed deep within the camera. If a battery did explode inside the camera, you've got a lot more things to worry about than just damage around the battery compartment. For example, if seawater got inside the battery compartment and the battery exploded, it is almost guaranteed that by that point nearly everything inside your camera will be corroded beyond reasonable repair, much less the battery compartment. In this case it wouldn't be covered under warranty anyway. It takes a lot to kill a battery.

In the end it's up to you. You understand your financial situation and you determine the level of risk that you're willing to accept. The people who recommend Sterlingtek are well intentioned and just trying to help save you money knowing that it will pose extremely minimal (if any) risk to you compared to brand name batteries. If there was in fact a very real threat, even a small one, of Sterlingtek batteries damaging cameras and voiding warranties, they would not be so highly recommended and so popular.

The level of risk is similar to using 3rd party lenses in Minolta mount like from Sigma or Tamron. It's just not an issue.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: AndrewR
Does anyone else find it amusing that someone with the sig, "All people that generalize are stupid" is saying that all Sony batteries are crap??

Sony may have screwed the pooch on laptop batteries, but their InfoLithiums in cameras are excellent in every respect. The Alpha marks my 4th Sony camera, and each one has had a fantastic battery that surpasses its competition (I've had Kodak and Canon cameras as well).

SterlingTek may make great batteries, but if they burn my Alpha, Sony is not going to honor the warranty. That's $600 wasted for a cost savings of $20-30 on the battery. Now, I'm not an accountant, but I'm also not a gambler. It's worth the piece of mind for me. Pros can afford to have disposable equipment to an extent. Most of us mortals cannot.

I made that point to show how silly it was to lump SterlingTek with the rest of the batteries.
Again, you are free to be cynical about it. FBZ and I made some points on this, and you have nothing to offer but 'what if'.
I say do your research before you prescribe to fear mongering.

 

[AmigaMan]

I was just thinking that one difference between batteries for laptops and batteries for cameras, is that we don't charge the battery inside the camera like we do for laptops. If a battery is going to go thermonuclear, chances are it'll do it while charging won't it? So if it does blow up, it'll blow up the charger and not the camera.
As for flashes, I don't believe they use proprietary batteries. I guess I feel "safer" using AA NiMH's than proprietary batteries, although that's probably just due to ignorance. I guess my point is, if a battery is going to blow up, it'll A) do it in the charger, B) probably not happen in a flash, and C) probably not be NiMH's. Take that for what it is...probably not much.

...now off to find the SterlingTek website to see how much they are