Can you obtain a decent Canon for £250-£300?

[bobbarley]

The missus and I were having a chat, and we decided that we'd sell up on the Sony A200 and it's accessories and invest in a Canon instead.  We could probably get about £250ish for the Sony and all it's bits and bobs.  We'd rather make the switch now before investing is any expensive lenses and other equipment.

At that price range is there anything about made by Canon which is going to be an "upgrade" over a Sony A200?

[T_J_G]

Second hand 40d/50d

What do you want to gain?

[bobbarley]

Neither of us have been that happy with the Sony since we've had it to be honest.  She always used Canon in the past and prefers them.  Plus I have a few mates nearby with Canon so I can borrow their lenses and stuff 

[stealthwolf]

Depends on what you're after. 1100D as entry level for about £300.

Anything else and I'd go secondhand. Look for yesterday's models (ie not current) and you may find bargains.

eg 600D on egay for £300. Stretch a bit more and for £400, you'll get one with extras included.

[DubFan]

What's the problem with the Sony? What does it not-do that you would like it to?

Why did you buy a Sony if the wife had a preference for Canon?

What Sony kit do you have? IE what will you have to sell and what would you like to replace like-for-like ?

As a Sony user, I've contemplated moving to Canon too, but have been put off for a few reasons, one of which is cost.
Here's my kit and an estimate of how much it would cost to replace like for like:
14mp DSLR body with live view (cost me £200)  -  Canon 450D £250 or Canon 50D £400
Minolta 50mm f1.7 lens (cost £75) - Canon EF 50mm f1.8 £80
Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 (cost £130) -  Canon fit version £200
Minolta 70-210mm f4 (cost £75) -  Canon EF 70-200 USM IS f4 L £500

The big advantage with the Sony's are that it has image stabilisation built into the body, so you can use older/cheaper lenses and not lose out.

To be honest the Sony a200 isn't the best of Sony DSLRs, I noticed a huge improvement going from a Sony a100 (virtually the same as the 200) to the a350 (speed, low light, af, live view, menus, etc were all better).
Have you thought about comparing a newer Sony with a Canon equivalent?
Who shoots more? You or your wife? Have you tried a Canon or is it just here who prefers Canon?

With that sort of budget you'll definitely get more looking at second hand, I would say it's only worth doing if you're going to get something as an upgrade from the a200.
EG the a200 is 10mp and isn't fantastic in low light, the Canon equivalent is probably the 400D, so going for a 450D would be a step up, but a 450D will cost you at least £250 perhaps with a kit lens. Or you could get a 40D body for that money but they are only 10mp. And you'd still need to buy lenses.

Not trying to dissuade you but a) I would only swap to Canon if you go for an upgrade, b) if the Sony was definitely the problem and c) if you can spend a bit more than £300 and get something worthwhile.

[bobbarley]

At the moment we've got the camera, the stock 18-70 kit lens, and an old Minolta 50mm 1.7 prime.  So not a lot of gear really.  Neither of us are impressed with the quality of the photos coming from the A200, as you've mentioned in low light it doesn't do a very good job.  Blacks are very lacking.  It's also annoying that when trying to get photos to do HDR the camera will only shoot one stop up and down automatically.

I bought the camera a few years ago (before the other half and I got together) without doing any research, just a Sony fanboy and the camera was within my price range.  She used to use a Canon 500D, so you can imaging the Sony is a bit step down.

Seeing as we want a 10-22 wide angle lens, a new general purpose kit lens, then a zoom lens (200 to 300) of some description, it seems am opportune time to consider a new body as well.

Are any of the newer Sony's much better?  If so, it could be an option to buy a better Sony and then replace the lenses one at a time.  Do all of the Sony's have stabilisation built into the body as standard?

A friend suggested I get something like a 1000D body and 35mm prime lens. Then start to build up a collection as and when I have the money.

[DubFan]

At the moment we've got the camera, the stock 18-70 kit lens, and an old Minolta 50mm 1.7 prime.  So not a lot of gear really.  Neither of us are impressed with the quality of the photos coming from the A200, as you've mentioned in low light it doesn't do a very good job.  Blacks are very lacking.  It's also annoying that when trying to get photos to do HDR the camera will only shoot one stop up and down automatically.

The 18-70mm kit lens is a bit rubbish (mine sits on the shelf as I replaced it with the Sigma 18-50mm f2..
Sony ditched the 18-70mm kit lens, so all newer Sonys come with an 18-55mm.
The blacks are easily sorted either with a quick edit in Lightroom/Photoshop, or you can adjust the settings a bit on the camera menu under "Creative Style". You'd also find the colours (and blacks/contrast) will be better with better lenses.
As for bracketing you'll have to change camera for better options there.

I bought the camera a few years ago (before the other half and I got together) without doing any research, just a Sony fanboy and the camera was within my price range.  She used to use a Canon 500D, so you can imaging the Sony is a bit step down.

Yup, the Canon 500D is better than the A200, not surprised she'd find it a lesser camera.

Seeing as we want a 10-22 wide angle lens, a new general purpose kit lens, then a zoom lens (200 to 300) of some description, it seems am opportune time to consider a new body as well.

If you're buying all new lenses, then you're talking about quite a bit of cash. If you look at Sigma and Tamron who make lenses for both Sony and Canon cameras, then the prices will be pretty much the same.
Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 - £370 (Sony fit Canon fit
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 - £280 Sony fit Canon fit
Tamron 70-300mm - £280 Sony fit Canon fit

So yes, if you're going to invest in all that, you want to make sure you buy it for the right camera.
The above will cost you £930 total, for either Sony or Canon. Then sell your A200, and spend either £300 on a Canon or a Sony.
If you buy a Canon, you can sell your 50mm prime for about £70 and buy a Canon 50mm with that cash.

Are any of the newer Sony's much better?  If so, it could be an option to buy a better Sony and then replace the lenses one at a time.  Do all of the Sony's have stabilisation built into the body as standard?

Yes all Sony's have stabilisation (Sony call it "Super SteadyShot").
Newer Sony's are better, but all the newest ones are SLTs, ie the mirror is translucent and doesn't flip up, meaning you lose 1 stop of light as it passes through to the sensor.
Slightly older Sony's are still proper SLRs, so you don't have that problem. You can get an Alpha 500 or even the semi-pro A700 for £300.
If you are looking at keeping with Sony but upgrading to a new one, look at the A57, A65 and A77 which are very good, despite the SLT technology.

If you were going to replace one lens at a time, I'd start with the kit lens and get either the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 above or the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 or the Sigma 18-70mm f2.8-4 (if you need the longer end).

If your friends have Canon cameras, do any of them have decent lenses that you might want to borrow?
Borrowing is ok, but never as good as having your own.

[T_J_G]

I just sold my 1000d, think that wouldn't be a big enough change to warrant it.

Maybe look for a 450d

[bobbarley]

Thanks Dub, that's soem really good information!

Turns out the missus had a 400D, so even more of a drop 

Would a 400D be reasonable?  They're well priced on eBay!

[DubFan]

The 400D is 10mp and has the same basic ISO range as your Sony A200, so it wouldn't be an improvement.

You could aim for a Canon 450D so you at least get something a bit higher spec'd and then start building up your lens collection, then in a year, upgrade from the 450D to something newer like the 600D or 60D.

Or, you could buy a Canon 5D (Mark 1), which is 12mpixel, but full frame and much higher quality. You can get these for about £400

Have you seen the Camera spec comparison tool on dpreview.com?
Take a look at these.
Sony a230 (nearest spec to yours) vs Sony a550 vs Sony SLT a57 vs Canon 1000D vs Canon 500D.

As with a lot of things, best to try before you buy. Find a decent camera shop and try some out.