How would any of us know? We don't have your hands.

others have held a lot more cameras than i have, the sony has the deeper right hand grip than some of the few i have handled.

the more experienced i thought would know how the grips on the other cameras have felt compared to the sony.

naturally hand size has a factor in it, so let me rephrase it then.
is there a camera body out there that is very comparable in grip & comfort as the sony.

The only real way is to try them all!

Bogie and Ronk aren't making fun of you here, joee. The feel of a camera is a very personal thing and nobody can tell you what's going to give you the same feel as an Alpha. We each feel these things differently.

Your very best bet is to seek out each of these different cameras and hold them in your hand. Look through the viewfinder. Squeeze off a couple of shots. Every one of them is going to have unique pros and cons and those aren't limited to how the camera feels in your hand. The viewfinder display, the LCD screen, the location of the control buttons - each of these plays a huge part in the overall experience and not a one of us can tell you what's good or bad in this arena. You are the only judge of what you like.

Forums like this are wonderful places to gather opinions, but in this case the only opinion which really matters is your own. If you want MY opinion, I'd tell you to go with the Canon line which has a great feel all its own plus a spectacular array of interchangable lens and body combinations. You're the only one who can tell what's right for you though. Go out there and actually pick up some cameras so you can tell which works best for you.

You might discover that making the trip to the camera shop was the smartest move you could make.

very well put ChipDoc, puts it in perspective.
I like the deep grip others may not, to each there own.

I'm just gathering as many opinions of different things i feel are important so i don't make the mistake of buying the wrong camera.

i like the grip,the seperate knob for settings instead of going thru the menu & hitting several buttons to change settings, others may feel this camera totaly different & may hate the knob & like the menu settings.

thanks for your opinions.

Quote:
I like the deep grip others may not, to each there own.

I'm just gathering as many opinions of different things i feel are important so i don't make the mistake of buying the wrong camera.

i like the grip,the seperate knob for settings instead of going thru the menu & hitting several buttons to change settings, others may feel this camera totaly different & may hate the knob & like the menu settings.

You are on absolutely the right track. The right camera is the one that fits your needs, fits your hands and sorta fits your budget. The fun goes out of it if you have to fight the design of the camera every time you make an exposure. That is the wrong camera.

In this competitive marketplace, the chances of a poor camera showing up are very small once you get beyond the point-and-shoots. If one of the majors brought out a dud, it would be all over the net in minutes.

Do play with other cameras as well. They may build your confidence in the Alpha. If one design fits all, there would only be a need for a single design. This is also a very good argument for shopping locally. Imagine buying on-line only to discover that while the specifications were excellent, everything operated in reverse of what seems natural to you.

Of course, the other advantage is that if the camera breaks two days after the warranty runs out, you have someone living and real to plead your case with the manufacturer. I can cite chapter and verse on that one.

It all depends on how your hand is built and how much weight you like to have in your camera and how the weight feels in your hands. For me the Fuji S-5100 and S-5200 are built to filt my hand very well and the grip is strong enough and bug enoiugh that I can grip for an hour without loosing it or it getting heavy on me. But I find the Cannon S3 and D-SLRs to big and heavy for me.

When I got my last camera I got it specifically for my job and knew that shooting for a local newspaper I need a 4 mega-pixel camera - they frown when they get 5+MB files...... but need that quality to print cover shots.... So I looked around for cameras in the 4mp range and tried out 6 of them before I bought the Fuji S-5100. I went to Best Buy and two other shops where I could put them in my hand. The Fuji S-5100 is not available anymore but the S-5200 is the 5mp replace for the one I use with a a couple nice new features.

Hope my experence helps you

davetv13