photography

 

I want to share with you guys one of my prized possessions : the Sony A5100 camera. While Sony has a few newer versions than the one I have, I love my humble A5100 and what I have been able to do with it.

This is coming from the perspective of someone who had virtually no photography experience prior to this camera. I had shot with a borrowed Nikon DSLR, but only in automatic and not with creativity in mind, but just because I wanted some clear images of something.

So this isn’t a professional photography review or comparison. These are my genuine feelings about the Sony Alpha coming from a blogger’s perspective and I’m writing this geared towards any bloggers who are thinking about investing in a professional quality camera.

When I first got the Sony a5100 I really wished I could have found a review about it from an average person or blogger who used it, because all I wanted to know was if the average user was happy with what it could do and if the images appear professional and crisp to a general audience.

Instead I was confronted with all this technical jargon on professional photography websites and it was all Greek to me! I don’t understand technical aspects of devices until I have hands-on experience with it.

As a result of that, I was too intimated to shoot with my camera in manual mode. It just seemed too confusing. So for about the first year and a half, all I used was automatic because I just wanted clear images for my blog and Instagram and I could not possibly understand camera settings.

That being said, I was always really happy with how the images turned out in automatic mode and if you are new to photography, I’m pretty sure you will be too.

I have now moved on and use it with different settings after watching video tutorials on Youtube and playing around. I can honestly say that I’m still really happy with it!

Here are five reasons why I think the Sony Alpha is a great camera for bloggers.

 

1). Size

The Sony Alpha is not as large and clunky as most professional cameras. I cannot express enough how amazing it is that this camera is so small and travel-friendly. You never have to think about whether you should haul your camera around or not, because it will most likely fit in your purse.

2). Professional-Quality photos

It’s size does not at all mean that it is a lesser quality camera. It is able to have a compact design because it is a mirror-less technology. In fact, a few professional photographers have been talking about how they’ve ditched other brands and are now sticking to the Sony Alpha series. The camera is capable of talking such beautiful, professional grade photos.

3). Zoom Lens

The kit lens that is included with the camera offers a range of lengths you can photograph from. If you have it zoomed all the way out, it is appropriate for landscape shots. If you zoom it all the way in, it suffices as a portrait lens.

For example, here are some landscape shots I took …

Here is a portrait, with the lens zoomed all the way in …

With it zoomed midway, its good for average scenery… (and a good excuse to share a pic of my dog)

 

You can even get a pretend macro if you get close to your subject. (But not too close, as it won’t focus properly. You’ll have to crop it afterwards)

4). Wifi Capability

By downloading the Sony Play Memories app, you can very easily send your images directly from your camera to your smart phone. Edit them in your favourite apps on your phone and you’re ready to share.

5). Built-in Remote

Again, with the Sony Play Memories app you can control the shutter release on your camera from your phone. The great thing is that on your phone you will get a display of your camera’s view, so you know exactly what you are shooting.

Here, I am taking a self-portrait with my camera on a tripod and connected to my iPhone …

The one thing I wish was improved with this feature is the self-timer on the remote app. The max amount of time on the app is 2 seconds which is sometimes not long enough to put your phone away for the shot. On the camera itself when you are not using the remote app, you can set the timer to 10 seconds, however.

 

So those are 5 reasons in a nutshell why the Sony Alpha is a great choice for a blogger. It is portable, takes great photos which you can send directly to your phone, and you are able to take pics remotely for self-portraits and group shots.

I should mention also, that it takes high quality HD video and has received quite a few positive reviews on that front. So it’s great to have that option if you want to get into vlogging. Only thing is, my Sony a5100 does not have an audio output, so you cannot connect a microphone to the camera. At this stage, this is not an issue for me, and it records sound just fine by my non-technical standards.

Oh, and here’s a bonus reason : it’s very affordable. As of writing this, it is only about $500.00 on Amazon which is significantly less than it was when I got it two years ago.

The great thing is that when you decide you want to up your photography game, this camera will have it all there for you. If you want to learn how to control the aperture, shutter speed and all that, its there for when you’re ready.

So that’s it, and I hope you found this helpful!

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