Sony Alpha a3000 ILCE-3000K 20.1 MP Mirrorless Digital Camera – Black – 18-55mm OSS Lens

best entry level dslr or compact camera on the market
I have 5 sony dslt cameras currently and my first emount was this a 3000. I now own 2. It’s a good thing that I bought this first as the grip is much better than any of the nex line of cameras and the sensor is appreciably nicer than all of the nex cameras except for the nex7. I have been a photographer for 48 years now and have owned dslr cameras from all of the major players. My very first dslr was a nikon d1x. I personally can not use an lcd screen without a loupe as the sun blocks the screen for me. Sony having a camera with an oled on it at this price point plus an apsc sensor is huge. In no way is the oled near as good as in my a77 but I can see well enough for critical focusing and can see fairly well the exposure. In bright light it does make it look like the highlights are blown when they are not but you can use a histogram until you understand what it will look like when the actual shot is viewed. It’s definitely not a sports camera although I shot a dressage don’t know if I spelled it right horse competition and it was fine for that. The 18-55 kit lens is the sharpest kit lens of any manufacturer IMHO. I bought this to use my manual focus prime lenses with and could not be happier. If you’re a videographer their is no headphone or mic jack but what can one expect at this price point. The focus peaking is very good in most circumstances. When this is not adequate you can zoom using the sensor to focus zoom back and shoot. I find that a lot of professional reviews do not adequately judge many things that a camera does. They never shoot high iso during daylight like at noon. If you are shooting something that moves even a little bit it is interesting to shoot high iso to keep a very high shutter speed with a relatively open aperature. This camera does that superbly. As with all cameras the broader the dynamic range in the picture the more prone to noise. This camera does excellently their also but it’s a nice exercise to try. You really have to go to a full frame camera to beat the image quality. It says tons for a camera priced so fairly. I do wish sony made more emount cameras with this body design or a little larger to allow for more button functionality verses menu driven. I feel that they are missing a market that could be huge. I also hope that if the on chip phase detect af on the a 6000 is equal to what is on my a77 that sony again would gain much more market losing transluscent mirror on the next a mount cameras. No one camera has every feature everyone wants. It’s a camera that I would tell anyone from someone wanting to learn photography to someone that shoots professionally to buy in most situations. It is never going to be a great camera to use witha 600mm lens although I have quite successfully. I am writing this without going into every spec as that is their should you need something. The auto hdr feature is really incredible. Instead of shooting multiple exposure on your own and bracketing them in pp the camera does it automatically. Obviously not good for moving objects. I find it helpful many times but one good example is shooting a house with a porch. All of the details can be captured in the shaded area of the porch and still maintain proper exposure on the rest of the house. The hdr can be varied by how much exposure difference their is in the shots taken. It’s a feature that I need to pay more attention to as I could get more than I am getting in some circumstances. The battery life sucks so I would get an external charger and at least one extra battery. I am grateful to have something so cheap that I can use multiple bodies without changing lenses.

I took this camera with me in my recent trip to Shimla and enjoyed the photography well with this friendlyperformance. The results are amazing and feel comfortable as it weighs light comparing other expensive cameras.In built lense 18-55 mm itself covers good range on the hills. Hence the results are fine for a family requirements I hope there is no need for further expensive models. The effect on mirror less technology seems to be the added reason for the clarity . I would recommend this camera for my friends who prefer the best for long travels with family.