Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsPocketable and useful when you want more control and quality than your phone
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2023
I got this used so I'll split this up based on what the camera itself and then what's different than what you'd get if buying new.
Why even get this when you have a phone? Simply put, the phone is a swiss army knife and this is a dedicated tool. The entire tool is dedicated to one function. I'm not a professional, I just like creating art in different mediums as a hobby and photography isn't even my main one. I'm using this as a tool to supplement my main love, music, to create behind the scenes and promotional content, Instagram stuff, album art, just daily snapshots to try and augment the music. Sometimes I even just take photos for their own sake. I do love taking photos just for fun and do well with a film camera but film is expensive and I can't shoot it as often as digital.
Screen and viewfinder are great. The viewfinder is my favorite aspect. I prefer to take photos and frame them using a viewfinder and this one is great for framing up your shot. I'm used to using the viewfinders on my film and instant cameras so this is great with the added bonus that this viewfinder is digital so you get to customize the display to show you all the details that the main LCD would show, just a simple level, a histogram, or nothing. And this digital viewfinder doesn't strain the eye. I forget that I'm not looking through a real viewfinder. It feels like I'm looking through a real glass lens with a heads up display projected onto it.
The screen pulls out in such a way that you can get shots on the ground without having to lay down and it flips up for selfie mode. Now, as far as flipping up goes, it seems to cut off the very bottom edge of the display and the hinges don't seem to align right like everything else does. And that's odd because everything else seems so precise and detailed on the camera. I must be missing something because I did make a mistake when trying to use the pop up viewfinder for the first time and missed how you not only have to pop it up but then pull it out for it not to be blurry.
The flash... exists. I don't use flash. Never met an occasion where flash on a digital camera helped but that may be from the horrors I've gone through using flash on my phone. The flash pops up, it's nice and simple to hide and leave out of the way when not needed.
Picture quality is great. So at this point I'd say it's time to just learn how your camera works otherwise you'll already have made up your mind about this camera. It's got full HD and 4K recording as well as RAW or JPEG images. Right out of the box I just pointed the camera at a random electrical socket and it somehow looked better than what I get out of my iPhone 14 Pro, both in auto mode. I can actually work a full manual camera better, albeit slower, than I can this camera on manual mode because the autofocus throws me off. I'm used to pulling focus, having a fixed ISO, and messing with the aperture.
This camera, in 2023, is really only worth it if you are going to learn at least some photography. Yes, the auto mode will take marginally better photos than your smartphone. However, if you need a dedicated project camera, want to do some image editing in RAW or even high quality JPEG then it's amazing. Or if you just want a dedicated camera that's very portable and user friendly. There's a ton of options for automating things away one by one until you're ready for full manual mode so you can use this as a total beginner or a pro.
Portability is great. The reason to choose this one over a DSLR for me is just the preference for portability. I know I'm going to stick this in a coat pocket or even the back pocket of my jeans if I have to and easily carry it around. It isn't much thicker than a phone and less wide. I can't see a scenario where you wouldn't mind carrying this around all day but would carry a phone instead.
The camera body is metal, not plastic. It looks and feels durable. Yeah, it's from 2015 but it looks like it came from this year. Definitely feels like a premium item in your hands.
Now, as far as buying used goes, it was well packaged and mine had a couple of very fine scratches on the back LCD which was in the description. It came packaged well but didn't include all the accessories it was supposed do although that was okay because I got some extras. All in all, I got what was absolutely necessary for the camera to function:
- The camera
- Sealed battery (unsure if it was resealed or a new one but it is a Sony battery)
- Strap and carry case (extra)
Normally you just get a wrist strap but this included a whole leather neck strap which I'll use on days I dedicate to shooting while I'll just put it in a pocket for sporadic shooting. The wrist strap was not there and neither was a micro USB cable for charging. I think enough of us have a drawer full of different USB dongles that at least one will be micro-USB and work. I did. The camera was very clean but it could have been dusted a little better. You could tell it had been sitting somewhere waiting for an owner for a long while and has a fine layer of dust in the crevasses. Overall the used condition doesn't bother me at all.
