GOTW & my Sony Alpha review
this drawing is closed
I waited far too long to tell you all about my favorite camera ever, but the result is that I'm even more in love than I was back when I should have done this post.
Remember when I scored 3 free cameras from Sony? And I told you about the sweet little cybershot, which can usually be found in one of my daughters' purses. Now, I'm going to tell you about the star of the show.
Isn't it beautiful? This was the camera that I thought would be hubby's. He was longing for a DSLR, while I didn't even know what that meant. As it turned out, this was the camera I waited all my life to own and I didn't even know it.
features and design
I fell in love with it right away, even before I got home. I arrived home with a tenuous grasp of the concepts and effects of aperture and F/stop, shutter speed, white balance, iso, etc. Thanks to Me Ra Koh's instructional videos, I was able to go beyond the green box (the auto mode) and start learning to use and control these features right away. I still have a ton to learn, but I feel like a real photographer!
The Alpha is easy to learn and easy to use. The intelligent design lets "green box" photographers get the photos they want, while wanna-be's and control freaks like me can find the features we want to control. We might not always get the photo we want, but we know how to try!
I've learned that it's a snap (snap. get it? it's a snap. I slay myself.) to take a photo in front of a window without turning the subject into a silhouette (hold down the AEL button). I can catch droplets of water in midair when the kids splash in the pool (super fast shutter speed). I can keep my baby from looking green even when she's lying on the green couch (adjust the white balance).
And I can take photos of my sleeping baby in my dimly lit bedroom without waking her up with the flash.
That last sentence requires a bit of explanation.
compatible lenses
We briefly considered selling the Alpha to buy another DSLR that had less expensive lenses. After all, what's the fun of having an SLR if you can't switch lenses? The lens that came with the camera is a very nice lens indeed, but we wanted to be able to get that super-shallow depth of field that blurs and softens everything except the subject.
This lets you take photos of your kids without showing the world your baskets of laundry, overflowing trash can, or sink full of dishes in the background.
As it turns out, we didn't have to pay top dollar for brand new Sony lenses. We spent some time on google and learned that the Alpha is an update of the old Minolta Maxxum, a film SLR. Do you know what this means? It means that the lenses are interchangeable! Rather than paying hundreds of dollars for each extra lens, we were able to buy the 2 lenses we wanted from Craigslist for about $50 each.
Incidentally, this will work for most other DSLRs. Just google the name of your camera model along with the words "compatible lenses" and see what turns up.
Why did I tell you all this? Because I have learned that the same lens that creates that blurred background also lets in so much light that the flash is rarely necessary. All of the photos below were taken in a dim room with just one small north-facing window.
This one was taken with the standard lens, just the way the camera recommended. It's not bad, but Bethany looks a little scared by the flash, and see the harsh shadow at Natalie's jawline? If she were old enough to have wrinkles or bags under her eyes, they'd be highlighted in technicolor!
Now we try it without the flash. This slows down the shutter so much that the girls are blurry - either they moved or I did. Or we all did. If you have a pulse, chances are you're going to move just a little, and that's all it takes to blur a flashless photo in dim light.
Now look at the same photo with my $50 Craigslist lens - the one that would have cost $300 or more new, but came from an old film camera that nobody wanted anymore. Remember, dim room, no flash.
Can you see why it's my favorite lens? And it attaches to my favorite camera. That works out very nicely, you know?
Another feature that I really love is that the LCD screen tilts up and down, making it very easy to:
- take pictures of really short people kids at their own level without lying on the floor. I can just hold the camera way down low and tilt the display up so I can see it well.
- take pictures over the heads of other people without standing on a chair. I can just stick the camera up over my head and tilt the display down.
Of course, equal and opposite benefits apply to really short people kids taking pictures of adults. This is important because we have a lot of kids in our house who think they are allowed to use my Sony Alpha.
cons
There is a short list of petty things I don't like about this camera - petty, because they wouldn't bother an organized person. They only bother me because I know my limits.
- Instead of a convenient docking station, you have to pull out the battery to recharge it. I don't know about you, but I'm sure that one of these days I'm going to walk out of the house with a fully loaded camera bag and leave the battery behind on the charger. The main reason I'm sure is because it's already happened with other cameras. Yes, we're slow learners.
- The usb cable for transferring my photos to my computer is not the common size that fits every other electronic device in my house. It doesn't match the other 19 usb cables floating around our house. This is a problem because we already lost it and none of our other cables fit. Since it takes a common memory format, we can still transfer photos using almost any card reader (which, incidentally, plugs into the computer with a common usb cable), but eventually I'm going to have to spring for a new cable. That bugs me.
That's it. I told you it was a short list. I heart my Sony Alpha.
THE GIVEAWAY
You thought I forgot, didn't you? Well, I can't give you a Sony Alpha. You'll have to save your pennies for that. But I can help you make better use of the features in your own humbler digital camera.
Me Ra Koh has generously agreed to give away a set of her instructional DVDs here on our blog! It was her workshop that helped me understand the features and functions in my camera - features and functions that my old Fuji also has! She also taught me a lot that has nothing to do with the camera and everything to do with who's holding it: framing and composition, lighting, choosing and creating the moment, and much more.
These DVDs will teach you to capture memories in your photos instead of just a collection of cheesy smiles.
Now who wants them?
TO ENTER:
Visit Me Ra's photography blog and spend a couple of minutes looking at the Tips for Moms category. Come back and tell me what you learned. That's all you have to do. It doesn't have to be anything profound or complicated - just share us a tip that you picked up.
To double your chance of winning, blog about this giveaway and then leave another comment with a link to your post. Be sure to include at least one link to Me Ra's site and one link to this giveaway in your post.
I'll announce a winner on Friday.
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Divide the picture into thirds and make sure each third contributes something to the story of the picture. I also love the way she defined emotion by using black and white. Thanks for the giveaway! (I really really want to win!)
I finally learned that adjusting the aperture will make the background fuzzy. I can’t wait to try it out!
I liked her tips on taking great shots of fireworks. I have never been able to accomplish that. She had a number of suggestions, including slowing your shutter speed down to three or four seconds until you get the brightness you want.
I am an aspiring photographer, and I particularly liked the tips on firewords – that’s one thing I haven’t been happy with my pictures of yet.
Crossing my fingers!
I’m sure most of the tutorial wouldn’t apply to my simple point and shoot–just wanted to pop in and say how beautiful your kids are.
I love how she said to practice art as an act of faith. I’ll bet you can get some good shots that way.
One of the tips I learned just by looking at a few of the posts was that “less is more.” Also, just the general suggestion to be looking for creative shots in the everyday things. I often feel like I have to “plan” a picture.
I love her photography! And I enjoyed looking at her website.
Unfortunately, although I think I have a pretty good point and shoot camera, I am clueless as to how to blur the background. I have no idea what shutter speed or aperture are… So I’ll stick to filling the frame with my subject and the framing the photo into thirds.
Christina
I have a LOT to learn from this amazing woman!!! I will be spending plenty of time soaking up every single tip that she ever posts!! Thank you so much for this link!!
The tip I absolutely LOVED the most was this, “And when you feel uncomfortable and awkward remember, we are practicing “art as an act of faith”. Faith is the key component.”
LOVE IT!
Thanks again Kim!!
At first I was feeling a little sorry for myself, we are still in in the “point and shoot” stage of photography even though dh and I both have a longing to move into the realm of DSLR. (Thanks for the Sony Review! and the tip regarding compatible lenses.)
What did I learn from Me Ra Koh? Portrait mode on my p&s = low aperature!
Wow! What a great site…love the blurry background tip….I have always wanted to do that!!
Thnks for a great site!!
Alisa
The most useful thing I learned that I can put to use immediately is the Third Principle. I can’t believe how much I don’t know. I would love to have this DVD. If I don’t win, I will just have to buy it. Photography is my passion and I would love to be at a higher skill level.
I have the canon xti rebel and oh my it is addictive and takes professional photography which I am loving. I am doing my son’s senior Pictures this year!!
I learned that the lower your ISO, the better your color saturation…something I wish I’d known when I was trying to photograph this monarch caterpillar my son is raising. I think I’ll go try again and use that new info to make a better picture.
I don’t want to enter the giveaway, but just wanted to say I have really been wanting a Sony Alpha! They sound really great.
I learned that the lower the aperture is, the blurrier the background. I thought it was the higher the aperture, the blurrier. Oops. :cD I juts have a Point and Shoot, so I assumed that the aperture propriety was not very good. I’ll have to go try it out!
Also, I learned that the lower the ISO setting is, the better the color saturation is.
Thanks!!
~Keilah E.
I thought you had a DSLR.
When i saw that gorgeous picture of Natalie kissing B’s head, I was sure of it!
Beautiful work mama. I just got into it in December. You can see some of my stuff on facebook.
Thanks for the link too!
†
Natalie
I learned about turning the flash to point behind the photographer. Dear Hubby likes different angles, but I don’t think he’s tried that one.
Kim,
I’m in need of a new camera. Is it the 300 you have or the 350? I’m really lost when it comes to all the cameras out there and appreciate your advice. Thank you.
I read the whole thing and my head is spinning!
I would love to have these videos, and have been contemplating buying them for myself – could really learn this stuff on my own?
I especially want to learn how to adjust the aperature to get a blurry background. I think I’m going to have to play with my camera to find out if I can do it on my own though.
On a side note, my husband bought me an extra battery so that I could replace the one that’s charging and have a full battery ready at all times – no worry of forgetting it on the charger!
Dee,
Ours is the 300. I don’t think there’s a big difference between the 2 models. I think the 350 does have higher resolution, but 10.2 megapixels is enough for me.
‘Mistakes are necessary when getting better at photography-mistake away!!’ So encouraging! I have a Canon DSLR and it can be quite daunting when you aren’t using Auto. =)
Thanks for the opportunity Kim…
Sarah in New Zealand.
What a great website? I’ve seen it before but forgot all about it. Pointing the flash backwards is an amazing tip. I can’t believe the difference and will be trying it out tomorrow.
Those videos look fantastic! Two tips that I’m going to try:
1) I want to take a picture of the deep blue night sky right after the sun goes down. That was gorgeous!
2) I’m going to try turning my external flash to face backward. My camera is a point and shoot, but we do have an external flash. I gave up using it because I’ve never been able to figure out how to use it properly. Way too bright. She had excellent results and it may do the trick! I never even knew I could move it before.
Oh, these videos sound GREAT!
I looked over the tips and found many I’d like to try. The one that I probably need to remember right now is “Mistakes are necessary when getting better at photography–mistake away!!” I suspect I’m going to have to MAKE time to just experiment and make mistakes.
Thanks for the giveaway!
” . . Remember, one thing at a time. Otherwise you get overwhelmed and miss out on how much fun photography is.
Mistakes are necessary when getting better at photography–mistake away!!”
I own a photography business and I am a self-taught *aspiring* professional. I loved her website and this quote was so good!
Thanks for the opportunity to win this great resource!
I really appreciated her advice about the principle of thirds – now I always try to think about that!
Thanks for entering me!
Hmm, don’t be afraid to play with the camera. Sounds like fun, I may have to get it out.
And FYI, there’s no such thing as taking “a couple of minutes” to look at that blog! WAY too many great tips and pictures to see for that to be possible!
Thanks for the contest!
I really liked that website, thanks for pointing me in that direction.
I learned that if I want to have better photos of the kids, I actually need to take MORE photos of the kids and play with my cameras settings,
I love the idea of using everything into thirds (I kinda think of it as a tic-tac-toe board). Would love to win!
I thought her examples on where to aim the flash were great.
the timing of this giveaway is amazing… my son will be turning 13 in September and this past weekend his aunt gave him a very nice DSLR for his birthday. I know… what 13yo needs that??? she has no kids and says it’s her job to spoil mine! Anyway… the only cameras I have ever owned have been point and shoot. I have taken a photography course years and years ago, but without using the information, I didn’t retain much.
I really want my son to be able to move “beyond the green box” and learn to use this wonderful gift he was given. For starters, I like her tip to “fill the frame”. We’d love to win this… thanks for sharing the link to her blog!
I learned that it is good to fill the frame – into third, making sure each third adds to the overall picture. I also learned how to blurr the background. What fun!!What wonderful pictures. Thanks for the giveaway.
Your kids look wonderful, Kim.
Cindy
I posted about it on my blog!
Thanks so much.
:cD
[...] a link to your post. Be sure to include at least one link to Me Ra’s site and one link to this giveaway in your [...]
I blogged about this too! Thanks!
Hi, I really liked the tips on fireworks. I’ve always wondered how to do that. I just got a camera with a full manual mode and would love to learn how to use it to it’s full extent.
Veronica
I’ve been experimenting with night shots lately, so the the low ISO/higher aperture tip was right on target. I’ve used both singly, but not in conjunction. Thanks!
The tips were great! I love photography and would love to learn more how to use my camera to the fullest. I liked the tip on catching the sun glare. I’m going to be trying that out.
I’ve been an occassional lurker for awhile, but I’ve been meaning to comment ever since my husband met you at the SA homeschool conference back in May, I think.
Thanks for your blog. It always has something interesting or encouraging to read and I love your sense of humor.
God bless!
Well, the obvious tips for me were the fireworks ones. With PapaPyro at the helm, I have wished I could capture shots of his hard work, but they always turn out blurry. I like her tips and can’t wait to try them out at his next show.
I also loved the photo of the wedding tent at night – the color was amazing. I’ve always defaulted to a high ISO…lowering it to 100 for better color was eye-opening to me.
Oh man, I just found my new teacher!! I *love* this woman’s photography! It’s just what I’ve been looking for since I’m trying to improve my skills before I do my sister’s wedding. I love her exercises, I’m all over doing several of those over the next little while. I can’t wait.
Tonight I learned about the very narrow depth of field: low aperture. Oh yes, and I want your lens. Or at least one that will give that shimmery glimmery background effect to my photos. I’m going to have to check out craig’s list one of these days & see what I can see.
I blogged the give-away too!
http://ritsumeithoughts.blogspot.com/2008/09/i-found-teacher.html
I learned to use the portrait setting on my camera.
Yeah, I know, duh!
See? i really need these dvds!
I blogged on the GOTW. Loved the Me Ra Koh blog, thanks for the tip.
Meg
http://shoeprints.blogspot.com/2008/09/photography-tips-and-gotw.html
I’ve always just used either color film or the color settings (on my digital) when shooting pictures. The explanations of using black/white settings were facinating.
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