I come to you with my tail between my legs and my head held low in shame.
Roughly one year ago I went on a rather lengthy rant calling out Sony for making crappy point and shoot cameras and making a statement that I would never, under any circumstances, buy another one.
Unfortunately I have a confession to make. This week I went out and bought a Sony a6000 mirrorless camera, and now I feel dirty.
A Story of Not One, Not Two, But Three Broken Cameras
For those who don't want to read my rather lengthy rant, the summary of it is that we have gone through three (yes, three) Sony point and shoot cameras in as many years.
The first was a Sony HX20V which we bought in December 2012 and started to get dust on the sensor by August 2013. We were traveling, so the warranty was pretty much worthless to us (and also, fixing a seal is damn near impossible in my opinion). You may get the dust out, but short of having a new camera it will come back.
The second was a replacement Sony HX50V which we bought in Dubai in November 2013, and an internal motor broke on it within five months. Luckily, our travel insurance paid us for that one because we were not going back to Dubai within the year to make good on the warranty. Frustrating, but at least we walked away even on that one.
The third was another Sony HX20V which we had a friend bring down to us in June 2014 as we were finishing our trip. We didn't want to get a third Sony, and bought it at the same time as our previously mentioned rant, but we also didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars for accessories so we made a compromise and just dealt with it. That camera lasted 13 months before dust began accumulating on the sensor- just one month out of warranty (and if you're following along, that was this week- hence this post).
As you can imagine, I was (and still am) pretty pissed at Sony.
The Quest for a New Camera
The second dust got on the sensor, Angie said "well, I guess you're getting an SLR, huh?".
She knew that I was going to be pissed, had heard me rant about how dust on a lens is a death sentence for a point and shoot (several times), and also knew that my next camera upgrade was going to be a big one.
Unfortunately, I don't have $2,000 sitting around to spend on the SLR that I've been ogling. In fact, I really shouldn't be buying a camera at all right now, but we'll ignore that point for the time being.
I put a call out to my professional travel blogging / photographer friends and the response was almost unanimous - mirrorless is the way to go.
There was one problem- Sony leads the mirrorless market for the price range I was targeting, and my blogging friends were giving them incredible reviews. A few dozen hours reading online reviews later and the general photography consensus was plain to see: the Sony a6000 is the best for its price tier.
Begrudgingly, I went to the store to check it out.
You can imagine what happened next. My wallet became $1,000 lighter, I created a mental note to buy more gear that will hit another $500 in the next month or so, and I walked away with a brand new toy (plus a 3-year extended warranty because I don't trust Sony at all). The only thing left was to write this post and point out that old grudges die hard, but I'm willing to make a compromise. The photos are still the best, and I'm not afraid to admit that.
Sony better not let me down again.A Disclaimer on Sony
Since I'm going back on a previous statement to a certain degree, I need to highlight an important point.
Sony's point and shoot cameras are still, in my mind, crap. Having poorly made seals and early motor failures is not something that I ever want to deal with again. Add in the limited one-year warranty that comes standard and you have a recipe for disaster. Even though they take better photos than I've ever seen in a point and shoot camera, throwing away $300-$400 for a new camera each year is simply an insult.
Thankfully, mirrorless and SLR camera technology does not have these issues. You can clean the sensor with the click of a button (or a more elaborate cleaning in-house if needed), thus solving the dust problem. The kit lens is still motorized, sadly, but I plan to upgrade very soon to a prime lens (no zoom) and further off to a higher-end telephoto lens that is similar to those found on most SLRs with a manual zoom.
Theoretically, all of my complaints with Sony products will be avoided entirely in this camera, and for my sake I sure hope that I am right. Otherwise, I have that three-year extended warranty to fall-back on, and I'm not afraid to use it.
A full review is coming soon.
