SonyAlpha a6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 16-50 mm Lens 24.3MP (Silver)

I'm not sure I could more clearly love this camera. I purchased this camera after looking for an excuse to buy a nice camera for a long time. When the opportunity arrived for me to teach our school yearbook class, it was time for me to learn how to take good photos. There are plenty of comprehensive reviews on here... so I will just addressed why I pulled the trigger on this purchase, and why I'm so happy with it.For starters, I FIRMLY believe this camera is the best bang for your buck you can possibly get in DSLR or mirrorless at the time of this review. In fact, I've noticed the price just dropped this month. Like many of you reading this, I've spent COUNTLESS hours doing research to be sure this big purchase was the right one. I knew I'd use the camera semi-professionally, and needed it to meet criteria that allowed it to be effective in low light and take rapid shots to capture the action of the kids I work with. The a6000 was the clear winner despite a suggestion from a family member who has a cheaper model Sony mirrorless. After comparing the two... I'm FIRMLY convinced I made the perfect decision for me.I use this camera primarily to take pictures of the kids at our school, and that includes our middle school sports program. At 11 shots per second... I don't miss a beat. I've caught some incredible photos of our kids, and the parents and school community are buzzing about the awesome impact these cool photos have on our ability to create a buzz around campus. One of the parents on campus is a professional photographer, and when she was taking photos next to me at our annual winter concert she looked at my photos and was stunned that I was not only getting photos on par with the quality of her pro DSLR setup, but that some of the low-light photos even came out BETTER.I'm using nothing so far besides the kit lens and 50-210mm lense. Though I plan to upgrade to a strong fixed lens soon.Quick heads up... the Wasabi battery pack isn't just important, it's ESSENTIAL. This camera sucks battery like crazy, but you should be able to go three to four hours of HEAVY shooting on 2 or 3 batteries. With that said, the Wasabi batteries also have a larger capacity than the Sony batteries, so I use them more often anyways.The only other minor gripe I have about the camera is the sensor that detects your eye at the viewfinder (and shuts off the LCD display) is crazy sensitive. But that's super minor compared to what feels to me like the best big dollar purchase I may have ever made.Get a good book to teach you this camera, spend a small amount of time on it, and you won't believe the quality photos you get out of it.

Professional photographer MASSIVELY IMPRESSED!I purchased this camera as our "family fun" and vacation camera (when do not want to lug around our heavy pro bodies and lenses).Highlights:The AP-C sized sensor is really amazing. The image quality is fantastic. The viewfinder is appreciated and functional!Pro's:-Image quality rivals my old D7000, which was far heavier, bigger, more cumbersome and more expensive-Wifi is a GREAT feature! I can now take professional quality photos and send it to my smart phone for immediate posting to Facebook.-Digital viewfinder is great because it shows in real-time what your manual adjustments will look when you take your photo (as opposed to the snap/review process with pro bodies). It also turns the screen on/off automatically to conserve battery power.-Size and weight, I cannot believe they crammed so much tech into such a small body at such an affordable price!-Great lenses available (sold separately) for more advanced users or those looking for pro quality photos. #1 recommendation SEL35F18 35mm f/1.8 prime lens (becomes a fast 50 for this crop sensor, with stabilization)Cons:-In camera processing not as advanced as the older and lesser qualified Nikon J bodies-Not as weather sealed as Olympus or other mirrorless bodies (I was originally going to get another Nikon 1 series the AW for all weather, but the image quality wasn't nearly as good... still, if I'm shooting in the snow/rain I'll be paranoid this camera will break if getting wet or super humid as opposed to many other weather sealed options out there).-Raw quality isn't easily compatible with Photoshop and RAW's aren't as impressive of an improvement/versatility as my Nikon bodies. Net, if you get this camera, just use it as a JPEG shooter and save on the card/computer memory.Some background on me; I shoot professionally and use Nikon bodies. My previous mirror less was a J3, but the image quality was too poor in low light conditions which led me to find an alternative. I am incredibly impressed with the Sony!If you want a camera you can take snowboarding or surfing I suggest the Nikon AW1 (more expensive and less image quality, but water/shock/freeze proof), if you take your camera in less harsh environments but still feel the in camera processing is important or would like a camera which handle the rain I suggest an Olympus, for a cheaper camera the Nikon J's are great.If you want one of the best quality mirrorless cameras, and image quality is your priority, this is it.