The Sony Alpha 5000 ; Part Two

I’m sure most of you have already heard of the Sony Alpha 5000 by now. Yes, the world’s lightest interchangeable-lens digital camera weighs only 210g without lens and battery, and 269g with battery and kit lens. But inside this very portable camera is a 20.1 effective-megapixel APS-C image sensor for superb image quality.

The Sony Alpha 5000 also equipped with a 180 degrees tiltable LCD screen for easy selfies, and Wi-Fi and NFC capabilities, for easy transfer or photos to my smartphone using the Play Memories app which is free for both iPhone and Android. This makes capturing and sharing photos really fun and most importantly - easy!

So, I took home the Sony A5000 and got to play around with it for a few weeks. Before I show you what this compact camera is capable of, I must really emphasize that the Sony Alpha 5000 really is so lightweight and convenient! I have been bringing it with me almost wherever I go! I don’t have to worry about bulky cameras anymore. Just strap on, and I’m good to go!

Another thing I love about this Sony Alpha 5000 is definitely its exterior! Sophisticated and sleek, white is surely my favourite out of the three (the other colours being pink and black).  

I am not the best photographer, but hey… this camera sure did unleash that 'inner pro' within me! I am really amazed by the amount of details this little compact camera can capture. I won't do so much talking; after all… action speaks louder than words, right? In this case, I'll let my pictures do the talking! 

CLOSE-UPS 

For close-up shots like these, I used the 'Macro' function and I must say that it was very user friendly. You don't need a degree in photography. With the Sony A5000, your photos will turn out as good! Look at the beautiful details and colours in these photos that I managed to capture. I was pretty amazed myself! I remember MHB’s official photographer Andy Kho saying during the bloggers gathering at Carcosa that this is because of the large APS-C sensor which captures more light.

And of course everyone likes taking shots of food and beverage. I liked the background defocus effect which softens the background and makes the subject of the photo more prominent. Best thing is that you can even adjust the amount of background defocus right in auto mode! Great for users like myself!

Next is a shot of a beautiful chandelier.

For this particular one, I played around with the effects. At first, I wanted to capture the details of the chandelier, but as I took a couple more shots, and changed around with some effects, I managed to capture this one with the 'Soft Focus' effect.

It actually turned out pretty cool! Feels like the sun radiating energy, right?! I actually submitted this photo for the photography competition during the event; too bad mine wasn't good enough. But I still think this is a pretty cool shot! Made it my desktop's wallpaper too. Yup, that's how much I like it! :)

DIFFERENT PHOTO EFFECTS 

I played mostly with the photo effects as I am not particularly proficient playing with ISO, shutter speed, and aperture yet. There are quite a few to choose from; Toy Camera, Pop Color, Posterization, Retro, Soft High-key, Partial Color, High Contrast Mono, Soft Focus- Low, HDR Painting, Rich-tone Mono, Miniature, Watercolor & Illustration.

However I’m hoping to improve, and I’ve read up a little on how to properly set aperture, shutter speed and ISO online... so I'm slowly but surely learning how to fully utilise the camera! (hopefully I get to keep it a little longer :P).

So the following of photos are mostly myself, playing around with the different photo effects available. It's quite amazing how just one simple effect, can alter the entire mood of the photo. Check it out!

NO EFFECT

TOY CAMERA EFFECT

NO EFFECT

WATERCOLOR EFFECT 

POP COLOR EFFECT 

HDR PAINT EFFECT 

TOY CAMERA EFFECT 

HDR PAINT EFFECT 

POP COLOR EFFECT 

RICH MONO TONE EFFECT 

For me personally, when a camera can produce good photographs when the sun goes down (night time), then it’s a good camera. Just my two cents; and what can I say? The Sony Alpha 5000 really surprised me! Just look at the amount of detail I managed to capture in the night shots below!

These are merely with the available photo effects (extremely user-friendly for users that are not so familiar with the more technical aspects of the camera) but I can totally imagine the outcome if I actually applied manual effects depending on the ambience. It’s time high I take up photography lessons! Well I heard Sony Malaysia provides photography workshops to their users!

 Notice how a simple change of photo effect changes the entire mood of the photograph? Love it!

NORMAL EXPOSURE 

HIGH EXPOSURE

MY FAVORITE SHOTS! 

I am definitely enjoying this artistic side of me. Never knew I could take such 'interesting' pictures. This Sony Alpha 5000 is definitely very user-friendly (especially photography noobies like myself), very lightweight (I can bring it with me anywhere, anytime!), and not forgetting its appealing outlook (white cameras? they look good with any outfit, for any occasion!). 

Here are some of my ultimate favorite shots! Yes, taken by me using the Intelligent Auto mode which automatically identifies the scene’s characteristics and adjusts to the best settings. I’m slowly getting the hang of using the Sony A5000 and I’m pretty impressed with it as the photos turn out GOOD considering I don’t have any advanced knowledge of photography).

 This particular shot of my baby bro is taken with the 180 degrees tiltable  built-in pop-up flash, and this is actually taken in the daytime but the flash created an effect which really highlights him as the subject! Really love how this picture turned out! 

Need I say more? Sony Alpha 5000 spells PERFECTION already!

Here’s what the Sony Alpha 5000 can do in the hands of a professional.

A view of the KL skyline shot by MHB’s official photographer Andy Kho from his condo, using “Sunset” mode.

My personal encounter with the Sony Alpha 5000 has been great thus far. I seriously am considering to get myself one (or hopefully I get to keep this one for myself... I wish! ).

Nonetheless, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sony Malaysia for the exclusive privilege to review this camera and be one of the very first few to try out the Sony Alpha 5000. Lucky or what?!

If you’re keen to find out more about the Sony Alpha 5000, head on over to http://bit.ly/1gPXynR

Or check out their official website at http://www.sony.com.my or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SonyMalaysia.

The Sony Alpha 5000 has been available in Malaysia from the 21^st February 2014 with the suggested retail price:-

Single Lens Package (Body + 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens) at RM1,999.

Twin Lens Package (Body + 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 + 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3) at RM2,799.

One thing for sure, you’ll experience photography like never before ;)

Till then!