Sony a5100 Special Pricing

A few months back we did a review of the video features on the Sony a5100 mirrorless camera which impressed me quite a bit. I bought one for my wife, who was looking for a camera nearly as small as her point-and-shoot from 8 years ago, but a little quicker at actually capturing photos. Yes, she has a smartphone and yes she uses that plenty, but wanted a "real" camera that would take nicer photos when there wasn't a lot of light and that could zoom optically. https://youtu.be/tq2AkLc_hGI

While this camera doesn't have as many physical buttons as higher-end models, and the default settings are definitely aimed at beginners, Sony was wise enough to allow shooters to turn off all those annoying auto/beginner features and take total control. And the HD video this camera captures is quite impressive with its XAVC S codec (a higher bit-rate flavor or H.264 encoding) and its large APS-C sized sensor. The only downside I really find is that it is limited to about 25 minutes of continuous shooting. That's not a problem for those of us that are doing short pieces, but probably not the best choice for someone doing long-form video like lectures or shows where you want to capture the whole hour or two on one camera.

And the best part? This camera won't break the bank. Right now, it looks like they've reduced to the price so that the camera body alone is less than $350 USD. Even with the 16-50mm kit lens, which is a solid beginner lens, the package still comes in at just under $500 USD. I'm not sure how long this lasts but I'd say that if you're looking for a camera for shooting talking head, interview, or dramatic style film, this is a very solid starting point. Same for those looking for a B (second) camera.