Hellobee

I don’t have many regrets about the first months of Baby Y’s life, but if you twisted my arm, I might offer this: I wish I’d had a better camera from Day One.

Besieged by baby-specific purchases, I never thought much about photography. My camera, a Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot purchased in 2009, had taken lovely photos during trips abroad. I figured it would continue to do so as I documented our new family.

Unfortunately, like most new parents, I was so tired and overwhelmed the first few months that I often relied on my iPhone for photos. While it did OK in bright sunlight, I wasn’t usually frolicking with my sleepy baby outdoors. So I tried to use the Lumix more in hopes that it would capture better low-light photos inside our home.

That simply wasn’t the case, though.

A low-light picture courtesy of my Lumix from before I made the switch …

So, just before Christmas, Papa Y and I decided to take the plunge and splurge on a better camera. I knew that a DSLR, like Mrs. Bee uses, would take the best photos, but there were a couple problems: 1) I didn’t have the time or patience to learn to use one properly and 2) I didn’t want to tote around something so bulky.

Enter the interchangeable lens camera. Think of it as a hybrid of DSLRs and point-and-shoots: near-DSLR quality without the learning curve, yet with the portability of a larger point-and-shoot. Basically, it’s ideal for young parents who want pretty pictures without a lot of effort. Me in a nutshell!

… and after the switch to my Sony. What a difference!

I ultimately decided on a Sony NEX-5N.* For reference, other popular interchangeable-lens cameras include the Nikon 1 and Olympus PEN series. A quick rundown of the features on the Sony that sucked me in:

• Shoots up to 10 frames per second (so, so awesome with a mobile baby)
• Takes HD video
• Has a touchscreen, tiltable LCD display (I can focus with one small tap of the finger, and the movable display means I can get better angles)
• Takes four different lenses directly or 28 when you use an adapter (mine came with an 18-55 mm lens)
• Has nearly a dozen in-camera picture effects (pop color, soft focus, etc. – so you can get “creative” even without Photoshop)
• Offers single-shot auto, continuous auto, direct manual, and manual focus modes (I rarely toy with the manual modes, but it’s nice to have the option)

The verdict? For what I needed – an intuitive, short learning-curve camera that would capture great shots of an increasingly mobile baby, often in low light – the Sony has been awesome. For example, when I’m taking pictures of Baby Y with the “intelligent auto” mode on, it recognizes that I’m snapping pictures of a baby and adjusts its settings accordingly. I rarely mess with post-processing, except for an occasional “auto enhance” in iPhoto. And while the lens makes it bulkier than a point-and-shoot, it can still easily fit in a diaper bag.

The tilt screen makes capturing pictures from a baby’s point of view easier (left) and one of the in-camera picture effects lets you highlight a specific color without messing around in Photoshop (right). Both pictures are still very low-light.

Of course, every camera has cons. The fact that you have to manually attach flash could be a big one for some people, though I will say that this camera is so good in low light that I very rarely need or want flash. Another could be the price – I think I paid $699, which could get you an entry-class DSLR, if you wanted to go that route instead.

If I had a “do over,” I might accept a few more second-hand pieces of baby gear in the name of having a better camera from the get-go.  Alas, it is going to be very, very obvious when I upgraded cameras in Baby Y’s first-birthday photo album!

*The good people at Sony had nothing to do with this review, though they are welcome to shower me with expensive electronics or stock options in appreciation.

Playing is hard work!

Glass sculptures on the ceiling at the Bellagio, Las Vegas

An ill-fated second-ever attempt at swimming