I’ve been blogging and creating video content on social media since high school, so having a digital camera or camcorder is as essential to me as my other tech: cellphone, computers, etc. Of course, my budget never allowed for the most professional or fanciest device, but I faired pretty well with what I had. Thanks to smartphone creators getting crafty with the quality of cellphone cameras, I was never far out of reach from decent quality images or video.

In my life time I have had three digital cameras and one camcorder. Each lasted me well over 3 years and was taken care of well. The equipment I currently use now to do my doll videos on YouTube (DollieLovex3) is the Envidia, while all of my photography is done with my Samsung Galaxy S7 for convenience (yes, my cellphone is old and no, I don’t plan to upgrade until it’s dead :P). I do own the Canon Powershot SX530, but for some reason, I never used it much since I was lazy and my cellphone was always in-hand.

If you’re looking for an awesome digital camera to take photographs (especially makeup pics!) I have my new Canon for sale for $190 USD with lots of extras included. Contact me if you are interested!

Nevertheless, every road has to end. My current camcorder is all but dead and Mr. Right has been insisting on my upgrade. While we have the financial opportunity to do so now, I took the chance and I’m glad I did. Now, I’m the proud new owner of a Sony a5100 digital camera!

For starters, I am no expert on digital cameras. I do know my way around after taking traditional photography courses in college, though. Owning a fully manual camera really is something special and developing your own film, is a labor of love. With that being said, I am very familiar with the basics of what cameras can do but I am still learning all the bells and whistles of digital cameras (DSLR’s and Mirrorless ones). Once you get the hang of them though, they really are awesome to work with! I had a few things on my requirement list before investing in a new camera:

• Under $600 USD – I wanted a camera that would not break the bank and $600 was my absolute max. I didn’t want to spend any more than that, based off the type of videos I knew I would be making.
• Lightweight & Easy Transport – One thing that stopped me from getting more use out of my Canon, was the bulkiness and weight of it. After taking photos on my cellphone for so long, I got used to the portability. The new camera had to be comfortable to hold for long periods and easier to store in travel bags (if needed).
• Image & Video Quality – I may be asking for a lot, but I needed a camera that wasn’t just great at taking high quality/accurate photos, but video quality too!

In the beginning of my research, I was set on owning a Canon 80D. Just about every beauty YouTuber I enjoyed content from, was creating with that camera. This camera, was well out of my budget, but I was willing to save for it. What changed my mind was actually handling one in person! Not only is this camera 3x heavier than the hefty Canon I already had, but there were so many knobs, buttons and dials on it to wrap my head around. Needless to say, there was going to be a major learning curve in it’s functionality. I would have spent far more time learning how to use the camera, than actually using it and creating content. It was a no-go for me.

Feeling slightly disappointed, I kept on my search until I came across the Sony a5100. Although this camera has been out in the market 3+ years, it still seems to be content creators’ favorite when it comes to vlogging and photography. I don’t do much live action vlogging where I am moving all around, but for my purposes of sit-down-talk videos and featuring dolls, I was pretty sure this would work for me. On top of that, it was in my price range and took amazing photographs. After handling it in-store and also getting a good recommendation of it from Mr. Right’s friend who works in videography, I went for it! There were a few drawbacks to this camera, but they weren’t deal breakers for me, overall, ’cause I’m pretty happy with the video/photo quality. This camera comes in white (which I love!) and black. I ultimately went for the black, just so cosmetic wear and dirt won’t be as easily visible.

Photo Samples

I took these photos of one of my collectable dolls, outside in my backyard. They came out great (and she looks even more realistic!)

Overall, I really love the camera so far and have been using it for videos and photography for the past three months or so. I can give a pros and cons list review in the future if anyone is interested 😛