Better Blog Photos: Sony NEX {Camera Lens Review}

As a blogger for over 3 years now (crazy to say that), photos have always been something I’ve strived to improve on. Now, if you look back at my archives from when I first started blogging, you’ll see that the photos are not so good. Finally, in 2010, I splurged and got myself a Nikon D5000 that I do love, but it is crazy bulky.

This past February, I got the immense honor of heading up to NYC to do some work on behalf of Collective Bias. While there, I was given the Sony NEX-C3 and I was smitten. It was sleek, savvy and capable of producing fantastic photos without me changing 11 different settings.

Since February, the Sony NEX and I have been pretty inseparable. Especially on trips. I went to Hispanicize in April, and all my photos of Miami turned out splendid. I just got back from Universal Studios Resort in Orlando, FL and ohmygosh have I got a ton of beautiful photos to share with you.

But, to be perfectly honest, my travel adventures are usually few and far between, so my main use for my camera is to create content for this little blog o’ mine. A challenge I’ve always had when taking pictures for my blog is getting clear, crisp well lit photos and getting a large portion of a room in a photo. It’s hard unless you have a wide-angle lens with good aperture to let light into the photo.

And now I have one! I was sent to checkout lenses for my Sony NEX camera, and I was over-the-moon excited to snag a wide-angle lens for $250. A Nikon one would set me back mucho dinero. No bueno.

The Best Buy I went to has a end cap display dedicated to the NEX camera series:

After a quick and painless checkout at Best Buy, I brought my lens home and give it a whirl to see if it would hopefully improve my room makeover, DIY tutorial, food posts.

Funny story at Best Buy…the guy that helped me in the camera section was asking me questions about the camera because he says a lot of folks are weary about it. It’s different and new, etc. So I was gushing over how fab it is, and I noticed that there was a man kind of eavesdropping on our conversation. When I finally shut up about the camera, the man tells the Best Buy employee, “Get me one of everything she mentioned. I’ve been doing months of research, but she convinced me the Sony NEX is what I need and want.”

Amazing, right? I know word of mouth is quite powerful! That’s why I am totally honest when I review stuff on here. I talk to you all like I would talk to my friends and family. But I digress…

As you can tell, the lens is quite slim. The camera fits in my pocket with this lens on.

Now it’s time for the moment of truth. Let’s see how the lens performed when taking shots of my office. Yes, the one I am going to do a full before/after makeover post about really soon. But, hey, you get a sneak peek today!

Usually, I can’t get in a full ceiling to floor shot with my normal lens. Yay wide angle lens!

Here’s another shot. My office area is usually kind of dark, so a bright photo like this is hard to come by without a good lens.

The nailhead trim really pops in this photo and slowly fades away.

Getting in a full wall while standing right in front of it was usually impossible.

And finally, my living room is also super dark, yet this photo captures everything perfectly without looking dark and drab.

Overall, I am loving my Sony NEX camera and even with the kit lens, you’ll have amazing photos. I recommend it to someone who doesn’t want the expense or bulk of a DSLR, but wants the superb photo quality of one. I can’t wait to show you all the pictures I took with the camera while in Orlando last week, and I hope to continually improve my blog photos for all of you to enjoy. If you want to check out the Sony NEX series in person, head over to Best Buy- they have so many of the products in store so you can take a look up close.

See you soon!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias