My BFF

I only made friends with her a year ago...I wish I had met her 4 years ago...

My sony A33 has been wonderful to me. I went into the camera store with some ideas of what I wanted. The salesperson asked me to describe what I wanted...fast click, screen where I could see what was happening so I didn't have to see in the viewfinder, fewer blurry photos, close-ups and long distance. He brought out a camera and lens double my budget and had me walk around the store with it. Then did the same thing with the camera I thought I wanted. Well, I guess there is a reason some things are double the budget! I ended up buying the A33, but not with the lens that comes with it. Instead I got a tamaron lens that seemed monstrous, but the sales guy promised me that in less than a year I'd be coming in wanting a different lens if I bought any SLR camera with the kit lens. I did get a deal because the newest model, the A55, had just been named the best budget SLR on the market (note...budget means you are pushing $1K+ once you get the lens and everything.)

I've been so happy with my purchase! I love that I can take pictures like these

But I really don't have any ambition to be an amateur nature photographer or anything like that. Nope, I love this camera for these images where I need to click fast.

And getting pictures of kids together

The long distance lens paid off. Charlotte hates the camera...good thing I could snap this halfway across the yard with her having no idea

Or this one of Penny looking over daddy's shoulder. I was about 12 feet away when i quickly snapped this one.

And the timer has been great! Yay for family pictures

The other bonus is that Sony has the best video camera on the market in a DSLR. Video wasn't even something on my must have list. The one downside is the size. I don't have a small camera to slip into my pocket. I don't have a smartphone or even a small point and shoot digital since mine broke last year. But it really hasn't been that hard. I love having the fast clicks. I don't think I could go back to the "push the button and watch Penny move out of the scene by the time the click happens" shots.  I don't have as many candid photos of us on a weekday dog walk or impromptu playground trip since it is pretty big. I don't do any editing besides some cropping when I'm putting them in my shutterfly album. I probably could make the photos a lot better if I learned how to edit. I should take some DSLR classes because I'm barely scratching the surface of what it can do. It is definitely one purchase that I will always say was worth the investment.