I’m excited I finally did this so I would like to write about it.

I have been doing photography for about 17 years and finally invested in something that might help me level up a little bit! Nothing major, but a huge step compared to what I’ve been working with all these years. I spent a lot of years saying, “Maybe one day, but until then, this is what I have.” I often pushed this “want” to the side, but finally decided I want to be happy with what I love to do.

I’ve always had average older model Canons. They are nice cameras, but I’ve been limited. My biggest limitation has always been issues involving low light. If there isn’t much light, I have to hike up the ISO and deal with graininess. The ISO wasn’t very high on my last camera and my current camera only goes to 6400. So low lighting has been an issue for me no matter what I have tried to photograph.

I kept hearing the mirrorless cameras are really good. I have never been someone who went into camera stores and played with all the cameras to see what they do and what I like best. I guess I don’t want them to think I am buying. I’ll usually look at cameras on the internet and see what specifications I prefer. And maybe I’ll ask around. By doing this, I’ve been trying to narrow my decisions down to a couple important features.

The first thing is, of course, a camera that does good in low lighting. I would like to lean towards photographing live music without a flash, unless I really need to. Flash is great for capturing really fast shit, but if it’s not fast, I prefer to not use a flash. Plus, I have been feeling like such an introvert these days. Having a camera that keeps flashing isn’t exactly drawing attention away from myself. Not using a flash would help me feel more like a ninja.

The second thing I have been wanting in a camera is something smaller that still takes amazing photos. Something compact. I get tired of lugging around a larger camera, and I am not a fan of my clunky camera bag. Something smaller would be great. A compact camera. And I’m unsure if anyone has noticed me shaking my hand at shows, but the larger camera sometimes makes my hand ache. Arthritis. 😐

A little voice in my head has been telling me, “Get a professional camera.” But what is a professional camera? Something I don’t wanna spend money on? Am I even professional? 😂No…I am professional at work. I don’t make money doing photography. I’m just going to get something that works for me.

So, after talking to a few friends, including Carlo (thephantomnaut), I started thinking a Sony. I looked around online and decided to go with a Sony Alpha 7C. I’ve never even held one before, so I don’t have any experience with one, but it is a step up from what I have now. I am eager to get familiar with it. I haven’t been happy with my photography for a little while, even to the point that I feel discouraged. I am hoping this will change that. It’s a little more than I wanted to spend, and by spend, I mean put on credit card. But like I mentioned, I want to be happy with what I love to do.

I’ll have to write an update when I get familiar with the new camera. My next goal is to upgrade the program I use to edit my photos. What do I use now? Oh, just Adobe Photoshop 7.0 from 2002. 😂 Oh, I need glasses, too.