Some of you might have realized by now how some of my pictures that I share on Instagram and Dayre seem to be higher quality compared to the rest?

Well if you have, you guys have sharp eyes! These pictures were taken by my new camera =) I’m still using my old iPhone 4S and Samsung Note2, both of their cameras are now quite outdated compared to all of those newly released phones like Sony Z1 or iPhone5s!

Anyway, I found a way to share better quality pictures without having to spend RM2k on a phone!

I tot of keeping it as a secret but I was like, “Good things are meant to be shared!” I know I’m a good person ahemmmmm

So, here I am sharing, the secret behind my Instagram and Dayre pictures!

Why not DsLR?

I had been doing a lot of research on cameras a few months ago, and I’ve always wanted something that comparable to a DSLR. Since Jo owns a DSLR, I dont see why I should get one for myself so I decided to just get something smaller. My brain kept telling me DSLR pictures look nicer one le!!! For example our honeymoon in Boracay or my LOTD. They were all taken with our Nikon D300. DSLRs are important when travelling, I know it’s big but I’m not the one who carries it so I dont complain LOL. Jo has been thinking to change our D300 to a full frame camera but that is another story so that will go into another blog post. He used to have a D700 back in the US but he needed it for work. The only bad thing about DSLRs is that it’s too big to be carried around especially to events or dinners T__T I used to carry ours around with me to events; imagine me carrying  a DSLR, handbag, goodie bags and my phone!?!?! That’s when I realized I cant do this anymore… A camera that weighs as much as a small baby is seriously a big nono for me, especially when I’m wearing a heels! FTS

Why Not New Phone?

To be honest, I’m not a very techy person. I use whatever I can get or afford. I don’t follow the trend when it comes to technology. Some of my frens change their phones like its free LOL but not me. I tend to just stick with one until it dies on me, but so far both of my Note 2 and iPhone4s are very loyal to me *touchwood.

Flip screen

Almost all cameras can do a selfies these days, as long as you’re very well trained but not all cameras have a flip screen. Ah Ha! Flip screens makes my life so much easier when I want to take selfies with my friends! One shot gao tim!

Light Weight

Light weight but not too light or small like a pocket camera T__T Sorry I’m super picky.

Wifi

O yes, how can a camera survive without wifi? Enter the wifi SD card. These days, its essential to have wifi to share our pictures instantly. LOL

Price

  Camera that costs no more than RM1.5k hahaha. I have a very tight budget so…

Anyway, after much consideration and reviews from friends and Jo, I decided to get myself a Sony NEX-3N!

Yup, you’re right it’s not a latest model camera hahha. It has been out in the market for quite a while edi! The price fits perfectly in to my budget. I got it for RM1,100 and the new Sony Nex-5 is around RM1800 but most of the functions like sensor and lens are the same as my NEX-3N. The main difference is that it doesn’t come with WiFi, so I got a  Toshiba Wifi card for only RM120. So, why pay so much for a newer camera with Wifi when I can get a card!

Most important of all, this camera has a DSLR sized sensor! I used to have an Olympus XZ-1 but that has a much smaller sensor, so I cant achieve a shallow depth of field! Very technical explanation but in simpler terms, it just means that with a bigger sensor, I can make the background more blur behind me in pictures. The lens is also interchangable so in the future we can add another 35mm f1.8 lens for even more awesome portraits!

Now a little review on my camera hehe. I figured I dont really do tech reviews on my blog because it’s clearly not my strength haha. BUT, I will try to share what are the things I like about my new camera!

Flip Screen

O yes, this is super awesome because I dont have to remember which angle I need to raise my camera in order to capture my face or my fren’s hahaha.

I can even selfie with Furry boy!!!! See, he also likes selfies LOL.

MODE

Well, almost all camera comes with this function but some of you who are using the same camera asked me, “Why your pic turn out nicer one!” Well, the secret is that I’m using Aperture mode instead of AUTO =) Jo adjusts most of the settings for me so, he says, “just use “A” mode and use the largest aperture (smallest f number; very counter-intuitive, I know).”

To achieve a brighter exposure I adjust the exposure using the shortcut button! Usually if I’m taking selfies I will adjust it to 1.0 or 1.5 to overexpose a little bit, but it really depends on the lighting at your location, whether if it’s bright or dim.

Soft Skin Effect

Actually before getting this camera I was thinking to get myself a Casio TR150! Jo warned me not to get that camera because it’s crazy expensive and useless (only can take selfies and nothing else). He insisted I should get myself a real camera so that I can use it to travel or work. Well, he is right! Good thing about this camera is that it comes with a soft skin effect too!! It’s not as awesome as TR150 but it’s perfect for me!

This is how it looks like without any editing but only the soft skin effect on the camera itself! OMG super awesome!!! My skin looks flawless without looking too heavily edited like TR150.

Not just faces ok, food pics also look very beautiful one! Hahahahahahhaha Look at the color and everything !!!!

It also works well with the built in flash! Hehe

Wifi Card!

As mentioned earlier, I bought a wifi card so that I can transfer pictures I take instantly into my phone. This is a serious problem for bloggers or most girls these days, we HAVE to share what we eat, wear and do.

The disadvantages of the wifi card are that it drains my camera battery faster compared to using a normal memory card but the battery still can last for at least 24 hours!

Another disadvantage is that I have too many random pictures in this card and I have a hard time sorting it out. To solve this problem, I keep opening new folders in my computer and name them SONY1, SONY2, SONY3….. LOL

I think that’s pretty much about it! I think I did pretty well up to this point so maybe next time I will consider doing a post on which apps I use to edit my pictures!

P/S: Camera sponsors ahemmm you know who to look for if you need someone to do review on your camera LOL.

♥