There was a thread with a Sony camera that is the best one out there. I can't seem to find it and my wife wants it. Any help? TIA

This might be one of the more loaded questions out there…

What kind of photography does she want to do? Does she want to make prints? Does she want to only upload to social media? Wildlife? Street? Does she want 4K and video compatibility? Is she wanting to a photography business? Does she have experience shooting with a dslr or mirrorless style camera? Meaning, does she understand aperture and shutter priority and can she shoot manual?

Sony was the first to get into the mirrorless game and they revolutionized cameras with their advances. Nikon and Cannon are finally catching up and leaving the bulky DSLRs behind.

There are basically two lines within Sony: full frame and APSC (crop) sensor. Full frames include the A7 (1-3 and R and S) series, as well as the A9 and A1. The crop sensor series is the A6000-A6600. Each one has their pros and cons. Some are great for high MP images and making huge advertising prints. Some are great for videos. Some are good all arounders. The a6xxx series is great for travel, cause it's a power-packed camera in a small body.

Sony's "best camera" costs upwards to $7k (A1). But that's for serious professionals who make a pretty good living off of their work (think NatGeo, high end wedding/fashion/celeb photographers, etc). And that's before you even get into lenses. And it doesn't matter how expensive the camera body is, if you use bad lenses the image quality is going to be trash. Native Sony lenses are ideal (not necessarily the GM lenses), but sigma makes great alternatives for 2/3 the price. Tamron is fine, too.

Personally, I got started on a cropped body Sony camera with a quality 35mm lens (50mm equivalent on a full-frame) and it was a great place to start. I shoot on a full frame Sony now (not an a1 lol) and it's a great piece of equipment.

Wow thank you. No she's just wanting something easy to take pics of when we are boating or sunsets at our beach place we stay all summer at or grands at games. Simple but the cost isn't an issue. Just had to be easy to use and carry and Wi-Fi to her phone. Price range no option.

Then in that case I'd go with the cropped sensor. Less barrier to entry in terms of cost, but good cameras and lenses hold their value if you want to sell and upgrade down the road.

This article helps break down the various a6xxx bodies and their differences: https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/buying-guides/sony-a6000-vs-a6100-vs-a6300-vs-a6400-vs-a6500-vs-a6600-how-do-you-choose

You could also do a point and shoot (sony RX1 or RX100 would be my rec), but the mirrorless systems described above does give you more control over settings. And you can change lenses for various purposes. If you get an a6xxx model, I highly recommend Sony's 35mm lens for cropped sensors (will give you a 50mm equivalent view), and a lot of people swear by the sigma 16mm for cropped sensors (will give you a 24mm equivalent view). Those are two great focal lengths for casual photography.

If she wants both landscapes, portraits, and sports action without getting a ton of lenses you can always start with a super zoom like a 18-300mm. On a Sony a6xxx it will get plenty good results for your purposes. Much better than any point and shoot. Yet much worse than four dedicated lenses but if she gets into it you get get better lenses later.

Probably get more responses here:

https://texags.com/forums/30/topics/2821283