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| NEX-6 (camera) and two additional lenses |
After months of anguish, I have finally received my new camera. It all started several months back, when I decided it was time to invest in a new camera. At the time, I had been using a Canon S95 for a couple years. The little camera served me really well, but over time the limitations became increasingly apparent in relation with my growing interest in photography.
From that point until now, I researched like a madman, narrowed down my options, and decided on the right camera for my needs. I found a great price from an Japanese online camera shop, and made the purchase. I then waited anxiously for a week and then one weekend, the camera arrived. I opened the box and turned the camera on. As I expected, the first screen was in Japanese and it prompted me to choose a region. I thought I better choose the US since I wanted to use the camera in the English language. But after completing the setup process, everything was still in Japanese (mostly kanji). So my next thought was that I simply had to change the language setting. I could navigate the basic menu in Japanese so I went to camera settings and scrolled through the options, but there was nothing for language. I thought this was strange so I took a quick look on the web for some insight; I figured that I the language setting was just tucked away in a few submenus that I missed previously. Much to my surprise, I discovered (and confirmed) that the language cannot be changed in any way on the Japanese-sold version of the camera (officially, unofficially, via hacking the device, etc.).
If you want my personal opinion, I think this restriction is completely ridiculous. But there was nothing I could do about it. For a lot of devices here, I have no issue with using Japanese. However, the menus, settings, and options of this camera are substantial and I didn't want to miss great shots because I was trying to decipher what various kanji meant when using the camera. For me, this was a deal breaker.
Luckily, one of my friends was visiting the States at the time and would return a couple weeks later (which was indeed today). So I contacted the original seller and went through the return process. Then I searched on US camera websites and the cheapest I could find was surprisingly almost $200 more than the Japanese price I originally paid (a very rare scenario). But I had no choice so I bought the camera again and had it shipped to my friend in the US, who then brought it back with him to Japan upon his return. And now, I finally have my new camera! I'm obviously very happy, but admittedly the whole process has really worn me out and with the crappy weather today I couldn't play with it very much.
Nonetheless, I have a lot of practice to do before my big trip (S. Korea, Taiwan, Philippines), coming very soon. In addition to the two lenses shown in the picture above, I also have a variety of accessories to go along with the camera. Once I get a decent camera bag, my camera system will be complete--I think. But for now, I'm happy I finally have the camera (with the English language) in my hands. Once I practice and get a few worthy shots, perhaps I'll write another post describing why I chose this particular camera over the others I was looking at. Now, it's time for bed.
