Memories through Photos by Andrew Lucas
When someone mentions a camera, in almost any context, the first thing that may come to mind could be many things. From the retro-style disposable film cameras to the professional-grade cinematography cameras used in the movies you watch, and even the camera found in the phone that sits in your pocket. Me, though? I imagine the camera I have carried with me for well over a year: the Sony a6700 mirrorless camera. Since I bought it in June of 2024, it has become a staple of my life, and it has even potentially altered my potential career choice. Before then, both my parents and I believed that I would follow my childhood dream of attending law school and becoming a lawyer. But, a month after I had bought that camera and a lens for it, I had been paid for the first time to take photos for a couple. The couple were close friends of mine, particularly the girlfriend. Her name was Lexi, and she had always been one of my top supporters for pursuing photography ever since she saw me use a camera for my school’s yearbook. Lexi had messaged me a couple of weeks after I had posted on my Instagram story showing off my camera, asking if I could take pictures for her and her boyfriend as she was about to move out to college soon. So, I sat down with her and we booked a one-hour photography session at a farm-like pasture the next town over. Once it got to that day, and I pulled up into the driveway of that farm, what I saw might seem normal to the eyes of a regular person. But when you pull out a camera and see the smiles of two young lovers light up, it makes something in your brain click, and it tells you that maybe you made the right choice.
The Sony a6700 is part of Sony Electronics’ long line of a6000 series cameras. This lineup, which featured more compact, crop sensor-style cameras with detachable lenses, became a staple in photography communities globally. Even in initial reviews of the a6700 at its release, people were quick to praise it, along with its older siblings. As Dan Bracaglia from DPReview noted, “Every single a6000 model we've ever tested has received either a gold or silver award. And the a6700 is no exception” (Bracaglia). But the a6000 series wasn’t the first lineup of Sony cameras to receive such praise. Dating all the way back to a time many consider to be the Stone Age, in 1981, Sony unveiled the Sony Mavica. According to a brief history of Sony Cameras from Adorama, it was a proof-of-concept camera that, instead of using 35mm film, like what was common at the time, used proprietary floppy disks to store the analog data of an image (Touchette).
When I was doing my initial research for this essay, that was what I was most shocked by. The concept of digital cameras wasn’t even approached until the 1980s, and it wasn’t even fully digital! But then, what shocked me more, was that Sony didn’t try to reapproach the idea again until the mid-1990s! By then, digital cameras had started to become more mainstream with the likes of Apple, Canon, Fuji, and Nikon all trying their hands. But in the years following, each time Sony hit the ground, they hit it running, starting with the NEX-5, “one of the world’s first mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras featuring an APS-C sensor” (Touchette). Then again, with the Sony Alpha 1, which was similar in concept to the NEX-5, but replicated the 35mm film dimensions of old film cameras, providing higher resolution, a wider range of view, and depth.
Now, why did I just spend two paragraphs talking about the history of cameras? Well, when you look back at that history, it speaks for itself. Progress wasn’t being made just because they could. But because there was a desire for it. We wanted to better record our history. We don’t want the history books of future generations to be filled with the same kind of photos used in the history books of the late 1900s. We want them to record the vibrancy of our lives, the depth of our history, and the accuracy of what they’re reading about. That’s what I think about each time I pick up my camera. Whether I am photographing my high school’s soccer team at the state championship or walking through a garden with another student who wants to get senior pictures done of them, I always think about what is going to be left behind when it is all said and done. It’s always on my mind. To the point where it’s an obsession. And sometimes I like to think that I’m not the only one who thinks that way.
Take the Associated Press, for example. In 2020, it partnered with Sony to switch its photography and videography divisions from a multitude of cameras to all using the same line of systems. According to Derl McCrudden, deputy managing editor for both photography and videography, “AP is committed to providing the best imagery to our member news organizations and customers across the globe. Adopting Sony’s cutting-edge equipment and technology allows us to do that, by enabling our photographers and video journalists to be faster and more flexible, ultimately creating better visual journalism” (The Associated Press). When I first read that, I immediately felt it resonate with me. Then, when I read it again, I knew why. Ultimately, our goals are fundamentally the same. We both want to record something. It doesn’t matter if it’s a girl in a dress trying to impress her followers on Instagram or TikTok, or if it’s photos of citywide protests in a country that’s on the brink of open rebellion. There is history buried behind each of those photos. History that wants to be recorded and shown off.
So whenever I look back at that first photoshoot with Lexi and her boyfriend, I see that I managed to capture a piece of history. They broke up about nine months later, so documenting their relationship so early on won’t ever win me an award or anything like that if either of them ever became famous. But, relatively speaking, it was a historical moment. Not just for Lexi and her now-ex boyfriend, but also for me, as a small push like that was all that I needed to step into a world that is ripe with stories to tell and moments meant for the history books. But none of it would have been possible if I hadn’t had that Sony camera with me that day.
So, with that, I give Sony cameras 5/5 stars.
Works Cited
“AP to Equip All Visual Journalists Globally with Sony Imaging Products | the Associated Press.” The Associated Press, 24 Jan. 2024, www.ap.org/media-center/press-releases/2020/ap-to-equip-all-visual-journalists-globally-with-sony-imaging-products/. Accessed 14 Sept. 2025.
Bracaglia, Dan, and Richard Butler. “Sony A6700 Review.” DPReview, 2 Aug. 2023, www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-a6700-review. Accessed 9 Sept. 2025.
Britton, Barney. “‘We’re Confident That They Can Deliver’: We Talk to AP’s Director of Photography about Switch to Sony.” DPReview, 23 July 2020, www.dpreview.com/interviews/2999935759/interview-we-talk-to-ap-director-of-photography-about-switch-to-sony/1. Accessed 10 Sept. 2025.
Touchette, Amy. “A Vision through the Lens: A History of Sony Cameras - Adorama.” Adorama, 21 May 2025, www.adorama.com/alc/a-vision-through-the-lens-a-history-of-sony-cameras/. Accessed 9 Sept. 2025.