Gave my new camera a workout today!  We had an outside event at our church after services today..."Home Run Sunday", and it was a good opportunity to test out my camera.  I have to say, "I AM IMPRESSED!"  

My history with digital cameras goes way back to the first Sony 3.2 MP Mavica, and I also used a Canon Rebel 35 mm for a few years.  My most recent camera has been a Sony 8 MP F828 Digital, and I thought I loved it!  I also had a small point and shoot Casio Exilim digital that recently pooped out on me.  I fell on ice and it went flying and I think, did some kind of major damage, as it is no longer working. 

HERE'S WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE SONY A100K:

• The weight of it....it FEELS like a solid, quality object, and helps keep your hands steady.
• The sound of it...the shutter actually sounds like a real SLR camera.
• Picture quality is sharp and colorful, and the best part --- no blurring, even in action shots!
• 10.2 MP really means that you can crop smaller segments and still keep a sharp image.
• Optional lenses means you can shoot long or short; I got a 75-300mm lens that is AWESOME!  But is too much for closer shots. 
• Manual operation is similar to shooting with a 35 mm, only more options.

HERE'S WHAT I AM NOT CRAZY ABOUT:

• Restricted to using optical viewfinder to frame shots rather than the LCD view. (I leave noseprints on the LCD screen.)
• Flash does not automatically pop up when needed. 
• Way bigger learning curve, although shooting in automatic mode is a no-brainer and VERY easy.
• This things are really kind of trivial considering the huge leap in the quality of photos taken so far. 

Overall, I am THRILLED with the camera and have ordered several books from Amazon. I am also going to take advantage of the 18 free classes Wolf Camera offers with a purchase of a camera.  I want to learn more about using the camera manually, and maybe wrap my brain around f-stops, aperature, ISO settings and more!