Ask anyone who shoots Sony about the menu and you’ll get a story. Usually it’s about a setting they knew existed, needed right then, and couldn’t find. Sony’s Alpha bodies have some of the best sensors and autofocus on the market, and for a decade they also had the menu system photographers complained about most. It got so familiar that Sony’s own ambassadors joked about it during launch presentations. How It Got This Bad Sony’s interchangeable-lens business came from two directions: the Konica Minolta camera division it bought in 2006, and its own consumer electronics side, which launched the NEX mirrorless line in 2010.

There’s a strange little lie that clings to photography like static: that better photos come only with better money. Magazines repeat it, YouTubers spin it into endless reviews, camera companies sell it with polished language about “innovation” and “pro.” And quietly, almost without noticing, photographers begin to believe it. They wait to start until they’ve saved for the new release. They feel embarrassed about their modest kit. They scroll through spec sheets like lottery tickets, convinced the next model will unlock their vision.