Sony A6000?

[cgustav]

Hi there,

sorry for posting here, I know this is about lenses... BUT!
This comes to lenses as well.
I'm posting this here because I know there are a lot of Sony users on this forum.

First, the main question: I want to buy a small, compact, B camera to use for shooting and also for video. Next year maybe the A7s or whatever will come after that, but for now I'm thinking to the A6000.
So, in that price range, for the body only, do you think this is the best compact, mirrorless, camera?
Main area of interest: street photography, macro, landscape, night photography, perhaps sport and video for sure (low light too).

Then the second question: if the A6000 is the good candidate, what could be the best lenses set up in order to get started with the above type of shooting?
Budget for lenses can be $200-300 (therefore with $700-800 I should get a solid setup, right?)

Any help will be highly appreciated!

Edit: sorry, one last question! Do you think the A6000 outperforms my current 7D?

[vlousada]

Regarding current APS-C cameras on market, the Sony A6000 sounds a great choice, however the old Nex-6 must be in consideration too... The specifs are not so different for your needs, plus nex-6 is cheaper (some budget could be used on lenses) and has a better viewfinder...

For still pictures both cameras are fine, but be in attention that along 2015 Sony should introduce another crop camera and probably with IBIS and better video capabilities...

Regarding lenses I would suggest a 24mm (landscape), 35mm (street), 50mm (fast and maybe a macro too) and good "fast" zoom 80-200... You should pick some good choices (not so pricey) along Canon-FD, Minolta, and Zeiss Exaktas/M42

[Nordentro]

I am sure you will be happy with the A6000 and it will also give you a nice jump in IQ from the 7D

[Lloydy]

I love my A6000, I bought it to replace a NEX5 that had some problems - so I bought it in a rush, but never regretted it. I use it mainly with MF lenses and have adapters for most mounts now, and nearly 200 lenses.
I like the flip out screen and focus peaking, it's how I take most of my pictures. The viewfinder is very good as well, and useful in bright sun. It's altogether a very good camera, and I really can't see me ever buying another DSLR. My Pentax K10 hasn't been used in a very long time now.
The kit lens on the A6000 is remarkably good as well, a perfect lens for holiday and party shooting.

[bernhardas]

Edited

[philslizzy]

I like the A6000, I saw Lloydys and knew that was it for me. The DSLR's have hardly been touched. I took mine to an airshow and its performance shone. Just like using a DSLR except that I can zoom in in the viewfinder for focusing with a button right next to the shutter release. The NEX 6 is similar, the A6000 is an upgrade to it. I think either would be suitable. Whether the viewfinder is 'better' in the NEX 6; it's a few pixels larger for sure but I couldnt tell one from the other when I compared.

Dave's serendipitous discovery of his perfect camera changed my photographic life. You wont regret buying one, if you do.

And yes, theres always something new next year. You can't wait forever.

[Lloydy]

The price of the A6000 has dropped £100 since I bought mine in September, it's great value.

[!Karen]

Another very satisfied a6000 user here. Bought it as an upgrade from a nex 3n. Best decision ever. My eos 60D doesn't get much use anymore.

[Basilisk]

Very attractive camera, but if I were buying one I would definitely consider getting a Lens Turbo II with it (around £100).
As well as giving each lens a stop of extra speed (making it roughly equivalent to how it would be on a full frame camera), it also means you can use wide angle lenses as genuine wide angles (there are plenty of good value 24 and 28mm lenses out there which are only really wide/normals if used on a crop body). The Lens Turbo is also more compact than a regular adapter, but you also have the option of using lenses with a regular adapter if you want more reach. There is some debate whether these focal reducers affect quality, but in some cases they may just be revealing that the old lenses didn't have great edge quality, which you don't see on a crop frame. Depends on your style of shooting, but you may need to stop down a bit more to get good corners than you are used to.

[cgustav]

Thank you all for your replies!

Glad to hear I was on the right track with the A6000.
Interesting things from this thread I want to focus on:

- New ASP-C early 2015, could be worth wait for it?
- As far as lenses go, I never considered a Canon-FD, neither Minolta. Being a EOS user I'm used to think in terms of M42 or Nikons. I'll take a look on the forum here and see what could be a good FD/Minolta to take into account. Thanks for the heads up!
- Good to hear I'll get better IQ than the 7D!! (I'm done with Canon)
- Regarding the kit lens that's actually another option I was considering as the A6000 is supposed to have a very fast and accurate focus system, so I guess that would be something to consider as well.
- Thanks for the tip about the Lens Turbo, that's an interesting tool to have for sure! Only, considered the price, buying one of those means to stick to one particular brand, even though I can always add a more regular adapater to switch out lenses.

For what concerns the 2015, things get a bit complicated, it might worth wait for it?
A7000:

[Lloydy]

Weather sealing is something I would like, my Pentax K10 is sealed and I really do like that. But...when I'm using the A6000 in the rain I'm generally using the rear flip screen, I use the camera low down for stability, so I lean over the camera and shield it as much as I can. It's got a bit wet, but I wipe it dry and carry on. I certainly wouldn't get it as wet as the Pentax, which I have fished out of a river.

As for using old MF lenses, I have all the common adapters except Nikon. I have nothing against Nikon, I just don't need to start on yet another system. I get great pleasure from choosing from the vast choice of lenses that will work on the Sony, even if it does lead to buying more lenses.

[newst]

[WNG555]

I can't recommend the a6000 enough. It's an excellent platform. The form factor is wonderfully compact.
Price has dropped significantly this month, you can get the body with kit lens and 55-210mm zoom for the price of the body w/ kit lens 3 months ago!

[Attila]

[cgustav]

One more question!
The A6000 price has significantly dropped since the A7000 will be out in about two months or so.
As you folks already know Sony marketing, is there any chances this price will see another drop with the A7000 launch getting closer?

[Lloydy]

I doubt it will drop in price any more, not a significant drop anyway. It's a good seller and will be for a while, even with newer models coming out.

[philslizzy]

If you get a lens turbo, perhaps think about a Canon EOS fitting. The Canon EOS will allow you to use even more lenses via adaptors

[cgustav]

Thank you all!
There's a pretty good kit on Amazon, $628.00 with the 16-50mm, two extra batteries, charger, bag, two filters, hand strap, mini-tripod... I know most of these stuff is not top quality, but still not bad for a kit.

Thanks for all your advices.

Edit: Bought it! Can't wait!

[philslizzy]

You'll be happy with the 16-50 lens, its half the size of the 18-55 on the NEX's. Very pocketable. I got mine cheaper than Lloydy and it looks like this is way cheaper than mine.

[cgustav]

[philslizzy]

Change the shutter speed by switching the mode to S then use the large thumb wheel next to the PSAM switch to change your speed. The same wheel changes aperture in A mode.

I found the menu easy to understand but had problems trying to find out how to program button C1 to do the focus magnify. Heres how I did it, you'll find it quicker than buggering about with the menu for an hour like I did.

menu > tools (cog)> skip to page 6>custom key settings> Custom Button 1>select focus magnifier. done.

One press on the button gives a small rectangle in the frame which can be moved around by the big round button on the back. A second press will magnify that area by about 6x a further press doubles that. A fourth press puts it back to normal. At any time a light press on the shutter button returns it back to normal. It is easy to use this function at eye level too. Great!

In the tools menu on page 2 you can set your peaking level, put it on high and underneath set your peaking colour, Lloydy uses red, I prefer yellow. This fringes the edge of the subject when its sharp.

To use an adapter and manual lens go to tools page 3 and select 'release w/o lens'. The camera works perfectly well with the kit lens on in this mode. To use manual lenses use A or P setting using shutter speed priority (S) won't work.

good luck

[cgustav]

[philslizzy]

My pleasure!

[cgustav]

It's making sense and it's actually already getting quite natural after just so little time.

One thing I'm not sure it is me or just a normal situation with the camera: when I use ML focus peaking sometimes works, sometimes I simply don't see any peaking lines. Is that normal?

Coming to manual lenses, which could be considered best affordable adapters?
I use the following brands:
Nikon (AIS)
Olympus Zuiko
M42 (Helios - Pentacon)

and a couple of Canon.
For the Canon I've bought this adapter:
Fotasy NAEFT Pro http://amzn.com/B003ZLISZU
Which is good but loose just a tad where the lens screws in.

I was thinking to give a try to their other adapters:
Fotasy NA42 COPPER Adjustable M42 http://amzn.com/B003YBPRHI
Fotasy NEXNK Pro Nikon http://amzn.com/B00FOGFJT2
Fotasy NAOM Pro Olympus OM http://amzn.com/B003Z6N544

But if there's a better option for some more bucks I'm fine with that.

Thanks again.

[philslizzy]

Peaking doesnt always work when the magnifier is on. But you ought to be able to see it yourself.

The only problem adapters I ever had were Minolta MD ones, but there big_is and Roxsen are my favourites, Roxsen only for Minolta.