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Sony A6300


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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

What would be the best A6300 camera settings and mode.

 

Lens: Sony 18-105mm

 

Our puppy is taking an agility training course that requires a lot of fast motion. Indoor with good lighting, want to freeze the action and show her off lol.

 

much appreciated

Tom :cool:

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What would be the best A6300 camera settings and mode.

 

Lens: Sony 18-105mm

 

Our puppy is taking an agility training course that requires a lot of fast motion. Indoor with good lighting, want to freeze the action and show her off lol.

 

much appreciated

Tom :cool:

 

A-mode, f/5.6 to increase depth-of-field (higher if light is good) and kick the ISO up to 800-1000 to push the shutter higher. You could set the shutter to 1/125 in S-mode, but that usually drives the aperture down to f/4 unless you're outside in the daylight.

 

 

That's a start. Adjust as needed.

 

Dave

 

Dave

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And generally, you'll probably want to use AF-C focusing mode, which allows the focus to continuously adjust for a moving subject. If the background and foreground is fairly even and neutral, you can use the 'wide' focus area, activating all focus points and letting the camera find and track the subject around the frame...or if there's more clutter, use the center focus area and try keeping your dog on the center focus points so the camera can continue to track him.

 

Note that when it comes to really fast, aggressive moves the dog will make, you may need to significantly bump up the shutter speed to ensure you get a nice freeze of the action and facial expression - but indoors even with good lighting, getting shutter speeds up to 1/800 to 1/1000 or more is going to mean likely raising that ISO up to 6400 or higher...you may get a little grain or noise, but will freeze the action well. I'm assuming a flash would not be welcomed with dog agility training as it could be quite distracting for the dog - so faster shutter speeds and higher ISO will likely be needed. There are good programs to help reduce the noise in high ISO shots in post processing - but remember too that depending on how you need to use the shot, noise that's visible when viewing the full sized photo blown up to 100% will not likely be seen in a smaller 8x10 print or displayed on a 1600 pixel wide screen...people are very scared of noise and grain in shots, but too many people look at noise blown up at full scale rather than thinking about how it will look at the necessary displayed or printed size.

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Thank you both so much for your expert advice. Tried both suggestions but as you said a lot of noise. Being this adventure is going to be ongoing and fun for the wife and her training, what would you suggest would be the best lens to buy or use? I currently have the 18-105mm, 24-240mm and 70-210mm, maybe need a faster zoom or fixed F 2.8 lens. A fixed lens can always crop the picture.

 

Thanks

Tom :cool:

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Thank you both so much for your expert advice. Tried both suggestions but as you said a lot of noise. Being this adventure is going to be ongoing and fun for the wife and her training, what would you suggest would be the best lens to buy or use? I currently have the 18-105mm, 24-240mm and 70-210mm, maybe need a faster zoom or fixed F 2.8 lens. A fixed lens can always crop the picture.

 

Thanks

Tom :cool:

 

Do you have a feel for the amount of zoom you need? 70mm, 100mm, more?

 

 

Dave

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Exactly - first you need to confirm what focal range you used the most. If you were at the wide end most of the time, then there aren't too many options to get a lot faster at the 18-28mm range. In the middle ranges, you'll find quite a few good options for 30mm to 55mm primes that are F1.4 or F1.8 and capable of continuously focusing fast enough. If you need more of the telephoto end of the lens, the upcoming FE85mm F1.8 is a nice cheap option. The difference between your current lens wide open at F4 and an F1.8 prime wide open is a little more than 2 stops - so if you were using 1/800 shutter speed at F4 and getting ISO6400, then using an F1.8 lens wide open at the same 1/800 shutter speed, you could go down to ISO800, or even ISO640, for the same exposure...that can be a pretty big difference in noise.

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You both are the main reason I review this web site weekly, great to learn from both of you.

Ideally 100mm or longer is ideal for photographing agility shows from what I have read on this topic. The FE 85mm sounds like a great idea, shooting this kind of action indoors, would a fix lens be more useful. The F2.8 big lens to me to heavy and expensive for my needs. Another thought, I have (2) A6300 cameras so I could have two fix lens F2.8 ready to go at my need. Now which 2, think the FE85mm long range and what for short range

Thanks

Tom :cool:

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You both are the main reason I review this web site weekly, great to learn from both of you.

Ideally 100mm or longer is ideal for photographing agility shows from what I have read on this topic. The FE 85mm sounds like a great idea, shooting this kind of action indoors, would a fix lens be more useful. The F2.8 big lens to me to heavy and expensive for my needs. Another thought, I have (2) A6300 cameras so I could have two fix lens F2.8 ready to go at my need. Now which 2, think the FE85mm long range and what for short range

Thanks

Tom :cool:

 

 

Don't you already have the Sony 50mm f/1.8? It would be great for the shorter shots.

 

Dave

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  • 2 weeks later...

Decided to get the Sony FE 85mm F1.8 end of this month. Any recommendations on best chance to buy without waiting, there could be a large demand for tis lens on release.

 

Thanks

Tom:cool:

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Decided to get the Sony FE 85mm F1.8 end of this month. Any recommendations on best chance to buy without waiting, there could be a large demand for tis lens on release.

 

Thanks

Tom:cool:

 

 

Pre-order on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-SEL85F18-1-8-22-Medium-Telephoto-Camera/dp/B06WLGFWGX/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1488490857&sr=8-8&keywords=sony+85mm+lens

 

Pre-order from B&H:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1317562-REG/sony_sel85f18_fe_85mm_f_1_8_lens.html

 

Dave

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You're generally safe with a pre-order from something like B&H, from Sony, or Amazon as Dave listed...large stores like those will usually get the biggest shipments, so you have the better chance if there's a demand or run on the lens getting one in the first batches...if the first shipments sell out, you'll usually be fairly quickly served after that...unless they have a production issue.

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Appreciate the update. Have to pay tax with Amazon so will buy from B&H. They all charge you when the order is placed, even thought will not ship till March 30. Based on your experience, worth to pay now or wait till the end of the month. Probably better to be safe than sorry lol. Supply and demand, this lens might be in high demand, the price and the gap it fills with low light and range performance.

 

Tom :cool:

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  • 1 month later...

Just posting my thoughts on the A6300 after a year of use. My first impression of the camera was positive and I found it to be a solid upgrade from my A6000 (still a great camera and in use as a second) and a year of regular use has proven that to be true. Having two cameras that are nearly identical in image quality has really changed my shooting habits when I'm out specifically to take pictures. Soon after I bought the A6300, I ordered the 18-105 f/4 G lens to replace the 16-50 PZ as my day-to-day lens and I have only rarely taken it off since I received it. The combination of the A6300 and the 18-105 has proven to fill about 95% of my normal photographic needs with the A6000 getting the stunt-camera role when I need a specialty lens for some reason. Most often, my walkabout shooting kit is the A6300/18-105 on the strap with the A6000 in a small belt pack with the alternate lens choice for the day (usually the Rokinon 12mm f/2). Following are some mental vignettes from my year with the A6300.

 

A lot of grief has been heaped upon the menu. I spent some time learning the layout, made my customization settings and really don't go into it much. Sure, there's a bunch of pages and the groupings could be a bit more intuitive (idiot proof?), but once the Fn menu is set up and buttons assigned to what you use most, the menu becomes a seldom-visited non-issue.

 

Fast. That covers just about all the changes over the A6000. The focus is fast and the full viewfinder review with AF and exposure adjustments at 8fps makes following moving subjects pretty easy and has increased my "keeper" count in situations that call for it. The 11fps setting has proven to be a seldom-used luxury but it's good to have when needed. Face recognition is faster and following after lock is more reliable. Start-up and wake-up are a bit faster but could still be faster in my opinion.

 

It is a bit less noisy than the A6000. I mean a "bit". Maybe a half-stop. Both produce consistently useable shots set to auto-ISO 100-3200 but setting the A6300 to 6400 max doesn't seem to affect the success rate much. If care is taken with settings, exposure, and processing, ISO 12,800 shots can come out very well.

 

Size is still my favorite thing about these cameras. A moderate, under-the-seat backpack can carry two cameras with lenses attached, four additional lenses, a monopod, a small tripod, a laptop, a tablet, sensor cleaning equipment, all the supporting power supplies for the whole mess and, of course, a small roll of gaffer's tape.

 

Over the last year, the A6300 has seen three cruises, three weddings, and a few photography-inspired road trips. I have yet to be disappointed with a shot that wasn't my fault and I remain unable to stir up any buyer's remorse. Soon after (too soon, some might say) the A6300 was released, Sony brought out the A6500 which is virtually identical in performance but includes in-body stabilization. As always, the temptation to run out the shiny new thing was there, but I stuck with the A6300 since I have a fairly steady hand and stabilization was the only significant improvement. Would I recommend the A6300 over the A6500? Maybe not. In-body stabilization it a pretty amazing feature and I would likely opt for spending the extra $300 if I didn't already own the A6300. Your mileage may vary.

 

What about the A7 cameras? Maybe someday. They are fantastic cameras and have elevated Sony to number two in interchangeable lens full-frame camera sales behind Canon, which is no mean trick. For now, I am still enamored by the amount of functionality and image quality that is stuffed into the relatively tiny A6x00 cameras. In an effort at full disclosure regarding full-frame, I don't intend on buying any additional lenses that are strictly for APS-C. I might if a really spectacular one pops up, but I am definitely leaving the door open just in case a full-frame Alpha decides to wander in.

 

Enough rambling for now. It's Easter and I feel the need to go take some pictures.

 

Happy shooting!

 

Dave

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  • 1 month later...
  • 9 months later...

I'm bumping this thread because I just got a 6300 after 2 years of a 6000.

 

I went to the zoo today with the new camera and the new 18-135 lens. When the camera gets to the house before you leave for chores, the weather is sunny, and you are going to be on the same side of town as the zoo anyway - you have to take advantage of the situation!

enhance

 

18mm

enhance

 

135mm

 

enhance

 

enhance

 

I love this combination! I think the wide angle lens will live on my 6000 and the 18-135 on my 6300 for our trip next month.

 

Vic

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Yep - looks nice, and shows exactly the reason I bought one as a kit lens - more versatility with the long end. When I travel, I sometimes want to just go with 1 lens, and I'll use the kit - but then often run into those situations where it's not QUITE enough reach for an occasional scene. The 135mm solves that nicely.

 

I haven't shot mine yet, but got it last night, stuck it on the camera, and got the feel for it. Nice size and weight - heavier than the kit and about 1 inch longer, but still a nice weight overall for the camera body. And it doesn't extend too far when zoomed out - only about another inch or so. I'll have to force myself to bring it to the wetlands this weekend, even though I usually only bring big birding lenses...just to try it out.

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Thanks Justin and Vic... :(

 

Like as not you'll prove that the new 18-135 beats the 18-105 in every way.

 

Worst timing ever as I put stone after stone into the blood press while transitioning to FF.

 

*sigh*

 

Dave

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the new 18-135 lens.

Vic

 

OK Guys, you convinced me!

 

Adorama is selling the lens for $540. While they advertised free shipping, I guess they don't like Hawaii and added $16.xx for shipping. Still less expensive than Amazon or B&H

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I had my chance to take my 18-135mm lens outdoors finally this weekend. I bought the lens primarily as a 'kit' lens replacement, and general-purpose and travel lens. However, there's very little scenic to photograph around my house and town - nothing in the way of architecture or interesting landscapes...so the only thing I could really test the camera out with was the local wetlands where I go birding every weekend. Birding is NOT the intended use of this lens - but what the hay - I'm testing it, so I'll test it on whatever I can! There are some scenic spots to photograph out there, birds have feather detail, and I could try closeups with flowers or bugs, and maybe even other photographers for some people shots. So that's what I did - I took the 18-135mm out to the wetlands Saturday for a shoot-around.

 

I'm impressed - the results are quite solid - it's a nicely built lens, nice size, well damped on the rings, quiet, and IQ is quite decent at both extremes. It has some typical barrel/pincushion at either end of the zoom as any 'superzoom' type lens will,but it's not too bad and correctable. Corners are not too bad either - a little soft wide open at 18mm - surprisingly the 135mm end seems pretty sharp all around. F8 sharpens up nicely for all focal lengths.

 

Here's my gallery of shots from the lens, trying a little bit of everything:

http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/sony_sel18135

 

 

Inevitably, I get lots of 'pixel-peeping' requests for original whenever I shoot a new lens - and though I don't like to post full-res shots online, I will oblige when testing a new lens. Note that most of the shots I posted were cropped quite a bit, being birding with a short focal reach - but I posted the unresized originals for a lot of the shots in my Dpreview gallery for a little while - they are just cropped, but still original unresized resolutions...all the shots with 'original' in their name are the unresized originals. All shots were taken in JPG Extra Fine, not RAW-processed, and most are just cropped but not edited:

https://www.dpreview.com/galleries/3702150612/albums/sel-18-135mm

 

 

A few resized samples here too, for those that don't want to go digging through gallery links:

 

Fuzzy caterpillar - 135mm closeup:

original.jpg

 

Wide open sky vista of the Green Cay Wetlands:

original.jpg

 

Wood stork in flight:

original.jpg

 

Wild lily growing in the wetlands - 135mm and F6.3:

original.jpg

 

How close you can get to nesting wood storks - this taken at 18mm, and you can stand within 4 feet of some nests:

original.jpg

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Much appreciated, Justin. I'm glad you have remained active over here at CC. I'd hate to have to have to walk through DPReview's virtual cow pasture to take advantage of your experience.

 

After my APS-C to FF frenzy dies down, I may have to do some horse trading with my 18-105 f/4 and pick one of these up. With the smaller size, I can see it on the A6300 in the waist pack when I have the 70-300 on the other camera.

 

Dave

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