Question for Dave Pierce and other Sony Users

[wmjivey]

What started from a simple request to buy a new lens, has now turned into a major upgrade

with overtime a tax return and my Beloved giving me permission to go for it. I need advise

I have a Sony A57 with lots of Minolta legacy lens. I like to shoot wildlife and nature shots, but lately with my son at College in performing Arts I find myself in a dark auditorium shooting his concerts. I can buy either an A77 with 16-50 f2.8 in excellent condition or a new A6000 with the two lens kit for the same price of $850. Reading what you guys say online about the possible direction Sony is going the A6000 sounds the way to go but I can't buy a adapter for the A-lenses till next year. The A77 is what I always dream to shoot.

Just need some real advise with those who have both and what the they would do with their knowledge

Thanks

 

John

[peety3]

I don't have specific experience with Sony, but my personal experience is that any two-lens kit is always going to include a garbage telephoto. They offer it just so they can say that have it, since "the next guy" has it too. If it's a $850 kit, I wouldn't expect that telephoto to do you much good unless you're outdoors in the summer during the day.

[donaldsc]

Is it a name brand telephoto? What is the range and how fast is the lens?

 

DON

[wmjivey]

The A6000 kit has the SEL1850 and SEL55210 the basic lens all E mount users get

 

John

[havoc315]

What Minolta lenses do you have?

I had some truly special great Minolta lenses like the 50/2.8 macro, 100/2.8 macro, and 200/2.8 prime. These 3 lenses are as good as any expensive modern lens.

On the other hand, if you are simply hanging on to a couple old Minolta kit lenses, that probably shouldn't affect your decision making too much.

 

If they are good lenses... Remember, on the A6000, even with the adapter, they won't be stabilized. On the A77, you will gain a couple stops of image stabilization with all your lenses, including your older lenses.

 

Mirrorless is definitely the future direction of Sony... But the A77 is still a great camera and the 16-50/2.8 is a really spectacular zoom lens. The A6000 sensor is newer, and better performing. But body+lens combination, the A77/16-50/2.8 should perform much better than the A6000+kit.

 

So some issues:

If you have *good* Minolta glass... points in favor of the A77 combo.

Subjectively, if you like the ergonomics or a large grip, lots of laid out controls, go with the A77.

Subjectively, if you like a smaller body, points in favor of the A6000.

If the 2 lenses in the A6000 kit will serve you better than the A77+16-50/2.8+minolta glass, points in favor of the A6000.

[pierces]

Tough choice, John.

 

I have both the the A77 and the A6000 and have found that the A6000 with the stabilized kit telephoto (not a crap lens BTW) comes out about even with my A77 and the Sigma 70-200 F/2.8 in an auditorium environment in terms of image quality. With the short zoom, the excellent 16-50 f/2.8 lens on the A77 pulls out in front unless you use only the long end where the remarkable 50mm f/1.8 Sony E-mount pulls out in front again. Most of the credit for the near tie is the 1-2 stops of clean high-ISO performance provided by the newer sensor in the A6000.

 

I agree with Havoc in that the glass is a big factor. If I had a set of great Minolta/A-mount lenses I would probably tip toward the A77 in your situation. If my A-mount stuff was so-so, I would go with the A6000 and the two kit zooms. Knowing what I know now, I would buy the 50mm f/1.8 as soon as possible since the bang-for-the buck quality of that lens is impressive. There are also a growing number of great native Sony e-mount lenses appearing plus some excellent manual-focus glass from Rokinon and others that offer incredible quality for the dollars sent.

 

As I said, I have both but if I were to start from scratch right now and had somehow obtained foreknowledge based on shooting with the e-mount for a couple of years, I would choose the A6000. If I had the A6000 and a Sony 70-200 f/4 on our last Alaska trip, I would have left the A77 and the fast Sigma at home. Sony took a gamble with launching a separate mount and pushing the smaller cameras but it looks like it has been a good one so far.

 

I don't envy your choice, but either way is a winner.

 

Dave

Edited April 14, 2015 by pierces

[Turtles06]

If I might piggy back a bit on this thread, as I am a DSLR user (Nikon D7000 and D5100) considering the A6000, as my knees are no longer very happy when I spend the day walking around with DSLR gear....

 

Right now, as best I can tell, you can buy the A6000 body alone, or with a single kit lens, the 16-50. In terms of telephotos, there's a 55-210, as well as an 18-200. If I go the A6000 route, I'm wondering what combination makes the most sense. Maybe just get the body and the 18-200? Anyone have any specific thoughts on the quality of that lens v. the 55-210?

 

When I'm traveling, I tend to use my Nikon 18-200 as my walking around lens, but I wonder if I should go a different route with the A6000.

 

I would very much appreciate any advice.

 

Thanks!

[pierces]

The overall quality of the 16-50 + 55-210 combo is a bit better than the 18-200 (the original slightly heavier model is a bit better than the newer one). You give up a little overall image quality for the convenience.

 

This may sound odd, but for the difference in the price between the 18-200 or the new 24-240 and the 55-210, you could get an A5100 body and carry both (still less weight than the Nikon with a couple of lenses.) I do this with my A6000 and NEX-7 with the A6000 carrying the lens I expect to use most. If I am doing a casual on-shore walkabout with no real photo targets in mind, I just carry the one body with the other zoom in my pocket or not, depending on expectations.

 

Dave

[wmjivey]

Yeah my lens are so so all three beer cans nifty fifty the best is Tamy 70-300 USD. If the A6000 wasn't on sale for $400 off I would not hesitate with the A77

John

[havoc315]

Yeah my lens are so so all three beer cans nifty fifty the best is Tamy 70-300 USD. If the A6000 wasn't on sale for $400 off I would not hesitate with the A77

John

 

You can re-sell those lenses to increase your budget. They are all very good (not spectacular but very good). So they are a decent reason to go with the a77.

[tommui987]

Joining the chorus, the 55-200 E-Mount Sony lens isn't chop-liver! Great lens for the price and the A6000 is a great camera.

[wmjivey]

I went ahead and bought the A6000, with the two lens kit, I figure the A57 is a great camera and now I will have a fantastic small one. I still remember lugging the 70-400G lens around in Alaska people stared at me like I was wearing one of my kits. Dave is right when traveling small is definitely better.

 

John