Sony A6000

[zackiedawg]

You might be so surprised by the Tamron 150-600 on the A6300 with adapter, that you won't even need an A-mount body.

I'll be really curious to see your performance with it on the long end.

 

BTW - I know this is the A6000 thread, but since you mentioned it, I figured I'd let you know I did some first initial tests of the A6300, LA-EA3, and Tamron 150-600mm...unfortunately all were in very poor light, high ISO only, in my backyard...no real world tests in good light yet. Still, it worked quite well and I posted a thread with unresized crops from the originals over on that photo forum...link here:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/57573627

 

The photos even cropped are still a bit large to post here, so I figured I'd just post the link. These photos are in the worst possible conditions (low light, handheld, no stabilization) so take that into consideration...focus-wise, it was very accurate and quite usable.

[tommui987]

BTW -

I figured I'd let you know I did some first initial tests of the A6300, LA-EA3, and Tamron 150-600mm...unfortunately all were in very poor light, high ISO only, in my backyard...no real world tests in good light yet.

.

 

Justin:

 

No apologies!

 

I thought the results was terrific! Wow - that combo made we wonder about waiting till May to see what the 70-300 could do - and the 600mm reach might be more desirable.

 

Thanks for all your reviews on the A6300. You, Dave and Tom are making my chocies (and budget) so difficult!

 

Best wishes,

TOM

[byargertx]

I went to the Sony A6000 as a primary travel camera. My professional business gear, Canon 7D Mk II, etc. with the full size lenses have just become too much to cart around on planes and cruise ships. The Sony works great, high IQ, fast autofocus, and more makes it work for me. The lens quality is also high. I'm primarily using the Sony 24-240, the Sony 18-105 and a couple of wide-angle primes.

David Busch and Gary Friedman both have good books on the A6000 also.

[byargertx]

One more thing, the Fotiodiox Pro EF lens adapter also allows me to use my Canon EF lenses on the A6000.

[havoc315]

BTW - I know this is the A6000 thread, but since you mentioned it, I figured I'd let you know I did some first initial tests of the A6300, LA-EA3, and Tamron 150-600mm...unfortunately all were in very poor light, high ISO only, in my backyard...no real world tests in good light yet. Still, it worked quite well and I posted a thread with unresized crops from the originals over on that photo forum...link here:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/57573627

 

The photos even cropped are still a bit large to post here, so I figured I'd just post the link. These photos are in the worst possible conditions (low light, handheld, no stabilization) so take that into consideration...focus-wise, it was very accurate and quite usable.

 

Those look great. Sure you really need the A68?

 

I can report performance with long adapted Nikon lenses, with the only available adapter, is poor. (shorter lenses adapt well).

While I wish I could get lock-on, expanded flexible spot and eye-AF with adapted lenses, as those features are generally missing from dSLRs anyway, I'm not missing much. I can still use face detect and large flexible spot, so I'm already getting more AF functionality than most dSLRs, even with adapted lenses.

[tommui987]

Tried for the first time to try video on my A6000 and got the following: This memory card does not suport recording of XAVOS movies. Change the file format or change the memory card."

i had a Sony 40MB/S 32GB card in the A6000.

 

How does one either change the file format - assuming one can do it on this ancient SD card or what kind of memory card should I get.

 

Thanks,

Tom

[shootr]

Try:

 

Menu > Camera Settings / File Format > AVCHD

 

Menu > Camera Settings > Record Setting > 60i 17M(FH)

 

That works with all my cards (don't have a card that writes fast enough for the other settings)

[pierces]

Shootr got the setting right. The XAVC S format requires 28MB/s write speed and a typical 40-45MB/s SD card will only write at half the read speed (the speed the marketing department puts on the label). Many of the newer higher-end cards list both on the label and the later Sony SDHC cards are rated at 94MB/s read and 70MB/s write. (Cheap too!) I have a couple of those and they seem to work just fine but Sandisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s is my personal choice. The Sonys are in the bag for backup.

 

Another note (in case you want to future-proof card purchases): If you end up with an A6300 and try to shoot 4K, you should get a U3-rated card. U1 cards will work but the controller needs to support the exFAT file system (default format for SDXC cards 64GB and up) for files larger than 4GB. Even though the better SDHC cards will support the write speeds, the camera will error if you try to record 4K video on a FAT32 format. If you format an SDHC card in-camera, it will default to FAT32. To get around this, I formatted an 8GB ExtremePro SDHC card to ex FAT on my PC and put it in the camera where it immediately reset the database on the card (no format). I was able to record a clip at 24p 4K 60MB/s bitrate with no problems.

 

Still, I wouldn't buy a new card that wasn't U3 rated.

 

Dave

Edited April 14, 2016 by pierces

[pierces]

On the A6000 front, my reliable old friend did a fine job as the A6300's stand-in on our cruise last week. The 18-105 stayed on the new camera pretty much the whole time and the A6000 rode in a belt pouch with the Rokinon 12mm or fisheye attached during my morning walkabouts. I took some time to work with the fisheye on this trip trying to develop an eye for where it works and where it doesn't.

 

Here's a link to the fisheye photo gallery from the trip: http://galleries.pptphoto.com/p255461259

 

 

As you can see, the A6000 is still a shiny little thing!

 

Feel free to browse the rest.

http://galleries.pptphoto.com/allure2016

 

 

Dave

Edited April 14, 2016 by pierces

[tommui987]

Try:

 

 

Shootr: - Thanks much!

 

(also) Tom

[tommui987]

On the A6000 front, my reliable old friend did a fine job as the A6300's stand-in on our cruise last week.

Dave

 

Thanks for the tip on the XAVC S. Cheap Pake that I am, I ordered two of the Sony chips to experiment with video. Having had bad experiences years ago with a video camera, I'm gun

shy about me doing videos!

 

Looking at your Allure pictures - win't be crusing until October but learning lessons from your photos about the Sony and Rokinon!

 

Thanks again,

Tom

[pierces]

Well, I finally made up my mind and ordered a Nissin Di700A Flash for my A6xxx cameras. First day with it looks promising. Good power, versatile power and multiple off-camera slave triggering options including the on-camera radio trigger that comes with it adds up to quite a bit of bang for the buck.

 

It may seem trivial, but my favorite feature so far is the battery magazine. It holds the 4AAs with all the poles pointing the same way and slides in like loading a pistol. Admittedly, it would have to be a pistol that shoots batteries and loads from the side...but still, very handy.

 

Image here - it's large so I didn't embed it.

 

http://static.bhphoto.com/images/multiple_images/images750x750/1381770984000_IMG_342793.jpg

 

I'll give it a workout this weekend and post some examples .

 

Dave

[shootr]

Trying to figure out to drop my a6000 in the sand without hurting the lens - heading to the beach this weekend and still trying to figure out how to upgrade to the a6300 :-).

 

Just kidding, I could never intentionally harm something that has given me so much joy. That would be bad karma of epic proportions.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[c230k]

What are your preferred movie setting format and record setting?

 

iPad use ? (nice to show friends)

 

 

Thanks

 

Tom :cool:

Edited April 15, 2016 by c230k

[flatlander321]

I'm thinking about a budget flash that would work on the A6000, and hopefully the A3000.

It would be nice if it would also work on the FZ-300, but that's only a bonus and maybe a longshot option.

 

In post #14 by Peety3 in this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2331882

the article talks about the author's (owner of lensrental.com) equipment evolution then gets down to a recommended starting path for equipment. I have OK tripods, a range of OK lenses, but I don't have an external flash and probably should for informal group pictures.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Neewer-NW320-Display-Speedlite-RX100II/dp/B00VE5HQ4I

 

I did some research in different places then ordered a basic flash for the A6000 a week ago. It arrived today. After a little testing, it seems versatile enough to easily cover my flash needs for now. It is a 32 power flash unit and not too heavy on the camera.

 

It works in TTL mode on the A6000 and the A3000. The flash tilts and rotates to cover most bounce scenarios I can think of even with the camera turned vertical. The wireless off camera modes worked fine with the A6000. It includes a small flash stand base that can also be screwed onto a normal tripod using the standard 1/4-20 screw. It includes a snap-on white plastic diffuser that's not shown in the pictures. It uses 2 AA batteries. The factory packaging is above average for protection. I need to get some rechargeable AAs for long term, but have plenty of alkaline AA's for now.

 

I gambled slightly because this was $70 shipped from ebay, but many people are successfully using this model flash on the A6000.

[JWJs]

What's your opinion of the E 18-200 lens--(SEL 18200LE)? Purchased for a cruise and still in the box. This is the only one I have for my 6000. I have had this camera for a year now and have not used it. Need to know best lenses for the cruise. Thank you.

Edited April 17, 2016 by JWJs

[pierces]

What's your opinion of the E 18-200 lens--(SEL 18200LE)? Purchased for a cruise and still in the box. This is the only one I have for my 6000. I have had this camera for a year now and have not used it. Need to know best lenses for the cruise. Thank you.

 

The LE version is an ok lens for a all-in-one option. The original SEL18200 was a bit sharper, though slightly larger and heavier. I never really looked at all-in-ones as an option since a lot of my photography is travel and family events where the 16-50 (remarkably good if you know it's limits) kit lens fit my needs best. I also usually carry a second body with the 55-210 (another winner withing it's limits) attached when a longer reach may be needed, so the long end of the 18-200 was covered as well. Both of the kit lenses are optically better than the 18-200 but the trade-off in image quality for convenience is a personal choice.

 

I recently picked up the 18-105 f/4 G lens a a sharper option for travel and while it certainly is better than the 16-50 optically, it is rather large (about the same as the 18-200). I got used to the size and was very pleased with the results but lugging the larger lens isn't for everyone. I did keep the 16-50 since it is an excellent jacket pocket option on the A6000 and will continue to be the choice for business travel.

 

If the reason you haven't used the camera in a year is the bulk of the 18-200, I would suggest picking up a 16-50 for your travel needs.

 

Here is a link to our late 2014 trip on the Allure. The 16-50 was used for the majority of the shots.

 

http://galleries.pptphoto.com/allure

 

Dave

Edited April 17, 2016 by pierces

[Victress2007]

Tell me about filters for Caribbean photos. I'll be around the water all the time, so when do I use polarized and when do I use UV?

 

My kit came with the 18-55mm and 55-210mm. I expect I will keep the 18-55 on the camera the vast majority of the time.

 

I will have to break my 30x zoom habit from my HX series cameras! I'll be taking my HX9V for use in a waterproof camera bag when I am snorkeling.

 

Do any of you have a body case on the 6000 (as opposed to a case for carrying everything).

 

Thanks!

 

Vic

[Turtles06]

What's your opinion of the E 18-200 lens--(SEL 18200LE)? Purchased for a cruise and still in the box. This is the only one I have for my 6000. I have had this camera for a year now and have not used it. Need to know best lenses for the cruise. Thank you.

 

As he always does, Dave has given you very good information and advice above. I'll add that I do have the 18-200mm lens as a walking around/travel lens for my a6000; I recognize the compromises, but when I am traveling, particularly with my spouse, changing lenses is often not the best option. The 18-200 has worked well for me for the purpose for which I bought it. (I have the 16-50mm kit lens as well, and often just keep that on the camera. I certainly would not want the 18-200 to be my only lens for the a6000.)

 

Here are a couple of images that I shot with the 18-200 during a trip to Paris last fall:

 

 

(detall of the Chagall ceiling in the Paris Opera House, 68mm)

 

 

 

(Place des Vosges, 92mm)

[pierces]

Tell me about filters for Caribbean photos. I'll be around the water all the time, so when do I use polarized and when do I use UV?

 

My kit came with the 18-55mm and 55-210mm. I expect I will keep the 18-55 on the camera the vast majority of the time.

 

Vic

 

Hoya's Moose Peterson Warm Polarizer is my go-to filter for beaches, takes the shine off of the water and makes it pop.

 

Since both the 18-55 and the 55-210 use a 49mm filter, you only need one. :

 

 

As for UV, that would be strictly protective and if the sand is blowing hard, you may want to use one. On a calm day, not a lot of need for it.

 

Dave

[robjan245]

I'd think you would be better off with a one inch bridge camera (Pana FZ1000, Sony RX10 III, or one of the new Nikon DL bridge cameras).

[robjan245]

I sold my A6000 and have gone back to a Nikon (D5500). Too many few long lens choices for wildlife photography. A6000 is a great travel camera but I prefer the better focus tracking of the D5500 (not saying the A6000 is a bad camera).

[pierces]

I sold my A6000 and have gone back to a Nikon (D5500). Too many few long lens choices for wildlife photography. A6000 is a great travel camera but I prefer the better focus tracking of the D5500 (not saying the A6000 is a bad camera).

 

Focus tracking?

 

 

;)

 

Still no native lenses longer than 300... Oh, well.

 

Dave

[tommui987]

Focus tracking?

 

 

;)

Dave

 

I went to a hula halau on Saturday (Pres. Obama's alma mater!) with my antiquated A6000 and the 55mm=200mm lens.

 

Still got to learn how to use the video but was experimenting all night - and fumbling to find the red button!

 

Was impressed (with some jerking and fumbling) with how comparative steady the shooting went.

 

Wondering whether to forego the A6300 and pick up a 70-200 or the new 70-300mm lens.

[The Viking]

I went to a hula halau on Saturday (Pres. Obama's alma mater!) with my antiquated A6000 and the 55mm=200mm lens.

 

Still got to learn how to use the video but was experimenting all night - and fumbling to find the red button!

 

Was impressed (with some jerking and fumbling) with how comparative steady the shooting went.

 

Wondering whether to forego the A6300 and pick up a 70-200 or the new 70-300mm lens.

 

I have also had problems with the little video button until I got the idea to use my little wireless remote.

 

I do not have quite the same hold on the camera with the remote in one hand, but I do not have the little jerks when I move my hand to find the button to stop recording.

 

It takes a little to get use to, but now it works well for me.