Sony A6000

[shootr]

(Can you guess I had jury duty today and wasn't called on once???:D)

Sony E PZ 18-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=getItemDetail&Q=&sku=1001011&is=REG&si=rev#pr-header-back-to-top-link

 

I'm intrigued by this one. In March we're heading to Kauai and will be doing a helicopter tour with a landing at "Jurassic Falls", plus lots of hiking time spent in nature.

 

This seems like a possible choice to shoot from the helicopter zoomed in, and still catch the falls up close when widened up. Guess I'm wondering about options to minimize equipment carried during activities like these.

[pierces]

With the release of the new A7 cameras and the rumored specs of the A6000/NEX-7 replacement, little bits like this make me feel warmer and fuzzier about my equipment choices...

 

 

I think I'll take some photos today!

 

Dave

[shootr]

Oh my! Out with only the 50mm this morning so these are super cropped in - still respectable IMO. The autofocus continues to amaze me - the only tough part is tracking when firing away in multi shot mode. These were far enough away where keeping them in the frame wasn't a challenge though.

 

 

 

[shootr]

Has anyone bought and used the Time Lapse App? Seems convenient, but after reading the instructions I'm a little fuzzy on some things:

 

 

• Is the resulting project playback smooth after importing to a PC?
  
• What format / file type does it export in?
  
• Can you set time between shots, number of total shots, etc. in the Custom Mode?
  
• Do the Pre-Programmed modes work well?
  
• How long does the camera battery hold out? I envision projects of 600 images over 60 minutes.
  

For $10, I'll give it a go over a separate intervalometer but would love to hear if anyone has experience with it first.

[pierces]

I picked up the intervalometer app since it was cheaper than the USB external one but haven't played with it much. I had planned to do a star trail series out at the in-law's river house but scheduling hasn't been favorable.

 

Please post any results from your own experimentation!

 

Dave

[pierces]

Yes I know we're (consciously or unconsciously) saving up for the next body but since it has been a while in coming, there's always something new in lenses for this increasingly popular mount.

 

Samyang/Rokinon 21mm f/1.4 - $499 at B&H ($6,200 cheaper than the Leica one!)

 

DSLR Magazine first looks (Spanish site but offers English option)

 

Samyang/Rokinon 50mm f/1.2 - $549 at B&H

 

Available sometime in October.

 

Personally, since I have the excellent Sony 50mm f/1.8, I wouldn't be in the market for the f/1.2. The 21mm f/1.4, however, is another story. I am very taken with the performance of the 12mm and even though I have the excellent little Sigma 19mm, this looks to be a potential winner in that range. There's always eBay, right?

 

It's a great time to be a photographer!

 

Dave

Edited September 21, 2015 by pierces

[shootr]

Got the time lapse and angle shift add-on last night. Seems pretty straightforward. Wish I could set it up right now, the morning clouds are fantastic. Typically by the weekend it will be clear and boring... But we're going camping so might get lucky.

[c230k]

(Can you guess I had jury duty today and wasn't called on once???:D)

Sony E PZ 18-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=getItemDetail&Q=&sku=1001011&is=REG&si=rev#pr-header-back-to-top-link

 

I'm intrigued by this one. In March we're heading to Kauai and will be doing a helicopter tour with a landing at "Jurassic Falls", plus lots of hiking time spent in nature.

 

Peggy's Cove Nova Scotia

Sony A6000 Sony 18-105mm Oss Love this Lens also the Sony 10-18mm for travel.

 

 

Tom :cool:

[c230k]

Looking at accessories for the A6000,found this Sony Alpha a6000 Thumb Grip by Lensmate Black. Anyone seen or used this?

here

http://www.amazon.com/Alpha-a6000-Thumb-Lensmate-Black/dp/B01074XWSU/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1443028836&sr=1-6&keywords=sony+a6000+accessories

 

Tom :cool:

[shootr]

Thanks for the lens info Tom, was hoping somebody had some experience with it.

 

Hopefully in a week or two I can pick one up.

 

I really want a wide angle too someday, but since the only decent one appears to be the manual focus Rokinon, it keeps getting pushed down the list.

[c230k]

I use the Sony 10-18mm, for wide angel, at the age 0f 72,(lol) prefer the zoom lens. Found the lens very good for interior shots and walk around the ship. Price is a little high, but think the quality is in the lens. On board the Liberty last week.

 

 

Tom :cool:

[zackiedawg]

I personally find the 10-18mm to be an excellent ultrawide - I've been an ultrawide shooter for many years now and since I picked up my 10-18mm for the A6000 I don't even bother with my DSLR ultrawide anymore. Stabilization is excellent, sharpness is very good, distortion control very good, and having a variable zoom range is for me almost a necessity with ultrawide shooting, because of how much of an impact just a few inches makes in your placement and subject's placement for perspective...being able to zoom 1-3mm can make all the difference in the world sometimes. I especially love the 10-18mm for long-exposure night shots - stop down to mid apertures, F6.3 to F10, set up on tripod, run in-camera HDR for 3 frames, and shooting things like architecture and scenics is wonderful fun and results are super-sharp and crisp.

[shootr]

Good to hear on the experience with the Sony wide angle. The pics are beautiful.

 

Hope to get a sunrise or sunset with the timelapse app this weekend while camping.

 

Also, anybody planning on trying to get images of the "blood moon" Sunday night? I can usually figure out my settings pretty quickly, but any tips or tricks to be aware of? (REALLY ticked I procrastinated on an adapter for my telescope - that is definitely going to be the fall project, that's for sure!)

[zackiedawg]

I may try the blood moon if I remember. Pretty much just head out to the yard around 10:15pm or so and see if there are clouds and overcast, or if I'll be able to see it. If I see it, then I'll just do a quick and dirty with my DSLR and my 150-600mm lens with a 1.4x TC attached, on a tripod. Mostly daylight settings - even the blood moon should be OK at ISO400 for a fast enough shutter speed for tripod to freeze the moon's movement. F8 or so ideally, for max sharpness. I'll see how dark the eclipse is - if I need to bump to ISO800, I'll do that before I open the aperture - with the TC, wide-open F6.3 will be a little too soft, so better to go with more ISO and smaller aperture. Toughest part is focusing and firing before the moon moves out of frame - the moon doesn't look like it moves very fast, but when you're looking at it through 1260mm optically, it moves surprisingly quick through the frame.

[shootr]

Not too bad, used the 55-210 zoom on a tripod:

[shootr]

Lot's of playing this weekend. Here is some test video from the camping trip, full sun squirrel coming to visit:

qnGpfAQCmK8

 

Sunrise pan of landscape (NOTE: Watch lower right corner in the water in the first couple seconds - talk about luck!)

n_Tl0krfWs8

 

Tried a quick use of the timelapse - works extremely well, just need better subject matter:

 

CCfLn6AgKfQ

 

And a couple favorites - lots of cropping, but still respectable imo:

 

 

Edited September 28, 2015 by shootr

[wmjivey]

Some pics from my adventures the past two weeks, For ZackieDawg some MIF instead of his BIF, try to find the bear, like my little friend and finally one really big left turn

 

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMLWjCK24OCu4zh6jHRPRsmP0-9qitfjk33BbXI

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipN1BqUePygqlsi_begGJbfz8T5UjbqtmBhjopVR

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPGBLSxrHWrmUAdRdrcRb7YdV9dp8URth0h9qQ1

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOxGrvFMx4vanlIblOzXZJBX1rqoy4ayoUZ7uCz

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOz4CkbiLf6A-itVwk5st12K4nQ6V0JzSh-_Thd

 

John

[shootr]

I keep getting an error message when I click the picture links above - anybody else?

[wmjivey]

Gosh darn it new fangled programs, lets try again

 

https://goo.gl/photos/r8zqUSVfHEiWu11A6

[shootr]

Gosh darn it new fangled programs, lets try again

 

https://goo.gl/photos/r8zqUSVfHEiWu11A6

 

That works! Man I need a wide angle and a trip to Antelope Canyon!

[wmjivey]

I was the only one with a great wide angle so everyone else had to lay on their bellies, to shoot over the ledge. I just had to get my tripod close to get the shot. I love the Rokinon 12!!

 

John

[shadow8800]

Thanks for posting this thread and for all the great tips! I bought an a6000 to take on my Alaska cruise this past May but there are still so many things I don't know how to do with the camera, the menus are super extensive. I truly appreciate all advice here, many thanks to everyone who has contributed!

Terri

[wmjivey]

I have found you just have to use it, its small enough to take with you where ever you go just shoot and shoot and maybe shoot so more.

Don't forget a question not asked is never answered

 

John

[shootr]

Wanted to play around with the Time Lapse app as well as the add-on Tilt Shift program.

 

This test was 600+ images taken over 60 minutes with the 50mm. Exposure setting was "Mid", with the lens at f8. With the LCD screen turned off, it used less than half the battery - great news for longer duration projects.

 

This is the video as it comes out of the camera. File size is just under half a gig for all videos:

 

ZKzL26AWnpo

 

 

Using the Tilt Shift add-on, this is going from lower let to upper right frame. I knew from the brief instructions it would crop in some, but this is a bit more than I planned on, so lesson learned. The f8 didn't allow enough DOF so the leaves are soft. Next effort, if there is foreground, will need to be much more stopped down. (Took the camera approx. 10 minutes to complete the video)

 

EPyTuLCkq7c

 

Next one is "Zoom", from center frame zooming out to full frame. This has to have foreground interest and/or wider angle to be pleasing imo. This took the camera approx. 17 minutes to complete. After both of these additional efforts, the battery was only down to 40%.

 

8B1z8xUDWeA

 

 

Pretty straightforward to use (getting around the menu's stink - had to turn the camera off and on to switch screens sometimes), definitely just for the "perfect" scene, but I will like having the tool in the box.

Edited October 4, 2015 by shootr

[shadow8800]

I have found you just have to use it, its small enough to take with you where ever you go just shoot and shoot and maybe shoot so more.

Don't forget a question not asked is never answered

 

John

 

Thanks for the encouragement! I have started to take it out more often and shoot more...I am not quite sure how to post pics on the boards yet, do I have to use photobucket or something like that?

 

I did want to ask if it is safe to take a camera like this to the beach. We are doing a western Caribbean cruise in December and I was wondering if I should get a P&S waterproof type of camera or use my a6000. I certainly don't want to ruin anything by taking it places I shouldn't.

Thanks again

Terri