Sony A6000

Sorry for the delayed response, I couldn't remember how I shot some of my sons jazz trumpet performances. (55-210 wide open at 6.3 and it was a bit sketchy, with the 18-105 we were allowed on stage in a club jazz setting and at f4 it came out pretty good with stage lighting.)

 

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Playing with my a6000/1.8-50mm, I seem to be able to get smooth video in my dim living room with the following settings:

 

Record Setting: 30p 50M

Program Auto

ISO = 2000

1/90th Shutter Speed

 

I have to believe with stage lighting you should be fine, or even bump up the ISO a bit more. 60p/50M also looks very smooth, just fyi.

 

As an amateur percussionist myself, any shutter speed over 1/60 should be clear and pleasing unless he goes into full death metal mode with a ton of body movement - otherwise timpani, session, etc. with slightly blurred hands looks cool to me.

 

Hope this helps.

Well he will be playing the Marimba so I can bump up the speed alittle bit. I hope it works thanks for the advice.

Well he will be playing the Marimba so I can bump up the speed alittle bit. I hope it works thanks for the advice.

Just got back from a modern dance recital of my daughters - man, 60p files are HUGE! Nearly 900Mb for 4 minutes of footage... But the lighting went from dark to light and everything in between.

f4 with iso2000 gave really good resolution. I'll share a link tomorrow - going to take a while to upload :D With the 1.8/50 you'll be fine I'm betting.

Looking forward, for his Recital I ever to own the 18-105 or rent it at least, good times with this camera

John

Looking forward, for his Recital I ever to own the 18-105 or rent it at least, good times with this camera

 

John

Link to video - [YOUTUBE]2oVBfTekNQY[/YOUTUBE]

(Click the little gear lower right and pick 1080HD resolution for best effect)

My step daughters wedding and reception this afternoon/evening! It's all outdoors (love the Arizona fall season). I refuse to go with more than one lens, so I think I'm going to just take the trusty 16-50 kit lens and hope for the best.

Other than full automatic, any other tips/tricks for dusk/patio lit festivities?

Considered the Rokinon WA, but I'm just not adept at quick reflexes with manual focus and other settings (plus prefer the smallest package possible.

My step daughters wedding and reception this afternoon/evening! It's all outdoors (love the Arizona fall season). I refuse to go with more than one lens, so I think I'm going to just take the trusty 16-50 kit lens and hope for the best.

 

Other than full automatic, any other tips/tricks for dusk/patio lit festivities?

 

Considered the Rokinon WA, but I'm just not adept at quick reflexes with manual focus and other settings (plus prefer the smallest package possible.

The Rokinon 12mm f/2 is actually excellent for a lit patio. Fast and natural depth of field. Pair that with focus peaking and you can just follow the wave of color as you turn the focus ring.

Other than that, full auto and the 16-50 will fill the bill pretty well. Wide if needed but long enough for people shots without those exaggerated wide-angle noses! :)

Dvae

My step daughters wedding and reception this afternoon/evening! It's all outdoors (love the Arizona fall season). I refuse to go with more than one lens, so I think I'm going to just take the trusty 16-50 kit lens and hope for the best.

 

Other than full automatic, any other tips/tricks for dusk/patio lit festivities?

 

Considered the Rokinon WA, but I'm just not adept at quick reflexes with manual focus and other settings (plus prefer the smallest package possible.

Wish I known sooner, would of lent you my Sel 50/ 1.8 and the Bower 35/1.8 and my flash, don't worry about setting to high ISO, I have done very well at 2000. Don't stress enjoy

John

Hey if anyone is interested, just saw a A6000 kit at Sam's Club in Flagstaff for $650 comes with both lens, case, video and card. It is a returned item.

John

Speaking of sales, B&H just sent an email announcing Sony sales. The a6000 body only is $398; with both kit lenses it's $698.

Thanks for the update

I now have (2) A6000 it's hard to beat for that price and what the camera can do.

At the age of 73 have decided to quick changing lens in the field or on cruises.

Setup now:

Sony 10-20mm F4 on A6000

Sony 18-105mm F4 on A6000

Sony FE70-300mm F4 on A6300

Sony 50mm 1.8

Nissin I40 flash

Sony Ipad 2 on the go photo storage

All three fit perfect in by Lowepro Event Messenger bag and easy to get to in a hurry. Also have covered my shooting range 10 to 450mm.

Tom :cool:

Since I have finished the main work on resurrecting my website, I thought I'd resurrect this thread and see if anyone could give me a quick critique on the overall look and feel and let me know if the updated A6000 review makes sense four years in.

Thanks in advance.

http://www.pptphoto.com/reviews/A6000_frame.html

Dave

Makes sense to me - and I've only had mine for 2 years. It's an easy read that doesn't go too far into the weeds. The one thing I haven't used is tethering so I looked it up - and now I know why I don't use it.

I'm going to have to look at the star trails app before our beach vacation this summer (during the height of the Perseid meteor showers).

Vic

They're still selling it so I'd say it's still relevant, although my wife swears the body of a new one is slightly changed from that of an older one we borrowed.

http://www.pptphoto.com/reviews/A6000_frame.html

Dave

When your article first appeared, I bought the A6000 and sold my NEX7!

Haven't changed my mind about the purchase though I went on to the A6300 ( 2 of them). Have no real desire - or money - to go full-frame!

Only flash (other than the one on the camera) is my Canon 420EX. Wonder if it will work on the Sony? Like you, have not used the flash in years.

 

Only flash (other than the one on the camera) is my Canon 420EX. Wonder if it will work on the Sony? Like you, have not used the flash in years.

Be very cautious about that. Variance in operating voltage could fry internal circuitry on the flash, camera or both.

The only sure way would be to get a photocell trigger shoe adapter for the flash that will set off the 420EX when the onboard flash fires.

All in all, an inexpensive flash designed for the Sony would be the safest and most convenient bet.

I went with a Nissin ND700A-S that is dedicated to the Sony shoe. Good power and plenty of adjustment. Sadly, I almost have to break out the manual every time because I seldom use it.

A simpler, less expensive unit for some extra pop and clearance over lenses like the 18-105 would be the Godox TT350. It has a dedicated shoe mount and you wouldn't feel as bad with a less expensive unit sitting unused in the drawer. :)

If you haven't missed having an accessory flash for all this time, you may not actually need one after all. Least expensive option by far!

Dave

Nice update to the review.

I just started teaching my Spring photo class -- 1 Sony A6000, 5 Canon Rebels (Ranging over multiple generations), and believe it or not -- 1 Sony A330. (And to my surprise, 0 Nikons).

Your typical American consumers do hold on to their cameras. Unlike feeling the need to update phones every 2-3 years, it seems your average consumer doesn't really appreciate evolution in photography gear and equipment. Whether a camera has 5 focus points or 500 focus points, whether it can shoot at ISO 1600 or 25,6000, whether it has 10mp of resolution or 42mp of resolution..... To many simple consumers, it's just a question of, "I push the button and it takes the photo."

We've also reached a point where sensor technology, in terms of pure image quality, isn't advancing that much. Compare a 2007 sensor to a 2012 sensor, you will see a huge difference. Compare a 2012 aps-c sensor to a 2018 aps-c sensor... eh... minor upgrade.

So in this context, the A6000 is still an excellent camera that can serve many people well.

But on the other hand, it is about 5 years old... And to anyone who actually is comparing their options, it is sorely in need of an update. Especially as to things that basic consumer might be looking for.

To this non-enthusiast consumer, who just wants a camera for snapshots.... A touch screen is more important than high ISO performance. A selfie-LCD is more important than 14 stops of dynamic range. Easy networking and photo sharing is more important than a deep image buffer.

So the A6000 is a bit outdated..... time for Sony to update their "basic aps-c" model.

If you had to have one lens to bring with you on your cruise what would it be? (Polynesia) I love my sonya6000 but only have the 2 kit lens. I loved my old Tamron 18 -250 on my old sony but don't want to pay 900. for as new one for my a6000. Any alternatives? thanks Great thread

If you had to have one lens to bring with you on your cruise what would it be? (Polynesia) I love my sonya6000 but only have the 2 kit lens. I loved my old Tamron 18 -250 on my old sony but don't want to pay 900. for as new one for my a6000. Any alternatives? thanks Great thread

Depending on the cruise. Alaska is not and never will be a single lens trip.

For the last several cruises, my go-to lens has been the 18-105 f/4 G lens. It is wide enough for interiors (even better if you are good at stitching panoramas) and long enough for sunsets and zooming in on details in a marketplace. It is also quite sharp wide open at f/4. It is a little short for distant wildlife so keep that in mind and don't sell the 55-210 just yet.

A little larger than I would like but it makes up for it in performance.

My recommendation is based on my shooting style which is covered very well by the 18-105 range. Here is a link to my online galleries. The more recent cruises under Travel > Cruising are mostly shot with the 18-105

http://www.pptphoto.com/imagesframe.html

Dave

Depending on the cruise. Alaska is not and never will be a single lens trip.

 

For the last several cruises, my go-to lens has been the 18-105 f/4 G lens. It is wide enough for interiors (even better if you are good at stitching panoramas) and long enough for sunsets and zooming in on details in a marketplace. It is also quite sharp wide open at f/4. It is a little short for distant wildlife so keep that in mind and don't sell the 55-210 just yet.

 

A little larger than I would like but it makes up for it in performance.

 

My recommendation is based on my shooting style which is covered very well by the 18-105 range. Here is a link to my online galleries. The more recent cruises under Travel > Cruising are mostly shot with the 18-105

This is a good place to also mention, if someone's looking to purchase a new lens as an all-in-one solution, that the new 18-135mm fits well for that...same wide reach as the 18-105mm plus longer 135mm reach, and in a more compact body and reasonable price.

This is a good place to also mention, if someone's looking to purchase a new lens as an all-in-one solution, that the new 18-135mm fits well for that...same wide reach as the 18-105mm plus longer 135mm reach, and in a more compact body and reasonable price.

Good point Justin. About the same price and it is considerably lighter.

Dave