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Sony a6500, an all-in-one lens recommendation needed


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Hello cruise-savvy photographers! I've been debating for too long a camera to buy in preparation for my family's Alaska land & sea tour which is only 37 days away now! I will be spending all of Memorial weekend practicing with the new camera!

I debated in this thread:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2575708

 

But I think it's best to move my final decision questions to this more appropriate forum.

I keep major purchases for a loooong time (my last vehicle 14.5 years, finally towed away). I won't soon replace this camera. I'm looking for a good, small base camera. Lenses I can spend more $ on later.

 

My decision evolved, after first thinking of a small point & shoot, then something with better zoom for whales and glaciers, then mirrorless. In mirrorless I first thought a5100, then I thought well why not get even better? The Sony a6300 or a6500. I can stomach the a6300 price better. Great features for me to grow into. Both have overheat issues with video mode. I see in amazon reviews that the a6500 gives an option to continue use when overheated, but this risks damage. I'm not worried about taking long videos. Dust/moisture protection inherent in both. But there is inherent stabilization vs a6300.

 

My current questions are:

1. Which one to choose? a6500 or a6300? I have used point & shoot cameras, and have gravitated towards my phone camera out of convenience. But phones won't be good enough to photograph Alaska and future travels!

2. What is a good recommended "all-in-one" lens for me, the non-pro? I want something I can use during Glacier Bay scenic cruising, whale watching, Denali National Park, and some family photos (no need to be ultra-fancy portraits) with nice landscape or cruise ship behind us. I don't want to have to change lenses during an excursion, for example. So good zoom but also okay closer up. Does this exist in one lens? a6500 bundles come with 16-50, 18-105, or 18-135. The a6300 bundles come with 16-50 and/or 55-210, or just 18-135. Are any of these suitable or should I go with something else entirely? p.s. I can't spend 1K on a lens right now.

Thanks for your advice! I'm hoping to order today!!!

Edited by Dev'sMom
Title should've included a6300 vs a6500
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Without a lot of niggling details, here ar my thoughts:

 

Movie shooting - Unless you do a lot of video blogging, extended interviews or product demos, you will never experience overheating on either camera. I haven't shot a total of 10 minutes of video in the two years since I bought the A6300, so you can guess that video overheating wasn't a major decision point for me.

 

Performance. A6500 has a bigger buffer but both shoot at the same burst speed. (I have never filled the buffer on my A6300 while shooting action.) AF performance is pretty much the same. A6500 in-body stabilization is a big plus but recommended all-in-one lenses like the excellent new 18-135 have optical stabilization. If you plan on using legacy lenses or some of the unstabilized Zeiss primes, this may matter. I shot our entire London trip with the A6300 and the stabilized 18-105 zoom last year and had no issues. Link HERE

 

All-in-one? Hands down the new 18-135 Sony. Light, sharp and stabilized. I have shot for a long time with the 18-105 and find that I almost never take it off the camera. Were I in the market today, I would choose the 18-135 over the 18-105 for it's size alone. It may also be a bit sharper. If I were going to Alaska and planning wildlife tours, I would likely buy or rent a long zoom for that purpose.

 

Bottom line for me is that both cameras are exceptional with the stabilization being the major difference.

 

I guess that I never felt the need to upgrade to the A6500 over the last couple of years (until recently and that is a whole different story) is the bulk of my recommendation. Unless you absolutely need one of the A6500's features, the A6300 leaves you with a few extra bucks for a super-wide angle lens like the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 or put it towards a good telephoto.

 

Here is the review of the A6300 that I did when I got it back in early 2016.

 

http://www.pptphoto.com/reviews/A6300_frame.html

 

Awsome little camera.

 

Dave

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Hi Dave,

That's a very useful website you've been developing! I've just spent the last half hour reading your articles about cameras and lenses. Bookmarking for when my camera arrives! Admittedly some is still too technical for me, but I am hoping to learn more once I have the camera in my hand!

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us novices :)

 

Editing to add that I don't have any lenses already, so not looking to adapt. And I, too, am not concerned with taking video with this camera. Maybe some short ones. Gone are the days when we'd watch an hour-long family vacation VHS tape!

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Hi Dave' date='

That's a very useful website you've been developing! I've just spent the last half hour reading your articles about cameras and lenses. Bookmarking for when my camera arrives! Admittedly some is still too technical for me, but I am hoping to learn more once I have the camera in my hand!

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us novices :)[/quote']

 

You're very welcome! Glad it was helpful.

 

Gone are the days when we'd watch an hour-long family vacation VHS tape!

 

Proof of a benevolent God. :)

 

 

Dave

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Proof of a benevolent God. :)

 

Dave

 

:')True!

What do you think of the18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Compact E-Mount Standard Zoom Lens vs the 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS All-in-One Zoom Lens? It's a little bit bigger...heavier, and costlier! Worth it for my purposes? Or better off with 18-135, and give serious consideration to a wide-angle for those landscape images?

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:')True!

What do you think of the18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Compact E-Mount Standard Zoom Lens vs the 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS All-in-One Zoom Lens? It's a little bit bigger...heavier' date=' and costlier! Worth it for my purposes? Or better off with 18-135, and give serious consideration to a wide-angle for those landscape images?[/font']

 

95% of your shooting will be within the 18-135 range (my experience, but since I do a lot of travel photography, I'm extrapolating for you). Remember on the A6300 it is equivalent to 24mm-200mm or so and much sharper.

 

Both the 18-200 zooms are a bit soft on the long end. In the I-can-nearly-afford-it range, the Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-f/5.6 G lens would be my suggestion. Rental for trips is a great option if you don't otherwise have a lot of need for a long telephoto. If they have a kit with the 18-135 and 55-210 kit lens, the bundle price makes the 55-210 a decent purchase option.

 

Even though the Rokinon 12mm I mentioned is manual focus and manual aperture, it is an amazing wide angle lens for the price. Very sharp. Here's a sky shot I took with my A6000:

 

p968451891-5.jpg

 

Dave

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DAVE:

 

Curious = but what are the results if you use the Sony lens bought for the A6xxx on the A7 III?

 

Your recommendation for the 18mm-135mm is "right-on". Very impressed by its sharpness - not to mention its size and weight compared to my old 18mm-105mm. Still can't believe how Sony engineers managed to reduce the size and weight and made the lens sharper!

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for future planning, is there a lens that would be good for photographing the aurora borealis? wide angle or something else?

I'm going to factor in an extra battery, a carrying case, and several memory cards. What's the max you'd recommend? I'm also looking into an external hd to copy photos over to during vacation.

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for future planning' date=' is there a lens that would be good for photographing the aurora borealis? wide angle or something else?

I'm going to factor in an extra battery, a carrying case, and several memory cards. What's the max you'd recommend? I'm also looking into an external hd to copy photos over to during vacation.[/quote']

 

The 12mm f/2 Rokinon is perfect for aurora. Very sharp wide open.

 

SanDisk Extreme is my personal favorite card. 32GB x what you can comfortably afford.

 

Dave

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DAVE:

 

Curious = but what are the results if you use the Sony lens bought for the A6xxx on the A7 III?

 

 

Camera is set to crop mode and only uses the central APS-C sized section of the sensor. I think tis could be overridden but the corners would be heavily vignetted if not completely unexposed.

 

Dave

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What is a good recommended "all-in-one" lens for me' date=' the non-pro?[/color']

Given that you're wanting to shoot both whales and glaciers, you might be better off getting two lenses. I took my whale photos with a relatively inexpensive compact superzoom point-and-shoot, and my best four whale shots were 204mm, 225mm, 440mm and 532mm (equivalent). My wife took one at 135mm (equivalent) that made a great photo when I cropped it down.

 

For other wildlife (stuff smaller than whales), I hit the max zoom of my camera (600mm equivalent) about half the time. I often wished I had more zoom.

 

Granted, you're using a far better camera than I was. You will likely have much greater ability to crop before losing too much resolution. But there may be a practical limit.

 

For shooting scenery, that 18mm to 135mm (recommended by Pierces) should be great, based on the zoom I was using for scenery photos in Alaska.

 

My caveat:

I'm an atypical photography buff. I use rather "economical" equipment. My new "expensive" camera cost $400 ... and most photography buffs would only use it for underwater photography. It simply happens to be better than my previous camera -- the $125 compact camera I took to Alaska -- at everything except distance photography (like birds and wildlife). The $125 camera was a huge step up from the point-and-shoot I had before it.

 

Any decision you make will involve trade-offs. Price is an obvious trade-off.

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My sweet mother told me to go for the a6500! It is Mother's Day after all :) So I just ordered it with the 18-135 and the 12! I'm nervous and excited! After reviewing the albeit small differences vs the a6300, I figured the a6500 would keep me happy for a little longer. I originally set out to buy a $500 camera. But the more I saw the awesome photos of the better (and costlier) cameras, I couldn't resist increasing my budget. Good thing I have a job! I hope this camera helps me capture memories from many years of travels with my family, especially my son, the center of my life :)

 

I'm reading, and learning more, and came upon another issue--filters. Considering how I'll use this camera, for example, in Alaska--glaciers, whale-watching, landscapes, what filter(s) should I take?

 

Also, will this camera use a standard tripod (if there is such a thing)?

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My sweet mother told me to go for the a6500! It is Mother's Day after all :) So I just ordered it with the 18-135 and the 12! I'm nervous and excited! After reviewing the albeit small differences vs the a6300' date=' I figured the a6500 would keep me happy for a little longer. I originally set out to buy a $500 camera. But the more I saw the awesome photos of the better (and costlier) cameras, I couldn't resist increasing my budget. Good thing I have a job! I hope this camera helps me capture memories from many years of travels with my family, especially my son, the center of my life :)

 

I'm reading, and learning more, and came upon another issue--filters. Considering how I'll use this camera, for example, in Alaska--glaciers, whale-watching, landscapes, what filter(s) should I take?

 

Also, will this camera use a standard tripod (if there is such a thing)?[/quote']

 

Congratulations! Many years of fun and friendship ahead as you travel with your new little buddy!

 

Using Photo Filters: Article aimed at folks new to the concept of filters inspired by years of questions about them here.

 

http://www.pptphoto.com/articles/usingfilters_frame.html

 

On All but a few very large view cameras, the standard tripod threas is 1/4-20 and us nearly universal, even in Europe where metric is king.

 

Dave

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will this camera use a standard tripod (if there is such a thing)?

There are standard tripods. Just about every camera can use them. (Exceptions are action cameras' date=' like GoPros, which have their own standard, and smartphones.) I double-checked to make certain that the a6300 and a6500 use the standard tripod. The top of the standard tripod screws into the bottom of the standard camera.

 

Considering how I'll use this camera, for example, in Alaska--glaciers, whale-watching, landscapes, what filter(s) should I take?

Pierces' article is very informative, and I would start with that.

 

I would take zero to three filters, with this order of priority:

1. A circular polarized lens (CPL) filter. You can adjust it to filter out reflected light (reflected off of any non-metallic surface ... such as water, snow, glass, or haze in the air).

Using this may require a little practice.

2. A clear filter, or a UV filter. This is essentially a "rain coat" for your lens. There are places in Alaska where you will encounter rain, mist, fog, or waterfall spray (or maybe even dust). After leaving that environment, you can remove the filter and you have a clean lens underneath. Basically, it allows you to postpone the cleaning until you get back to your cabin. Alternatively, you can just clean your lens with a lens cloth.

No practice needed on this.

3. A graduated neutral density (graduated ND) filter. This is useful when the sky is bright, but the ground is dark. Like trying to take a picture of a beach and sunset simultaneously. This allows you to darken the bright sky, so you can see the details of the beach. It's less likely to happen in Alaska (due to the frequent overcast), which is why it's solidly in third place.

Using this may require a little practice.

 

I just glanced through my Alaska photos and saw barely any photos where a filter may have made any difference. None where they definitely would have made a positive difference. The normal overcast conditions are very photo friendly.

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As a newbie, I'd say that as an alternative to the filters (which take even more learning and practicing to use), I'd spend that money (far less of it actually) on photo editing software such as Luminar. It's $60. With a camera as capable as the 6500, I'd shoot in RAW even when lighting and conditions are less than ideal. Just take the shot. Then, play around with photo editing. It's like magic.

 

While on vacation, you don't have the luxury of posing or waiting for the right conditions. They are what they are. With a camera like the a6500, if you shoot in RAW, you have a very good chance of getting a fantastic shot as long as it's in focus. Even if it looks pitch black in camera, you may be able to mess with the exposure and other settings so that it looks great. Obviously, you try and get the settings as close to ideal the first time, but often, you just can't get things right while out on vacation. RAW gives you incredible leeway that JPEG just doesn't.

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3. A graduated neutral density (graduated ND) filter.

 

Great for icebergs/graciers - the whiteness without the filter will wash out the blues which you want in your pictures.

 

Incidentally when Dave/Kustin/Adam comments on anything, I find their information informative and taken as Gospel!

Edited by tommui987
"J" comes before "K" - mis-typed - meant "Justin"
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I'm a little bit proud of myself as I came up with a similar list of filters by reading Dave's page and the dp review website! Must mean I'm learning something :)

I was wondering about RAW image capture as well. I will definitely have to experiment with that esp in any less-than-ideal conditions and then see what surprises come out! I will need Mac OS-friendly software.

I am tempted by at least the polarizer and ND filters. I do a little bit of microscopy at work and so am familiar with what these filters reveal at the micrometer level.

On another note, I am eyeing up the WD wireless portable 2TB hard drive with SD slot to back-up (not move but just copy) the pictures during vacation, just in case...I know solid state is better but they charge for that, too. I will baby the hard drive same as I will the camera.

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I have recently bought the WD 1TB wireless pro and found it to be very quick at backing up. I also bought the matching WD hard case for protection, which was fairly cheap on Amazon.

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I have recently bought the WD 1TB wireless pro and found it to be very quick at backing up. I also bought the matching WD hard case for protection, which was fairly cheap on Amazon.

 

I'm glad it's working for you. Your comment made me check out the product on B&H; I've rarely seen such negative reviews! :eek:

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1303950-REG/wd_wdbvpl0010bbk_nesn_storage_solutions_for_my.html

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Just a thought. You are leaving in 37 days and you are still trying to figure out what camera to buy. Bad idea.

 

DON

 

Sure, good point, I agree. Since I can't turn back the clock and find time between my job and taking care of my family, I'm going to call it "better late than never." This camera will be used beyond Alaska, and even though I won't know all the tricks within a month, I'm confident that I'll have better photos from it vs our phones, which was our only other choice. I have to start somewhere :)

 

Anyone know what settings I can use to make it look like I dropped 10 pounds instead of adding it?? :')

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I'm glad it's working for you. Your comment made me check out the product on B&H; I've rarely seen such negative reviews! :eek:

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1303950-REG/wd_wdbvpl0010bbk_nesn_storage_solutions_for_my.html

 

I saw a lot of negative reviews on Amazon, too. But then lots of good ones as well. I don't plan to use the wireless transfer function, so I'm hoping I don't run into issues with simply copying things over to it. And I think I'll use only 64GB cards, maybe that will minimize issues. For the price, I'll give it a go and hopefully end up with a nice back-up set of all our pics and vids.

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Not sure if you've received the camera yet?

 

I know you had spare "battery" on your list, but as an a6500 owner (LOVE IT), let me recommend "batteries", as in plural. And a plug in charger for one or more batteries. About my only negative with the a6500 is it simply eats battery life, and the camera comes with a USB cable and adapter to charge the batter in the camera, which is incredibly inefficient. I think I have Wasabi batteries, which are kind of hit and miss on reviews but I've not had any issues. B&H sells Watson (as well as Sony OEM) and chargers from Sony and Watson. Watson makes a charger that will charge two batteries at the same time, but it's bigger, bulkier, and has a power cord.

 

I'm still learning the finer points of the camera (have had it for several months now). There was and still is a learning curve coming from Canon.

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DAVE:

 

 

Speaking of batteries (previous message above), I was at a vocal recital yesterday and was using an RX10 III to video Granddaughter and had a fresh battery in the camera. Took 10-15 minutes of video - maybe 2-3 minute per clip. When I got home, I think the battery was down to above 40%!

 

 

I have a bunch of Sony and Wasabi batteries for the RX10 and the A6300s. However, I am wondering about the REV duo-battery charger w/Rev batteries I see on Amazon.

 

 

With battery usage is like my experience yesterday, charging one backup battery at a time might not be a good idea.

(Doesn't seem to consume much power taking a bunch of stills - 250 shots? - at a time).

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