Mirrorless Cameras....Sony A6000

[ilovelucydog]

For those of you who know about the Sony A6000....The lens that comes with the camera is a 16-50. I already have a 18-55 that came with my last Sony mirrorless the NEX-5N. Do I need the new kit lens? Or should I just get body only? Also, any recommendations for another lens? I have a 55-210 that I never use. I would like something good for pictures of my daughter, but also something that will function around Disneyland for everyday type stuff.

 

[fractal]

The 18-55 kit lens is overall a better lens than the 16-50. The advantage of the 16-50 is it's small size. The 18-55 is a solid kit lens and will give you good results as a carry-around in daylight or for long exposure shots. I think you'll notice a significant difference when pairing it to the sensor of the A6000. As for another lens, I would consider a prime with a wider aperture. The SEL 35mm 1.8 (which I had) and the SEL 50mm 1.8 ( which I took to WDW a few years ago) both are solid lenses and have OSS. You may also look into the Sigma E-mount primes. 19mm,30mm and 60mm 2.8. Not as fast as the Sony lenses and no OSS but significantly cheaper. I have the 19mm and the 30mm and for the price they are hard to beat. The 60mm is sharp and would make a good portrait lens (as would the SEL 50mm 1.8).

If you are looking for the highest quality images and are willing to spend more money, The Zeiss Touit lenes are excellent, especially the 32mm 1.8 and the 50mm 2.8 macro. The Sony Zeiss 24mm 1.8 is also excellent and is the only reason I sold the SEL 35mm 1.8. These lenses will get the most out of the A6000 sensor.

For wide angle, the SEL 10-18mm is a very good performer, but wouldn't be much help with the daughter pictures.

 

[zackiedawg]

As Fractal mentioned, the 18-55 is mostly considered slightly better than the 16-50mm and will work just fine, so you certainly can just buy body only. All current lenses, batteries, chargers, etc will work the same on the A6000. And don't be afraid to use the 55-210mm - it will work well as a quick substitute portrait lens in the 80-90mm range, and can zoom to the more distant stuff like animals at AK...it's a good lens for the price. I agree with Fractal if you're picking up a fast prime, the 50mm F1.8 is a good starting point for the price, or if you like a slightly wider perspective, the 35mm F1.8 is very good, and the one I personally prefer.

 

[fractal]

Yes - Justin has captured amazing shots with the 55-210! An underrated lens.

As an aside; An interesting fact I recently discovered is that the SEL 50mm 1.8 was the first 50mm 1.8 aperture lens to feature stabilization.

 

[ilovelucydog]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I can probably afford two lenses....so if I went with the 50mm 1.8, what would be another good one? One of the sigmas??

 

[zackiedawg]

The Sigmas are generally well reviewed...depends on how much price room you have. The Sony 35mm F1.8 is nice because it's stabilized, so if that's in the budget it's a good pickup - otherwise the Sigma 19mm is a well liked lens and might be nice to have the wider prime. The Touits are gorgeous lenses, but pricey. If you're willing to go into the $800ish range, the 10-18 is a great ultrawide lens, stabilized, and lots of fun for landscape and architecture shots.

Don't forget to keep you NEX-5N wall charger...the A6000 doesn't ship with one - it only comes with a USB wall plug and charges the battery in the camera. But the NEX-5N batteries work fine in the A6000, and the A6000 batteries charge fine on the NEX-5N's wall charger!

 

[fractal]

Sigma 19mm is a nice size and weight. Here are some samples I took in Disney with my Nex-7 which has essentially the same sensor as the A6000.

You can get decent results in a slow moving dark ride.

If I compare it to the 18-55 at 18mm, the kit lens is not that far off in sharpness. It's a stop slower but also has OSS. I think I read somewhere that the "sweet spot" for the 18-55 is between 20mm and 24mm. The 30mm Sigma is also sharp and while not a true Macro lens, I've used it as such for close up shots.

It's not the nicest bokeh, but it's also not a Zeiss.

If you plan on keeping the 18-55 it can serve as your "wide" lens, while the 30mm gives more of a classic full frame equivalent focal range of close to 50mm (45mm) and the versatility to use as a cheap "close-up" lens.

 

[ilovelucydog]

Wow! Great photos! Just great! It looks like the 19mm would be a good walking around Disney lens. Do you think? Would the 19 mm and the 50 mm 1.8 be a good lens combo? Or should I do the 19mm and the 30mm. Keeping in mind that I also like to take pictures with my daughter in them (but I think the 30 mm should be good for that right)? Thanks so much for your help.

 

[fractal]

If you don't want to spend the money for the SEL 35mm and the SEL 50mm I would buy the SEL 50mm and the Sigma 30mm 2.8. Then use the 18-55 as your wide/walk around lens.

I took these with the 18-55 lens @18mm. Out of camera Jpegs.