Best Sony Alpha a6000 Interchangeable Lens Camera with 16-50mm Power Zoom Lens
This is My Opinion About This Product
After I buy this New Sony Alpha a6000 Interchangeable Lens Camera - Body only (Electronics)
Let me start this review with some background of my photography experience. (Short story, I am an amateur, skip to “PROS” section)
I bought a Nikon D40 and had it for several years before selling it in college and I was short on cash. Ever since then I’ve been relegated to my various cell phone cameras. I always had intentions of buying back into the hobbyist camera space at some point, and with an upcoming trip to Europe this summer, there was no time like the present to make a purchase.
I had set a budget for myself that basically put my sights on the OM-D E-M10 and the Sony A6000, sans kit lens and spending the money (well worth it, we’ll get to that in a bit) to get a fast prime near the 50mm equivalent range.
I never got a hold of an E-M10, so I will not compare the two, but will say that the APS-C sensor size of the A6000 was a key point for me. Without stirring the micro four thirds vs. the world debate, for me, sensor size still means something. Reality is that for the hobbyist, honestly, I don’t think you can choose incorrectly.
The purchase was an A6000 (body only) with the well-reviewed SEL35F18 lens. I am forgoing the kit lens and intend to fill out my lens set (eventually) with the SEL1018 and another mid-range zoom. I cannot emphasize enough how great the SEL35F18 lens is. I am in love with it, and I think that it will really teach me to shoot correctly, rather than lean on the “zoom” crutch. If you have the extra cash, I would highly recommend this kit as a great starting point.
I am not a professional, I have not taken photography courses, so I will cover the camera from the perspective of a guy looking to take photography to the next level. Let’s dig on in…
PROS:
-The A6000 is small. Coming from a rather chunky D40, I was pleasantly surprised by this. With the relatively small lens, a 35mm prime, it feels very well weighted, if just a tad plastic-y. Large lenses could upset the balance of the camera, but you wouldn’t have a 70-200 mounted for walk around use, anyways.
-Controls…plenty of them. Spend some time while laying it bed to just mess with the settings and feel the camera out. DO NOT let your first experience with the camera be something special, such as a graduation or wedding. There’s a lot of options and flexibility here to make your photos shine, and keeping it in Auto or Superior Auto means you’re missing the point. That said, Sony does a good job of catering to the new photographer as well as those well versed in photography (and everyone in between). The controls allow you to grow and take more and more control as you learn (and less while you’re still figuring it out).
-Menus: They go hand in hand with the controls I mentioned above, there’s a lot to them, but the layout is simple. Take some time to understand them, and you’ll be A-OK.
-Viewfinder: You’re not going to mistake it for a traditional mirror box, but it gets the job done and it plenty functional. It’s not grainy or low quality by any means. Being my first OLED viewfinder, I have no comparison points but I’ve come away impressed so far. Though, the sensor that enables it is a bit too sensitive, can’t find a way to adjust that.
-Focusing: Lightning fast. Allegedly a huge improvement over older compact system cameras, and for that I am grateful. Haven’t done any serious continuous AF shooting quite yet, but its done what it hasn’t skipped a beat.
-Image quality: Given that I am an amateur, I am by no means a pixel peeper. So I think the IQ is fantastic. I think the JPG engine turns out somewhat dull images by default, but with a little tweaking, that can be easily fixed. We’re getting to the point where most any compact ILC can pump out decent images, and for me the A6000 certainly doesn’t disappoint.
CONS:
-I almost wish the grip was slightly bigger. I’ve got bigger hands, so things get tight after awhile. With a larger lens on the camera, I worry that the small grip won’t be sufficient to support the setup, forcing me to a 2-handed shot. The other benefit to the bigger grip would be an improvement in…
-BATTERY LIFE. Through my use so far, I’d say it’s around ~300-325 shots. That’s not a lot. When I unboxed the camera I was shocked at how small the battery is. A slightly larger grip to fit a bigger battery would be a wise decision. A fine line between keeping the setup compact and improving the shooting experience, but I think Sony has some room to tip toe further towards that line, especially when you move beyond the tiny kit lens.
-The Screen: To start, it’s a 16:9 screen and the sensor is 3:2. When reviewing images the on-screen image is pretty darn small. The screen itself is functional, bright, and effective; but the aspect ratio is a head scratcher. Also…
-NO TOUCHSCREEN: The camera has nearly 200 AF points, and to pick a spot focus you use the tiny D-pad to the right of the screen. It is, to say the least, not intuitive, and slows down the act of taking a shot.
-RAW+JPG Shooting: When shooting in JPG mode, you get the option to use some in-camera effects. Some are cheesy, others such as HDR can produce genuinely nice results. If you switch to RAW+JPG shooting, you lose the ability to use those effects for BOTH the RAW and the JPG image. Now, for the RAW image this makes sense, but it would be nice to be able to capture an unmolested raw file while still messing around with the in-camera effects/filters on the corresponding JPG file. From my understanding, competitors such as Olympus handle this much better.
The rest is all gravy. Nit picks here and there that are more quirks than true cons.
CONCLUSION:
This camera rocks. It’s not perfect, hence the 4/5 rating, but it’s probably the best camera money can buy at the current MSRP (body only). It’s got a good size to it, plenty of controls and easy to navigate menus that allow you to grow into the camera, a viewfinder that’s unassumingly tucked away into the body (rather than atop it), a great AF system, and excellent image quality. As for what could be improved, I’d like to see a bigger grip to accommodate larger lenses and a bigger battery to build upon the mediocre battery life. I think a touchscreen was a glaring omission that really slows down the shooting experience. And the fact that choosing JPG + RAW shooting mode disables most all in-camera effects, even for the JPG copy is a bummer. It’s basically Sony forcing you to either act like a professional, or act like a child, but you can’t mix work and pleasure. Competitors handle that aspect better.
If you go with the A6000, skip the kit lens and spend some time with a fast prime. If not the SEL35F18, then look at the cheaper Sigma Primes. The kit lens may not be bad, but shooting with a prime really makes you think about your style and understanding of composition.
Hope you found this a worthwhile review. Happy to answer any and all questions (Again, from an amateur perspective) in the comments.
I bought a Nikon D40 and had it for several years before selling it in college and I was short on cash. Ever since then I’ve been relegated to my various cell phone cameras. I always had intentions of buying back into the hobbyist camera space at some point, and with an upcoming trip to Europe this summer, there was no time like the present to make a purchase.
I had set a budget for myself that basically put my sights on the OM-D E-M10 and the Sony A6000, sans kit lens and spending the money (well worth it, we’ll get to that in a bit) to get a fast prime near the 50mm equivalent range.
I never got a hold of an E-M10, so I will not compare the two, but will say that the APS-C sensor size of the A6000 was a key point for me. Without stirring the micro four thirds vs. the world debate, for me, sensor size still means something. Reality is that for the hobbyist, honestly, I don’t think you can choose incorrectly.
The purchase was an A6000 (body only) with the well-reviewed SEL35F18 lens. I am forgoing the kit lens and intend to fill out my lens set (eventually) with the SEL1018 and another mid-range zoom. I cannot emphasize enough how great the SEL35F18 lens is. I am in love with it, and I think that it will really teach me to shoot correctly, rather than lean on the “zoom” crutch. If you have the extra cash, I would highly recommend this kit as a great starting point.
I am not a professional, I have not taken photography courses, so I will cover the camera from the perspective of a guy looking to take photography to the next level. Let’s dig on in…
PROS:
-The A6000 is small. Coming from a rather chunky D40, I was pleasantly surprised by this. With the relatively small lens, a 35mm prime, it feels very well weighted, if just a tad plastic-y. Large lenses could upset the balance of the camera, but you wouldn’t have a 70-200 mounted for walk around use, anyways.
-Controls…plenty of them. Spend some time while laying it bed to just mess with the settings and feel the camera out. DO NOT let your first experience with the camera be something special, such as a graduation or wedding. There’s a lot of options and flexibility here to make your photos shine, and keeping it in Auto or Superior Auto means you’re missing the point. That said, Sony does a good job of catering to the new photographer as well as those well versed in photography (and everyone in between). The controls allow you to grow and take more and more control as you learn (and less while you’re still figuring it out).
-Menus: They go hand in hand with the controls I mentioned above, there’s a lot to them, but the layout is simple. Take some time to understand them, and you’ll be A-OK.
-Viewfinder: You’re not going to mistake it for a traditional mirror box, but it gets the job done and it plenty functional. It’s not grainy or low quality by any means. Being my first OLED viewfinder, I have no comparison points but I’ve come away impressed so far. Though, the sensor that enables it is a bit too sensitive, can’t find a way to adjust that.
-Focusing: Lightning fast. Allegedly a huge improvement over older compact system cameras, and for that I am grateful. Haven’t done any serious continuous AF shooting quite yet, but its done what it hasn’t skipped a beat.
-Image quality: Given that I am an amateur, I am by no means a pixel peeper. So I think the IQ is fantastic. I think the JPG engine turns out somewhat dull images by default, but with a little tweaking, that can be easily fixed. We’re getting to the point where most any compact ILC can pump out decent images, and for me the A6000 certainly doesn’t disappoint.
CONS:
-I almost wish the grip was slightly bigger. I’ve got bigger hands, so things get tight after awhile. With a larger lens on the camera, I worry that the small grip won’t be sufficient to support the setup, forcing me to a 2-handed shot. The other benefit to the bigger grip would be an improvement in…
-BATTERY LIFE. Through my use so far, I’d say it’s around ~300-325 shots. That’s not a lot. When I unboxed the camera I was shocked at how small the battery is. A slightly larger grip to fit a bigger battery would be a wise decision. A fine line between keeping the setup compact and improving the shooting experience, but I think Sony has some room to tip toe further towards that line, especially when you move beyond the tiny kit lens.
-The Screen: To start, it’s a 16:9 screen and the sensor is 3:2. When reviewing images the on-screen image is pretty darn small. The screen itself is functional, bright, and effective; but the aspect ratio is a head scratcher. Also…
-NO TOUCHSCREEN: The camera has nearly 200 AF points, and to pick a spot focus you use the tiny D-pad to the right of the screen. It is, to say the least, not intuitive, and slows down the act of taking a shot.
-RAW+JPG Shooting: When shooting in JPG mode, you get the option to use some in-camera effects. Some are cheesy, others such as HDR can produce genuinely nice results. If you switch to RAW+JPG shooting, you lose the ability to use those effects for BOTH the RAW and the JPG image. Now, for the RAW image this makes sense, but it would be nice to be able to capture an unmolested raw file while still messing around with the in-camera effects/filters on the corresponding JPG file. From my understanding, competitors such as Olympus handle this much better.
The rest is all gravy. Nit picks here and there that are more quirks than true cons.
CONCLUSION:
This camera rocks. It’s not perfect, hence the 4/5 rating, but it’s probably the best camera money can buy at the current MSRP (body only). It’s got a good size to it, plenty of controls and easy to navigate menus that allow you to grow into the camera, a viewfinder that’s unassumingly tucked away into the body (rather than atop it), a great AF system, and excellent image quality. As for what could be improved, I’d like to see a bigger grip to accommodate larger lenses and a bigger battery to build upon the mediocre battery life. I think a touchscreen was a glaring omission that really slows down the shooting experience. And the fact that choosing JPG + RAW shooting mode disables most all in-camera effects, even for the JPG copy is a bummer. It’s basically Sony forcing you to either act like a professional, or act like a child, but you can’t mix work and pleasure. Competitors handle that aspect better.
If you go with the A6000, skip the kit lens and spend some time with a fast prime. If not the SEL35F18, then look at the cheaper Sigma Primes. The kit lens may not be bad, but shooting with a prime really makes you think about your style and understanding of composition.
Hope you found this a worthwhile review. Happy to answer any and all questions (Again, from an amateur perspective) in the comments.
0 comments Blogger 0 Facebook
Post a Comment