Sony A6000 Owners Thread

[Nemesismaster]

found that most of the time probably need to have 2 or 3 lenses at most.
anything more look like overspent already.

a zoom lens for versatile, too bad there isn't 3rd party zoom lens for Sony APS-C so have to stick with Sony lenses. quite a couple of choices here and depend what type of focal length range one need. the zoom lens which covered the mostly used range are SELP1650, SELP18105, SEL18135, SEL1670, SEL18200. the rest like SEL1018, SEL55210 are more for shooting at very specific purpose, SEL1018 for landscape, SEL55210 for sports or bird watching. of course one can use the FE zoom lens, the IQ is not bad but price is always on the high. the only budget friendly probably is the kit lens that comes with the A7, SEL2870 f/3.5-5.6 OSS

a prime lens at the focal length mostly used, typically between 25mm to 50mm, with a wide aperture in the range of f/1.4 to f/2.8. this should provide you with a lens good for low light, night photography and bokeh.

another prime lens to make it 3 if one is into this area of photography, a lens at a higher focal length of at least 50mm for portraits or macro. some might use the zoom lens for this purpose but the quality is different from prime lens and also can't get the wider aperture a prime lens offered.

for the prime lens some of the 3rd party are really good like the sigma 16, 30, 58 f/1.4 and even the sigma 19, 30, 60 f/2.8 also not a bad choice. their IQ not loosing out to Sony prime lens and much cheaper too.

i have the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 dc dn. it just so good even better than the Sony 35mm f/1.8 that almost 99% i'm using it. i have the SEL18135, it was a lucky buy as i was looking for a good zoom lens and someone putting up for sale $300 off the official selling price after just buying it for 3 months. so i get it on the cheap with 1.3 months warranty from Sony still active.

Is getting both 16-70mm and 18-105mm impractical? I am not into go bird shooting.

 

[ccloh]

Is getting both 16-70mm and 18-105mm impractical? I am not into go bird shooting.

the Sony 16-70mm is the SEL1670 F4 OSS right ?

well both are zoom lens, though the 16mm is 2mm shorter in term of focal length than 18mm but that 2mm don't think you can feel any different. on the other hand, the longer side 105mm makes a lot of different to 70mm in term of zooming in. 105mm is not enough to do close up for bird watching unless you get fairly close enough. in term of maximum aperture, both serves the same ie maintain F4 throughout the whole zoom length, which is good. however, F4 is not wide enough to make good bokeh or do low light/night photography. from my experience, need at least F2.8 to do reasonable good low light/night photography and at least F1.8 for good bokeh. F2.8 can for bokeh provided you get really close up to the subject.

if you have zoom lens that cover different focal length make some different but both cover the same region make no sense getting both. it all come down to what type of photography you want to do then you decide what type of lens you need. there is reason why A6000 comes with the SELP1650 zoom length. it is not the best (in term of zoom lens) but it let you get familiar to what focal length (range of focal length) you are mostly using and comfortable with. after knowing that you can start to invest in prime lens at the focal length you mostly use reason being prime lens offers the best wide aperture than zoom lens.

i was lucky to let my friend lend me his 16-50mm to play with as i received positive and negative review about it so can't decide to just buy the body or body+kit. after playing with it, i found the focal length i wanted due to the type of photography i mostly do and at the same time i also realized the pros and cons of 16-50mm in term of the IQ. i would say 16-50mm is a budget reasonable good lens for beginner while they searching for that particular lens that they want but is not the lens that will bring the best out of photography. in the end, i decide to go for the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN as that is the focal length i mostly shoot at (between 25mm to 35mm) and the IQ is really superb. one downside is it doesn't have OSS so for me sometime if i do shoot low light/night photography i have to use tripod if the shutter speed is too long. on the other hand, 30mm focal length can't do much as it can't zoom so i also looking at a good zoom lens. i narrowed down to 3 choices, FE 28-70mm, SELP18105 and SEL18135. in the end i managed to find a bargain in SEL18135 so i took that. any reason is it covers the shorter focal length my prime lens doesn't.

i do have a 3rd lens, the 7artisans 60mm f/2.6 1:1 marco lens. that one is manual focus, fully metal built, heavy like a machine gun but very good for macro photo (which sometime i like to do) for that price (cost me less than $200 after all the voucher discounts when it retail price is somewhere around $220-$230). it is very heavy for Sony A6000 weighing more than 500g but since i mostly use tripod for macro shooting so i'm fine with it.

 

[MoneyHoney]

Is getting both 16-70mm and 18-105mm impractical? I am not into go bird shooting.

both are good for travel photography (when u need to zoom in from a viewing point or when there are too many tourists)

18105 > 1670 as it is cheaper...image quality the G master is also better...

There is a comparison video by TechnologyMafia (now known as Arthur R) who previously compared the 2...imo u can follow him to get all the APSC updates...

 

[ccloh]

both are good for travel photography (when u need to zoom in from a viewing point or when there are too many tourists)

18105 > 1670 as it is cheaper...image quality the G master is also better...

There is a comparison video by TechnologyMafia (now known as Arthur R) who previously compared the 2...imo u can follow him to get all the APSC updates...

can see the review comparison for both

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiVYb-960QU

 

[DrSheldonCooper]

Hi guys looking to get A6400 w kit lens.

Any shops to recommend for best pricing?

Remember a couple of shots from several years back.

MS Color and TK Foto. Are these still the popular ones?

 

[ccloh]

Hi guys looking to get A6400 w kit lens.

Any shops to recommend for best pricing?

Remember a couple of shots from several years back.

MS Color and TK Foto. Are these still the popular ones?

can try lazada on the 11.11 sales. should have coupons/vouchers which you could use to reduce the price.

 

[ccloh]

Hi guys looking to get A6400 w kit lens.

Any shops to recommend for best pricing?

Remember a couple of shots from several years back.

MS Color and TK Foto. Are these still the popular ones?

since you are looking at A6400 + kit lens, you have 2 options in the kit lens, the 16-50mm or the 18-135mm. the difference in price according to Sony official is $380 more for the 18-135mm. the 18-135mm is much much better than the 16-50mm in term of IQ. furthermore, it also has longer focal length, 135mm vs 50mm. so you might want to consider that package.

 

[DrSheldonCooper]

since you are looking at A6400 + kit lens, you have 2 options in the kit lens, the 16-50mm or the 18-135mm. the difference in price according to Sony official is $380 more for the 18-135mm. the 18-135mm is much much better than the 16-50mm in term of IQ. furthermore, it also has longer focal length, 135mm vs 50mm. so you might want to consider that package.

Thanks for the suggestion! While I do like the versatility of the 18-135, the size is a little bit of a turn off for me.

Likely to stick with the 16-50, along with a cheap sony E 50mm 1.8 for portraits sometimes.

 

[ccloh]

Thanks for the suggestion! While I do like the versatility of the 18-135, the size is a little bit of a turn off for me.

Likely to stick with the 16-50, along with a cheap sony E 50mm 1.8 for portraits sometimes.

if you have the budget, you can swap the sony 50mm f/1.8 for the sigma 56mm f/1.4. the sigma trio of 16mm, 30mm, 56mm f/1.4 really superb in term of IQ, a class above the sony lens

 

[DrSheldonCooper]

if you have the budget, you can swap the sony 50mm f/1.8 for the sigma 56mm f/1.4. the sigma trio of 16mm, 30mm, 56mm f/1.4 really superb in term of IQ, a class above the sony lens

Thanks! I also considered haha. I see most of the reviews putting the 56mm above the 50mm. But the price also almost double. Probably get a used Sony 50mm at $2xx. Sigma 56mm I look at carousell cheapest also $551. And I think the lens is quite new so no used ones on the market yet.

I also considered the 16mm sigma. But I do plan to shoot some video so I would probably appreciate the small size and OSS of the kit lens. Do a travel log just for fun as I'm gonna be travelling quite a bit in the next year.

 

[ccloh]

Thanks! I also considered haha. I see most of the reviews putting the 56mm above the 50mm. But the price also almost double. Probably get a used Sony 50mm at $2xx. Sigma 56mm I look at carousell cheapest also $551. And I think the lens is quite new so no used ones on the market yet.

I also considered the 16mm sigma. But I do plan to shoot some video so I would probably appreciate the small size and OSS of the kit lens. Do a travel log just for fun as I'm gonna be travelling quite a bit in the next year.

someone in clubsnap is trying to sell off a Sony 50mm f/1.8 cheap. apparently bought Jun 2019 only should be still under warranty.

https://www.clubsnap.com/threads/wtsell-lens-sony-50mm-f1-8-sel50f18.1773652/

 

[DrSheldonCooper]

someone in clubsnap is trying to sell off a Sony 50mm f/1.8 cheap. apparently bought Jun 2019 only should be still under warranty.

https://www.clubsnap.com/threads/wtsell-lens-sony-50mm-f1-8-sel50f18.1773652/

Thanks man. Wa he looks quite desperate haha. But I haven't get my cam yet. Maybe next week go down TK to get. At least with the camera I can test the lens before buying.

Btw ClubSnap nowadays like a far cry from what it was maybe 6-7 years ago when I was there ah? Looks so quiet now?

Is there somewhere else the photogs have gone to?

 

[Nemesismaster]

After reading tons of review and the review video shared here. comparing 16-70mm,18-135mm and 18-105. I think I will buy the 18-135mm.

Due to 18-105 power zoom more for video.

16-70mm increment in sharpness over value is very little.

But the thing is I don't see ppl selling 18-135mm. Is it a good lens? Any one here using it? Especially those that used before the 16-70mm

 

[ccloh]

After reading tons of review and the review video shared here. comparing 16-70mm,18-135mm and 18-105. I think I will buy the 18-135mm.

Due to 18-105 power zoom more for video.

16-70mm increment in sharpness over value is very little.

But the thing is I don't see ppl selling 18-135mm. Is it a good lens? Any one here using it? Especially those that used before the 16-70mm

18-135mm is relative "new" lens compared to the other 2 as it was released last year only. it is an optional kit lens for the A6400 (default is the 16-50mm). i would say the lens is considered too "new" for ppl to sell at the moment as compared to the other 2. if you don't mind 2nd hand think you have to hawk at clubsnap frequently to wait. those who sell most likely they got it as part of the kit lens for the A6400 so selling price is around the range $500 to $580.

i'm using the 18-135mm but i have not used 16-70mm before so i can't give you comparison between the 2. you are right the 18-105mm is more for video shooting due to its power zoom feature. apart from it, it is much heavier than the 18-135mm. the 18-135mm is plastic feel so quite light for A6000.

i used that to shoot at the swan at the swan lake in botanic garden before. the sharpness at full zoom (135mm) quite good but can't compare with those prime lens with that range of focal length. partly due to the maximum aperture, it is at most f/5.6 at 135mm and that aperture is not good at creating the bokeh effect compared to those prime lens.

the sweet spots i found is between f/5.6 to f/8. at f/11 still acceptable. anything smaller than f/11 i found the sharpness is giving way already.

for the shorter focal length, the pictorial effect is about the same as the 16-50mm kit lens but the great different is the corner sharpness. this is what the 16-50mm can't achieve.

i not into portraits shooting so i can't commend on how good it is for portraits (portraits for human beings to be exact).

the versatility is very good due to the stretch of focal length from 18mm to 135mm. i bought that to Coney Island and switching between the shorter focal length to shoot near the sea shore and longer focal length to capture birds or insects along the way. not the perfect zoom lens for birds but can be done if you manage to get close enough to the subject w/o alerting them to start flying away.

the only thing i yet to test is to do low light or night photography with it as the maximum aperture size just doesn't convince me that it is worth the try.

i believe the sharpness and IQ for the 16-70mm should be better than 18-135mm but what it lacks is the range of focal length. at 70mm you probably can use a prime lens of 50mm to 60mm to reproduce the same effect. so to me the choice of between 16-70mm and 18-135mm is give and take. you want better IQ you have to trade off for the longer focal length and vice versa.

 

[Nemesismaster]

Today went and call all Alan photo they no stock for 18-135mm. SLR also no stock. According to them demand was not high so never order. Not sure how true. Anyway I took the plunge n get the 16-70mm I like the compactness and build quality in my hands. I'm a happy man.

 

[Nemesismaster]

Exact same size with my sigma 30mm 1.4

 

[ccloh]

received some seeking advise from me regarding recommendation of lens. i'm afraid i'm not pro enough to give. type tonnes of words might also difficult to get the point across. probably showing some photo shoot i did can give a clue of what type of lens is good for you. pardon the lousy photography skill as just want to illustrate at what focal length you can expect the image size to be.

Sigma 30mm f/1.4
https://www.facebook.com/cclohtrave...98426972796/10159098429127796/?type=3&theater

Sony SEL18135 f/3.5-5.6 OSS
https://www.facebook.com/cclohtrave...98426972796/10159098440527796/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/cclohtrave...98426972796/10159098436117796/?type=3&theater

i do not have the 16-50mm kit lens so i can't show you the result of that.

 

[DrSheldonCooper]

Anyone attended the FOC Alpha Fundamental Handling Workshop?

Worth attending?

 

[MoneyHoney]

Anyone attended the FOC Alpha Fundamental Handling Workshop?

Worth attending?

depends on ur level of expertise...

the workshop teaches u the functions of the sony alpha camera in general...

i will say good to go for it (since it is FOC anyway) to learn about ur camera...

unless u are a pro already and have more than 1 DSLR/mirrorless camera etc, just collecting the alpha range of cameras for fun?

 

[xiaosen]

Still worth to get a6000? Price for body is 499.