# Sony Alpha a6000



## Rienzphotoz (Feb 12, 2014)

Here are some videos of the latest Sony Alpha a6000 camera ... from initial reports, this looks like a fantastic camera in a small package ... I plan on getting it along with a 10-18mm Ultra wide angle lens.
FIRST LOOK: Sony α6000 with World's Fastest Autofocus System


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 12, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*

This camera supposedly has the world fastest autofocus in APSC cameras
A6000 i Walter Fogel


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 12, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*

From the initial reports I find three things very exciting about this camera:
1. Auto Focus area covers a whopping 92% of the whole sensor (with 179 Af points!).
2. Supposdly the worlds fastest AF (0,06 sec), for APSC interchangable lens cameras, at 11 fps
3. It costs only $648 (Body only) and $748 (with 16-50 kit lens, which comes in a very small package)
Anyway, here is another video I found on youtube
Sony a6000 Review and AF Testing First Look


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## Dylan777 (Feb 12, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*

Dam....In 1st video, I thought I saw this mirrorless cam tracking subject running toward to the camera    

Apply this new AF tracking feature into next FF mirrorless, I'll dump my Canon crap ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 12, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Dylan777 said:


> Apply this new AF tracking feature into next FF mirrorless, I'll dump my Canon crap ;D


Careful with your words man, you will invite holy wars that are bound to spill much blood for at least a dozen pages on CR ;D


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## Dylan777 (Feb 12, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Rienzphotoz said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > Apply this new AF tracking feature into next FF mirrorless, I'll dump my Canon crap ;D
> ...



Too late now ;D

I thought I'm going to sell some of my Canon L lenses after getting the A7r + Zeiss 55mm - just couldn't do it. 

Q: why add A6000 when you already have a7, plus you mentioned you want to add a7r soon?


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 12, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Dylan777 said:


> Q: why add A6000 when you already have a7, plus you mentioned you want to add a7r soon?


Good question ... let me answer that in the order of priority:
*1.* Severe GAS problem ;D
*2.* It only costs $649 (much of which will be funded by the sale of my G1 X)
*3.* I want to have it mounted with the 10-18 lens and take it during business trips to make interesting architectural shots at airports, restaurants, office towers etc.
*4.* As on this coming Sunday, 16 Feb (BTW, our work weeks starts on Sunday here) our office location is moving to a 57 storied building where my office room has got some good views of downtown Doha (capital city of Qatar) ... so I plan on making some images of this fast changing city. (When I first came to this city, less than a decade ago, there was only 1 building of 14 floors, now there are 36 towers that make up the downtown business district - the tallest tower right now is 70 floors).

But the a6000 will only be available sometime in April, so GAS problems could change. ;D


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## Hacco1 (Feb 12, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*

This camera looks awesome. I owned the Sony NEX 7 for awhile and loved the camera itself. My only annoyance was Sony's Raw converter program was absolutely horrible and slow as molasses.


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 12, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Hacco1 said:


> This camera looks awesome. I owned the Sony NEX 7 for awhile and loved the camera itself. My only annoyance was Sony's Raw converter program was absolutely horrible and slow as molasses.


Are you referring to Sony's RAW convertor software for the computer? or the actual RAW files from the camera?
Cheers.


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## mrsfotografie (Feb 12, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Rienzphotoz said:


> Hacco1 said:
> 
> 
> > This camera looks awesome. I owned the Sony NEX 7 for awhile and loved the camera itself. My only annoyance was Sony's Raw converter program was absolutely horrible and slow as molasses.
> ...



It's Sony's "Image Data Converter" and it's absolute cr*p, except for the color reproduction which I think is great. I adopted Adobe Lightroom so I can process my NEX files in a reasonable way but I have had a lot of trouble to get good colors from Lightroom though and only recently think I've got it right. LR is a bit too fussy IMHO.

I still prefer DPP for my Canon raws because it has better support for in-camera features, saves changes directly to the raw files and is database or sidecar independent - and its clean interface suits my shooting/editing style.


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## drjlo (Feb 12, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Dylan777 said:


> I thought I'm going to sell some of my Canon L lenses after getting the A7r + Zeiss 55mm - just couldn't do it.
> 
> Q: why add A6000 when you already have a7, plus you mentioned you want to add a7r soon?



A6000 AF system looks amazing. No full frame though. If Sony can come out with FF A8R with similar hybrid AF system in the future, my Canon gear is gone  One caveat would be Sony coming out with a overheating-free speedlite system by then :'(


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## Sella174 (Feb 12, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*

This Sony A6000 is now officially on my list for possible selection in the near future as my primary sub-100mm camera.

Question: I know one can put the APS-C E-mount lenses on the A7, but can one do the inverse ... put the full-frame E-mount lenses on the A6000?


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 13, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Sella174 said:


> Question: I know one can put the APS-C E-mount lenses on the A7, but can one do the inverse ... put the full-frame E-mount lenses on the A6000?


Yes, absolutely.


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 13, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



mrsfotografie said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Hacco1 said:
> ...


I see


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 13, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



drjlo said:


> If Sony can come out with FF A8R with similar hybrid AF system in the future, my Canon gear is gone


Already 2 too many comments, inviting blood bath on CR ;D ... lay low for awhile before the defenders of the faith get you ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 13, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*

As of now, the Sony a6000 camera only and with the kit lens are on top at Amazon 
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Compact-System-Cameras/zgbs/electronics/3109924011/ref=zg_bs_nav_e_3_281052


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 19, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*

So far this seems to be the first full video review, of Sony a6000, on youtube
Sony A6000 Hands-On Field Test


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## Dylan777 (Feb 21, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Rienzphotoz said:


> So far this seems to be the first full video review, of Sony a6000, on youtube
> Sony A6000 Hands-On Field Test



I saw this on youtube; [Mobile01] Sony A6000 鎖定自動對焦


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 21, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*

Sony released this interesting bluetooth mic ... I think it also works with the a7/a7R
According to http://store.sony.com/microphone-transmitter--zid27-ECMW1M/cat-27-catid-All-Camcorders-Accessories;pgid=YaVekzJizz1SRpzpWbJT83BP00000kmVtP9f?_t=pfm%3Dsearch%26SearchTerm%3DECM-W1M 
... this is what it can do:
_"Special moments right at the source with this Bluetooth® wireless microphone. Not only can you record crisp, clear sound up to 300 feet away, but you can also enjoy two way communications between you and your subject. This unique feature enables you to give your subject direction while capturing only their voice, or you can chose to capture both their voice and yours while filming"._


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## Dylan777 (Feb 21, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*

I'll start building my Sony/Zeiss FE lenses kit. The future of compact FF mirrorless + high speed AF + tracking feature is within reach. I'll be the 1st one on pre-order list when Sony is ready  



Rienzphotoz said:


> Sony released this interesting bluetooth mic ... I think it also works with the a7/a7R
> According to http://store.sony.com/microphone-transmitter--zid27-ECMW1M/cat-27-catid-All-Camcorders-Accessories;pgid=YaVekzJizz1SRpzpWbJT83BP00000kmVtP9f?_t=pfm%3Dsearch%26SearchTerm%3DECM-W1M
> ... this is what it can do:
> _"Special moments right at the source with this Bluetooth® wireless microphone. Not only can you record crisp, clear sound up to 300 feet away, but you can also enjoy two way communications between you and your subject. This unique feature enables you to give your subject direction while capturing only their voice, or you can chose to capture both their voice and yours while filming"._


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## Gino (Feb 21, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*

The performance of the A6000 looks awesome, and the price point is very good...Sony is bringing it's A game! This looks like a great little travel camera for work trips, and I think I'll be purchasing one.

Help me to understand why Canon/Nikon full frame cameras don't offer the same wide area coverage of focus points as the Sony A6000???


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## Rienzphotoz (Feb 22, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Gino said:


> Help me to understand why Canon/Nikon full frame cameras don't offer the same wide area coverage of focus points as the Sony A6000???


No idea ... maybe they are just not interested.


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 24, 2014)

I was planning on getting it in the second week of April but just saw that Sony a6000 is now in stock at Digitalrev http://www.digitalrev.com/promotion/sony-a6000-in-stock/MjA1MDg2ODUx


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## verysimplejason (Mar 26, 2014)

Sony A8R with this AF tech.... Who wants to buy my 6D? ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 26, 2014)

verysimplejason said:


> Sony A8R with this AF tech.... Who wants to buy my 6D? ;D


Sounds good to me ... if they can manage the AF speed/accuracy of a6000 in a8R, I'd pick up one for sure.


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## wickidwombat (Apr 3, 2014)

Just got an a 6000 for my parents
And I'm sorry to say the AF is not much different to that of the EOS M
Anyone else notice it's not living up to the hype?


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## Dylan777 (Apr 3, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> Just got an a 6000 for my parents
> And I'm sorry to say the AF is not much different to that of the EOS M
> Anyone else notice it's not living up to the hype?



AF speed as fast as the EOS-M? ??? ???

Are you sure this is not operator error ;D


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## sdsr (Apr 3, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Gino said:


> The performance of the A6000 looks awesome, and the price point is very good...Sony is bringing it's A game! This looks like a great little travel camera for work trips, and I think I'll be purchasing one.
> 
> Help me to understand why Canon/Nikon full frame cameras don't offer the same wide area coverage of focus points as the Sony A6000???



Maybe I'm wrong, but perhaps this is a mirrorless vs (d)slr thing? Every mirrorless camera I've used has a wide area of coverage, whether FF (Sony), APS-C (Fuji) or Micro 4/3 (Olympus, Panasonic), while every dslr I've used, FF or APS-C, has the focus points lumped in the middle, regardless of how many of them there are (there's better coverage with APS-C, but that seems to merely reflect the crop factor - the FF Nikon D600 has the same focus system, more or less, as the APS-C D7000, but because the sensor is so much smaller on the D7000 the focus points cover more of the sensor). This is one reason why I prefer mirrorless.


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## Rienzphotoz (Apr 3, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> Just got an a 6000 for my parents
> And I'm sorry to say the AF is not much different to that of the EOS M
> Anyone else notice it's not living up to the hype?


Looks like you may have gotten a defective camera, coz everyone I know who got the a6000 and every review on the internet say that the AF is absolutely fast and accurate.


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## Lawliet (Apr 3, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Gino said:


> Help me to understand why Canon/Nikon full frame cameras don't offer the same wide area coverage of focus points as the Sony A6000???



Because of the mirror - the submirror directing the rays onto the AF sensor has to fit into the body/underneath the main mirror, so its size and position are limited. Which means that peripheral points wouldn't see a thing.
Solutions: 
A) a much larger mirror box to accommodate a full sized mirror - plus completely new lenses with a much larger flange distance. Not good. Not at all.
B) throw the mirrors out completely and have a clean optical path between lens and sensor. Have you noticed how far out the 70Ds dual pixels can do PDAF? Works with existing lenses and, if done consequently, reduces costs for both parts and assembly/adjustment.


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## wickidwombat (Apr 4, 2014)

Got it late yesterday so it was all low light and the difference was negligible
I'll try it again today in good light
It's got the 16-70 f4 ziess 

All up seems like a nice package 

But AF does not even come close to the 5D3
And the evf is pretty sucky in low light


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## drjlo (Apr 4, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> Got it late yesterday so it was all low light and the difference was negligible
> I'll try it again today in good light
> It's got the 16-70 f4 ziess
> 
> ...



I presume you are talking about one-shot AF mode speed and accuracy, not the burst mode? A6000 is supposed to have 11 fps, which surely has at least faster burst rate ( and more accurate?) than EOS-M's burst rate. 

And yeah, EVF's really look bad in low light, even the "better" EVF in A7/R..


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## wickidwombat (Apr 5, 2014)

used it again in bright sunny light again and AF is indeed fast and accurate, probably at least as good as low end DSLRs
still i think the 5D3s and 1Ds i have used all are still an order of magnitude better than this but it is good. didnt try burst as FPS is pretty low on the my priority list as i just don't shoot like that even if i'm using a 1D with 10FPS

menu system sucks balls

and its got this annoying auto crop feature which i cant work out how to dissable (need to download an english manual)

overall though for the money with the ziess lens its a brilliant light package

its quite a bit bigger than the EOS-M so for me since i use the EOS M as a second camera to the 5Dmk3 i think i still prefer the M as it takes almost no extra room where as the a6000 takes a bit more room
but for my dad its a great camera


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## wickidwombat (Apr 7, 2014)

does anyone know if lightroom has been updated to deal with these raws yet?


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## philmoz (Apr 7, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> does anyone know if lightroom has been updated to deal with these raws yet?



Not yet.

The Camera Raw & DNG Convertor 8.4 Release Candidate claims support.
http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/cameraraw8-4-cc.html

This was released on 21st Feb, yet there is still no sign of an LR update - and no word from Adobe if there will even be a 5.4 version for LR, or if they will jump straight to 6.

Phil.

*Edit:* LR 5.4 just released 
Release notes - http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/2014/04/1277.html
Download - http://www.adobe.com/downloads/updates.html

Phil.


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## wickidwombat (Apr 9, 2014)

thanks phil you're a champion


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## wickidwombat (Apr 10, 2014)

So now that I have LR i can look at some files properly from the a6000

my dad shot the first bunch jpg only and at higher iso the jpg rendering is abominable, i mean utterly useless better off using an iphone 5s.... and no thats not a joke. I would completely forget about using jpg out of this camera I would rather an iphone... unless all the jpgs are low iso and properly exposed as there is next to no shadow recovery ability on jpg files

RAW low iso shadow recovery is nothing short of amazing. ZERO pattern noise but obviously alot of noise gets pulled in so IRL you cant pull up too much unless you plan on painting in ALOT of NR. but still much better than canon if you like to under expose by 4 stops...

Colour... well... I hate it. After using canon cameras for a few years since switching from nikon I can't stand the OOC colour rendering and this is using the zeiss 16-70 f4 lens! everything seems to be very green heavy, I have tried some manipulation in LR but cant get it to get close to the colours i get from the EOS M or 5Dmk3. perhaps with alot more work colour could be fixed maybe PBD could give me some tips here because I'm not that good  .

resolution at low isos looks great pretty much on par with the 5Dmk3 for details. high isos = bleh (really bad)
low iso resolution vs EOS-M the a6000 wins but with the 11-22 the EOS-M is really not far off at higher isos the EOS-M is better if you get the exposure right. underexpose too much and its lost in fixed pattern noise.

all up after using both this and the EOS-M with 11-22 I prefer the EOS-M as a complete package (I know this is heresy and i will most likely burn in internet hell for saying it  ) but the EOS-M is alot smaller, I like UWA lenses and the 11-22 is one of the most amazing lens purchases i have made in recent years.

I feel while the a6000 leaves the EOS-M AF for dead in good light (no much difference in bad light) the image quality of the EOS-M is overall better, better colours better detail across a wider range of iso's.

for my dad the a6000 is a pretty good camera though, he wasn't invested in anything, got a nice zeiss 16-70 f4 zoom for it and it's significantly smaller and lighter than a dslr which he definately did not want, My mum has a 600D and 15-85 which i got her. (I feel this combo is still better than the a6000 too as an overall package FPS is not really a factor for them)

All up my summary of the a6000 is that it does not live up to the internet hype. it doesn't come close unless you are looking at a few fairly unrelated metrics ie low iso shadow noise, AF spread, FPS. Higher iso performance and IQ is lacking
It is probably better at capturing action than the 600D and definately better than the EOS-M. the wide AF spread is good but not any different to the EOS-M which also has a wide AF point spread. For me the biggest problems are the rapid mid to high iso IQ loss and the crap colour rendering out of camera vs canon.

I haven't attached any images but will dig some out and post them.


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## philmoz (Apr 10, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> So now that I have LR i can look at some files properly from the a6000
> 
> my dad shot the first bunch jpg only and at higher iso the jpg rendering is abominable, i mean utterly useless better off using an iphone 5s.... and no thats not a joke. I would completely forget about using jpg out of this camera I would rather an iphone... unless all the jpgs are low iso and properly exposed as there is next to no shadow recovery ability on jpg files
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info, although I'm sure this will ruffle a few feathers 

Can you share a few low and high ISO RAW files?

Phil.


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## Rienzphotoz (Apr 10, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> all up after using both this and the EOS-M with 11-22 I prefer the EOS-M as a complete package (I know this is heresy and i will most likely burn in internet hell for saying it  )


 ;D ;D ;D ... I'm pretty sure that someone out there is making sure to keep the hell fire ready for you ;D



wickidwombat said:


> All up my summary of the a6000 is that it does not live up to the internet hype. it doesn't come close unless you are looking at a few fairly unrelated metrics ie low iso shadow noise, AF spread, FPS. Higher iso performance and IQ is lacking
> It is probably better at capturing action than the 600D and definately better than the EOS-M. the wide AF spread is good but not any different to the EOS-M which also has a wide AF point spread. For me the biggest problems are the rapid mid to high iso IQ loss and the crap colour rendering out of camera vs canon.


I was very keen on getting this camera, but your summary of the camera has me a little concerned ... when you get some time, could you post some images?

Thanks


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## sagittariansrock (Apr 10, 2014)

This thread has been remarkably civil and objective in spite of the numerous potential sparks. Great work, keep it up.
It is disappointing that the A6000 does not live up to its promises. Anyone else with experience to share?


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## wickidwombat (Apr 10, 2014)

Dont get me wrong in good light the AF speed is truely amazing for a mirrorless accuracy seems reasonable
I havent tried it in AF-C mode yet personally, my dad did but he is not experienced so the bad results are unlikely a reflection of the camera's ability in this regard. For someone like my dad thats coming from shooting with phones this is a great step up. and the zeiss 16-70 f4 is really nice and well made. ISO 100 Raw files are amazing for a crop sensor EXCEPT for the rubbish colour (which i'm not talented enough to fix easily and not really patient enough to work out how right now). In good light the EVF is good too. My point is mainly that this camera and the much vaunted sony sensor the internet love so much is hardly the holy grail they make it out to be


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## wickidwombat (Apr 11, 2014)

I thought I had better add (to avoid confusion) that the poor high iso performance seems limited to the jpeg files
the raws seem pretty close to the EOS-M possibly a little less noise and the high resolution helps a bit.

here are a couple of 100% crops of unedited raws from the a6000 and EOS-M at iso 6400


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## wickidwombat (Apr 11, 2014)

and for some perspective here is a 5Dmk3 iso 8000 100% crop


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## Rienzphotoz (Apr 11, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> I thought I had better add (to avoid confusion) that the poor high iso performance seems limited to the jpeg files


Thanks for posting the images ... I agree about the jpeg files, even the a7/a7R suffers the same issue with jpeg files ... I think it is the in-camera jpeg processing that is screwing up the images in my a7, somehow Sony is not able to work out a good in-camera-processing system for those jpeg files ... but the raw files are great ... so, I suppose a6000 also suffers from the same issue.


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## wickidwombat (Apr 12, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> wickidwombat said:
> 
> 
> > I thought I had better add (to avoid confusion) that the poor high iso performance seems limited to the jpeg files
> ...



yeah it's a pain since my dad has no interest in raw but i've told him to shoot raw and jpg then i can process any shots he likes for him from the raws.

but with LR the iso 6400 raw shots clean up pretty well and are totally useable just need quite a bit of NR added. its pretty much on par with the EOS-M at 6400 for raw except the extra resolution helps the a6000 keep a bit more detail after NR so processed images are probably a tad better if pixel peeping. 
Not pixel peeping you cant tell the difference.


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## sagittariansrock (Apr 12, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > wickidwombat said:
> ...



LOL! I had such a hard time from my wife for shooting RAWs (she has no control over posting the pictures, for I have to 'process' them first) until I bought the 5DIII...


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## Rienzphotoz (Apr 12, 2014)

sagittariansrock said:


> wickidwombat said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...


I gave up telling my wife and kids to shoot RAW ... coz they kept coming to me with tons of images to be processed, in the begenning I didn't mind but after a while it was getting too much for me to handle ... so I said, screw it, just shoot JPEG


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## sagittariansrock (Apr 12, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> sagittariansrock said:
> 
> 
> > wickidwombat said:
> ...



;D ;D ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (May 9, 2014)

Just got the a6000 yesterday ... got it with the kit lens 15-50+55-210 ... the local Sony store gave me a really good deal (paid $950) along with free Sony camera bag and a Sony 16GB card. Have just done some random "test" shots and can say that it puts fun back into photography ... one has to use it to understand how fast and accurately it auto focuses even with the little pancake zoom lens. For times when weight is an issue, especially on business trips etc, the a6000+16-50+55-210 make for a great little package to carry around without worrying about weight and space and still get great images. The optional $5 camera apps (which can be directly installed into your camera wirelessly) make this camera a stellar performer for beginners who have no interest in post processing ... even the $10 timelapse app makes child's work of getting awesome timelapse videos without having to do any post processing whatsoever. The good part is that you don't have to buy these apps, when you upgrade to another Sony mirrorless camera including (even when you decide to go full frame), once the app is purchased it can be installed on 10 cameras.


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## mrsfotografie (May 9, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Just got the a6000 yesterday ... got it with the kit lens 15-50+55-210 ... the local Sony store gave me a really good deal (paid $950) along with free Sony camera bag and a Sony 16GB card. Have just done some random "test" shots and can say that it puts fun back into photography ... one has to use it to understand how fast and accurately it auto focuses even with the little pancake zoom lens. For times when weight is an issue, especially on business trips etc, the a6000+16-50+55-210 make for a great little package to carry around without worrying about weight and space and still get great images. The optional $5 camera apps (which can be directly installed into your camera wirelessly) make this camera a stellar performer for beginners who have no interest in post processing ... even the $10 timelapse app makes child's work of getting awesome timelapse videos without having to do any post processing whatsoever. The good part is that you don't have to buy these apps, when you upgrade to another Sony mirrorless camera including (even when you decide to go full frame), once the app is purchased it can be installed on 10 cameras.



I quickly tried out the a6000 at a local electronics retailer, and the AF is stunningly quick with the 16-50. It gave me a real shock how relatively slow my NEX-6 is. How is the AF speed with the 55-210 by the way? That lens is optically not a stellar performer but I'm curious how fast it can AF.

And how about the menu structure? I like the controls on my NEX-6 but the menu structure is inefficient and exposure compensation is a little bit fiddly. 

I was surprised how square-edged the a6000 body is; I prefer the NEX-6 in that sense. I do have to convince myself that I don't need the new fast AF because I use mostly manual primes with the 6 but yeah the new camera has made me a little itchy.


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## Rienzphotoz (May 10, 2014)

mrsfotografie said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Just got the a6000 yesterday ... got it with the kit lens 15-50+55-210 ... the local Sony store gave me a really good deal (paid $950) along with free Sony camera bag and a Sony 16GB card. Have just done some random "test" shots and can say that it puts fun back into photography ... one has to use it to understand how fast and accurately it auto focuses even with the little pancake zoom lens. For times when weight is an issue, especially on business trips etc, the a6000+16-50+55-210 make for a great little package to carry around without worrying about weight and space and still get great images. The optional $5 camera apps (which can be directly installed into your camera wirelessly) make this camera a stellar performer for beginners who have no interest in post processing ... even the $10 timelapse app makes child's work of getting awesome timelapse videos without having to do any post processing whatsoever. The good part is that you don't have to buy these apps, when you upgrade to another Sony mirrorless camera including (even when you decide to go full frame), once the app is purchased it can be installed on 10 cameras.
> ...


The 55-210 is just as fast as the 16-50 and the image quality is a tiny bit better then the kit lens. I have 4 E lenses (28-70; 24-70: 16-50 & 55-210) and the AF speed of a6000 with any of those lenses is lightning fast. 
The menu structure is same as my a7, so I found it easy to navigate. The a6000 with the 16-50 kit lens is so much fun to use and easy to carry around. It seems to give the best image quality when paired with my EF 85 f/1.8 & EF 70-200 f/2.8 L II IS (using metabones adapter), so much so, I am planning on selling my new EOS 70D :-\


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## mrsfotografie (May 10, 2014)

Rienzphotoz said:


> mrsfotografie said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...



Well you can't really beat love at first sight as I think was the case with you and the a6000  Thanks for the info. At least I know my AF lenses aren't the limitation for AF speed should I upgrade my NEX-6 at some point 

I would assume the AF speed with Metabones adapter and Canon lenses isn't great, or am I wrong?


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## freecanon (May 16, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Dylan777 said:


> Dam....In 1st video, I thought I saw this mirrorless cam tracking subject running toward to the camera
> 
> Apply this new AF tracking feature into next FF mirrorless, I'll dump my Canon crap ;D



The benefit of Sony's E mount is that there is a Canon adapter that allows you to use Canon lenses even with autofocus. So you only have to dump the Canon bodies, but can keep the Canon lenses.

Also, Sony's E mount has so many adapters to use the lenses of other cameras as well.


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## freecanon (May 16, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Sella174 said:


> This Sony A6000 is now officially on my list for possible selection in the near future as my primary sub-100mm camera.
> 
> Question: I know one can put the APS-C E-mount lenses on the A7, but can one do the inverse ... put the full-frame E-mount lenses on the A6000?



Yes, the full-frame Sony FE-mount lenses are fully compatible with the E-mount APSC mount found on the A6000. So, to use an appropriate illustration, it's similar to the Nikon mount where it is the same mount used by Nikon full-frame and Nikon APSC. The mount is the same. The only issue is the coverage of the lens. So, for Sony, E and FE mounts, you can use the FE on the A6000, but if you use the E on the Sony A7, the coverage of the E lenses won't be enough to cover the full frame sensor.

There is one Sony lens - the 10-18 - that is said to have sufficient coverage to use on the full frame sensor for much of the middle of its zoom range, just not the 10 and 18 focal lengths, but a lot in between.


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## freecanon (May 16, 2014)

In my view, people out there want DLSR quality in a light weight format, and this means mirrorless. The minute a company produces a camera that meets this criteria of DSLR quality with light weight, that company will have massive sales.

With the A6000, I think Sony have largely achieved that in a small APSC sensor.

As for the Sony A7 and A7R, I think that holy grail of DSLR-FF quality with light weight, I think it is one generation away from that, i.e. perhaps 1-2 years away. From reading the reviews on dpreview, there are just a few niggles here and there which should be sorted out in the next model.

So I think Canon and Nikon have been very foolish to not target the market of people who want DSLR quality with light weight. I am not impressed by the Canon EOS-M and the Nikon 1 system.


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## freecanon (May 16, 2014)

*Re: Sonay Alpha a6000*



Gino said:


> Help me to understand why Canon/Nikon full frame cameras don't offer the same wide area coverage of focus points as the Sony A6000???



Because Canon and Nikon are like massive corporations with a monopoly on DSLR. They just give incremental improvements every year to entice us to upgrade every 2 years. Nikon's competitor in the sector is only Canon, and likewise Canon's only competitor is only Nikon. So both don't have to come out with massive radically great technology in one hit. They give it out in little portions.

But if Sony comes out with a game changer, I hope that rattles Canon and Nikon to focus on the aim of DSLR quality with light weight. So far, Canon and Nikon have too much of a monopoly to bother changing.

I have been using SLR and DSLR for decades, but have bought a Sony A6000 plus wide zoom. I cannot now see myself going back to lugging the heavy DSLR and massive lenses. For years, there was no alternative, but for the first time the A6000 is good enough to make me dump my DSLR lens collection, and start over with a new manufacturer.

That is not easy to convince people, who have invested so much in lenses over the decades - but the Sony A6000 has convinced me.


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## freecanon (May 16, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> I havent tried it in AF-C mode yet personally



This is the major point that is affecting your opinion. From what I've read on other forums, the AF-S is so so, but the A6000 focus really shines with AF-C. So can you try you dad's A6000 in AF-C and review your opinions?

Also, with AF-C you have to set the focus area to wide (the one with three vertical spaces in the menu system).

Also, there's the lock-on focus feature, which is used with AF-C, that helps you lock onto a person running towards you.

Overall, the reports are that AF-S is not as good as AF-C in the A6000.


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## Rienzphotoz (May 16, 2014)

mrsfotografie said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > mrsfotografie said:
> ...


That is correct, the AF speed is slow with the Metabones adapter (it is just as slow as the EOS-M was before the firmware update, but the main problem with metabones adapter is that it keeps searching for focus even though you had it locked on for the first shot even for a still subject) ... but when I use the adapter, I put my EF lenses on Manual Focus and use Focus Peaking function, which is very fast, accurate and easy to use.


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## drjlo (May 22, 2014)

freecanon said:


> With the A6000, I think Sony have largely achieved that in a small APSC sensor.
> 
> As for the Sony A7 and A7R, I think that holy grail of DSLR-FF quality with light weight, I think it is one generation away from that, i.e. perhaps 1-2 years away.



A friend just bought the A6000 with Zeiss 16-50, and AF-C frame rate and shutter are indeed impressive. If Sony can implement a version of this AF system (even at reduced fps) on the next generation A7R, they will get me back as a customer. I really hated the slow, heavy, LOUD shutter of A7R.


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## MLfan3 (May 22, 2014)

drjlo said:


> freecanon said:
> 
> 
> > With the A6000, I think Sony have largely achieved that in a small APSC sensor.
> ...



yeah entirely agree, but I still have the A7R and the A6000 because I found the A7R still be the best camera out there for now for sheer IQ under 8K or so. I had the D800E for 2 years and I compared the A7R vs D800E several times and I was quite sure that the A7R easily match the D800e if not slightly better. The A7R resolves more minor contrast details than the D800E , and the A7R is slightly better at high ISO. so I really really hope the next gen A7R or A7 gets the AF of the A6000, honestly the A6000 is the only one mirrorless camera that can keep up with my dog running around my yard.......The AF of the A6000 is better than the AF of the A7, the X-T1 , the OM-D EM1 and the GH4, it also competes very well against the AF of the 7D or the D7100, but in extreme lowlight it does not focus as surely as the GH4 or my 6D. anyway, for the price , the A6000 is a steal, easily one of the best mirrorless cameras out there to date.


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## Rienzphotoz (May 27, 2014)

The Great Mirrorless Camera Autofocus Shootout! (GH4, X-T1, A6000, E-M1)


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## expatinasia (May 27, 2014)

How funny, I was watching the first half of this video over breakfast this morning.

I was a bit annoyed that they used the Nikon rather than the superior 1D X, but I am sure they have their reasons for that.

It sounds like a lot of Sony cameras have an issue with the buffer filling and then slowing things down. Something they need to address.

I would have liked to see him do a test with more than one rider, where you want to jump the AF from to another etc.

Still it was an interesting video, if only because I have never really read about the Panasonic GH4.


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