Played with a A6000 last night, some ISO test shots

here's the Zip file to download the files:
https://www.dropbox.co​m …l1t2dm/SonyA600​0.zip?dl=0

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/qzxW​hv

I have one, and in manual exposure I'm set up for shutter speed on top and f-stop by the wheel on back. I also have mine set up with back button focus just like my Canons. Many of the buttons are customizable. I'm very happy with the camera and the 16-70 lens.

Yeah I did see a lot of fn buttons to customize! That's really nice.

I only had it for 30 minutes before I needed to give it back, need longer time to get used to the menus.

I'm gonna see if I can borrow it for a festival I'm shooting next week. Pop punk bands that like to jump around are really going to put it through it's paces.

maverick75 wrote in post #17358169
Yeah I did see a lot of fn buttons to customize! That's really nice.

I only had it for 30 minutes before I needed to give it back, need longer time to get used to the menus.

I'm gonna see if I can borrow it for a festival I'm shooting next week. Pop punk bands that like to jump around are really going to put it through it's paces.

I was iffy about the a7 controls before buying it... about 10 minutes into owning it I was in love almost entirely because of the customizable interface. It's such simple genius to just let the user choose each button and control wheel's function, why should that be up to the manufacturer? Brilliant move on Sony's part.

Of course it'll probably suck for someone else when they pick up my camera to find that all the buttons that are labeled as one thing are actually assigned to something else entirely... but it's my camera, not theirs

I had one and I thought the body was GREAT..Only reason i ended up sending it back because the lack of any telephoto lens. That 70-200 f4 is way overpriced. and the adaptors to use A mount lenses I read makes AF super slow. If they could address adding more lenses to the emount especially some nice tele lenses it was a fantastic body

maverick75 wrote in post #17354680
here's the Zip file to download the files:
https://www.dropbox.co​m …l1t2dm/SonyA600​0.zip?dl=0

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/qzxW​hv Sony A6000 by AlexxxCorona, on Flickr


Mini review:

Ergonomics: Felt great. Nice weight, easy to adjust top dial. Con is that it only had one dial to adjust, no problem for AV lovers like myself but those all manual shooters might find it a bit annoying. It's set up sorta like Canon rebel cameras where you have to push a D pad to change settings. Versus having dedicated shutter and aperture dials.

AutoFocus: they're not lying when they say this thing is QUICK. It was accurate also, just as good as any high end Canon/Nikon body I've ever used.

Only time it did struggle was when the AF assist beam was needed(basically almost complete darkness scene), honestly it's not that good. Not as bright and wide as the canon ones.

In my poor lit kitchen(single 40w bulb) it has no issue and it was DSLR quick in AF, I also had servo and multi point on because I couldn't figure out how to turn it off. The Sony menus are cluttered and confusing versus the canon ones.(not my first time using a Sony either)

kit lens 16mm-50mm: IQ is decent,build quality was not that good, just cheap plastic. It felt like the superzoom lenses used on bridge cameras. Did not care for the power zoom switch, would have much rather had an actual zoom ring.

Now for the ISO test, tossed the camera into AV,50mm@5.6(wide open), AWB(because I couldn't figure out how to change it) So if there's any inconsistency in WB or exposure it's the camera's own doing. (Side note: Forgot to check what metering mode I was in) I also couldn't figure out how to lock in the focus(did I mention how confusing the Sony menus are?), so each shot was refocused on the M.

Images were SOOC jpegs, no adjustments, just resized. It was on whatever the default picture style is.

here's the Zip file to download the files:
https://www.dropbox.co​m …l1t2dm/SonyA600​0.zip?dl=0


I couldn't find any image hosting place that didn't do a horrible job compressing so better to download it.


Also included two shots of a Canon 6D at ISO 25,600 that my friend Adam let me borrow at a gig, to see how it stacked up against a great low light full frame body.

The A6000 belongs to my sister so whenever she visits again I'll try to get more stuff with it, also a video sample.


I would definably recommend the body for someone who wants DSLR performance in a small package. Especially when you can now pick these up for $400-500 new with the $350 kit lens included.

Same price as a rebel but with 5DM3 speed focusing, what's not to love!

Its why i own one myself. A compliment to the A7r. The A6000 is blazing fast! You dont know how quick it is until you pick it up. Picked it up new for 445. It was a no brainer!

05Xrunner wrote in post #17358917
I had one and I thought the body was GREAT..Only reason i ended up sending it back because the lack of any telephoto lens. That 70-200 f4 is way overpriced. and the adaptors to use A mount lenses I read makes AF super slow. If they could address adding more lenses to the emount especially some nice tele lenses it was a fantastic body

Not sure where you read that. With the LA-EA4 adapter the AF with A mount lenses is just as quick as a DSLR.

Did not care for the power zoom switch, would have much rather had an actual zoom ring.


The focus ring when on manual focus becomes a zoom ring when on auto focus video modes.

I have an A7 and an A7II while my girlfriend has the A6000. Manila shooters shouldn't have a problem since there is actually to wheels. When you are in manual mode the wheel on the back works as well as the wheel on top (shutter speed and aperture). If you need ISO adjustment you simply tap the ISO button then spin the rear wheel.

I went from a 5D mark III and honestly I don't get how people say the menu is confusing. If you press the "Fn" button you have access to 90% of anything you would want to change (WB, AF mode, Metering mode, flash, shooting mode, etc). Between that and the custom buttons I am way faster than I ever was on my 5D3.

One feature you should definitely check out is the face recognition and the focus tracking (particularly in decent lighting) you will be very impressed. Ignoring the limited native lens selection as of now, there isn't anything that even comes close for the price.

Dorian7 wrote in post #17360370
I have an A7 and an A7II while my girlfriend has the A6000. Manila shooters shouldn't have a problem since there is actually to wheels. When you are in manual mode the wheel on the back works as well as the wheel on top (shutter speed and aperture). If you need ISO adjustment you simply tap the ISO button then spin the rear wheel.

I went from a 5D mark III and honestly I don't get how people say the menu is confusing. If you press the "Fn" button you have access to 90% of anything you would want to change (WB, AF mode, Metering mode, flash, shooting mode, etc). Between that and the custom buttons I am way faster than I ever was on my 5D3.

One feature you should definitely check out is the face recognition and the focus tracking (particularly in decent lighting) you will be very impressed. Ignoring the limited native lens selection as of now, there isn't anything that even comes close for the price.

I agree. I think usually when people say they don't like the menus/controls on the newer Sony's it's because they've either based their opinion on the old NEX menus or they've seen one of the numerous ill-informed reviews out there where the reviewer didn't set up the camera at all before hand.

IDK if it's this way on the a6000, but the fact that on the a7/r/s you can customize virtually every button on it to a function of your choosing as well as choosing which menu items pop up in the function menu makes the a7 far more user friendly than any other camera I've ever used. That's what sold me on my a7R within a few days of owning it (even though I have other gripes with it). IMO it's the most comfortable system to shoot with.

I was in Best Buy and had the opportunity to play with one.. Quite loved it to the point of almost plunking down $600 for the kit with the 16-55 but decided to wait and look into the lens situation...

Sadly seems like a good camera with a very limited selection of first party lenses and a lot of lenses that unfortunately, make the entire package about as large as my 7D And are -very- pricey

Also no good macro lens option...

Er.. no offense to it, or maybe I just really wasnt reading into the lenses enough, just seemed like they were fairly "meh" not bad but not anything stellar/exceptional either

KenjiS wrote in post #17370045
I was in Best Buy and had the opportunity to play with one.. Quite loved it to the point of almost plunking down $600 for the kit with the 16-55 but decided to wait and look into the lens situation...

Sadly seems like a good camera with a very limited selection of first party lenses and a lot of lenses that unfortunately, make the entire package about as large as my 7D And are -very- pricey

Also no good macro lens option...

Er.. no offense to it, or maybe I just really wasnt reading into the lenses enough, just seemed like they were fairly "meh" not bad but not anything stellar/exceptional either

I do agree with this. With lenses, at this point and time, Sony is simply running behind. I bought the a6000 simply for the size advantages. In addition to the kit lens, I did order the 50/1.8. But on top of those, I just don't see myself going any further. Right now, at least, I'm just not into the idea of working with adapters. Coupled with my Canon-specific lenses, the end result would simply defeat the main advantage of my a6000, its compact size.

On the other hand, I am looking for another full frame to back up my 5dmkiii for weddings and other event shoots. For that, I am interested in what the a7 family could introduce, coupled with the adapter to fit my current lenses. But for now, I'm still leaning towards a 6D for backup, rather than going for Sony.

But overall, I am interested in seeing how Sony will keep topping their game. They've surely made an impact in the market.