I'll admit it, I've been one of the guys saying that the Sony Alpha series was no reasonable substitute for the all-around ability of a 6D . . . let alone to replace an X0D or 7D series as a sports shooter. Then I saw some basketball and football pics about six weeks ago from a 1D4 shooter using the a6000/55 1.8 . . . my mind started opening up to the possibility. Shortly after that I purchased a like-new 60D as a second body to use for a rare busy month of paid work that would have me shooting events, an engagement session, soccer/baseball games at night and day, portraits and even a set for a local politician's campaign.
There were no surprises with the 60D, it did everything I asked of it. Comparing the 60D/6D files head-up lead me to not use it as a second body for portrait work in spite of being almost exclusively a prime lens shooter. I'm still pleased with the IQ of my 6D and glass assortment, although it is less than ideal anytime I use it for sports due to so-so tracking and lowish FPS. But not to the point of just chucking my setup. The 6D is such a great low-light body that the handful of spectacular hits you get shooting it for night sports makes up for the misses (for the most part). I maybe shoot sports a few per year right now and my kids are still years from doing any type of activity that would best the 6D on the regular.
The 60D was sold off last week, leaving me with just the 60D again plus the $400ish I have from the sale. The practical part of me looks at an Adorama deal that would get me a 70D/Pro-100+paper combo for under $800. Having a body with video AF I could use with all my lenses would be nice, and I could certainly use more Pro-100 ink. But it just doesn't seem like the 70D made a huge leap in IQ over the 60D, although to be fair I haven't used one yet.
And of course, I see that the a6000 crushes the 70D in DXO . . . I see the new e-mount glass coming out, as well as glass like the 55 1.8 which supposedly can hang right with the 50A. I also see the drop-dead shots the a7R is capable of. It has made me re-evaluate my gear, and make me think maybe I would enjoy an adventure into mirrorless via the a7R/a6000 combo plus a couple of pieces of fast glass. If I were to make the switch, I would not keep my glass and use the EF adapter. I would, however, consider getting an adapter for use with some MF glass.
I'm at a place now with photography where I shoot my family 85% of the time with other random things thrown in there. The smaller size of the Sony cameras/glass would come into play a little bit for things like trips to the zoo, Sea World, Disney, beach, etc. Would I be happy enough with the a6000 to make it my run and gun camera for most things? Would the a7R do everything my 6D does with native glass, maybe some of it better via better DR and MP?
Breaking it down to how much this would cost:
--refurb a6000, $450
--refurb/used a7R, $1200
--used 55 1.8 $650ish (or) 85/2 Battis $1200
--extra batteries, $30
(selling after fees)
--used 6D, 8/10, $900
--used 17-40L, 8/10, $450
--used 50A, 8/10, $675
--used 135L, 8/10, $675
--used 200 2.8L ii, 7/10, $450
--used (2) B+W CPL, $120
I would probably keep my 580exii and Y triggers, as I've heard they'll work on the Sonys.
I know there have been a lot of threads kind of like this, and I apologize for the redundancy. I'm not pretending that my circumstances are unique, but maybe I'm just tired of thinking all of this through without actually typing it out in B&W. Thank you for your help in advance.
