Bye bye, T4i. Advice on upgrade? a6500? Advice appreciated.

zn3 · Aug 19, 2017

Ol' Canon T4i, I love you, we've been though a lot together. But it's time for me to move on.

Hey guys, this is my first post. I've been working for the past 2 years as a photographer at an advertising agency. I have the pleasure of shooting on the company's Sony a7rii, with all the Sigma art series lenses I desire (I have the list on my profile page). As much as I have enjoyed shooting and learning with my ol' t4i for personal projects, I really would like to upgrade. After spending so much time with the a7rii, It's hard to go back to the t4i. Plus, I've gotten used to shooting on a Sony, which I've grown to love.

I'm considering starting my own side photo gig to supplement my less than desired income, so a camera upgrade is definitely needed. I'm most interested in the Sony a6500. I wish I could afford an a7rii, but I'm not trying to spend over $1,500 on a body right now.

So any thoughts on the Sony a6500? Anything else you'd recommend? What lenses (less than $500 please) would you recommend? Also, any advice on starting a side gig? What kind of opportunities should i look out for?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm very excited to be a part of this group, and look forward to getting to know some of you.

cherylynne1 · Aug 19, 2017

Sounds like you're already pretty experienced and know what you like, so the a6500 is a great choice. I wish I could justify upgrading to it myself.

What is it that you are shooting? People, small objects, anything moving? Are you looking for prime or zoom, and about what focal length are you thinking?

jaomul · Aug 20, 2017

If you are familiar and happy with the Sony A7 series, the a6500 seems a good choice for you. I don't know much about the Sony cams except they seem to be very capable and the system is expanding. I've seen really nice images taken by the a6500

Welcome to tpf

zn3 · Aug 24, 2017

cherylynne1 said:
Sounds like you're already pretty experienced and know what you like, so the a6500 is a great choice. I wish I could justify upgrading to it myself.

What is it that you are shooting? People, small objects, anything moving? Are you looking for prime or zoom, and about what focal length are you thinking?

Thanks for the response!
Looking to shoot everything, to be honest. Trying to build up/diversify my personal portfolio. I've gotten used to prime lenses, but it's difficult to decide between the sharpness and low light capabilities of a prime and the flexibility and convenience of a zoom. My bag usually consists of a 24, 35, and 50. That seems to do me well most of the time. I'm considering getting a 35mm, and a zoom of some sort. I really need to do some more research on zooms. From what I've heard, they can be hit or miss in the <$600 category.

cherylynne1 · Aug 24, 2017

In that category, the 18-105 is definitely your best choice for a zoom. It's considered the best bang for your buck zoom in the Sony APS-C line up. Its biggest competition would be the Zeiss 16-70, which is about $1000, so you'd have to find it used (and a bit banged up

) in order to get it close to your price range. Whether or not it's actually $400 than the 18-105 is hotly debated. They're both constant f4, but the 18-105 has more range and the 16-70 is much smaller. So there are definitely pros and cons to both.

Looking at primes... I have the Sony 35 1.8 and the 50 1.8 (APS-C version), and I love them both. The 35 is basically my default lens, and only comes off if I need something else specifically. The 50 1.8 is great for portraits, nice creamy bokeh and I love the rendering.

In the 30ish range you can also look at the Sigma 30 2.8 and the 30 1.4. The 1.4 gets outstanding reviews for sharpness. The 30 2.8 has great sharpness and is very small and light and inexpensive. In fact, the Sigma trio (19, 30, 60) are about $200 each, so you could get all three for your budget.

Something to keep an eye out for in the future though, would be the Zeiss 24 1.8. You mentioned that you like that focal length, and that lens is considered the best in the Sony APS-C line. It's about $1000, although I've seen used ones for as low as $650. Probably not best to blow your budget on just that lens for now, but I would definitely be thinking about it as a future purchase.