First camera for learning and northern lights: Sony A6000 vs Panasonic DMC-FZ1000

[MilesHi]

Hello from Spain, this is my first post on this forum and as you can see I´m a total noob!

I need to decide on which camera to buy as I´m going on a cruise to (try) and see the northern lights in a weeks time.

I know both of these cameras are very different, but that´s what is making it so hard to decide.

I have always felt like I would like to learn photography, but as I have never had a camera to try, I don´t know if I will have the patience or time to really learn and enjoy this hobby.

The main first reason to buy a camera is to take pictures of the northern lights, and afterwards try and enjoy learning about photography.

As I´m not sure if I will really have the patience to take this hobby on, I would like a camera that I could also use for "normal holiday photos" (if the learning didn´t get anywhere)

I first looked at the Sony a6000 and the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II, but decided towards the Sony because I read a lot about the a6000 being better in low light and higher iso.

I spoke to somebody that I know and that is an expert, and he told me to get the Panasonic Dmc-fz1000 as he had it for his "holidays with wife" and used it a lot when he didn´t want to carry his dslr with all it´s lenses around.

He said that with the Sony I would have to buy lots of lenses to do the same I could do with the Fz1000.

After reading a lot about northern light photography and also the fz1000 I´ve come to the conclusion that the fz with it´s shorter focal length (not sure if this is the way you say it) might not be that great for the photos I want to take.

Against it is also the weight and size, as if I use it in the future as a "normal holiday camera" I think I might get tired of carrying it around.

The other option that I´ve been thinking about is to buy the Sony A6000 and as well as the kit lens (that most people seem to dislike) get a sigma 19 f2,8 for the northern light photos (and maybe some others) and use the 16-50 included in the kit for holiday photos as well as learning and in the future if I get hooked on this hobby invest in a Zeiss 16-70 or any other lens.

There is also available in Spain a kit with the 16-50 and 55-210, maybe this with the sigma 19 f2.8 would be a good option for northern lights, learning and holiday photos.

This is slightly out of budget, but if it´s worth while I might go for it.

An important question is: for the "normal holiday photos" would the 16-50 be enough?

As I said before I don´t want to carry a lot of weight or lenses around on holidays.

I hope all this makes sense, and please forgive me if I didn´t express myself in the correct terms. As you can see, I´m "almost" totally lost in this amazing world of photography!

I have to order the camera by tomorrow to get it in time, so I would be very grateful for any suggestions or help

 

[cherylynne1]

It actually sounds like you have a pretty good handle on things.

Your friend is right. If you want all the focal lengths available in the FZ-1000, you will need multiple lenses for the a6000. However, if you know ahead of time that on a particular outing you will only need one of your lenses, like the Sigma 19 (excellent choice, btw) then you can carry a smaller kit than the FZ-1000. However, if you get out there and see a whale or a bird or something, you're out of luck if you only brought that one lens. So it's a trade-off.

One other thing to consider: If you originally decided against the Olympus because of its sensor's low light performance, the FZ-1000 has an even smaller sensor than that, and therefore does worse in low light than the Olympus will. So if you're considering the FZ-1000, you probably should put the Olympus back on the table as well. Because the sensor is smaller than Sony's, the lenses needed for it are smaller as well. Because of this, it's very commonly recommended as a travel camera.

If you do go with Sony, the two kit lenses plus the Sigma prime make a nice, lightweight collection, and you're also correct that the 16-70 makes a great upgrade for the kit lens if you someday become more discerning in your photography.

 

[cherylynne1]

Just ran across this thread on another forum: Iceland - A6000 and FZ1000: Sony Alpha / Nex E-mount (APS-C) Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

It looks like that guy has both the a6000 and the fz-1000. The fz-1000 did great in good light, but he only took the a6000 for Northern Lights shots. If you sign up on that forum you could probably ask him more specific questions.

 

[BadRad]

I've got both A6000 and FZ-1000. As well as a A7R2 for commercial work. Different tool, different job. Personally, but I'd say there's minimal overlap. You want decent sensor quality, lenses, small size, and speed, go with the A6000. You travel, and want "reach" and convenience, plus 4K video, and fast burst rate -- go with the Lumix. Smaller but a decent sensor. (Low light is way over-rated.) Want top quality, the A7RII full frame. For the web, travels and some wildlife I shoot with the FZ. Here's a sample from today. Best buy for the money.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[beagle100]

I've got both A6000 and FZ-1000. As well as a A7R2 for commercial work. Different tool, different job. Personally, but I'd say there's minimal overlap. You want decent sensor quality, lenses, small size, and speed, go with the A6000. You travel, and want "reach" and convenience, plus 4K video, and fast burst rate -- go with the Lumix. Smaller but a decent sensor. (Low light is way over-rated.) Want top quality, the A7RII full frame. For the web, travels and some wildlife I shoot with the FZ. Here's a sample from today. Best buy for the money. View attachment 141186
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

maybe ... for a dragonfly on the web it could be better ... and cheaper !

Untitled[/url] by c w, on Flickr[/IMG] Untitled by c w, on Flickr

 

[jaomul]

I also think the Sony A6000 is the better choice here. It will cost you a little more, and be more inconvenient because you need to buy/change lenses for different types of photo, but for low light shots bigger sensor cameras generally give better photos

 

[Braineack]

An important question is: for the "normal holiday photos" would the 16-50 be enough?

do you think the kit 16-50 served me well here for my vacations?

Napa Valley 2017

London/Italy Trip

If anything, I want a wider lens, not longer. I'm rarely in a situation during travel where I need a super-zoom.