Very confused

[robimatteo]

Hello everybody

I am really intrigued by the world of photography. I recently came back from a backpacking trip in Argentina. The pictures I took with my samsung s7 have pushed me to want more. I got a bit confused online with regards to what camera to buy. Finally, I was thinking of getting a Sony a6000. I would like to learn all about the manual controls and features which were hard to understand on my phone.

Do you agree that a Sony a6000 is a good camera to learn?

I am sticking to a mirrorless as I would like a camera I can bring around Paris day to day and when I travel.

I have some vintage lenses from my dad’s old film cameras (a canon and a fuji). Reading online I found that prime lenses are a good starting point for learning. Do you recon I should buy a modern prime lenses or buy an adaptor and start using vintage lenses.


Thank you for reading!!

 

[dennybeall]

Nice choice - enough controls and a hotshoe for flash - all good.
Old lenses rarely work on new cameras. If they do it will be in full manual mode and the light meter in the camera may not work either.

 

[photo1x1.com]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Yes, the a6000 is an awesome camera and for my taste the best value for money even though it is almost 3 years old by now. Whether it is the perfect camera for you depends a little on the budget you have. I do shoot Sony, and I really love the mirrorless system. However, what I have learned from others here in the forum in regard to recommendation for newbies: the Sony lenses are not the cheapest and the used market is rather small. Sony is releasing new lenses very regularely though and it is getting better pretty quick. Also other manufacturers adopted the e-mount and the flash mount and the system therefore is constantly growing.
Since the Sony has a very good autofocus (especially in good lighting situations - including eye-autofocus and face detection on many lenses which is just awesome), I´d definitely go with a new lens rather than an old one.
I have tried to use Canon Lenses but I am neither happy with the result in regard to sharpness (most of my lenses are EF-mount but not the newest generation), nor with focus. But I have only tried the Sigma MC-11 adapter and another one I can´t remember. The best one is probably the metabones adapter, but still there is no eye focus and face detection.

 

[KmH]

Wow. 3 YEARS old?
That's ANCIENT.
Tongue in cheek.

 

[beagle100]

Wow. 3 YEARS old?
That's ANCIENT.
k.

ancient but old cameras (and lens) can still be good
www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[KmH]

I know.
Look at what use these days in my signature.

That's what I kept after retiring from the business.
I got rid of my full frame, pro grade cameras and pro grade lenses.
My old stuff works plenty good enough.
1600 ISO photos

 

[nikonja01]

3 year old camera us not even a close to beeing ancient. As you can see by your self camera world is not developing that fast as mobile phone world.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[photo1x1.com]

I do understand and appreciate the love for film and for older gear. Product cycles have become way too short.
However, if you are gaining one or more stops in ISO noise and the same in dynamic range, it can make a big difference. People are considering to buy faster lenses only to get better results or even be able to shoot in lower lighting situations. And while I know that there are other advantages to faster lenses, those 3 years in camera development can make quite a difference for those people.
So when I buy new gear, 3 years can make a difference.
Here is an example shot (That´s not the a6000!!! just want to make a point) at ISO 12.800 I have never seen similar noise performance before in one of my cameras. And I do upgrade regularely.

And I didn´t even exaggerate the noise reduction:

EDIT: changed settings image to english

 

[robimatteo]

Hello guys and thank you for your responses. This is what I mean.... when I say im confused by all these ISO, noise etc.
I dont have much money to spend. Especially now that im just starting and I dont know exactly what I want. Im happy to invest in the future when i put money a side. I could not find anything at a good price which was a good camera from which to learn from. I know its "old" yet the a6300 from which it upgraded is not a huge photo update but more for those interested in filming.

With regards to lenses does anyone have any advice on prime which lenses to buy I saw online Sigma 30mm F2, 8 DN is a good buget friendly option.

Does anyone have any advice on maby another camera or a lense setup which could work for my kind of buget. I have found the sony 6000 at around 500€

 

[photo1x1.com]

Hello guys and thank you for your responses. This is what I mean.... when I say im confused by all these ISO, noise etc.
I dont have much money to spend. Especially now that im just starting and I dont know exactly what I want. Im happy to invest in the future when i put money a side. I could not find anything at a good price which was a good camera from which to learn from. I know its "old" yet the a6300 from which it upgraded is not a huge photo update but more for those interested in filming.

With regards to lenses does anyone have any advice on prime which lenses to buy I saw online Sigma 30mm F2, 8 DN is a good buget friendly option.

Does anyone have any advice on maby another camera or a lense setup which could work for my kind of buget. I have found the sony 6000 at around 500€

Sorry, I didn´t mean to confuse you. I still think the a6000 is the best value for money. I don´t think any other mirrorless in that price range can keep up.

You said you returned from a trip to Argentina. What is it that you photographed on that trip, and what would you like to photograph in the future? I like the 50mm f1.8 (SEL50F18B) from Sony since I love blurred backgrounds and photographing people. It is focussing pretty fast and has a reasonable price tag.

I´m not sure if I´d find that big of an advantage of the Sigma 30mm compared to the kit lens. When for example shooting landscapes you usually have rather good lighting so you can use f8 or f11. At these apertures the kit lens and other not so expensive zooms "almost" catch up the initial advantage of prime lenses.

 

[Solarflare]

Wow. 3 YEARS old?
That's ANCIENT.
Tongue in cheek.

IIRC thats still younger than any release of a new lens for that system.

Oh, and no, thats not because there would be any kind of ambundance for that system, either.

And I didn´t even exaggerate the noise reduction:

Err .. FYI, you posted german in an english forum.

Well I guess people who dont know german can conclude from context that "Rauschunterdrückung" would be the german word for noise reduction.

 

[photo1x1.com]

And I didn´t even exaggerate the noise reduction:

Err .. FYI, you posted german in an english forum.

Well I guess people who dont know german can conclude from context that "Rauschunterdrückung" would be the german word for noise reduction.

Thanks for bringing that up. I have most of my software in english, I didn't even realize. I'll change that tomorrow when I'm on my computer and upload an english version.

EDIT: done

 

[robimatteo]

Thanks =) , yes I do like taking pictures of landscapes. When Im fishing I always get good opportunities as i tend to go at sunrise and sunset. I would also like taking pictures around paris at stunning views and why not people.
I still have to understand what I like the most. I don't know, I was thinking that a 30mm was a more polivalent lents for what i need.
So are you guys excluding the old vintage lenses i have using them on a a6000 as a starting point?
Or should I maby get a used a6000 with the kit lenses?

 

[Derrel]

The A6000 and a native-mount, autofocusing lens would be the easiest to get to learn on. Autofocusing lenses really ARE the easiest to use, with the mostin-focus shots,etc.. Sure, you could use adapted lenses, but I do not recommend those for beginners. What about the Sony 16-50mm as your first lens? Have you looked at that lens possibility? That would make a nice outfit to get started with, and be small enough to carry.

 

[Gary A.]

The a6000 is a sterling value. But, (the big but), it is three years old. There is nothing wrong with a three year old camera, but if you're buying new ... you might want to look and think and compare the Sony to a newer camera. For landscapes and entry into photography, the a6000 is a solid camera.

I know many photogs who use vintage lenses on mirrorless because they like the rendering of the vintage lens. Adaptors can be quite cheap, (you get what you pay for), I strongly suggest you try the vintage glass ... you may like what you see.

Another mirrorless brand to check out is Fuji. I shoot Fuji. But they are not cheap, but they are high quality in construction and performance. Fuji is more of a niche market for photogs who like manual controls. They are designed similar to the old film SLRs with dials on top the camera for shutter speed, ISO and aperture is a ring on the lenses. In fact most of the primary setting can be found on top the camera, meter mode, shooting mode (single/continuous), exp comp, et al, are all on top the camera. Fuji lenses are top notch, both in their metal construction and performance. Fuji's kit lens is considered the best kit lens ever made.

I've never handled an a6000, but I imagine that similar to other mirrorless, the Sony had some focusing assistance modes for adapted lenses. The Fuji has a split image, enlargement and focus peaking modes to select from, when manually focusing.

Fuji has wonderful customer support. They are constantly upgrading their firmware for better camera and lens performance. The X-Pro 2 and X-T2 have been on the market for less than a year (IIRC) and they already have a significant firmware upgrade, some upgrades enhancing existing features and other upgrades adding some new stuff. Fuji even upgrades the firmware of cameras which are out of production.

Yeah, Fuji costs a lot more than similar cameras, but you can see where that extra monies go.

PS- As you are new to photography, I strongly suggest that whatever you buy, pick up a kit lens as well. Kit lenses are typically discounted and are great to get you started. Very useful in the beginning as a 'goto' lens.