[navin_bhp]

Originally Posted by Fillmore

I have a Sony NEX 5R Alpha series mirrorless camera that supports an interchangeable E mount lens

Need a zoom lens that would let me take close up of birds. My expectation is a close up shot of a bird that is at a distance of say 80 - 120 feet away.

Would like to seek help from the experts here as to what are my lens options ?

There is the Sony E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 Telephoto Lens for Sony E-Mount ( 18k ) , are there any other lenses that are compatible ?

Also how important is "Image Stabilization" in a lens and how to check for compatibility ? Assuming I am shooting in the Auto modes.

Never used a NEX camera but I tried a A6000 and I would never use that camera because I hated the ergonomics. I'm currently trying out a A7R MIII with FE100-400 and 2x teleconverter. This is the longest you can get on a Sony E-mount system. Not impressed with the quality yet. With the ISO cranked up you can get away with sharp photos of slower birds. I'll post some pics when I get a chance. I just took it to the local zoo once. If you ask me the best value is a FE 70-200 f4. This lens is super sharp and light to carry.

You can pretty much use any FE lens on the E-mount and get longer reach and OSS (Image stabilization) is very necessary unless you are using a tripod.

There are other options like using a metabones or Sigma Mc-11 adapter to adapt canon lenses. I've tried both with a A9 and Canon 70-200 f2.8 II lens and got sharp results. The setup was predictable only at the AF points in the center of the frame though.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I am happy with the general feel and use of the a6000, but it does have its inconveniences. I never owned a DSLR, but I can now understand why they have such an array of buttons. Even the a6000 has all sorts of stuff one would want to easily control, but so few usefully-placed buttons to do it with. In fact, there is only one button that could easily be held with the thumb while pressing the shutter and, even as a newbie (re-learner) I feel the need for at least two.

Having bought Sony aps-c, I do find it a little disappointing that, in some ways, I can do less with it than with a cheaper super-zoom bridge camera and... for the longest Sony FE zooms, at enormous cost. Don't think I will ever buy a 2-lakh lens

Hey-ho...

On pricing in general, I have a trip to UK coming up, and thought that I might acquire a lens (or even two!), expecting that Sony prices there might be cheaper than here. Astonished to find that they are not. In fact, at least on the London-dealer websites that I browsed, even second-hand lenses are expensive there.

[nilanjanray]

Mirrorless and wildlife. A few things to consider.

1. Tech: AF, buffer. DSLR no longer has a significant advantage, if we look at high end mirrorless bodies such a9 or a7R3 etc.

2. Battery life, ruggedness: DSLRs still have some advantage

3. Size, portability: the moment one goes for fast and long lenses, the size advantage starts disappearing, fast! So why mirrorless then? Makes sense when mirrorless tech becomes better than DSLR tech (a matter of 2-3 yrs now). The thing is, a small body mated to a large lens is not easy to handle. Balance goes for a toss. And looks like a Peke hanging off a Great Dane

4. Kit/ecosystem: Sony is catching up fast. IMHO the others are not geared for wildlife, or have compromises re IQ (e.g the smaller sensors have a 2-stop disadvantage) during low light periods, when one gets interesting moments. One could always use a faster, small lens e.g. a 300mm f/4 for Oly. But that has one big disadvantage: that is a 600mm f/8 equivalent in terms of depth of field. Which matters for subject isolation. And large sensors obviously have better iq, given same generation of sensors.

5. Ergonomics: a larger body helps. E.g. the higher end dslr bodies. I use auto iso + manual mode and can change shutter speed, aperture, AF, metering settings etc. very fast, intuitively. Instead of going through menus. But the high end mirrorless bodies also allow this. But small size can be a pain when it is cold (gloves) or if one has large hands.

I am considering relatively high end gear here. Beyond a point, there is no one simple solution. A 4wd suv can't be a fast sedan and vice versa. Same thing holds true for specialist genres such as wildlife. There are a few great all rounders (e.g. D750, D850 etc., just considering Nikon, Canon is as good) but they are more on the dslr side. And they are all rounders because of the lens ecosystem. One can't think in isolation especially when large or fast lenses come into play.

I think that one has to spend more to get equivalent (wildlife) photos using mirrorless. Talking about birds here because of the reach/BIF/AF factors. Re mammals: shorter focal lengths are fine at times if the creature is not moving fast.

TLDR: yes, can be done, but perhaps not the best bang for the buck if one is looking primarily at wildlife.

Excuse typos, used the mobile/app keypad.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

On pricing in general, I have a trip to UK coming up, and thought that I might acquire a lens (or even two!), expecting that Sony prices there might be cheaper than here. Astonished to find that they are not. In fact, at least on the London-dealer websites that I browsed, even second-hand lenses are expensive there.

Look at Sony 35mm 1.8 OSS and the new 18-135 (3.5 to 5.6). But zoom lens will take away the size advantage. 35mm I think is one of the best lenses for Sony A6000.

[navin_bhp]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I am happy with the general feel and use of the a6000, but it does have its inconveniences. I never owned a DSLR, but I can now understand why they have such an array of buttons. Even the a6000 has all sorts of stuff one would want to easily control, but so few usefully-placed buttons to do it with. In fact, there is only one button that could easily be held with the thumb while pressing the shutter and, even as a newbie (re-learner) I feel the need for at least two.

Having bought Sony aps-c, I do find it a little disappointing that, in some ways, I can do less with it than with a cheaper super-zoom bridge camera and... for the longest Sony FE zooms, at enormous cost. Don't think I will ever buy a 2-lakh lens

Hey-ho...

On pricing in general, I have a trip to UK coming up, and thought that I might acquire a lens (or even two!), expecting that Sony prices there might be cheaper than here. Astonished to find that they are not. In fact, at least on the London-dealer websites that I browsed, even second-hand lenses are expensive there.

My thoughts on the A6000 may hae been different if I had not used Canon pro bodies for years. Most new users would not feel the same way about the A6000 I think.

The beauty of sharp lenses are that they don't depreciate much. I buy lenses when they are on sale and have ended up selling them for a higher price. In US there is almost no deals on the Sony zoom lenses but the good thing is there are sites like Greentoe.com where you can get brand new lenses from authorized sellers for a significant discount. After a year of use I mostly end up selling the lens and get I what I paid for it or just lose 100-150$. I wish we had a bigger used market in India. If only everyone used craigslist it would be awesome.

BTW nothing is cheap in UK especially electronics.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Is it a mistake to sell cameras like the a6000 with a slow, zoom lens?

Frankly, I don't find the standard 16-50 to be better than a cheap compact. It compares badly to my ancient Olympus, with standard 50/1.7, and that in the days when 100 ASA film was fast!

I'm glad I now have the Sigma 30/1.4. Rediscovering that there was a reason why "standard" lenses were standard!

[Fillmore]

I own an old Sony NEX 5R.
Noob question: Can someone point me to a good source / online guide that explains how to use all the camera functions in Manual mode ?

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Any Sony A6300 users around? I am looking at it for the small form factor and video capabilities. Planning to get it from the US, as it seems to be retailing for ~55k, compared to ~70k here. I understand, might not get the warranty coverage.

Any personal experiences to share?

So after a 5 month hunt, I have managed to find a used a6300 (w/ 16-50 kit lens). It is about 1.5 yrs old, looks fine. Price would be between 40 to 45k. Not closed the deal yet. Wondering whether should I bite. The lowest quote for a new one I have got so far is 63.5k.

Any specific things to check in the body/lens?

[aim120]

The usual shutter count, fungus, scratches. I think the price is decent.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Ordered Sony 50mm f1.8 for my a6000.
Last time I had an slr I only had the one lens. Making up for it this time

[Highh5]

Up till last week I was damn confused between Nikon D7500/D7200 and Canon 80D. One of the fact I hate about DSLR though owning one for 5 years is the weight you carry around and if coupled with zoom lenses it's more challenging then.

It started with Canon M50 that shifted my focus entirely on Mirrorless Cameras. Next few days spent on the research and which cameras excel in this technology. Sony has build a certain ecosystem of Lens for Mirrorless Cameras and Canon looks to be a new kid in the block.

Now as per all the reviews I think Sony A6300 fits the bill to start off. What according to you folks can be challenging when shifting from Nikon D3200(not used from last one year) to Sony A6300. And what things I should take care of before going ahead with the purchase.
Any other mirrorless camera I should consider, you can point me too ?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Ordered Sony 50mm f1.8 for my a6000.

They sent me a silver one. And the promised courier return label has not turned up yet.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Fillmore

Can someone point me to a good source / online guide that explains how to use all the camera functions in Manual mode ?

Honestly, the basic photography stuff in Manual mode (shutter speed, aperture, ISO = exposure) is the same.

There's nothing super specific to the A6000 except perhaps a few add-on features (eg. DRO) - but those are best googled individually after you get a clear understanding of the basics of manual photography.

Youtube is a great resource for both.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

There's nothing super specific to the A6000 except perhaps a few add-on features ...

One certainly needs more than Sony tells us. They have even made some quite amazing features, like eye-auto-focus (focuses on the subject's eye) so well hidden that one has to customise a something-else button to get at it at all.

So much on the internet that it is hard to find time to take photographs!

I used to be a compulsive manual reader (even before buying the product, if I could get hold of it) and desperate to dive deep into every function a gadget could offer. Then I got lazy, and developed the desire to just pick stuff up and use it. But the a6000 has sent me back to reading/watching again. There's just too much, and among the too much are some really useful things. Goodness knkows what I would do with a heavyweight dslr!

[navin]

Originally Posted by Highh5

Any other mirrorless camera I should consider, you can point me too ?

If one of the primary reasons for shifting to mirrorless is for the size and weight of the camera system do compare the APS-C systems (Canon, Sony, Fuji, etc) to the m4/3 system (Oly, Panny, etc).

The intrinsic design of a smaller sensor means the lenses are usually smaller. On the other side you do have a smaller sensor which means less TOTAL light (not less intensity) would be captured on the sensor and DOF changes a bit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5zN6NVx-hY