I've rented a Sony a6300 for the week and it arrived without a manual. I took this trying to focus on the grasses with the sun in the background and realized there is no obvious way to set focus and then realized that instead of dials, most operations are in the menu screens. Definitely not an easy shift from my Nikon. BUT, the light weight is wonderful. Lenses seem like good glass (55-200mm and a WA zoom).
Nice shot. I notice the new nikon 's require menu usage to change from manual to auto focus they say there is less risk of accidently changing from auto to manual focus if there is no switch on the lens in reality there just saving the costs of switches menus are cheaper!
Wonderful! I recently bought a Sony a6000 which I love. I still have my canon but the lightweight Sony is great when I don't want to carry all my gear around.
Great shot Taffy. I've just changed from my Nikon to an Olympus. Difficult to find my way round after the Nikon but I'm getting there and the lighter weight does make a difference.
seriously thinking about giving the sony a try because of it's size and weight . Maybe I'll do what you did once I convince myself to invest more money in a new camera that I don't really need.
@lesip I would definitely recommend renting first. The menus are driving me nuts and the focus is a real challenge to sort out so I can control the focal point on the image. Still haven't figured it out despite quite a bit of time online. The photos are okay, but so far, not up to the Nikon. Disappointed but hoping the week will show it's me and not the equipment!
You surely cant be disappointed with this sunset - so beautiful. I guess any new camera takes some considerable getting used to. I have only the lightweight and am only now finally realising just what it can do.
I love the colors in your photo, Taffy. I have the Sony a6000 and the manual but went onto you tube and that helped me a lot. I bought a Nikon first and returned it due to overheating but loved the ease of use. This Sony is frustrating. Wish I were there side by side with you as I would probably learn from you. Love the weight of my camera but currently take more photos with my cell phone than my camera as focus has been a royal pain. No more buying cameras for me so will learn to work with it more and get more into the tutorials on you tube.
Sweet shot,I never try Sony cameras, personally I only trust them when it comes to musical stuff.also I'm loving mirrorless now, can't take anymore bulkys--like my 6d, wanna buy it?-hA!:)
@darsphotos Thanks for all the visits and comments Darlene. Thanks for the lead on watching You-Tube. I think if I already had bought this camera I would find a way to make it work. The photos are quite nice -- it's the menu that I find so annoying. I did find that Focus Mode in the settings section, fixed at center, was the easiest way i could get focus under control. Good luck to you!
@taffy Glad you are trying out the mirror-less cameras. Interesting shot. Yes, those Sony menus. They are the bane of the whole Alpha line, even the FF a7. Long, involved, disorganized especially and carry around the baggage of every feature ever invented, even though a number have been superseded by better implementations.
Not worth the time and effort if you are not going to purchase, but it is what the manual should have been. Customization, the Fn button and MR (memory recall) dial mode are absolutely necessary to help you get the menus out of the way.
@frankhymus Thanks for the leads. I'll keep these in mind, though at this point, while I like the images I don't like the feel of the Sony. I may not be ready to switch as I really like the dials/buttons on my Nikon and if I move to mirrorless (not as an extra, but to use for all travel), I think I'll keep looking. My plan is to next rent one of the Fuji ones -- still deciding which one (best sensor for my type of work, interchangeable lenses - would like to have full frame but may not be financially realistic). And then Olympus. Maybe by then Nikon will have one to offer! I appreciate your advice, as always -- you have helped me so much along this journey!
@taffy Unless you want to get ridiculous with a $10,000+ medium format camera, I think Sony is the only one with a full frame mirror-less. Great sensors and camera, same terrible menu system, although there are many more customizable buttons on the A7R.
Fujifilm have only APS-C mirrorless. Their interface is rather retro with all those dials to set speed, ISO and such. You either love the interface or hate it, so rent first. The still-to-be-released X-T2 would be my pick for the way i shoot, but $1,800 camera only. The Fuji lenses are excellent.
Olympus have a delightful interface and shooting experience, and it's a delight to shoot with, but a micro four thirds sensor, it again doesn't really suit my style of shooting - shoot for the highlights and then push the shadows in post. Nikon DSLRs have totally influenced the way I shoot and spoiled me as to what they do really well.
Lumix Panasonic is worth a look. Micro Four Thirds again, gut the G8 is worth a look I think. The GH4 is getting a bit long in the tooth, but is a delightful camera to shoot with, nicer than the Olympus models. But expensive. If you are serious about video as well as stills, you can't beat Lumix, and their ability to grab still frames from a 4K video is second to none. It's like being able to shoot stills at 30+ frames a second.
The new Canon mirror-less M3 is a first for Canon. I haven't shot with it, but it's not had sterling reviews, I'd wait until the Mark II model.
Samsung had a great one, but left the market and no one bought the business that I know of.
Nikon are late, late, late to the serious large sensor mirror-less market. I don't count the Nikon I models. There's not a lot of rumor about it, so I think it's a year or so off. Once again, I'd wait until a Mark II version, as I would with any significantly new technology camera from a manufacturer.
@taffy You are so very welcome, Taffy. I agree with you and so disappointed that I chose the Sony a6000. My son talked me into it and I went along with him. How I have learned not to do that ever again. I want to keep up with you and see what you figure out and for the price as well. I wish I could afford to rent a camera but for now will work with what I have. Makes photography not as much fun when you have to really work at it. You are always welcome for my advice. I have a friend from here on Facebook and she shoots without a DSLR unless she has changed and her macros are awesome. Will have to check but I think it is a Olympus. I am always here just not always on 365. Keep in touch!
@frankhymus I have the book and it is above my basic knowledge and makes me confused. Will have to look further into it as I stopped and went to you tube. I have learned a lot from the Facebook page that was created for the a6000 as well but just get frustrated with it. Wish I had kept the Nikon and dealt with the heating up issue in videos and when shooting after a few photos was so hot in my hands. You are very interesting and glad you are here to explain. Thank you.
@frankhymus@darsphotos
Frank, this is really a great response and very helpful for my planning. I will keep trying out cameras til I sort it out. I think the challenge is wanting to actually switch to a smaller camera, rather than having an 'extra.' I'm starting to recognize that this may not be a reasonable goal -- better to keep with the Nikon and choose a second system that I can live with and be excited about using when I do use it. Interesting to me to read you keep the two bodies, one with each focal lens. With Nikon, I use the WA 14-24, the 100mm micro, 50mm, and telephoto walk about (28-300). It's a good mix so an expensive proposition to end up with the same (and a lensbaby and fisheye for fun) in another camera system. And also having invested so many years in sorting out how it all works! I like your work and clearly, if I could nail it, the Sony system offers a lot. Do you have any strong feelings about the A6 or A7 (assuming both are full frames)? With no time pressure, if I do go with Sony, it will be with eyes wide open. Thanks again for all the help -- BTW, I have Busch's books for each of my camera bodies. They are really useful (I use a P7700 for a point & shoot and have that manual plus the 600 which isn't that different than my 610).
@taffy The Sony a7R II is a great camera. I have thought about buying it, but at $3,100+ body only, and then high priced FE lenses on top of that, I really don't think so. There are a number of lesser a7 models, half the price, but their technology is sub-a7R II. Remember what I said about not buying the first generation of any new technology? Here's what DPReview said about the a7R II, they are a big fan, although are quite open with what they don't like. See the last page of the link. https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-alpha-7r-ii
You asked about a6? There is only the a6x00 line, the 6000 and the 6300, and you are trying that out. As you see they are not FF, but the same crop factor as the Nikon DX cameras. Here's what they say about the a6300. See if you agree. I do. https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-a6300/11
@frankhymus Wow -- yes, the review totally nails it. The menus and the focal options are the two deal breakers for me for now. I'm giving myself a long enough time so don't feel rushed to decide. I won't be in a position to spend what the a7R II would cost so looking at the 6300 price range is where I'm limited. And I do like my Nikon a lot, if only it didn't weigh so much the lenses for travel.
Having seen your shot of the hay bales and your comments about the Sony a6300 I've been looking back through more than a week's worth of your shots guessing which camera you took each one with - and found I was right every time. So that was very interesting for me but I still stick by my great enthusiasm for my Sony a6000 in spite of the complicated menu (which I'm now used to) and for me perhaps it just shows that one camera does not fit all......
September 2nd, 2016
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If you and @darsphotos Darlene are keeping the camera, this book is worth the $30 investment.
For the a6000 https://www.amazon.com/David-Buschs-ILCE-6000-Digital-Photography/dp/1681981904/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472303218&sr=8-1&keywords=david+busch+a6000
For the a6300 https://www.amazon.com/David-Buschs-ILCE-6300-Digital-Photography/dp/1681981548/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472303277&sr=1-1&keywords=david+busch+a6300
Not worth the time and effort if you are not going to purchase, but it is what the manual should have been. Customization, the Fn button and MR (memory recall) dial mode are absolutely necessary to help you get the menus out of the way.
Fujifilm have only APS-C mirrorless. Their interface is rather retro with all those dials to set speed, ISO and such. You either love the interface or hate it, so rent first. The still-to-be-released X-T2 would be my pick for the way i shoot, but $1,800 camera only. The Fuji lenses are excellent.
Olympus have a delightful interface and shooting experience, and it's a delight to shoot with, but a micro four thirds sensor, it again doesn't really suit my style of shooting - shoot for the highlights and then push the shadows in post. Nikon DSLRs have totally influenced the way I shoot and spoiled me as to what they do really well.
Lumix Panasonic is worth a look. Micro Four Thirds again, gut the G8 is worth a look I think. The GH4 is getting a bit long in the tooth, but is a delightful camera to shoot with, nicer than the Olympus models. But expensive. If you are serious about video as well as stills, you can't beat Lumix, and their ability to grab still frames from a 4K video is second to none. It's like being able to shoot stills at 30+ frames a second.
The new Canon mirror-less M3 is a first for Canon. I haven't shot with it, but it's not had sterling reviews, I'd wait until the Mark II model.
Samsung had a great one, but left the market and no one bought the business that I know of.
Nikon are late, late, late to the serious large sensor mirror-less market. I don't count the Nikon I models. There's not a lot of rumor about it, so I think it's a year or so off. Once again, I'd wait until a Mark II version, as I would with any significantly new technology camera from a manufacturer.
Frank, this is really a great response and very helpful for my planning. I will keep trying out cameras til I sort it out. I think the challenge is wanting to actually switch to a smaller camera, rather than having an 'extra.' I'm starting to recognize that this may not be a reasonable goal -- better to keep with the Nikon and choose a second system that I can live with and be excited about using when I do use it. Interesting to me to read you keep the two bodies, one with each focal lens. With Nikon, I use the WA 14-24, the 100mm micro, 50mm, and telephoto walk about (28-300). It's a good mix so an expensive proposition to end up with the same (and a lensbaby and fisheye for fun) in another camera system. And also having invested so many years in sorting out how it all works! I like your work and clearly, if I could nail it, the Sony system offers a lot. Do you have any strong feelings about the A6 or A7 (assuming both are full frames)? With no time pressure, if I do go with Sony, it will be with eyes wide open. Thanks again for all the help -- BTW, I have Busch's books for each of my camera bodies. They are really useful (I use a P7700 for a point & shoot and have that manual plus the 600 which isn't that different than my 610).
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-alpha-7r-ii
You asked about a6? There is only the a6x00 line, the 6000 and the 6300, and you are trying that out. As you see they are not FF, but the same crop factor as the Nikon DX cameras. Here's what they say about the a6300. See if you agree. I do.
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-a6300/11