Deal: SONY Has Nice Discounts:

gvfgvf Registered Users Posts: 356 Major grins
edited May 7, 2015 in Flea Market
I bought my first digital in years, I usually shoot film but wanted one good digital. Sony on their store-site had a sale on the A6000, $200 off for $599 instead of $799. Supposed to be a nice camera so I bought it. (Not arrived yet)

I think they have such discounts regularly, though not all are on cameras, SONY makes a hunk of stuff after all.

Anyway, thought I'd post it if any like SONY cameras.

Comments

  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 23,764 moderator
    edited May 6, 2015
    I moved this to the Flea Market and changed the thread name to have a title prefix in keeping with forum guidelines.

    I too bought a Sony a6000, mine right before Christmas 2014, when Sony had a discount for the body alone. Lovely small camera with both larger LCD and an electronic viewfinder, a more ISO standard hot-shoe (meaning that an old Sunpak 383 Super, Manual/Auto, non-dedicated flash works great with it), and a very useful range of acceptable ISOs.

    Sony forces High-ISO noise reduction (you cannot shut it off and it occurs prior to RAW production) AND it's very heavy handed, meaning that by ISO 3200 shadow detail is damaged through smoothing. The effect is fine for snapshots; not so good for larger images.

    I don't like the options for a fast-aperture standard zoom, but the optically stabilized "kit" zoom has acceptable image quality, especially after automated, in-camera image correction for chromatic aberration, curvilinear distortions and vignetting. Not great for ambient low light and the AF slows appreciably as a result.

    All in all it's a very nice performer for family snaps and travel, and at lower ISOs it rivals APS-C sensor bodies from other manufacturers. The smaller form-factor and smaller kit zooms encourage bringing it with you, when you might otherwise use a P&S.

    Purchasing new also entitles you to a free download of Phase One, Capture One 8 (Sony Version), an extremely competent RAW image processor, which I highly recommend.
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • gvfgvf Registered Users Posts: 356 Major grins
    edited May 6, 2015
    Hey thanks for the very succinct and at the same time thorough review. It's on backorder but supposedly in from their warehouse, planned shipping May 15. Love the ground shipping price: $5. Very Retro. A SONY Pony Express Rider brings it to your door.

    How close can you get for macro-type shots with the kit lens on the a6000, think it's 18 to 50mm? Whatever happened to those 35 to 80s, think it is that for for my old Minolta 700si, excellent film camera, been all over the world with that one, very intuitive controls and I still like the infrared Eye-Focus. Nice for quick street shots, pretty quick mechanism for an 80s film camera. hmmm, maybe it was late 70s.

    I have an interesting new, old Contax N1, no time yet to try it, with a Zeiss zoom lens. It was made before Auto-Focus but ahead of its time because Contax used a type of early auto-fous, think of their own design. The film plate moves in and out towards and away from the lens. Pretty weird hey?

    I'll keep your hints for use in your mini-review of the SONY. Thanks muchly!

    gvf
    Jerry



    ziggy53 wrote: »
    I moved this to the Flea Market and changed the thread name to have a title prefix in keeping with forum guidelines.

    I too bought a Sony a6000, mine right before Christmas 2014, when Sony had a discount for the body alone. Lovely small camera with both larger LCD and an electronic viewfinder, a more ISO standard hot-shoe (meaning that an old Sunpak 383 Super, Manual/Auto, non-dedicated flash works great with it), and a very useful range of acceptable ISOs.

    Sony forces High-ISO noise reduction (you cannot shut it off and it occurs prior to RAW production) AND it's very heavy handed, meaning that by ISO 3200 shadow detail is damaged through smoothing. The effect is fine for snapshots; not so good for larger images.

    I don't like the options for a fast-aperture standard zoom, but the optically stabilized "kit" zoom has acceptable image quality, especially after automated, in-camera image correction for chromatic aberration, curvilinear distortions and vignetting. Not great for ambient low light and the AF slows appreciably as a result.

    All in all it's a very nice performer for family snaps and travel, and at lower ISOs it rivals APS-C sensor bodies from other manufacturers. The smaller form-factor and smaller kit zooms encourage bringing it with you, when you might otherwise use a P&S.

    Purchasing new also entitles you to a free download of Phase One, Capture One 8 (Sony Version), an extremely competent RAW image processor, which I highly recommend.
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 23,764 moderator
    edited May 6, 2015
    gvf wrote: »
    ... How close can you get for macro-type shots with the kit lens on the a6000, think it's 18 to 50mm? ... I'll keep your hints for use in your mini-review of the SONY. Thanks muchly!

    gvf
    Jerry

    The Sony a6000 usually comes bundled with the Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Alpha E-mount Retractable Zoom lens. There is also the Sony E-Mount SEL 1855 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS, which used to be the standard zoom, until the 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS E-mount was introduced in 2012, or so.

    The 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS E-mount is able to close-focus down to around 9.8" (250mm) from the focal plane. Maximum magnification is around 0.215x, (1:4.6), so not the worst I've seen, but not great either. I use the Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS telephoto zoom at 200mm and then add a Sony VCL-M3358 close up attachment. I don't have any image examples yet, but early tests are very good.
    gvf wrote: »
    ... Whatever happened to those 35 to 80s, think it is that for for my old Minolta 700si, excellent film camera, been all over the world with that one, very intuitive controls and I still like the infrared Eye-Focus. Nice for quick street shots, pretty quick mechanism for an 80s film camera. hmmm, maybe it was late 70s.

    The Sony a6000 is an APS-C, crop 1.5x sensor camera. The 135 format equivalent to the 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS E-mount standard zoom is a FOV of around 24mm-75mm, so a true wide-angle through a moderate telephoto.

    Yes, the Minolta 700si is a classic film body. thumb.gif
    gvf wrote: »
    ... I have an interesting new, old Contax N1, no time yet to try it, with a Zeiss zoom lens. It was made before Auto-Focus but ahead of its time because Contax used a type of early auto-fous, think of their own design. The film plate moves in and out towards and away from the lens. Pretty weird hey?

    Contax was a very innovative manufacturer, possibly too much so for their time. They certainly didn't make too much junk (except for some QC problems, as I recall).
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • gvfgvf Registered Users Posts: 356 Major grins
    edited May 7, 2015
    9-10" might be OK for my needs. Certainly better than my old OLymbus digital, that was about 2 1/2 feet.
    Yeah I'll see how I like the camera. If so I'll probably get the 55 -210mm.
    ziggy53 wrote: »
    The Sony a6000 usually comes bundled with the Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Alpha E-mount Retractable Zoom lens. There is also the Sony E-Mount SEL 1855 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS, which used to be the standard zoom, until the 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS E-mount was introduced in 2012, or so.

    The 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS E-mount is able to close-focus down to around 9.8" (250mm) from the focal plane. Maximum magnification is around 0.215x, (1:4.6), so not the worst I've seen, but not great either. I use the Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS telephoto zoom at 200mm and then add a Sony VCL-M3358 close up attachment. I don't have any image examples yet, but early tests are very good.



    The Sony a6000 is an APS-C, crop 1.5x sensor camera. The 135 format equivalent to the 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS E-mount standard zoom is a FOV of around 24mm-75mm, so a true wide-angle through a moderate telephoto.

    Yes, the Minolta 700si is a classic film body. thumb.gif



    Contax was a very innovative manufacturer, possibly too much so for their time. They certainly didn't make too much junk (except for some QC problems, as I recall).
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