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Sony A6000 vs NEX-6


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A couple of questions for Sony users. I've been using the 16MP Sony NEX-6 for almost five years now and have generally been very happy with this camera. The opportunity to buy a used A6000 in pristine condition from a local camera store (with 30 day warranty) has come up, and I'm thinking of selling my NEX-6 (also in terrific shape) and getting the A6000. How much of an upgrade is the A6000? Do the extra 8MP make a big difference?

 

This reviewer, whose reviews I often agree with, seems to think that the a6000 is significantly better than the NEX-6 in most respects.

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Very happy with the a6500 John, the extra pixels are useful and there does not appear to be a noise penalty. I assume the sensors in the 6000 and 6500 are similar. The battery is identical to that used in the NEX 6, so no need to buy new spares.

 

The electronic viewfinder is also an improvement, excellent for manual focus. One slight drawback, the contrast detect feature appears more sensitive, even at the minimum setting, so you occasionally get a swathe of orange across the image, making composition more difficult. I've programmed a button to switch it off, but, in practice, rarely do so.

 

My limited experience of auto focus is not so good, but that may be down to my lack of understanding as to how to get the best from it. I recently took a photo of the Mrs in a restaurant, and the face recognition feature  appeared to have worked, but the focus  was way off.  The camera probably detects the presence of a Luddite and reacts accordingly......

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1 hour ago, Bryan said:

Very happy with the a6500 John, the extra pixels are useful and there does not appear to be a noise penalty. I assume the sensors in the 6000 and 6500 are similar. The battery is identical to that used in the NEX 6, so no need to buy new spares.

 

The electronic viewfinder is also an improvement, excellent for manual focus. One slight drawback, the contrast detect feature appears more sensitive, even at the minimum setting, so you occasionally get a swathe of orange across the image, making composition more difficult. I've programmed a button to switch it off, but, in practice, rarely do so.

 

My limited experience of auto focus is not so good, but that may be down to my lack of understanding as to how to get the best from it. I recently took a photo of the Mrs in a restaurant, and the face recognition feature  appeared to have worked, but the focus  was way off.  The camera probably detects the presence of a Luddite and reacts accordingly......

 

Do you like the A6300's menus better than the NEX-6's?

 

The contrast detect problem that you mentioned sounds pretty weird. Is there a particular lens that this happens with?

 

 

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53 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Do you like the A6300's menus better than the NEX-6's?

 

The contrast detect problem that you mentioned sounds pretty weird. Is there a particular lens that this happens with?

 

 

 

The menus are even more convoluted, as the video comes in many flavours, while there is in camera stabilisation, and the need to select the focal length (if using manual focus lenses) as well as the option to select the minimum shutter speed with auto iso. It all took a bit of getting used to, but I only ever use a sub set of the features and don't now have a problem with it. If I go back to the NEX, I find myself wondering how to view and amplify past shots,  so the controls do differ. There is a learning curve,  but overall I don't find any of this an issue.

 

I have programmed three buttons to take me to my most used control parameters, minimum shutter speed, focal length, and contrast detect on or off. Normal shooters would make different use of this facility.

 

In passing, the quality of the video is outstanding, far better than what you would need for social media etc. It's a video camera as much as a stills machine.

 

Re the contract detect, it happens with all of my manual focus lenses, and, as you might expect, is at its worst with strongly lit contrasty scenes. I shoot so little auto focus that I can't recall whether or not it is a problem with those lenses, but of course you can switch it off as it should not be necessary using auto focus.

 

I did encounter a problem going from magnified view back to standard, as a single touch on the shutter release did not do the trick, but there is a work around. It requires delving into menus and resetting a digital switch. I can't now recall how to do it, but Google will reveal.

 

Hope that helps! Get it bought.

 

 

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10 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

A couple of questions for Sony users. I've been using the 16MP Sony NEX-6 for almost five years now and have generally been very happy with this camera. The opportunity to buy a used A6000 in pristine condition from a local camera store (with 30 day warranty) has come up, and I'm thinking of selling my NEX-6 (also in terrific shape) and getting the A6000. How much of an upgrade is the A6000? Do the extra 8MP make a big difference?

 

This reviewer, whose reviews I often agree with, seems to think that the a6000 is significantly better than the NEX-6 in most respects.

 

John, I recently made this exact switch, traded in my very good NEX-6 for an even better a6000 at MPB. If you are not into video (I'm not), the a6000 is as good as the a6300 and newer models. For me, the 24MB is a big plus over the 16MB we have on the NEX-6. I tend to keep the Sony 10-18 on the camera, and the possibility of cropping adds some reach on the long end. I've owned the user-unfriendly NEX-7 too, and the a6000 is the best of the bunch. 

 

https://www.mpb.com/en-us/

 

. . . an afterthought:

 

The reason my RX10 and RX100-3 get more use than my a6000 is because I don't own or want to own the kit street zoom. I would not feel comfortable with the questionable quality and the speed of that lens. The better quality street zoom if too big and too expensive.  I have the 10-18 and a Sony 50 f/1.8. 

 

In the film era, I shot with primes. I owned the Nikon 80-200 for awhile, but found it too slow and awkward with front weight. Back then and now, if I carry more than one lens, I always use a shoulder bag. 

 

 

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John I have two A6000 bodies (one with the 10-18 f4 OSS and the other with the 16-70 f4 ZA OSS lens) the combinations are great for our Alamy work. No problems with either lens. Sadly I find myself leaving them behind more and more these days and just grabbing the RX100 mk3 on the way out.

 

Allan

 

 

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Thanks for the helpful feedback. The A6000 sounds like a worthwhile upgrade, so I probably am going to put a deposit on it today. However, being a man of slim means these days, I will likely not pick the camera up until mid-May. First I have to sell my trusty NEX-6 plus a couple of old lenses that have been gathering dust in my cupboard. The camera store accepts trade-ins, but I can hopefully get at least twice as much by selling privately.

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1 minute ago, Ed Rooney said:

Good luck, John. You will love the a6000.

 

Allan, I can match you on laziness any day in the week. I get tired just carrying my wallet, and there's nothing in it.  Boy, that 16-70 is pricy! 

 

Thanks. My wallet is so light that I have to weigh it down with plug nickels or it would float away.

 

Rumour is that Allan won the lottery. B)

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57 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

Good luck, John. You will love the a6000.

 

Allan, I can match you on laziness any day in the week. I get tired just carrying my wallet, and there's nothing in it.  Boy, that 16-70 is pricy! 

 

When I got the 16-70 it was a "Black Friday" deal with my local WEX store. Can't remember the exact figures but there was a lot off the lens plus as I was buying it with one of the reduced price A6000 bodies they gave me an extra 10% off the package.^_^

 

 

 

57 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Thanks. My wallet is so light that I have to weigh it down with plug nickels or it would float away.

 

Rumour is that Allan won the lottery. B)

 

No I did not win the lottery. Would have been nice though as I could have been even more helpful to Edo in his hour/days/weeks of need.B)

 

As it is I am so poor I do not even have a wallet.:wacko:

Yes I have heard of them, isn't it something you put your driving licence in?

 

Allan

 

 

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Don't really know, Allan -- I don't have a driver's license. What would I drive? I had one and a nice car when I lived in Oxfordshire. 

 

Seriously, you and so many others in the forum have been extremely helpful and generous. It's mind blowing. Even if John has to live with the lenses he has, I hope he gets himself that a6000. 

 

And all of you: bookmark MPB for buying, trading and selling gear. They are a British company with an office in NYC. I sold them all my Nikon digital gear, as well as traded my NEX-6 for the a6000.  

 

https://www.mpb.com/en-us/

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2 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

Don't really know, Allan -- I don't have a driver's license. What would I drive? I had one and a nice car when I lived in Oxfordshire. 

 

Seriously, you and so many others in the forum have been extremely helpful and generous. It's mind blowing. Even if John has to live with the lenses he has, I hope he gets himself that a6000. 

 

And all of you: bookmark MPB for buying, trading and selling gear. They are a British company with an office in NYC. I sold them all my Nikon digital gear, as well as traded my NEX-6 for the a6000.  

 

https://www.mpb.com/en-us/

 

I bit the bullet and put a deposit on the a6000. It appears barely used (if at all) and has all the original packing,etc. Perhaps someone bought it and ended up using his/her phone for snapping pictures, quite common these days no doubt. I took some pics in the camera store and just had a peek at the RAW files. They look good, even with the much-maligned 16-50 zoom at 16mm. I'm not a fan of power zooms,  but the 16-50 certainly is nice and compact. Must say, though, that I prefer the finish and more rugged feel of the NEX-6 body. However, I'm sure that the a6000 is put together well. All I have to do now is convince Allan to send me a nice big cheque for the NEX-6.

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18 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

I bit the bullet and put a deposit on the a6000. It appears barely used (if at all) and has all the original packing,etc. Perhaps someone bought it and ended up using his/her phone for snapping pictures, quite common these days no doubt. I took some pics in the camera store and just had a peek at the RAW files. They look good, even with the much-maligned 16-50 zoom at 16mm. I'm not a fan of power zooms,  but the 16-50 certainly is nice and compact. Must say, though, that I prefer the finish and more rugged feel of the NEX-6 body. However, I'm sure that the a6000 is put together well. All I have to do now is convince Allan to send me a nice big cheque for the NEX-6.

 

UK MPB is selling one for £194 ($347 Canadian) so why should I pay import duties?-_-

 

Not that I am going to buy one anyway.

 

Allan

 

PS No Bentleys either just RR's. One in the garage, one on the drive and her who must be obeyed out in the other.B)

 

ITMA

 

 

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1 hour ago, Allan Bell said:

 

UK MPB is selling one for £194 ($347 Canadian) so why should I pay import duties?-_-

 

Not that I am going to buy one anyway.

 

Allan

 

PS No Bentleys either just RR's. One in the garage, one on the drive and her who must be obeyed out in the other.B)

 

ITMA

 

 

 

That's a very good price. The one I'm looking at is going for $550 CAN, but it is pretty much in new condition and includes the 16-50 lens, which I wouldn't mind having even though I might not use it all that much. A new a6000 with lens is going for about $750 CAN here. The problem with a lot of overseas shopping for camera equipment in Canada is the draconian shipping charges for large items, so I don't do much of it. Bentley's and RR's burn too much gas (a.k.a. petrol), and the maintenance costs must be sky-high. I'm sticking with my eco-friendly little Toyota. 

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23 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

That's a very good price. The one I'm looking at is going for $550 CAN, but it is pretty much in new condition and includes the 16-50 lens, which I wouldn't mind having even though I might not use it all that much. A new a6000 with lens is going for about $750 CAN here. The problem with a lot of overseas shopping for camera equipment in Canada is the draconian shipping charges for large items, so I don't do much of it. Bentley's and RR's burn too much gas (a.k.a. petrol), and the maintenance costs must be sky-high. I'm sticking with my eco-friendly little Toyota. 

 

Meanwhile I will stick with my real car, VW Passat estate which is 11 years old this year with FULL service history. Not very eco-friendly.

 

Allan

 

 

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1 hour ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Meanwhile I will stick with my real car, VW Passat estate which is 11 years old this year with FULL service history. Not very eco-friendly.

 

Allan

 

 

 

Our Toyota is 11 years old as well, just broken in, which is a good thing because it has to last at least another 11 years. Wish it were possible to use these new fangled digital cameras for that long. Of course we do save a packet on film. I used to spend hundreds of dollars -- the price of an A6000 -- on film when I went on long trips.

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