Sony a6000 Kit for Travelling on a Gap Year

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iaminneedofhelp

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Hi,
I've been trying to sort out this issue for quite a while now, but haven never come to a firm decision.
In September I am leaving for my Gap Year (I will be away from home for around 10 months) and want to take a camera. We are backpacking around South America, Australia and South East Asia.

I'm not an expert photographer and so only, currently, have a Canon 550D with a 18-55mm Kit Lens and an old 28-105mm USM lens (very heavy). I don't think that taking my DSLR with me and having the responsibility of it, the weight of it and the size of it for a whole 11 months would be a wise choice (please correct me if you think I am very wrong).

I have therefore decided to take a Sony a6000 as my camera (again, please correct me if you think there's a better option for me (below £500)). It's got an EVF (which I think is essential) and allows you to easily customise more settings than a simple point-and-shoot. I really want this level of control after having gotten use to my Canon DSLR.

I have now started looking at lenses but have encountered a few problems. I don't want the 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 Kit Lens so I need to find one or two other good quality lenses that:
  1. Produce high quality photos
  2. Are versatile enough to be sufficient for most of the stuff I want to do (street photography, landscapes, general touristy photography but I'm not too bothered about niche stuff like wildlife photography).
  3. Are cheap (after the camera I only have a limited budget of around £250 to spend on lenses)
I looked around and was not sure about the Sigma 30mm f2.8 DN Art (produces good quality photos, has a relatively low max. aperture at f2.8 but is a prime and doesn't utilise the 179 phase autofocus points of the Sony). This would be equivalent to a 45mm on a full frame.

What are your guys opinions on this lens? Is there a better lens you could recommend for my price range? Is a prime a good idea to take travelling with me for 11 months? Should I just go with the kit lens, sacrificing quality for a faster focus and greater versatility? Could I buy the Sony a6000 with the Kit Lens and then get the Sigma on top of that?

Any comments are much appreciated!

Regards,
iaminneedofhelp
 
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How about:

Canon m3 with 18-55mm kit lens and evf £500 less current £45 canon cashback.

22mm f2 prime lens. Approx £70 2nd hand (ebay).

Would cost you just over £500 and give you th3 best of both worlds
 
Sounds good but not sure about the slower focus, the heaver weight and the external EVF (especially while travelling). Honestly, I don't thing I'll be a big fan of the Canon.

The 22mm f2 prime lens sounds perfect so anything like that, just in whichever brand I end up choosing, would be good.

What can you recommend?

Thanks!
 
The Sony will be fine for what you want, in fact pretty much any camera will. I would also look at micro four thirds (Olympus and Panasonic) as the lenses are a little smaller and image quality is equally fantastic.

Travelling brings problems other than size and weight and power is top of that list, it isn't typically a problem with a DSLR as batteries last for ever but mirrorless system cameras chew through them at an amazing rate, probably two a day if you are doing a lot of shooting, maybe more.

The best thing I have found for travelling is a USB powered battery charger and a USB plug such as this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B011KPRE1G/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1467181980&sr=1&keywords=usb+plug which comes with plug adapters so will work everywhere.

Now all my charging can be done via one plug (camera, phone, ipad, Macbook) and ALSO I carry a beefy power pack which will charge all of my kit in emergencies.

So, my advice would be that any camera would do but make sure you can get a USB powered charger.
 
iaminneedofhelp said:
Sounds good but not sure about the slower focus, the heaver weight and the external EVF (especially while travelling). Honestly, I don't thing I'll be a big fan of the Canon.

The 22mm f2 prime lens sounds perfect so anything like that, just in whichever brand I end up choosing, would be good.

What can you recommend?

Thanks!
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Slower focus shouldn't be an issue as you've stated you see not trying to take photos of wildlife and I assume not sport either. I would have thought the canon would be a great option as you have a canon dslr so the controls should seem familiar.

It all depends on your budget (you said £500 but then talk about other lenses on top).

Have you been to a shop to test them all out? I'd just buy whichever feels right as already stated any similar camera would be OK for the purposes you have described
 
Why don't you want the kit lens? For its tiny size and weight it should be the first lens in your bag. The results are perfectly fine so long as you know it doesn't have a very fast aperture. I'd expect it to be pretty sunny where you're travelling so that's not going to be an issue! As a second lens I'd recommend the Sony 50/1.8 because it's not much bigger than the kit but gives you much better low light performance. lastly, I'd recommend the Samyang 12mm as an ultrawide landscape lens. It's also not much bigger than the kit lens but offers F2 and a very wide field of view and uses small/cheap 67mm filters.

I use all 3 lenses on my A6000 and would happily recommend them all. I took all 3 and the A6K on a 2 week holiday in Florida last year (not backpacking but just as grueling if you've ever done 12 days in Disney parks!) and their size/weight is perfect. I use a Capture Clip to attach the camera to my belt so no neck or sling strap getting in the way, throw a couple of batteries in my pocket and carry the other lenses in the side pocket of my rucksack and forgot they were there most days.
 
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mike_6480 said:
Slower focus shouldn't be an issue as you've stated you see not trying to take photos of wildlife and I assume not sport either. I would have thought the canon would be a great option as you have a canon dslr so the controls should seem familiar.
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Ok, after having looked at the Canon EOS M3 in more detail it seems like a good option that I will consider - the largest downside for me is the pricey external EVF. I've never been a fan of shooting on LCD screens. I do agree though that it's a good option seeing as I'm used to the Canon controls.

Nawty said:
So, my advice would be that any camera would do but make sure you can get a USB powered charger.
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Will take this advice for sure, thank you!

stevelmx5 said:
As a second lens I'd recommend the Sony 50/1.8
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I think, if I go with the Sony a6000, I will end up buying the kit lens with it. As a second lens, however, on an APS-C sensor, would the 50mm be too close? Also, it's pretty expensive. What do you think about the Sony FE 28mm f2.0 lens? Or the one in my original post, the Sigma 30mm f2.8? Is f2.8 too slow for most low-light scenarios?
 
The 50mm FOV on crop is slightly long for any full length shots unless you've got space to move back. For portraits though it's an excellent focal length. I only ever used the original Sigma 30/2.8 (not the Art version) on my old NEX5 and found the focus was frustratingly slow. I originally had the Sigma 60/2.8 on my A6K which is a very sharp lens but again, the focus is slower than the 50, it's a longer focal length and doesn't have as fast an aperture. As a result, I sold the Sigma and bought a S/H Sony 50/1.8 and it's been great.

With regards to the 28/2, I've read that it's a very good lens but have never used it. Focal length is a personal thing though so the best person to decide which is best is you :0)
 
iaminneedofhelp said:
Ok, after having looked at the Canon EOS M3 in more detail it seems like a good option that I will consider - the largest downside for me is the pricey external EVF. I've never been a fan of shooting on LCD screens. I do agree though that it's a good option seeing as I'm used to the Canon controls.
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Canon M3 with EVF = £500 (e.g. from Wex) with £45 cashback on offer at the moment.
Best price for sony a6000 with kit lens is £489 (per camerapricebuster.com)

Therefore they are roughly the same price, or the canon is cheaper with cashback. I agree the EVF is expensive separately, but if you definitely want it you'd surely buy with the camera? Therefore it only costs approx £70. Obviously some of the cost already included in the sony price is for the built in EVF.

I do agree that the Canon M3 EVF does make the camera more bulky (and hence why I'm in the process of selling mine, as I don't think I'd ever use it, so that my M3 should only cost circa £300 for just the camera)
 
Personally I think that the Canon M system is (arguably) pretty much dead in the water and I wouldn't consider buying into the system.

For a compact RF style CSC I'd look to Sony or MFT rather than Canon M every single time.

I have MFT but I also have a Sony A7 and it has a couple of features that I love, namely the ability to use auto ISO and be able to dial in exposure compensation in all modes and also the constant exposure and DoF preview. These are abilities that my Panasonic MFT cameras don't have but are available with the A6xxx system and if just buying into a system today I'd therefore balance these abilities against MFT's excellent lens line up. I think it would be a close call for me between the two systems but I'd place both the Sony A6xxx series and MFT way ahead of the Canon M system. Just my opinion. YMMV.
 
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My colleagues daughter and her friend had a gap year and went were you are going.
After 3 days in South America her little P&S camera got nicked ( bag stolen off her shoulder).
Take something small and unobtrusive that you can afford to loose, you will in all probability be uploading pix to Facebook from the local internet cafe not producing photographic masterpieces
 
troutfisher said:
Take something small and unobtrusive that you can afford to loose, you will in all probability be uploading pix to Facebook from the local internet cafe not producing photographic masterpieces
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Do people not travel all the time with larger, more obtrusive mirrorless cameras or DSLRs?
 
iaminneedofhelp said:
Do people not travel all the time with larger, more obtrusive mirrorless cameras or DSLRs?
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I've been all over the world with all sorts of camera kit and never had any issues, at times you need to be sensible but they are few and far between.

And, I would rather take the opportunity to take some amazing photos with decent gear than miss that on the fear of things getting nicked. Live life to the full, not to the worst case scenario.
 
The Sigma 30mm has been glued to my A6000 since I bought it. It's fine for just about everything. And sharp as hell. Don't let the 2.8 put you off, the A6000 covers that.
I recently bought a 55-210mm just for some close up people shots.
Both nice lenses and both cheap second hand (£80 ish)
 
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I recently got a Sony A6000 for video and love it. Dont like that it doesnt have a mic input
 
davek said:
The Sigma 30mm has been glued to my A6000 since I bought it. It's fine for just about everything.
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You don't mind/notice the slightly slower AF due to the lens only being compatible with the contrast detection AF points, not the phase detection AF points?
 
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No. In AF-S it is as fast as you need. In AF-C you get PDAF in the centre square if you want to keep up with a moving target (ie moving the camera to keep the subject in the centre.)
You have face detection throughout.
Focus speed/point is not a problem with the Sigma 30mm. - and also you don't get the annoying (on/off) delay that comes with the kit lens.
And did I mention, it's Sharp!(-:

And the A6000 is a great camera. Once set up to your taste (many options), you rarely (never) have to go in to the menus, so everything is just a button away.
 
I've just got an adapter to use my Nikon lenses. They perform beautifully on it ! The focus peaking and magnification are utter superb.

Why can't Nikon include peaking etc it's totally retarded
 
Beginning to think I should look at the A7rII again now lol
 
I had the Sony a6000 a few months ago paired with a Sigma 60mm and the image that this duo produced was stunning much better than any of my Canon DSLR's combined with many L lenses. I also used MF lenses Vintage Minolta which gave some very nice results also but you loose the AF which is a problem to some people but with Focus peaking it was a joy to use.

The only Negative thing I can say and this is my opinion is the Sony Menu system nowhere near as good as canons.
 
Personally, if you are getting the kit lens I wouldn't bother with the 30mm, f/2.8 isn't really enough of a benefit to be worth using over the kit lens (for me).

If you are going to have a prime you want a fast prime, f/1.8 or quicker.
 
I suppose it depends what light you are shooting in and what aperture the kit lens is at. If at f5.6 and shooting indoors of an evening you can soon hit very high ISO's or useless shutter speeds and a prime of even f2.8 could help a lot.
 
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