Sony A6000

Still love it though. Never ending love affair , thats y i considerd the xpro but need a diff cam too so yes the Sony A6000 fuji x100 and Nikon d3300 nice mix lol
 
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I've been using a NEX-5, which I upgraded to using the Zeiss 16-70 F4 lens.
I've been looking to get an A6000 body and the current cashback swayed the deal.
Initial tests show excellent IQ (I have a DSLR system as well so the A6000 is for when I don't want to take the full kit) but there is one thing that is bugging me - the LCD screen seems to be "ON" all the time and I cannot find a way of limiting the display time in the setup menu.
I guess if all fails I need to RTFM but can anyone give me a quick pointer as to where in the menu I can set the "LCD on" time?
As an "old school" shooter I prefer to use the viewfinder, and I have it set to automatically switch between the LCD and the EVF.
 
Brian G said:
I've been using a NEX-5, which I upgraded to using the Zeiss 16-70 F4 lens.
I've been looking to get an A6000 body and the current cashback swayed the deal.
Initial tests show excellent IQ (I have a DSLR system as well so the A6000 is for when I don't want to take the full kit) but there is one thing that is bugging me - the LCD screen seems to be "ON" all the time and I cannot find a way of limiting the display time in the setup menu.
I guess if all fails I need to RTFM but can anyone give me a quick pointer as to where in the menu I can set the "LCD on" time?
As an "old school" shooter I prefer to use the viewfinder, and I have it set to automatically switch between the LCD and the EVF.
Click to expand...

Theres no LCD on time, its either on/off/ eye sensor. Not sure if the LCD turns off completely or it just goes 'black'.
 
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It has an auto switch sensor but you can set either to be always on in the menu. The sensor is very sensitive so I cover exactly half of it with a small piece of black tape and does the trick.
 
twist said:
Theres no LCD on time, its either on/off/ eye sensor. Not sure if the LCD turns off completely or it just goes 'black'.
Click to expand...
That's a bit rubbish then.
On most cameras you can set how long the viewfinder remains active after you've pressed the preview button.

gman said:
It has an auto switch sensor but you can set either to be always on in the menu. The sensor is very sensitive so I cover exactly half of it with a small piece of black tape and does the trick.
Click to expand...
But isn't that just to switch to the VF from the LCD screen?
You cannot actually set how long the VF/LCD remains on after you half press the shutter release?
I prefer the VF for shooting, but the LCD for the menu settings, and it seems you cannot have both.
Seems like an awful waste of battery power if the LCD is on all the time - as mine appears to be.
I went from full charge to empty in less than 100 shots which is definitely not as claimed, and I want to know what I'm doing wrong.
With the NEX 5 I can get well over 200 shots per battery charge.
 
Brian G said:
That's a bit rubbish then.
On most cameras you can set how long the viewfinder remains active after you've pressed the preview button.


But isn't that just to switch to the VF from the LCD screen?
You cannot actually set how long the VF/LCD remains on after you half press the shutter release?
I prefer the VF for shooting, but the LCD for the menu settings, and it seems you cannot have both.
Seems like an awful waste of battery power if the LCD is on all the time - as mine appears to be.
I went from full charge to empty in less than 100 shots which is definitely not as claimed, and I want to know what I'm doing wrong.
With the NEX 5 I can get well over 200 shots per battery charge.
Click to expand...

Can you? I've used a lot of cameras and I can't remember seeing a duration setting.
 
twist said:
Can you? I've used a lot of cameras and I can't remember seeing a duration setting.
Click to expand...
On the NEX 5N there is a "Power Save" setting which shuts the screen (& camera) down after a selectable period of time (10 sec, 20 sec, 1 min, 5 min, 30 min) and on my 70D I can "Auto Power Off" after 1, 2, 4, 8, 15 or 30 min., my 6D has similar options.
The A6000 is the first camera I have come across that doesn't have this feature, which appears to be why I am getting such poor battery life when using it.
 
Brian G said:
On the NEX 5N there is a "Power Save" setting which shuts the screen (& camera) down after a selectable period of time (10 sec, 20 sec, 1 min, 5 min, 30 min) and on my 70D I can "Auto Power Off" after 1, 2, 4, 8, 15 or 30 min., my 6D has similar options.
The A6000 is the first camera I have come across that doesn't have this feature, which appears to be why I am getting such poor battery life when using it.
Click to expand...

But those options dont just turn the LCD off, they turn the camera off also, in which case its just as easy to switch it off?
 
twist said:
But those options dont just turn the LCD off, they turn the camera off also, in which case its just as easy to switch it off?
Click to expand...
Nope.
In power down mode all you need to do is touch the shutter release and it wakes up, whereas turning the power on and off means it has to go through it's startup cycle, sensor cleaning etc every time, which can miss you a shot if you're in a hurry.
 
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Brian G said:
Nope.
In power down mode all you need to do is touch the shutter release and it wakes up, whereas turning the power on and off means it has to go through it startup cycle, sensor cleaning etc every time, which can miss you a shot if you're in a hurry.
Click to expand...

Walk with your finger on the switch if it bothers you. By the time youve got it at eye level it wouldve completed the startup cycle or change the view mode to EVF only. Theres no standby timer.

Also, put it in airplane mode.
 
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Turning wireless off helped my battery life considerably .
 
Thanks guys,

I presume that "Airplane mode" is wireless OFF? which I have selected, otherwise there doesn't appear to be a Wireless On/Off selection in the menu.

There is also a setting that says "Pwr Save Start Time" which is set to 1 min, and is what I would have expected to shut the LCD screen off after the specified time, but it does not, so I'm puzzled by that.
What other function does "Pwr Save" do, if it doesn't turn the screen (or the complete camera) off?
Although, playing with it this morning (after setting "Airplane Mode") the thing does seem to power down after 1 minute, and wake up with a press of the shutter button, which is what I was expecting it to do.
It was just that, the first time I used it last Saturday, the LCD screen seemed to be on all the time, and I used up the fully charged battery in less than 100 shots, although I do know that batteries take a few charge/discharge cycles before they reach full capacity.

BTW, in the manual it quotes power consumption using viewfinder as slightly higher than the LCD screen (2.8 W against 2.4 W respectively) so having the screen on is slightly better than setting to VF only.
 
Brian G said:
Thanks guys,

I presume that "Airplane mode" is wireless OFF? which I have selected, otherwise there doesn't appear to be a Wireless On/Off selection in the menu.

There is also a setting that says "Pwr Save Start Time" which is set to 1 min, and is what I would have expected to shut the LCD screen off after the specified time, but it does not, so I'm puzzled by that.
What other function does "Pwr Save" do, if it doesn't turn the screen (or the complete camera) off?
Although, playing with it this morning (after setting "Airplane Mode") the thing does seem to power down after 1 minute, and wake up with a press of the shutter button, which is what I was expecting it to do.
It was just that, the first time I used it last Saturday, the LCD screen seemed to be on all the time, and I used up the fully charged battery in less than 100 shots, although I do know that batteries take a few charge/discharge cycles before they reach full capacity.

BTW, in the manual it quotes power consumption using viewfinder as slightly higher than the LCD screen (2.8 W against 2.4 W respectively) so having the screen on is slightly better than setting to VF only.
Click to expand...

Yup, airplane mode is all wireless connections, NFC, wifi etc. so that should save you quite a lot of battery. Turn off remote control mode and power save should work ;)

Wonder if airplane mode turned off remote mode so in turn allowed it to 'power save'.

Good result though.
 
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twist said:
Yup, airplane mode is all wireless connections, NFC, wifi etc. so that should save you quite a lot of battery. Turn off remote control mode and power save should work ;)

Wonder if airplane mode turned off remote mode so in turn allowed it to 'power save'.

Good result though.
Click to expand...
Yes - I was wondering about that too.
I'll have to experiment with different settings when I get a few minutes - meanwhile it seems to be doing what I want it to and I don't particularly need the wireless connection, although NFC might be useful on occasions.

Thanks for the help.
 
Bit of a thread revival but does anybody use the Sony 16-70mm f4 OSS Zeiss lens? I'm thinking about partnering this with an A6000 as a cover-all backup for my A7R and 55/1.8.
 
paulcamcas said:
Bit of a thread revival but does anybody use the Sony 16-70mm f4 OSS Zeiss lens? I'm thinking about partnering this with an A6000 as a cover-all backup for my A7R and 55/1.8.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm using that combination.
What can I help you with?
 
Hi Brian. Do you find the combo well-balanced weight-wise? Do you think the AF would be up to kids in the garden? Have you used the longer length for portraits? Is the lens worth the money - bearing in mind that I'm a cheapskate so will be buying used :)

Many thanks in advance... Paul
 
Evening all, current line up is an A6000 with 35 f1.8, 50 f1.8, 55-210 and a 12mm Samyang, been a couple of occasions lately where a larger flash would have been a big help. What options are there for the A6000? I was hoping Yongnuo would do a clone as this will get very little use but not found one.
 
I use a Nissin i40. Size is okay and performance fine for me. Tilt and swivel. TTL and high speed sync. Easy controls.
 
paulcamcas said:
Hi Brian. Do you find the combo well-balanced weight-wise? Do you think the AF would be up to kids in the garden? Have you used the longer length for portraits? Is the lens worth the money - bearing in mind that I'm a cheapskate so will be buying used :)

Many thanks in advance... Paul
Click to expand...
I originally had the NEX-5N with kit lens and I got the Zeiss for the increased range at both ends of the zoom.
On the A6000 the 16-70 is a nice compact, well balanced combo, and I like the constant F4 max at all Focal Lengths.
I've not used the combination very much so far, but I was experimenting with tracking a moving vehicle through a bend (at about 45-50mph) the other day, and it worked extremely well, the servo AF seems fast and responsive.
In fact, I know of a professional photographer who shoots moving cars for a magazine using this combo.
I would have thought it would be fine for tracking kids in the garden, although I have not specifically tried that yet.

I've not tried portraits with the setup, but with the long end being the equivalent of 105mm in FF terms, it should be ideal, and F4 should give a reasonably blurred background.

The words "Cheapskate" and "Sony 16-70mm f4 OSS Zeiss lens" don't exactly fit together.
For what it is the 16-70 is pretty expensive, and I agonised for ages as to whether it offered VFM.
On the original NEX-5 there wasn't much difference in IQ over the (stopped down) kit lens.
I've been taking a series of shots to compare with my Canon 6D full frame, but a recent spell of ill-health has prevented me from producing any definitive answers IQ-wise.
I don't know what the S/H prices are like, but the Zeiss is a pretty expensive piece of kit, although I find it a perfect "walk around" lens with the A6000.
 
Thanks Brian. Very good of you to pass on so much helpful info. I think it will do the job I need perfectly. I've been lucky enough to find one second-hand at a fair price so I'll be able to try it for myself in a day or two.

Thank you again.
 
I have used the 55 1.8 zeiss on my A6000 and as you would expect the IQ is superb and those lovely zeiss colours.

However I do question if is good value against the Sony 50mm 1.8 which is about 1/3 rd the price ?

The Sony is also an extremely good lens and you get OSS which the zeiss does not have.
 
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badlywornroy said:
I have used the 55 1.8 zeiss on my A6000 and as you would expect the IQ is superb and those lovely zeiss colours.

However I do question if is good value against the Sony 50mm 1.8 which is about 1/3 rd the price ?

The Sony is also an extremely good lens and you get OSS which the zeiss does not have.
Click to expand...

I already have the zeiss for my a7. So on the cropped body a600 I'll get 82mm 1.8.
So 2 focal lengths from one awesome lens. Pretty good value.
 
addicknchips said:
I already have the zeiss for my a7. So on the cropped body a600 I'll get 82mm 1.8.
So 2 focal lengths from one awesome lens. Pretty good value.
Click to expand...

Youll get 82mm F2.6 ish equiv in terms of DOF.
 
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QUOTE="addicknchips, post: 7012235, member: 19339"]I already have the zeiss for my a7. So on the cropped body a600 I'll get 82mm 1.8.
So 2 focal lengths from one awesome lens. Pretty good value.[/QUOTE]

I didn't realise you already owned the zeiss 55mm ! You are a lucky boy. :)
 
badlywornroy said:
QUOTE="addicknchips, post: 7012235, member: 19339"]I already have the zeiss for my a7. So on the cropped body a600 I'll get 82mm 1.8.
So 2 focal lengths from one awesome lens. Pretty good value.
Click to expand...

I didn't realise you already owned the zeiss 55mm ! You are a lucky boy. :)[/QUOTE]

Picked it up at a reasonable price. Worth every penny.
 
SsSsSsSsSnake said:
Thanks Twist,been looking at some photos on Flikr A6000 with kit and they look amazing.
Click to expand...

Sssnake how are you getting on with the a6000? I thought you were going Fuji? Anyway...

I've been looking at the a6000 but the one thing that annoys me is they took the electronic level off of this cam (like an electronic spirit level) which I find really useful. Apparently the video is quite nice as well, so a great, small, lightweight mirrorless CSC, but....reading reviews shows the 16-50 kit lens to be rather average. This is a shame as it's so small.

I'm in two minds as to whether to get it but it would mean full commitment to Sony from me, and I want a walkabout kit lens focal length that is good quality, but not too big. What is the 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 like?
 
I just saw that the Sony a7000 seems to have been rumoured for some time as well but nothing to show for it except rumours? I wonder if it will come and if it will have IBIS.
 
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