why buy e-mount camera

Jay said:

I take pictures and videos of my kids in the house and at events.

I want the perfect camera where everything is sharp and clear while only using auto. I never really set out to want to learn anything other than point and shoot. But sometimes pictures are too noisy or white balance is bad or just blurry. There never seems to be a camera that provides this just right of everything in auto mode.

I have a65 with sigma 2470 2.8. I am somewhat satisfied but not really. I am intrigued with nex7/6/6000, but I never considered them before due to lack of ibis.

Do I stay where I am or do I try something else?

Thanks in advance!

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You probably can get more out of your current camera by learning more about the settings than worrying about buying a new camera. Sure there might be some settings like faster auto-focus that might help some of your shots (and staying in auto mode) but you might just end up being disappointed since your "issues" might just be simple things that you can improve by learning some more of the basics.

Jay said:

I take pictures and videos of my kids in the house and at events.

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In fairness, and I love my cameras, I wouldn't recommend e-mount to anyone if this is their primary shooting focus. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I can't recommend it.

Member said:

I want the perfect camera

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don't we all!!

Member said:

where everything is sharp and clear while only using auto. I never really set out to want to learn anything other than point and shoot. But sometimes pictures are too noisy or white balance is bad or just blurry.

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Get to know your camera a little better, and the results will come.

Member said:

There never seems to be a camera that provides this just right of everything in auto mode.

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There may never be

Member said:

I have a65 with sigma 2470 2.8. I am somewhat satisfied but not really. I am intrigued with nex7/6/6000, but I never considered them before due to lack of ibis.

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I'd stick with the a65 for what you want to shoot.

Member said:

Do I stay where I am or do I try something else?

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I'd stay where you are.

Best of luck!

"I take pictures and videos of my kids in the house and at events."

I have more cameras than anyone probably really should. Let me tell you, the one I pick up for kids around the house and events is my A65. (with 18-135 lens)

I highly recommend learning to use your A65 a bit better if you aren't quite getting what you want.

To make it easy. Center point focus. Just point at what the subject is. Half press to focus, when the indication is the focus is good, full press.

Aperture mode. Full open most of the the time - unless for composition you want to have more depth of field. Then usually f/8.

Indoors. Set ISO to 1600 or 3200. That keeps the shutter speed fast enough for most activities. If the kids are not too active, watch the display - if it is 1/60th second, probably okay. For more active, you want 1/120th or faster.

Outdoors dayliight, set ISO to 100 or 200. Again watch the shutter speed.

Set the white balance to Auto most of the time. Pay attention to the display. If the colors are coming out weird, change the white balance.

I also have a NEX7. Also very good. But AF speed is not nearly as fast as the A65 so it is not an ideal camera for photos of children. I have lots of blurry photos of my kids from my NEX7. Very few blurry photos from my A65. I suppose the very newest NEXs are better but as someone who already has an A65, there is no reason to be thinking of getting another NEX. Anything I would be doing wrong to get poor photos with my A65 I would also be doing wrong with a new NEX.

Member said:

Jay wrote: I take pictures and videos of my kids in the house and at events. I want the perfect camera where everything is sharp and clear while only using auto.

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Point/Shoot has smaller sensor that result in deeper Depth of Field so everything within it is sharp.

"While only using AUTO" - definitely stick with a point/shoot

Member said:

I never really set out to want to learn anything other than point and shoot.

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Most definitely a Point/Shooter. Since you already have a RX100, why not just USE IT?

I don't think Sony a65 nor NEX are a good fit for you. There are many excellent Advance Point Shoot that take better picture than DSLR under AUTO setting:

1. Sony RX100 ...which you already own
2. Richo GR series
3. Panasonic LX series
4. Fuji X100s

You don't need yet another camera, you just need to shoot

Jay said:

I take pictures and videos of my kids in the house and at events.

I want the perfect camera where everything is sharp and clear while only using auto. I never really set out to want to learn anything other than point and shoot. But sometimes pictures are too noisy or white balance is bad or just blurry. There never seems to be a camera that provides this just right of everything in auto mode.

I have a65 with sigma 2470 2.8. I am somewhat satisfied but not really. I am intrigued with nex7/6/6000, but I never considered them before due to lack of ibis.

Do I stay where I am or do I try something else?

Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

I agree that you should just learn how to use your a65. But if you are still looking for a cheap, full time auto mode, razor fast auto-focusing camera that seems to pick the correct aperture and white balance every time. Perhaps the $200 Nikon J1 is what you seek.

You might consider the non ilc cameras. The only thing on your list you need an slr or ilc for is the larger sensor and that can be had in a poont and shoot. They are designed more for what you want. You will still miss shots and not know why nut probably fewer.
--
Shoot babies to fight infant eye cancer.

in auto A6000 will be a huge improvement for video over your existing camera, if you are not into manual focus or colour grading there is no better camera.

Also look at Lumix G6 this will get even sharper video and very good autofocus rather than excellent auto of the A6000.

Get stabilized lenses -kit lens is a good start. While many people criticise Sony for lack of lenses, there is no real competition in some areas like the good value SEL3518 -who else is doing a value 35mm 1.8 that has OSS?

Of course E mount APSC main problem is lack of good value (not Zeiss) lens choices as Sony are concentrating on FE full frame mounts but of course you can use these but they are expensive and a bit larger.

Nikon 1 system not good in low light and fast lenses like the 18.5mm are not stabilized, video focus was good but now surpassed by A6000 and G6. I would also suggest LX7 as that has F1.4 zoom and is very good for video at a crazy low price. I just sold my J1 but keeping my LX7.

I love the 18-105mm power zoom. And the original SEL18100 (18-200mm zoom) and the newer 18-200mm power zoom (this one is creeping up in price though). I have to say, though, that the A65 is a capable camera.

Thanks for the detailed comments everyone.

This one caught my eye because my daughter will be upset with me since I had the sal18135, but I sold it since I told her that I never use it in favor of the sigma 2470 2.8. As an auto shooter who wants the best pictures possible, I thought the best way to get there was to go for best light gathering lens (2.8). I had the sal1650, but I always felt like I needed more reach being that I had been using the sal18135. That's how I decided to move to the sigma 2470 2.8.

As for non auto usage, I have gotten to use A mode and toggled the white balance, stopped down to f4, limited iso at times to iso 400 or auto iso. I have gotten nicer looking pictures this way. I have learned to use my camera more. In fact I have to say it's pretty neat and I am excited to have learned a little bit about real slr usage. On the other hand I a very disappointed that it takes too much effort to get there. Why can't it just do these things in auto. I don't want to be always the one taking pictures/ video. I also want to pass it to my wife and be in them too. However, she says my a65 combo is way too heavy and she prefers her iphone5.

This is why I was thinking that a6000 with sel1670z might be up my alley. Or maybe the sel18105 power zoom. The problem here is that I'm unsure about f4. I have read here that some rather stop down get better sharpness. Doing so puts me back into the a65 with sal18135 setup that my 11 year daughter setup that she liked so much. And stopping down to obtain sharpness puts me back into non auto mode.

Anyway, I will try your suggestions. Thanks!

To the other comment about using my rx100, I love the rx100 and your right that it doesn't get nearly as much use maybe due to my false thinking that it can't perform as well in the noise department. But on the whole, it could result in a higher percentage in total satisfaction.

I will try this too. By extension, I should probably get the rx10? This is also a thought I had but after getting to understand in lamens terms the difference of phase cs contrast af, I was thinking it wouldn't be as good to get this. Hence I steered myself towards a6000 again with maybe the power zoom 18105.

Thanks for all the comments!

Jay said:

As for non auto usage, I have gotten to use A mode and toggled the white balance, stopped down to f4, limited iso at times to iso 400 or auto iso. I have gotten nicer looking pictures this way. I have learned to use my camera more. In fact I have to say it's pretty neat and I am excited to have learned a little bit about real slr usage. On the other hand I a very disappointed that it takes too much effort to get there. Why can't it just do these things in auto.

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Because you're the only one who knows what you would like the picture to look like, the only one who knows what your gear - combined - can do, and the only one who knows what conditions you're shooting in.

There are always compromises. Do you prioritize fast shutter speeds and thin DOF at the expense of some sharpness, or the other wise around, etc... and the ones the camera decides to make are not necessarily the ones you would make, especially given that it does not know some of the factors - the body has no idea how good your lenses are at various apertures, for example, so neither can it know how much of a sacrifice it's doing by (not) stopping down.

You can often let it know which of those should be more weight by using various scene modes, but then you're already halfway out of auto.

The auto modes in modern cameras are rather sophisticated and capable of some good results, but they're still just computer programs. They don't think, and they don't have a sense of aesthetics.

The Canon G1X MkII is worth a look as it has a large sensor in reasonable body. Avoid the MkII as clsoe focusing is tricky but the new version has a fast lens and seems to have sorted out the problems in focusing distance.

No EVF though unless you buy it as an accessory which will cost. I had the Mk I and apart from the focusing it was a handy tool. It seems expensive but not when you consider what an f2-3.9, 24-120mm 5x lens plus camera would cost in m43 (which is the sensor size near enough) and also how big it would be. Also 12mp on such a large sensor with f2 means it will not be struggling indoors at high ISO.

Jay said:

I take pictures and videos of my kids in the house and at events.

I want the perfect camera where everything is sharp and clear while only using auto. I never really set out to want to learn anything other than point and shoot. But sometimes pictures are too noisy or white balance is bad or just blurry. There never seems to be a camera that provides this just right of everything in auto mode.

I have a65 with sigma 2470 2.8. I am somewhat satisfied but not really. I am intrigued with nex7/6/6000, but I never considered them before due to lack of ibis.

Do I stay where I am or do I try something else?

Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

Jay,

I previously had the A65, and it is more than a capable camera. My switch to E-mount is primarily subjective to form factor. If you will be concerned about how pictures may come out when other people handle the camera, you'll probably be critical more than half the time. You should give the RX100 more time, and maybe that camera can be the one to be your 'Auto' camera for others. I would always be asked to take the photos during occasions with P&S, I learned long ago not to have expectations of others when they are behind the lens, because our vision of a photo, more likely than not, can differ. Good luck and have a great day.

I think a65 is a capable camera (I have a55). If you shoot indoors/events, chances are that the issue is motion blur, even with a 2.8 lens.

Aperture Priority would be my recommendation, with manual ISO (use ISO to control shutter speed, keeping it at least 1/80s, preferably 1/125s if not higher, to minimize motion blur. It might help a lot if you choose to shoot RAW.

I shoot RAW, and WB is pretty accurate in my a55. With RAW, it doesn't matter anyway, I keep it Auto WB.

For lenses, f/2.8 works okay indoors in decent light but better with external flash (I prefer bounce, HVL20 is my go to flash when not wanting to lug around larger flash units). Ideally, you could consider SAL35... cheap, small and gives you very good quality at 1.8. It would compliment just about any zoom and especially for indoors/events in less than ideal light conditions. In other words, you could have kept 18-135 (a nice general purpose range) and supplemented it with 35/1.8. Even a macro (Sigma 70/2.8 or Tamron 90/2.8) or Sony 85/2.8 for a reasonable price for 1+ stop advantage at short tele range for sone occasions.

I'm not knocking the Sony RX100MII - I have one and love it for most situations, however, putting it in auto and shooting kids running around the house in even moderate light is not a strength of this particular camera at all. It defaults to 1/30s in most indoor situations (in auto) that would be presented by the posters intended use - indoor low light moving kids (assuming without flash). The A65 with a 2.8 I would think would be much better option even in auto mode than the RX100MII.

I had a Canon G series camera for a while a couple of years ago and that did a remarkable job indoors in auto, but the AF was very dissapointing. These are things you learn as you progress through the cycle of cameras over the years; this camera is good at this but not so good at that, while another has got what you wish the other had, but is lousy at something else. Give me the quicker focus of the Sony and the auto mode of the Canon and I think we would have a winner for this type of use the OP wants. But even that wouldn't be better than the A65 and 2.8 glass. I'm sure there is a camera out there that would work great for taking photos of moving kids indoors in auto mode, but I have yet to use it.

I think from your description, using a mirrorless or other slowish CDAF camera would probably be a mistake. The only possible exception might be something like Olympus with a touch/lcd shutter, great face/eye detection and pretty good stabilization.(I mention the touch shutter because it eliminates focus recompose, or fumbling to focus when subject is off-center)

However good the latest Sony A6000 might be, it will still be outperformed by a smaller sensor/lens or by a true PDAF focuser.

If you stick with your A65, you might benefit from an even faster lens. If it has to be a zoom then consider the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 that I see is now available in A mount.

Auto mode really can't be expected to read your mind. If you are shooting indoors, and the light isn't great, you would do better to decide for yourself the better tradeoffs between shutter speed, dof, and noise. I always shoot in manual mode with auto-iso, and constantly adjusting both speed and aperture as needed and let the ISO float.

Oh so you think pdaf will outperform hybrid?

Hybrid across most of the frame with the a6000 is what I was thinking would be the ticket. It's a smaller setup than my a65 setup.

But I am unclear about a6000 using f4 and iso1600/3200 indoor usage. I don't like the a65 iso 3200.

As for rx100, I do find that my a65 2.8 is much better in quality and hit rate. Even so, I wish it were better and that I could just use auto.

I am reluctant to do raw. It's too much work and effort. I spent about half day taking some raw + keg and trying out light room 4 software on a MacBook air. It takes more time to download pics, more disk space, light room takes its time to process and display a comparison. It's just too much headache. Maybe because I'm so green with it. However, just some background about the quantity of what I have. I have a 2+ terabyte photo library running over thunderbolt to a drobo5d. Some of this is various small digital videos.

Iphoto is already so slow enough. I don't know how to even begin to incorporate RAW. My library will exponentially grow. I hate to break up the iPhone library. Even if I did, it would be more mgmt headache. I have a 2nd I photo library of 1.5 terabyte on the drobo5d which only contains avchd/minidv videos (no pictures).

I guess my question is will the a6000 with 18105pz (or sel1670z) be my answer? I've already ruled out any cdaf camera (unless I shouldnt?).

Also if u look at my gear list you'll see that I have had 2 sony primes. They were just too limiting. I've realized that I prefer to use just 1 lense.

Jay said:

I take pictures and videos of my kids in the house and at events.

I want the perfect camera where everything is sharp and clear while only using auto. I never really set out to want to learn anything other than point and shoot.

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people have addressed the stills portion of this in detail.

wrt shooting video in automatic mode, i'd suggest getting a cheap hd camcorder... it'll have a small purpose-built sensor that'll give you more dof than a still camera, much better image stabilization than you'll ever get on any still camera, and a real video lens, that has a zoom rocker switch, and better parfocal capability than you'll ever find on any still camera.

the same technological advances that have benefited our still cameras so much have also been engineered into these tiny camcorders... they have good autofocus, and good auto mode options, that really work.

the right model will also have full manual control, if you need it, and you know how to use it.

shooting video in manual mode is not the same thing as shooting stills in manual mode, it's a different set of priorities.

Jay said:

I take pictures and videos of my kids in the house and at events.

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This forum is the wrong place to look for an all-auto indoor kid-photographing tool.

My money would be on an expensive compact with a really bright aperture lens and a really small sensor...

Then test it in your own house to see how its whitebalance copes with your particular mix of loghting.