Seeking advice on lenses to use with Sony a6000

[Pixeldust85]

Hello all,

After carefully deliberating for two weeks between the RX100 MK3, a6000, and a7. I have decided to go with the a6000 because it seems to be a balance between the other two, a fair compromise to the a7's hefty price tag.

So, I just picked up a Sony a6000 kit today and I was wondering if I could get suggestions/advice on what lens(es) would be a good addition to the camera, as I am not entirely happy with the kit lens. I'm more of a hobbyist/amateur photographer than anything else. I tend to mainly photograph nature, still life, and animals that don't always sit still for very long (I guess this would be considered action?) I've owned a Nikon D7000 for 4 years and I rarely ever changed out from using my Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G lens, except on a few rare occasions.

My budget would be around $900, whether it be 2 additional lenses or just a single lens to complement the kit lens. I'm looking for quality glass that will be able to handle my photography style mentioned above.

Lastly, I know there's a few threads/questions similar to the one I am posting and I've read a few of them. But everyone has a different style and budget and I'm not sure that the suggestions posted in those threads would be the same recommendations that y'all would give me.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Skulls]

I would go with FE lenses. I got my a6000 with FE 24-70 Zeiss and i'm very happy with the quality. I was so happy that I couldn't wait to get back to the store and get the FE 70-200 Sony.
I had the same dilemma as you and finally have decided that the full frame a7/r/s are too early in the making, and the price is too high for now. But sooner or later I will buy a FF mirror-less Sony so I will need a FF lenses.

The Photokina is almost around the corner. My wild guess is a new FF body or new lens additions from Sony/Zeiss.

Anyways, my advice is do not get stuck with E-mount only - think in perspective.

Cheers!

 

[SmoothGlass]

Hello all,

After carefully deliberating for two weeks between the RX100 MK3, a6000, and a7. I have decided to go with the a6000 because it seems to be a balance between the other two, a fair compromise to the a7's hefty price tag.

So, I just picked up a Sony a6000 kit today and I was wondering if I could get suggestions/advice on what lens(es) would be a good addition to the camera, as I am not entirely happy with the kit lens. I'm more of a hobbyist/amateur photographer than anything else. I tend to mainly photograph nature, still life, and animals that don't always sit still for very long (I guess this would be considered action?) I've owned a Nikon D7000 for 4 years and I rarely ever changed out from using my Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G lens, except on a few rare occasions.

My budget would be around $900, whether it be 2 additional lenses or just a single lens to complement the kit lens. I'm looking for quality glass that will be able to handle my photography style mentioned above.

Lastly, I know there's a few threads/questions similar to the one I am posting and I've read a few of them. But everyone has a different style and budget and I'm not sure that the suggestions posted in those threads would be the same recommendations that y'all would give me.

Thanks in advance!

Unlike some people who ignored your budget, I'm gonna stay within it.

You seem to like your 85mm/3.5G a lot. For Sony E-mount, the 18-105G f/4 is the best affordable lens for that focal length that still has autofocus. Samyang 85/1.4 is manual focus and really meant more for portraits.

There are also some E-mount 18-200 super zooms, but as you can guess, they are optically compromised. But if you need more than 105 you may want to consider the Sony 18-200 which is about as sharp as the 55-210 at 200mm anyway.

 

[jeff21up]

Agree with smoothglass, tho if you can push the budget just a little or find a good used example, i believe the 70-200 would be a great choice

 

[Dirk W]

I would recommend starting with the 50 f1.8 as add-on to the kit lens. Since you used the 85 most of the time, the 50 comes closest, has crop reserve on the 6000 to get even closer to 85 and has a fantastic IQ for a decent price.

 

[SmoothGlass]

I would recommend starting with the 50 f1.8 as add-on to the kit lens. Since you used the 85 most of the time, the 50 comes closest, has crop reserve on the 6000 to get even closer to 85 and has a fantastic IQ for a decent price.

The D7000 is not a FX (full frame) camera. Like the a6000, the D7000 is a DX/APS-C camera with 1.5x crop factor. 85mm on D7000 = 85mm on a6000.

 

[Dirk W]

I know. But the D7000 has 16mp and the A6000 24mp so if he needs there is crop reserve to get closer to 85 equivalent with similar resolution.

 

[SmoothGlass]

I know. But the D7000 has 16mp and the A6000 24mp so if he needs there is crop reserve to get closer to 85 equivalent with similar resolution.

I'm sorry but that makes little sense to me and the D7000's MP is irrelevant when talking about comparing a D7000 + 85/3.5 (what he has) to an a6000 + 50/1.8 (what you propose). He can get both lenses if he wants a 50/1.8 OSS which I agree is a good lens. But if he pretty much lives at 85mm for almost all of his shots, then he should get a lens capable of that, rather than cropping most of his images and tossing away data. Yes he can simulate a longer focal length that way, but at the expense of more noise thanks to all that sacrificed data.

 

[Dirk W]

The TO did not ask for a recommendation for an 85mm lens for the A6000. I only wrote that the 50 is a good and affordable lens that comes close to his previous setup. If it doesn't make sense to you, ok. I hope it makes sense to the TO.

 

[Ralph46]

Hi,

I always believe in getting the best value possible, and in this case, particularly for animals, I consider it to be the Sony 55-210 mm tele. Amazing lens for about 250 dollars. Only f/6.3 at full stretch but don't let that put you off - the a6000 is fine to ISO 1600 (unheard of a few years ago) and the OSS stabilization gives you an extra 2 - 3 stops. It is so light at 340g that you don't notice carrying it.

You should even have enough left in your budget for a 50 mm f/1.8 to round things off.

I don't agree with having to buy FE lenses at any price. They are bigger, heavier and more expensive. Since the advent of the full frame e-mount cameras there are enough people here that do not apparently think that you can use anything else. A few years ago FF was rare and much more expensive and really almost completely reserved for pros. Thanks to progress, today's APS-C cameras are as good or even better. Seeing your brief profile, I recommend that you commit to APS-C which is capable of outstanding results if used well. Saves you lots of money, weight and bulk and means that you will probably use it more often.

I advise against an 18 -200 mm solution. I have compared to the 16-50(or 18-55) + 55-210 variant and the 2 lens setup wins hands down. Not unexpectedly. Also the 18-200 mm is always bulky. For social or city shots you can just go with one of the standard kit lenses and almost pocket the camera. There are regular posts here that both kit lenses are hardly worse than the Sony Zeiss 16-70 mm for about 800 dollars or more. I can't judge that for lack of the 16-70 but I do know that both kit lenses are very capable (unless you have a bad copy).

Cheers,

Ralph

 

[Jesper Frickmann]

I have the 16-70 Zeiss zoom, and it is a great lens, I can highly recommend it. You may get lucky and find one on sale for under $900. I paid $750+tax on a three-day sale on Sony USA's website right after Xmas last year.

If you would rather have a long-ish prime lens like your Nikon 85mm, then the choices are Sony's 50mm and Sigma's 60mm. Both very good and reasonably priced lenses, from what I hear.