A6000 Lens for Disney Trip

[TurboProp87]

I've had the a6000 for a few years and have mostly used only the kit lens. I did have the Sigma 30 f1.4, which was a great lens, but I left it at a party never to be seen again.

I will be taking the kids to Disney next month and have started looking at some other lenses.

The SEL18-105 seems to be highly recommended but seems rather large and lacks the IQ of a prime lens.

If I'm willing to spend ~$600, what would be the best lens(es) to purchase for my trip?

 

[Boolda]

Your obvious choice for Disneyland will be Sigma 16 1.4, Zeiss 24 1.8 or. Sony 24mm 1.4 GM, Sigma 30 1.4 is also wonderful lens if you can move back a bit. I will stay away from Zooms, but if you have to get one then get 16-35 f2.8 or Tamron 17-28 2.8. The IQ will not be as good as on FF but they will work in a pinch. I will never buy an APSC only zoom.

 

[The Ryantist]

I've had both the 18-105 and the 18-135. The 18-135 is smaller and lighter (because it's f/5.6 at the long end), and I like it much better for a travel lens. (I shoot mostly stills, the 18-105 was designed for video). During the day, I'm often at f/8 anyway, so f/4 doesn't matter to me. And at night, often even f/4 isn't fast enough, so I often use fast primes for that.

The 18-105, 18-135, and 16-70 have been debated to death on this forum. I think as far as image quality, they're all close enough in the real world. My 18-105 had slightly better corners at the wide end, the 18-135 has better contrast and is sharper at the telephoto end. I kept the 18-135 based on it's focal range, price, size, weight, and handling.

Oh, and maximum magnification:

• 18-135 is 0.29x
• 16-70 is 0.23x
• 18-105 is 0.11x (this was frustrating at times)

 

[BubbaBob]

If I could have only ONE travel lens it would be the 18-135. You'd have enough left over for a Samyang 12mm f/2 to take care of the really wide stuff.

 

[splashy]

Consider the 28mm F2.

Or a zoom with low F stop.

 

[liopleurodon]

Sony APS-C really has a weak lens lineup lacking anything good for this use. The new 16-55 would be awesome, but way out of your budget. I'd go for an 18-135 out of Sony's zooms and add a cheap small flash like the Godox TT350s. For must stuff at Disney you'll be staying in the 18-45 range. I wouldn't go for anything unstabilized on your a6000. You'll want to take photos at night and OSS will help you keep shutter speeds down. Also buy spare batteries if you don't have them. Just be prepared that if you want to shoot/film any darker rides (Pirates, Frozen Ever After, etc) the 18-135 (or any APS-C zoom outside of the 16-55) will fail to give you a fast enough exposure to avoid blurry images. Even shooting at f/2.8, 1/80 and ISO12800 shots on Pirates were still underexposed. A Sigma 1.4 will help here.

Also consider buying memory maker (not sure if DL offers it, but WDW does) if your trip is long enough to justify the cost. Disney has photographers carrying D7500s all over the place that will take photos of you at iconic locations (like the castle) or with characters. Many of the character spots have excellent remote lighting that the photographers use as well. They deliver full resolution JPGs, but not raw files. Memory maker also gets you the automatic ride photos.

 

[LenRivers]

If you go on any water related rides have a plan to care for your gear.

I was more than happy to just take my Olympus TG-5 last time. The time before I had a body and one lens combo, before that a Sony RX-10 ii

I would say out of all three times skipping water type rides even if it is just a splash the bridge camera was the easiest.

 

[TurboProp87]

Thanks for all your responses!

I've decided to go ahead and rent two lenses for my trip. I'll use the 18-135 as my daytime/outdoor lens along with a prime for indoor/lowlight.

Should I go with the Sigma 16 1.4 or would a 30/35 be more useful?

 

[DowntownToronto]

16mm is much more versatile for pics of the family at dark rides or at dimly lit character dining or nighttime environmental portraits. I think the zoom would work fine for fireworks.

 

[zackiedawg]

Thanks for all your responses!

I've decided to go ahead and rent two lenses for my trip. I'll use the 18-135 as my daytime/outdoor lens along with a prime for indoor/lowlight.

I think you'll enjoy that plan perfectly. I have 25+ lenses, both native and manual adapted lenses, that I use with my A6300, but when I go to Disney, most of the time especially in the hot seasons I end up shooting 90% of my shots with the 18-135mm...if I bring any other lens option, it's usually a fast prime for dark ride photography and sometimes the ultrawide. But the 18-135mm is just such a perfect, versatile travel lens and really is nice to have no bag at all, just camera and one mounted lens, bypassing security checks and not having to worry about where to store a bag on a fast ride.

In cooler months, and on special photo trips, I'll bring more lenses with me and shoot with the 10-18mm, 16mm, 30mm, 35mm, 18-135mm, 55-210mm, 70-300mm, and more...so I'm not adverse to using many different lenses depending on the park and the need - but when I just want a one-lens solution, or when it's ridiculously hot and humid, it's the 18-135mm.

Should I go with the Sigma 16 1.4 or would a 30/35 be more useful?

I shoot a lot of dark-ride photography at Disney, because I enjoy the challenge - until the Sigma 16mm F1.4 came out, I was limited to 30mm and 35mm fast primes as my widest options. On APS-C, anything 50mm plus is way too narrow, and even 30mm with the crop factor means having to shoot a lot of the dark ride scenes as early as possible before you get too close, or shooting mostly tighter closeups. Once the Sigma 16mm F1.4 came out, it quickly became my preferred dark ride lens...and remains useful also for night landscapes, building scenics, etc which at Disney, often the wider the perspective the better, as everything is in scale and you are often quite close to the scene you're shooting.

For a dark ride scene example of where the wider prime can really help, here's a scene in Pirates of the Caribbean with a few different primes.

First with a 35mm F1.4:

You have roughly 10 feet of forward travel rounding a bend to shoot this scene before you get too close and then pass it...so most shots with a 35mm lens on APS-C are going to be fairly tight and frame mostly these three prisoners. But the Sigma 16mm gives a lot wider perspective, allows you to shoot the scene much closer, and also allows you to capture the entire scene, which includes the dog with the key to the left of the prisoners:

That Sigma 16mm shot is from about the same angle and spot as the Voigtlander 35mm shot.



--
Justin
galleries: www.pbase.com/zackiedawg