I bought a A6000 with 16-50mm kit lens and 55-210mm zoom lens recently.
I cant get the same 'great feeling' of using Nikon D5100 with 35mm f1.8 prime lens for portrait and Sigma 10-20mm f1.4-5.6 for landscapes. As such, i plan to buy lens for portrait and landscape...

A friend recommended me to buy Sony Zeiss 24mm f1.8. He said this lens can use as wide angle lens for landscapes as well as for portrait.
Any recommendation from you all?

24mm on crop body isn't wide. Looks like you are stuck with E 10-18mm & E 50mm f/1.8, unless you are willing to get metabone.

Thanks for yr advice! I did survey these 2 lens. Im ok with the E 50mm f1.8.
E 10-18mm is a listed good wide angle lens for A6000 but it cost RM3000++ which is over my budget...
Do you have other recommendation with lower price?

If you don't mind Manual Focus, Samyang 10mm and 12mm will do the job as well. I think 12mm is going for under RM1500 brand new.

12mm is 1.4k, 10mm is 1.7k

@TS
http://shashinki.com/shop/sony-18mm-alpha-...ia-p-13645.html
2.6K for shashinki, you should be able to get it for around ~2.4K.

This post has been edited by kingkingyyk: Mar 24 2016, 12:01 AM

Thanks both for the advice. RM1.4k is within my budget hehe.
Samyang 12mm is with good review too but I worry on the manual focus, it seems need good skill to handle it... Hopefully it will be all right to me.

If you're shooting landscape with the samyang 12mm, most of the time you'll be shooting at f8 or above. Just shoot at infinity focus and everything will be in focus.

Removed

This post has been edited by lwliam: Mar 24 2016, 10:45 PM

Hi TS.

Sel 24Zf1.8 is very nice for portrait and the details are stunning. BUT they will never give u any feeling come close with what your had with your Nikon. Sadly with budget limitation, else I would gladly advise to grab back the same range to have the same feel, for example of
Sel35f1.8 (I got it for rm800 last year. New during sony offer)
Just nice to get back the portrait feel, and it has OSS, which it's even easier to use compare to your previous d5100+35f1.8

Sel1018f4, UWA for landscape. Since landscape usualy steps down for max dof.

Another side option would be the mentioned 50f1.8 with oss... And the samyang 12f2 if you do Milkyway shoot.

Thanks for yr advice!

I think this is a very bad advice, encouraging TS to be lazy. The 12mm has so much potential other than just landscape.

Well of course it can be used for shooting other stuffs also. But I just want to give an idea that MF lens is very easy to use for shooting landscape since many people hold back because Samyang 12mm does not have autofocus.

Thanks for yr sharing.
Wow you are so lucky to get the 35mm f1.8 with rm800! The cheapest price I got for 50mm f1.8 is already rm888 not to mention 35mm f1.8!!
Yeah Sony 10-18mm f4 is a great choice as zoom lens for landscape, but the price is higher.... I tried to search for used set, but not really get it.

Thanks for yr sharing.
Wow you are so lucky to get the 35mm f1.8 with rm800! The cheapest price I got for 50mm f1.8 is already rm888 not to mention 35mm f1.8!!
Yeah Sony 10-18mm f4 is a great choice as zoom lens for landscape, but the price is higher.... I tried to search for used set, but not really get it.

I think Xiia0Ban is with good intention to advise me not to afraid of buying samyang 12mm.

it would be very difficult to hunt for a 2nd hand 1018, seldom people will let it go, since there is no other native UWA choice around...

Yeah i agreed with you. The cheapest price i got from a shop is rm2199 (new set) now but sold off.....

Hi All,

Thanks for all the comments. is informative for me. im new in photography and my previous model is G16. im considering a Mirrorless. thinking of getting A6000 tomorrow.

heard kit lens quality is so so. considering getting a better lens.

Hihi..good to hear that. Im also thinking to buy the wide angle and portraits lens.
Let's share and learn together!

Depends on your usage. If you want a kit lens replacement, the best will be SEL1670Z. The SEL1670Z is a versatile lens plus with Zeiss optics, the quality is splendid.

For portrait, I have the SEL50F18 as well. It's very nice for half body shots.

This post has been edited by raymondtong94: Mar 26 2016, 02:25 PM

Just got my A6000 yesterday. and it really cant do macro as G16 if using Kit Lens. Just wonder the 30mm Macro without OSS is good or not.

Thanks for sharing. That's the lens my other friend intro me as well. hoho. most of my friend get 2nd lens. i just worry.. how u think?

Hi,

Anyone know any lens or macro lens that can fit and having good quality other than the G and Zeiss lens from official Sony website?

Thanks in advance.

hi, the sel30 F3.5 is a very neat marco, cheap and usable. other choice will be the sel90G which cost a bomb.

another alternative, which is rare in the market now, is the raynox DCR250 adapter which i highly recommends. the previous generation macro master will recommend this gem. i used raynox to shoot diamond serial numbers and its very clear to see vs using microscope from the shop to check your diamond serial number.

It's very subjective. For me, having 2-3 lenses are pretty much enough for me. For some photographers, they can cope with only one lens. That also depends on what of photo you/they gonna shoot.

the 1650 kit lens is good enough. even can shoot the milky way.

its all about composition!

My A6000 only has 1 lens. SEL35F18

Works great as I rarely shoot landscape or group photos that much back then.

Just sharing, I'm using a6000 with SEL35F18 almost all the time. Second favorite lens is Canon fd 50 f1.4, quite sharp at f1.4 with a normal fd-nex adapter. Kit lens I only use it for wide shot using 16mm, for outdoor shoot its decent enough.
Also I have sigma 60mm F2.8, damn this lens is super sharp at 2.8, i love using it for B&W Photography, its so sharp and contrast.

Previously, my first lens was SEL50F18, very impressed with the sharpness at 1.8 and a good lens. But I figured, i want a larger view, so i sold it off and take the 35mm. Now I regret selling the 50mm coz its a good lens! Probably gonna buy it again if I have extra money

Now looking for Samyang 85mm F1.4 (canon/nikon mount) with Zhongyi Mitakon Speedbooster. I watched a lot of reviews and looking at sample pictures. It is so damn sharp at 1.4 and the bokehhhh is creamy crazy. hahaha. So thats on my hunting list now before I go to Sapporo, Japan this May.
Next after 85mm is a 12mm. Haihh all these wants and no money. hahahaha

Question guys. Since there is a dedicated a6000 thread now...

Am looking to upgrade to the a6000. Took my SEL 50 1.8 to the store to test out the AF. Very satisfied. But when I pixel peeped. The image at max zoom was quite... Smudgy... Wasn't sharp at all. This was wide open at 1.8 iso 800..

Didnt plug my card in so I can't post the sample images..

Mind to share your experience on SEL35F18? Because I am thinking to buy this lens for A6000. Is it good enough for shooting indoor or low light? Is the AF speed fast enough when deal with low light? Thank you.

Hi, yes the SEL35F18 is good for wider portraits, and street photography. I love this lens actually, its good in low light, not that much hunting at all. I shot video indoors at the close of my home without any difficulties. Plus the OSS works so well so photo and videos. So, it depends on what images you want to shoot. If portraits, its a bit on the wider end. But still works well. But for a bit of separation, better for SEL50F18. Sharp enough.

Almost all the time the 35mm is on my A6000 body I'd say its a good buy

Actually for the price point, that lens is already sharp at 1.8, but if you want it to be a little sharper, can adjust manually at in the body of A6000, or increase the sharpness at post production

Need more detail than that. What is the shutter speed you used. Have you check the sensor is free from dust, fingerprints, etc? Did you check the camera settings. By default some camera set to high Noise Reduction so you need to disable it. Is the room dark? You don't have sample image, so cannot tell.

Forgot to mention, change the auto focus from continuos to single focus or flexible single focus. The cont focus can be wonky causing blur.

This post has been edited by DaddyO: Apr 10 2016, 01:12 PM

Hmm. I guess I'll have to go back and test it again. Anyone want to let go their a6000 for cheap? Hehe.

for single walkaround lens, SEL1670z is the best companion for its size and image quality. but the price is high for zeiss.

i sold the SELP1650 and bought SELP18105G for extra zoom. the image quality is great, and the lens is not too heavy although it looks big.
This is best value for money lens if you can only carry one lens. I used it alot while travelling.
The main disadvantages is big size, larger diameter mean more expensive filter, and the minimum focus distance at tele end is 0.95m. not so suitable for close up shoot.

the extra value for power zoom is when use with playmemorymobile app, you can control the zoom. fully remote control!!

Tumpang a question.
When I take a picture of say a very tall building with 16 - 50 mm lens from the bottom of the building, I can't get the whole building.
But when I use my iPhone, I am able to get most of the building.
What lens do I need to get to be like iPhone ?
Using A5100 - did consider the A6000 but too bulky to travel with.

You sure you did it correctly and the lens is not zoomed to 30+mm or something? IPhone lens have an equivalent of 30mm whereas 16mm equivalent would be 24mm, thus the A5100 would give a wider angle.

a6000 for the win !!!!

who wants
just saw this
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3926980

hehe actually on my hand i have a sel1018 also planning to let go for 2.3k coz brought a samyang 12mmF2.

everyone here so rich, lens alone already more expensive than the body

hahaha not rich, photography is a very weird hobby... when u first start, spending 2k is like lot for your first camera! and u will say, those spend 10k on camera are crazy people... as the more you shoot, the more friends you made, yourself also dunno why or how ur pocket suddenly have enough money to buy more and more lens... and the end of the day, welcome to the crazy ppl club.

Right in the feels

So effing true. hahahahaha man. I think i've spent almost rm7-9k for the whole set of my A6000
through the course of me buying and trading lenses until now. only one year plus!

Every hobby can be cheap, can be expensive.

For example if your hobby is street food, sure cheap la. If your hobby is dining at exquisite places, easily rack up thousands per year.

Same goes to travel. Same goes to whatever else.

+9
money is limited
depending on where u prefer to spend it on only

never look back with SEL1670z

This. That's one heck of a versatile lens.

Priorities. If I don't spend on car, house, bills and family - I can buy a lens (or few) every month!

I think that applies not to just myself but many people making a living.

Which one to choose, RM 1400 (warranty expired) or RM2k new for A6000?

For the sake of peace of mind, top up that RM600 and get a new unit + kit lens. Heck, with current promotion, you get some accessories as well.

TQ, any advice...is it the kit lens "good enough" or I just should ditch it and get something better? (I'm a newbie btw)

Good but not great. For starters, better stay with kit lens first. You can head to Sony Alpha discussions thread (same section) and see how the pros utilizing kit lens.

I'm not pro btw.

i remember the days when we started photography(7-10 years back), using 1855 (1870 for my case) and the masters i meet, and when i ask what lens is good to buy, they will answer, use your kitlen first, use it until u know it so well, every inch of the lens you understand how it behave, every little turn of the zoom, you know when the aperture start shifting.... use it until its limit, push it more and more, until, you will know what is stopping you from moving forward, and you will know what lens you seek to break the limit.

Get the 16-35 f/4 Zeiss. Don't bother with other lenses, in which for your case, yeah stick to kit lens first as per everyone's advice.

Stick with the kit lens AND buy either a 50mm f1.8, 35mm f1.8 or 20mm f2.8. You won't really appreciate a prime lens until you try one.

just realized i nvr used a kit lens since my first camera NEX-5. I bought with the special pakaged SEL18200, which is a nice but too heavy and big for me, and not fast enough.
That time i got poisoned by someone to go into old manual lens which make me stock up over 10 lenses within half years time: Konica Hexanon 40/1.8, 50/1.7, 50/1.4, 57/1.4, 100/3.5, 70-210/3.8, 28/3.5, Schneider-Krutznach 50/1.9, 50/2.8. They are old but fun to use and give very unique output. But after tried on a M mount Voigtlander 28/2, i was pleased by the image quality and the size which matched perfectly with the NEX series! So from that on my top priority is M mount lens, but Leica M mount all super expensive out of my budget.
Due to size matter i sold my SEL18200 and bought and 2nd hand NEX-5n with kit lens, then immediate sold the kit lens together with the NEX-5 which almost mean i got free upgrade.
Then got the ZM 35/2 and sold the VM 28/2.

Later when A7 launched i bought the A7 and sold the NEX-5n with some of the old konica lenses.
But after less than a year used, when member's day offer, i bought a6000 with SELP18105G and sold the A7.
I sold the new kit lens at RM500 to the friend who bought my NEX-5n!

Now i use the SELP18105G most of the time for normal shooting or travelling, it is bigger but not too heavy. The quality is good and the zoom range allow me to bring only 1 lens. I like to have SEL1670z but too much over my budget. For higher quality shooting, i will use the ZM 35/2, VM75/1.8 or other 50mm old lens.

This post has been edited by RX-78-2: Apr 25 2016, 07:37 PM

Unfortunately many people don't understand.

The kit-lens on entry models is always so good that most newbies can't even match up to it to begin with.

Higher model kitlens, needless to say they're excellent stuff, like Canon 24-105L, Canon 15-85, Nikon 24-105 and others. I'm not familiar with those from other brands but basically they're still good stuff.

Uncle Chan got a good deal.

https://www.facebook.com/GoodPricephotography/

And I found someone else with the smudgy Jpeg issue I was talking about earlier!

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/s...-photos.603114/

Anyone here got the same issues?

Edit.

This post has been edited by DaddyO: Apr 26 2016, 07:03 AM

Have you disable noise reduction and at least look at raw?

I dont own an a6000 atm. Using an nex6 at the moment. Been thinking about upgrading to the a6000 to do some paid work.

A bit hard to say if you dont own one. Got one time i tried out a demo camera and find the img has low clarity. Then after investigate found the front lens like someone spit saliva on it.

The lens is my own tho.. Haha.. Body I tested at Sony center.. Always found it just abit soft wide open in the center but I learnt to live with it. But when I tested my 50 1.8 on the a6000 body at the Sony center, I found it even more blurry / smudgy than on my nex6.

That's why I was wondering if it was just me.

I'm supposed to go back and test again properly and Chuck my card in. Else I got to find an alternative already. I don't think I can afford the z55 1.8..lol.

This post has been edited by kyLL: Apr 26 2016, 02:30 PM

Not sure if you repeatedly tried on same camera or demo set. Maybe ask for a different one in case the demo set setting got screwed. Also look to disable NR if can. Another possibility is your lens (not camera) firmware not up to date.

Unless got sample img with exif, really hard to tell. Comparison shot with your nex6 and your thought on whats blurry will give more info.

This post has been edited by DaddyO: Apr 26 2016, 03:34 PM

did you check the sensor got thumb print? u never know if some idiot open the lens and touch the sensor

interested to know as well

gonna stalk this thread for a bit

small time enthusiast

for now just sticking to kit lens

zeiss lens are just so out of my budget

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/first-son...-lenses-to-buy/













Seems Sigma have the best alternative... and it cost up to maximum RM 750 for 19, 30 and 60mm except for the 30mm f1/8

thanks for the share...

got confused with all the choices i forgot what i was wanting to search in the 1st place

i guess i'll start by scoping for a prime lens 1st like i should


btw fixed youtube link

Wow thats gonna scared me a little bit.
I am now on the verge of getting one a6000, not the a6300 due to the slight improvements
But may I ask, what sort of lenses that costs you a total of RM7-9k?

Yes, so true, heck a bike enthusiast spends RM10k just for a road bike!

+1

Hi, sorry for the late reply, just get back from Sapporo, Japan.

I have used
SEL50F18
SEL35F18
SEL55210
Sigma 60mm F2.8 dn art
Rokinon 85mm F1.4
Raynox DCR250
Canon FD 50mm F1.4
Canon FD 55mm F1.2
Not to mention the filters

Hahah and all the accessories, photography is not cheap! haha

Since you just came back from Hokkaido, any pictures to share here though?
Would be glad to see some of them.

Well, personally I might just settle up with a good prime 35mm f1.8 at the moment as my startup..
Peace yo!

Delete

This post has been edited by lwliam: May 19 2016, 09:00 AM

I don't know how to attach images here. haha
Sorry

Once, I figured it out, ill post a few. Although... I am not a professional, just a hobbyist doing some freelance jobs here and there.

You can just post the link to the images if you've got them online. Hehe.

Hi guys, which would u recommend? Selp 18 105g f4, or Carl Zeiss 16 70 f4 as a general walk around lens? Anyone can share their experience with these 2 lenses? Read quite a bit on the web about them, but wanna hear fellow malaysian users opinions.....

Is the carl zeiss quality really worth the extra premium?

This post has been edited by Loseeker: May 25 2016, 10:54 AM

If you have the money, go with Zeiss. It has nice color and Zeiss pop. However if I want to save money, I would definitely go with 18-105g. Image quality is about the same as Zeiss. The Zeiss lens is mechanical while 18105G is power zoom. One thing I don't like 18-105 is when you power down your camera, the lens reset back to 18mm when you turn on the camera.

This post has been edited by Scourdx: Jun 2 2016, 06:42 PM

Define "Zeiss pop" plz Scourdx

My turn to say sorry for damn late reply!

For the lenses of SEL50F18 and SEL35F18, you bought it brand new?
May I know how much?
I am currently benchmarking the prices.

Haha no problem! I'm not always on here also.

I didn't buy both brand new, both bought second hand.
But for SEL50F18 can be bought new for rm888, SEL35F18 RM1.3k
I bought used SEL50F18 for RM700 now can get around rm650 or less.
SEL35F18 I bought rm1.1k but now can get rm1k lowest rm950

I'm using Sony A6000 with SEL35F18, good lens for portrait shooting~
especially when shoot portrait in low light.
still learning~~

P/S: Just i had problems when it comes to delete photos in bulk.

Easy. Press the review button on your sony a6000, then press menu. It will give u option to delete. Once u press the delete, it will give u another option, multiple delete with this date option....then press to delete everything you have taken on that particular date. Hope this help.

guys,

what is the best setup and setting for corporate portrait photography?

with a6000 of coz

Yeah it helps me. Thanks for sharing!

What's your Budget? Else we can recommend u get a batis 85m or 85mm gmaster and shoot in a studio?

You need more than A LENS..

what is the group size,
what is the type of photo they want.. formal sit down in seated rows or around board room table or informal cluster
type of lighting expected, indoors or outdoors shoot.
what is the expected usage - what resolution output - Mega Poster, corp brochure, annual prospectors, ??

show them some examples and see what they want or dont want.

then only you can decide on what is the best lens to pick for the job. Picking a lens before doing your homework is done is no guarantee you will get the job completed.

Just remember that with crop sensor , wider angle coverage will always cause image distortion at the edges.

I think that applies to any wide angle lens on any sensor size, and crop sensors actually are less prone to distortion cause you need to step further back to get half body shot. Bigger sensor is actually more prone to distortion cause you need to step further in if your lens is not tele enough.

To Khairul, since you didn't mention anything, I'm going to assume amateur portrait shot, 50mm f1.8 and soft box flash will be more than enough with white background.

This post has been edited by DaddyO: Jul 10 2016, 07:59 PM

hi guys im looking for wide lens for astrophotograhy
i read some good review about rokinon 12mm f2, but the downside is its a manual lens
any alternative that offer auto focus?

I believe you dont need much autofocus with this lens, because depth of field is deep with ultra wide angle lens so it is easy to get everything in focus even at F2.0. The only autofocus alternative that I know for E mount apsc is sel 1018 F4 or 1635 F4 for FF, which cost a lot more and 2 stop( 4 times less light). From my experience, F4 lens are really not bright enough for astrophotography (I tried with my 18105f4), unless you dont mind high iso which took a heavy toll on your image quality. Below is a shot i took with the samyang 12mm f2.0. I can take this with iso 800 . It is fun to use this lens even wih manual focus.

Hate to disagree .. I recently migrated from APSC to FF. I used SEL1018 and now replace it with SEL1635z.. Dealing with the wider side the 10mm on the APSC will be about 15mm FF (base on crop factor) . that means I will need 15mm glass on FF sensor, shooting at the same location.

It can be seen that at 15mm or in my case 16mm, the image shows little bending of straight lines on FF but on the 10mm on APSC it will be bend a fair bit. Having noted that, should we shoot at 15 mm on the APSC it will likewise show less bending except for a smaller coverage of the same scene. Hope that explain my view. Will be happy to show you more test shots. Photo below taken at 16mm on FF. Note the fence grids are fairly straight.


DSC01404c2 by Chin WY, on Flickr


Shooting portrait with a short or longer lens is another issue or selecting the optimum focal length for most natural and least appearance of distortion on the human face. Plenty of ideas and opinion in this area.. best I keep out or end up getting scorched by the pros..

Crop sensor less prone to distortion?

How can anyone compare? You can't, because the lenses were designed differently for different sensor.

Try the Sigma 10-20 UWA lens and you'll see how distortion can be on APS-C UWA.

Alright
Thanks for your feedback
I will consider the Samyang lens. Seems like it is the only choice for its class

Getting out of topic here. Wide angle lens on any camera will cause some sort of distortion to the "face" cause you need to step really close to the subject. Im saying crop has less prone if using "same" focal length as FF equivalent cause need to step further back. A little silly comparing distortion on sensor when you use different lenses also when talking about portrait shot.

This post has been edited by DaddyO: Jul 11 2016, 07:07 AM