Sony - Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Camera with 16-50mm Retractable Lens - Silver

Overall there is a ton of helpful info out there on this camera, and many reviews here do it justice. For an entry-level camera, the quality cannot be beat. There is great customization options for the wheels in manual mode to take shots exactly how you want, and the auto-modes work well too. While I highly rate the camera, there are a few things that really annoy me. Most of the pros are already out there so I'll just get to what I dislike; almost all of the dislikes have to do with video. 1. Microphone. The onboard mic is OK, but not great. This wouldn't be a big deal, except Sony did not include a microphone input on this camera. The only way to get external audio in is to purchase the Sony multi-interface shoe microphone, which doesn't even sound that good. So you cannot use any other microphones from your other rigs. What I've opted to do is use a Zoom H1N, and mount it on top of the camera with a blank cold-shoe plate-to-screw adapter. This works, but of course I have to manually add and sync audio, adding unnecessary workload, but not a ton. 2. Autofocus is quick on the lens but zooming and focusing is very audible through any camera-mounted microphone, which is annoying. Louder than it is outside the camera. 3. The LCD screen swivel is only partial-vertical swivel, which is practically useless. The mechanism used is fantastically strong for how light it is, but it is totally useless for framing shots if no one is behind the camera. Would really love to see a flip screen so you can frame from the front, especially with how portable this camera is, it's not likely there will always be someone else around to shoot. 4. Sony remote control app is obnoxious. It's cool that I can control it from my phone, but it's not cool that you can only control it in a few modes, and cannot use it in video mode. I thought with the remote camera app that I'd finally be able to self-frame video shots! Nope. Also annoying with the app is that you have to scan the camera basically every time you want to use it, which takes some time. Why can't I save the camera so I can connect to it every time without scanning the displayed QR code? 5. Battery life is pretty terrible, and the batteries take forever to charge too. 6. The camera straps hook onto little metal rings on the side of the camera. It's extremely difficult to remove the clips that hold onto the camera straps, and the rings are actually affixed to the camera and cannot be removed, even though they protrude right out of the chassis and are really annoying when you're holding the camera in certain ways. Like I said, these seem like a lot of negatives but there are tons of positives too. I just wanted to voice my frustrations. I will be keeping this camera around though, if not purely for the super convenient size factor when going on trips. Love the camera though in every other way!

The camera is great, image quality is great. Good quality images in low light situations without using a flash. Nice compact size. The thing that is bad with this camera is its WiFi. You can read other articles about it online, to be brief, it is nearly impossible to set it up with a Windows PC. All the online recommendation did not work. Tried it on 2 different PC's. You can only access your images if the cable is connected. The SONY website was of no help in debugging the issue. Another minor issue is the Battery life is short. One day I found the battery dead after about 125 shots. The panoramic images come out great when the feature works. I often get a warning from the camera that I moved the camera too fast, even if I move it extremely slow. All the issues I mentioned I consider minor. The image quality is really great and it is a fun camera to use. I found the menu and settings easy to get use to. I did a few night shots and was actually surprised at how well the images came out. Attached is a photo taken at night with no flash in a pumpkin patch. The only lighting was from street lights in the distance.

I was in the market for a compact mirror-less camera with great picture quality. This camera has become my everyday / take everywhere camera, it has most of the features I need for casual shooting. It does not replace my full size DSLR, but it is definitely more convenient to carry around when I’m out and about with my family and/or friends. The kit lens it comes with is good, but not great, I recommend purchasing the Sony 50mm 1.8 and/or the 35mm 1.8, and if you add a Speedlight and bounce the light, you will take your pictures to the next level. Pros: Size, features, picture quality Cons: No High Speed Flash Sync, no touch screen, in low light AF is hit and miss.

I purchased this camera to be able to take great quality pictures as well as recording video off of a tripod. I looked at DSLR cameras, and did not see any benefit in buying one. This one was lighter, more compact, and in my opinion, much better looking. It has a black (aluminum?) body which makes it look great. But not only does it look great, it performs great. This camera has is 24.3 megapixels, and can record video in 1080p at 60 frames for 20 minutes at a time. For the price (I got it on sale for $550) you can not beat the quality. This is the first dedicated camera I have purchased, and I am absolutely pleased with it. It is simple to set up and use, and ready to go. It has two auto modes, Superior Auto and Intelligent Auto for picture taking. Both of these modes basically sense the lighting and scenery and set the camera up to take the best picture in that setting. It also has a scene selection mode in which you can select what you are taking pictures of, and it presets the mode to what it thinks will create the best possible picture. You can also manually adjust everything you want to customize your shots. The video quality is great as long as there is ample light, I would recommend that you purchase an external microphone if you are going to be recording video. The preview screen on the back looks great. You can adjust the viewing angle (up or down), but it does not flip over the side or top to be able to view it from the front of the camera. It has a view finder as well, but I do not really use it, but it does work and looks good. Overall this camera seems to be good build quality and I have not found any defects with it. I can also easily transfer pictures I take from the camera, to my phone via Wi-Fi that the camera creates. This makes it easy for me to quickly share great pictures with family and friends. Overall I think that this camera is perfect for the price range and what it was made for. No it does not have a full frame sensor, but it also does not have a full frame sensor price tag. I would 100% buy it again. In the picture I did place the camera in a cage for more versatility while filming, it is not included with the product.

I bought the camera because I needed something smaller and lighter than my old DSLR. I needed more megapixels, video, and a killer-fast autofocus to use at rock concerts. It's small enough to easily fit in my purse and get into the concerts, and was unobtrusive while shooting tourist snaps on London streets. The learning curve is steep - and occasionally I got bogged down with too many features, but I'll keep learning. The megapixels allowed me to zoom in close, even without a long lens, and I could see the details on Brian May's guitar, Roger Taylor's sticks flying on the drums, and sweat on Adam Lambert's face. The button for shooting video is a bit hard to find and press, but with that effort, i also got great videos. The burst mode is fabulous - I used that during the concerts and got great shots to choose from. I am still learning, but I'm thrilled with the camera so far. Without the bulk of my Nikon DSLR, I was able to engage and interact with people, dance at the concerts, and not worry about announcing myself as a tourist. And I got better shots!

I purchased my Alpha 6000 on Black Friday of 2015, but the first time I encounter this camera was in the store many months before. At first, the price put me off. I was not able to afford the camera at it's near thousand dollar price tag, but I knew if I waited and save it would be worth. I was so right. The reason I wanted this camera so badly is because I wanted something I could shoot video with that wasn't in your face. I am working on building a professional video portfolio and part of it is doing intimate interviews that don't require a whole lot, but it can be very intimidating to have a huge camera in your face when you are trying to be sincere about the topic. Big cameras make people so nervous and understandably. I spent MONTHS researching this camera and those comparable to it. I would NOT recommend buying this camera with just the body only because you are getting a great deal with the lens. Trust me, it is worth a little more money and investment for the lens. One of the most difficult things I encountered in my research is figuring out what the internal mic sounds like. Mind you, I am not expecting to use the internal mic for my professional bits, but sometimes it is nice to have and to use for the light background stuff. After finally finding a video that compared all the aspects of the camera to a Canon one, including the sound, I was sold completely. The internal mic works so wonderfully and you could honestly get away with not using an external one for your audio if you are doing projects like I am. There's not a whole lot of bad with this camera. It is truly easy to use and fun to play with; I would definitely recommend it for everyone, especially the novices trying to go more pro. The camera is weightless, simple to learn, and just a joy to have. It is definitely something you will use for years.

I would recommend the a6000 to beginners and to photo enthusiasts alike. It has been used by pros. I have used the SONY a6000 for some hundreds of pics in about 3 weeks since purchasing. During this time, I put aside a Pentax K-5iis and K-3 ii DSLR. It is so good to carry a very capable compact APS-C mirrorless that can take shots to rival any of the enthusiast level APSC DSLRs. The SONY Alpha a6xxx series is highly regarded for capability of making use of Canon lenses using an adapter, though for video purposes, I've read one needs to use the @6300. My Pentax lenses are incompatible and can be attached to be used (with proper adapter) in Manual mode only. It is important to consider there is no touchscreen,the screen is fixed- in-place, there is no in-body image stabilization and video performance ( I do not use for video) will likely not satisfy semi-serious video shooters. Look that up for details . But for the price, I could not resist this. The a6000 overall is excellent. Almost 5 stars, but since it is not top of it's line now, and 2 rs old. But the current high-end a6300 is much more money, perhaps worth it for videographers. The coming a6500 -at nearly 3x price of a6000(!) will include wish list items, chiefly in-body stabilization, touch screen to select focus point, plus better processing power. That is only a wish list item. The a6000 is something to get now, with kit lens OK for true beginner or with a fast prime lens for somewhat more experienced ,or aspire to a whole other high-end top rank (large price and large size) lines of lenses aimed at pros. A good system to buy into, after all. To get best use of this camera, as soon as you are able, do customize function buttons. it will save time looking thru menus. There are 3 customizable modes available in menu, and so, this is one selection choice I've set a button on the body for. I am used to using prime lenses as well and zooms. I have the 2 kit zooms and purchased the E-mount Sony 35mm f/1.8 (stabilised) and a Sigma 60mm f/2.8 (non stabilised). I wanted excellent lenses on a budget and these are amongst those I would recommend. I've set up this and the DSLRs for back-button focus. It is good to use on the a6000 as much as on the DSLRs. Try the camera in-hand; the grip may not fit large guys hands. I find the grip fine, and it is better with the accessory SONY half-body case. Highly recommended for some protection and a better grip with access panel to all compartments. A beginner can certainly use auto mode and the general photo "looks" modes such at B+W, natural (color), sepia, etc. There are NO, pardon my attitude, modes on as on most beginner cams such as "sports", "party" "night", etc. . This is a good thing. View mode can be set to either just the screen, just the EVF (electronic viewfinder) or auto switchable as you put it to your eye the view changes from screen to viewfinder. That was a bit of a problem as the screen would go dark for the viewfinder when I tilted the camera upward to frame a shot. What this camera does, as with other 'mirror-less', you get to see your shot as you go in better, more seamless manner than live-view on DSLRs.

For a long time, I have wanted to get a camera to deliver the results I obtained with the Sony-Alpha. I tried a different brand (more expensive), and I had returned because I felt that the pictures from my camera phone were the same quality. After reading the reviews, I decided to use my Christmas money and go for it! Best thing I've done! I did a photoshoot of my dogs on the first day, and it was so much fun! (See pictures below)