GTWATKINS12

I'm getting a Sony a6000 for Christmas. Im just starting my photo adventures.
1. Need to know what you think about the a6000
2. What do i need to know as a beginner
3. The camera came with a f 15- 55 lens.
4. A 70- 200 telephoto are these ok for a beginner.

Thanks for any help you can give me

tinplater Loc: Scottsdale, AZ

Wonderful Christmas for you!! The lenses you have are a great start. The A6000 is a fabulous camera, but it is more complicated than a point and shoot, so don't be discouraged if your efforts fall short initially. Know that with the equipment you have you will be able to take amazing photos. I would STRONGLY recommend you invest some time in youtube where there are many tutorials that will get you started. Search sony a6000 tutorial for beginners. Here is Tony Northrup's hour long version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ1-lTg6AoQ

GTWATKINS12

Thanks so much, will keep you posted on how I progress on my new adventure.

GibsonGuy Loc: Danbury, CT

I got the A6000 a little over a year ago (since added a A7ii)...it takes some time but the results are worth it.

(Download)

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

A friend has the Sony a6000 mirrorless camera. He has the kit lenses for it, which are the 16-50mm and the 55-210mm. He took that camera on a vacation to England, and said it fit the occasion well, because it is a compact camera. The a6000, which is a crop sensor, is regularly mentioned on this forum, with positive reviews. Enjoy it.

FalconChase Loc: Canton,Ohio, USA

Get Gary Friedman's book. https://friedmanarchives.com/ebooks/index.htm#Sony_Books

Enjoy your a6000, and despite what some here say, don't be afraid to put it in Program for your holiday photos. The only thing I really dislike on mine is the flash. You may want to make a new flash your first gear acquisition.

Have fun!

philo Loc: philo, ca

The A6000 is a great camera. If you follow the KISS system you will be fine. Set the camera to P mode and go and shoot about 500 images. Then you will want to move into the Ap. mode.
Great gift.

las Loc: West-Central Illinois on the Mississippi

Ever since I had a Nikon F4 with heavy glass, I've been downsizing by degrees...finally arrived at the a6000 and am very pleased. The stock lenses are a very good start. I agree with everything said above, including the tutorials and a flash. Great compact camera, you should enjoy it for many years...but it's worthy of not being treated like a p&s.

billnourse Loc: Bloomfield, NM

I have an A6000 that I got for my motorcycle. It is a great piece of equipment coupled with the 16-50 and 55-210 kit lenses. Just don't plan on the instruction book that came with it to be of much help. You will need to download a real instruction book of which there are several.

Bill

tomad Loc: North Carolina

Wow, what a Christmas gift... you must have been a good boy/girl.

daf40 Loc: Mesa, AZ

It's a great camera, but rather difficult to use without some instruction. The documentation with the camera is negligible. I'd recommend that you order David Busch's book on the a6000 to help you through the first few months.

timcc Loc: Virginia

You're getting a wonderful camera -- I love my a6000. As a beginner, you may want to get the 55-210 telephoto, which is very light, inexpensive (often part of the kit bundle), and reasonably sharp. It is especially good for travel. From what I've read, the 16-50 kit lens is more than adequate for starters, but you may want to invest in a better lens now rather than later. I have the Zeiss 16-70, which is considerably more expensive but an outstanding go-to lens that I don't expect to ever have to replace.

The suggestions already made are good. The Sony manual is tedious to get through, but as already mentioned, there are excellent books and Youtube tutorials available. I have Busch's book on the a6000, which is easy to read and has been very useful for tips and tricks.

The main thing that first-time Sony users find challenging is the menu system -- the camera can do a lot of things, and has lots of settings you can adjust. Once you figure out which settings you are most likely to be using on a regular basis, go to the Custom Keys settings in the menu and customize both your 12 function keys and the three custom buttons. It greatly simplifies picture-taking, and you will rarely have to deep-dive into the menu system after you have set them.

I started on P (Program) mode, which is like point-and-shoot, until I became familiar with the feel of the camera and its buttons, but quickly moved to M (Manual), which gives you full control and, IMO, a much more satisfying photographic experience. You'll probably want to start off shooting jpegs, but again, if you want to get the most out of your camera, you'll want to shoot RAW and do your own processing on your computer. As has been discussed in other threads, there are lots of good post-processing programs to pick from. I recommend Capture One, which has a free Express version for Sony that is excellent. If you really get into post-processing and want to be able to do more extensive editing, you can purchase the Pro version for about $60. To take PP to the limit, you may eventually want to subscribe to PhotoShop, although I've found C1 Pro to be all I need. Again, there are lots of tutorials and webinars on how to use Capture One, or any other software you may choose.

Merry shooting!!

Toment Loc: FL, IL

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

If you can’t afford a new flash right away, Gary Fong makes a panel for the A6000 that doubles as a screen protector when not in use. It’s nowhere near as good as a bounceable flash, but better than the pop up flash alone.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

A friend of mine is a long time DSLR techno user and is a bit set back by the learning curve for his new a6000. Not very intuitive and difficult to navigate. It's like my rig with built-in this and built-that, but not so easy to drive without it overthinking what I want to do.