Don't Mind Me...
Aug 18, 2018 10:19:32 #
Hello everyone! I'm fairly new to photography and stumbled upon this site a little over a year ago. Since then I've been mostly lurking but in the process, I've learned a tremendous amount so I thought I should introduce myself. I took up this hobby because the wife and I are finally in a position where we can travel more (kids are pretty much independent) and I figured that spending money to get to a great location and coming home with iPhone pictures was no longer adequate. Nothing against those, but I've always been a little over the top. When I decided to learn to ski, my second year on the slopes I saw the Ski Patrol and figured, well, those guys can ski pretty good, I'll join up :-).
From the crew here, I decided that a full sized SLR was probably not right for me. The size would make me not want to take it with me, but a mirrorless would be a good compromise. Picked up a Sony A6500, learned about several good resources for learning the camera from various posts here and did just that, including Tony Northrup's excellent series as well as Gary Friedman. I've learned a lot about lenses and, after spending way more money than I should have, settled on couple of primes (30 and 35mm) and f stops that I like, along with some kit lenses for "slumming". We'll take a first trip, going to Spain in a few days and learned, again from searching the archives, about the excellent option of hiring a professional photographer for a walking tour in Barcelona, which we will do the day we arrive. That way we fight the jet lag urge to sleep, see the place and learn some things about photography.
Bottom line is I've gained a lot here and I genuinely appreciate it. I'll be lurking in the background still, gleaning what I can from the wiser, more experienced heads here. So, don't mind me, I'll just be listening.
Bill
From the crew here, I decided that a full sized SLR was probably not right for me. The size would make me not want to take it with me, but a mirrorless would be a good compromise. Picked up a Sony A6500, learned about several good resources for learning the camera from various posts here and did just that, including Tony Northrup's excellent series as well as Gary Friedman. I've learned a lot about lenses and, after spending way more money than I should have, settled on couple of primes (30 and 35mm) and f stops that I like, along with some kit lenses for "slumming". We'll take a first trip, going to Spain in a few days and learned, again from searching the archives, about the excellent option of hiring a professional photographer for a walking tour in Barcelona, which we will do the day we arrive. That way we fight the jet lag urge to sleep, see the place and learn some things about photography.
Bottom line is I've gained a lot here and I genuinely appreciate it. I'll be lurking in the background still, gleaning what I can from the wiser, more experienced heads here. So, don't mind me, I'll just be listening.
Bill
Aug 18, 2018 11:13:42 #
jimcrna
Loc: indiana/florida
welcome to the forum bill.. I too have learned a lot from just listening. enjoy your trip to Spain.,jim
Aug 18, 2018 14:56:23 #
Aug 19, 2018 05:47:05 #
Aug 19, 2018 08:10:10 #
Welcome to the forum! Good choice of camera! I shoot the A6500 myself after years of Nikon DSLR, and bigger Sony A77 and A7r cameras. The A6500 is amazing. It feels in my hands like a smaller rangefinder (Leica?) and with the auto focus and even eye auto focus gets amazing shots. The image sizes are great, no real need for me for more pixels!
If you like primes, you might consider a used Zeiss ZM lens with an adapter. The focus peaking makes manual focus lenses fun for me. My 70 yr old eyes need help focusing a MF lens and the older rangefinder approach doesn't work well for me.
If you like primes, you might consider a used Zeiss ZM lens with an adapter. The focus peaking makes manual focus lenses fun for me. My 70 yr old eyes need help focusing a MF lens and the older rangefinder approach doesn't work well for me.
Aug 19, 2018 08:15:03 #
jimcrna wrote:
welcome to the forum bill.. I too have learned a lot from just listening. enjoy your trip to Spain.,jim
Thanks Jim!
Aug 19, 2018 08:16:03 #
Aug 19, 2018 08:16:41 #
Aug 19, 2018 08:22:54 #
RGreenway wrote:
Welcome to the forum! Good choice of camera! I s... (show quote)
Thanks RGreenway! The A6500 is indeed amazing. My primary frustration is knowing that the camera can do so much more than what I’m getting out of it. It’s like having a Ferrari that I can’t figure out how to get out of first gear. But I’m learning, reading, and practicing. I believe I can hit second now. I have not yet branched in MF lenses yet, although I have my eye on a couple for the future. I’ll definitely give the one you mentioned a look.
Bill
Aug 19, 2018 08:33:32 #
The Laowa 12mm F2 is quite good especially for astro photography like shooting the Milky Way and for interiors. see here https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Samyang-12mm-f-2-0-NCS-CS-Lens-f-2-F2-for-Sony-E-Mount-NEX-black/132417301431?hash=item1ed4afabb7:g:neQAAOSwbkVaH-MK B&H lists it as discontinued, not sure why. I compared it to the very expensive Zeiss 15mm (https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Carl-ZEISS-DISTAGON-T-15mm-f2-8-ZM-Lens-for-Leica-M-Manual-Focus/122858785008?epid=1339820926&hash=item1c9af448f0:g:6PMAAOSwe7BWxuSx) and didn't see much difference! I love this lens and also love the Sony SEL 1018 10 -18 F4 for travel in cities and for interiors. Great lens!
Aug 19, 2018 08:56:12 #
Aug 19, 2018 10:05:50 #
Aug 19, 2018 11:17:53 #
Hi, Bill! Welcome to the forum, glad to have you here. For most of us, it's all about having fun, so don't be shy about posting your photos!
Aug 19, 2018 11:18:04 #
Aug 19, 2018 11:38:54 #
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