Colorbylacy

Hi!!! I am a hairstylist in the central FL area. I have been using my Sony A6000 for a while with the kit lens. It’s FINALLY time to update that lens but I’m unsure what to buy! You can see what I usually photograph @colorbylacy... usually back of head, side profiles etc etc... I’d say most images are from waist up and rarely on a plain wall. So I’d love so recommendations!!!!

dajanes4

The 18-135mm is a popular walk-around lens. I bought a used one from KEH for under $400

Bfree2 Loc: Grants Pass, Or

I use the a6000 as well, and after I reviewed several images I have taken, I decided on two prime lenses, a Sigma 30 mm f14, and a Sony 50mm f18.

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

I use the 18-105 f4 on my A6500.

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

...I recently bought an A7 that came with three lenses; 28-70 f3.5/5.6, a 50mm f2.8 (both of these Sony) and a Samyang 35mm 1.8. The one that's on the camera now is the Samyang...that is one really good 35mm! And cheap! FWIW

lev29 Loc: Born and living in MA.

Welcome to the Hog, Colorbylacy! Among my Sony digital cameras, I own two a6000 models, purchased in December of 2014 and 2017 (the latter for Multispectral Photography,) as well as a full-frame (FE) Sony a7 II last December. Note that some Hogs, as has already happened in this thread, will recommend or extol the virtues of their lenses, without taking into account the obvious, e.g. that the Sony a6000 employs an APS-C size sensor and their model is a full frame. (Unlike a couple of years ago, it is now considered rude on this forum to point such a case out to its author; that’s why I’m only mentioning it here. But yes, not being "rude" here does have its advantages.)

Here’s the URL for a review of the lens I am suggesting, https://www.dpreview.com/products/sony/lenses/sony_e_18-135_3p5_5p6_oss,
and one for that Tamron lens others tout, https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Tamron/Tamron-18-200mm-F35-63-Di-III-VC-Sony-E-mounted-on-Sony-A6000__942

You’re probably going to receive a few different recommendations here, ranging from mine (& at least one other member thus far,) the Sony 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 to a Tamron 18-200 mm with which I have no experience, to the more expensive Sony 24-105 mm f/4 G OSS, which can be used on the a6000 but is designed for SONY FE mirrorless cameras.

The only actual unbiased wisdom I can impart here is to question whether whoever recommends Lens X has actually tried, better yet owned, other lenses that either you are familiar with or those recommended by other members.

Know that some of us take the time to list what equipment we own on our respective profiles. Unfortunately, know as well that while responses that include mention of, but not the actual URL to, other recent Topics on the same or similar question are quite likely true. In fact, I recall one essentially identical to yours posted within the past 3 weeks, but as I just tried for the past few minutes to use this site’s Search Function with a few different keyword phrases, I admit I utterly failed. I conclude that either I am inept or this Search function is, to put it politely, suboptimal. Given that I’ve come across a few remarks echoing the latter, I’m probably not that inept.

Finally, here are a few links that list most, but not necessarily, all of the E-mount lenses currently available:
http://www.dpreview.com/products/sony/lenses?subcategoryId=lenses
http://www.sansmirror.com/lenses/lens-reviews/lenses-for-sony-efe-mount/

Good luck!

lev29 Loc: Born and living in MA.

I found it! An essentially identical topic was posted <1 week ago, titled Best Walk around Lens. The OP owns a Sony a6300 instead. The URL is:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-613068-1.html

cdayton

What’s wrong with the 16-50 pancake kit lens? I would only change if I needed something faster and that will be expensive.

RGreenway Loc: Morristown, New Jersey

For what you use, if you use it in a salon, I would stick with the kit lens or get perhaps a 50mm 1.8, something small so you can toss it in a drawer when not needed.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

You didn't mention which kit lens you have? When a friend bought his a6000, it came with two kit lenses. The 16-50mm and the 55-210mm. Those two lenses, my friend claims, cover most of his needs. However, I would add a prime lens, if I already had those two lenses. Good luck on your choice.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I got a Tamron 18-200mm on eBay for a good price. I compared it to a similar Sony lens, and the results were as good or better.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I believe the A6000 is an APS-C camera. So here are some of the lenses to consider. All are sony lenses.
SEL1670Z, and my favorite, SEL18200LE, SELP18200.

zug55 Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas

Yes, the a6000 is an APS-C camera. I use the a6000 as a back-up body (my other camera is the A7 III), and I got the 18-135mm lens so I can use the smaller camera for when I need to travel light. This is a very good lens that covers a rather broad range.

There are two good sources to research lenses for the a6000. The first is Brian Smith's lens guide:
https://briansmith.com/aps-e-mount-lenses-for-sony-mirrorless-cameras/
The B&H web site is very searchable, and they feature a lot of customer feedback that in the aggregate is fairly reliable.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=17912&fct=fct_lens-format-coverage_3332%7caps-c-lenses%2bfct_lens-mount_3442%7csony-e-mount&N=4196380428&

Bazbo Loc: Lisboa, Portugal

I would stay away from the 555-210. It is not very sharp at any focal length. I replaced it with a Sony from their FF offerings.

I would go with the Zeiss 18-70. This is an excellent lens, but a little pricey.

n4jee Loc: New Bern, NC

You have some nice portraits on your page. The general wisdom for taking portraits is to use a lens that is slightly telephoto. In 35mm that would be the 50-100 range. Your 16-50mm lens on your APS-C camera is the equivalent of 24-75mm, so at the 50mm setting it falls right in the middle of the "portrait range." The Sony 50mm f1.8 as suggested above would give you less depth of field wide open then your kit lens, providing a more out of focus background to highlight your subject better. It would also help in low light situations and probably offer a nicer bokeh. $150-200 used.