radiojohn

Apparently, the idea that somebody wanting help is also not interested in doing a complete photography 101 course after having the camera for two years did not register.

Tons of people I have taught in my camera classes wished to leave the camera on "P" and just know a couple of useful things such as exposure compensation. There is no shame to this as it is what they want: OK results with not a lot of effort.

Imposing ideas on the about shooting manually to learn exposure now falls on deaf ears, and they still can get darn good photos in average situations. It's when they want to shoot indoor sports gym shots with a F/5.6 lens that problems begin.

I have great sympathy for folks dealing with 24 buttons, 7 modes, AV, P, M, TV and four metering patterns.

How you could extract the idea that I was putting down these folks is beyond me.

My articles in Shutterbug (RIP!) and other magazines have always be aimed at utter beginners. Ditto with my article on software. I never tell a person with a $125 camera they should get Photoshop. Most just want to crop a bit.

Sorry if my post seemed the opposite.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Going back to your comment that you haven't learned how to use your camera yet. I can say that the only way you'll learn it is by reading the owner's manual (which isn't much help, by the way) or one of the excellent books that are available. Also, Gary Fong, the A6000 guru, has several very good You Tube tutorials on the A6000. The other way is to just go out and use the camera. Shoot, shoot, shoot, and take notes on what you do. Play with different settings to see what works best for you. You will eventually get the hang of it, and using the A6000 will become second nature. Then, if all fails, and you just have a hard time with it, just use the auto mode. It does quite well in auto. You could also shoot in P--program-- mode. It's much like auto, but allows you some degree of control over the camera. But do make a good try at learning its controls and different features and shooting modes. It's not hard, and you have time to learn. Good luck.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

Since I did not read all the responses, this might be a repeat.

Being you would like to take only one lens, I'd highly recomend it be your wide angle zoom.

For one its lighter and smaller than the telephoto zoom, plus, (and this is a big plus), many of the older cities have tight locations. A wide is need there.

Of the two you thought about, the 35mm would do you better.

Back in analog days I used to use a 50mm f1.2 for two different cameras. While in the US Navy visiting Italy, it was a Nikon 50mm f1.2, a few years later visiting Europe, it was a Pentax SMC-A 50mm f 1.2. Both worked great and excelled in low light conditions.

The only problem I ever had was the lack of a wider angles lens while walking in tighter places. (You can only back up so much!)

Remember:

1. Much of Europe is based on tighter back streets.
2. Most of the time you can crop a wide angle down to see the nitty gritty, but you can never expand beyond the view of a lens.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Don't be sorry about giving good advise. Your advice is similar to mine. He doesn't have a lot of time to learn what he needs. I figure if he learns where all the modes are, and finds that shooting in one of the modes gets him the most shots the way he wants them, that is the mode he should use for most of the trip. I agree he would benefit From Program mode over Auto or iAuto mode because of exposure compensation is usually the easiest way to go. But he can also benefit from the Scene modes. If he can familiarize himself with the modes, and then recognize the situation for a particular mode on the trip, his switching on that Scene mode automatically sets his camera up for the shot. So from my point of view, your suggestions seemed quite straight forward. When in great doubt, set it on A and shoot. The camera is designed to try and get the "best" photo for 90% of the photos in front of the lens.

And most of the other UHHs had already given him good advise about the lenses. No need for me to repeat the same advice.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

"These folks used Instamatics far more than Nikons and have now dropped "too complicated" compact digitals for Smartphone cameras.

You can lead a horse to water..."
You don't consider your statements, arrogant and condescending"?

radiojohn

Regarding "leading a horse to water": Yes, perhaps it is abit harsh, but so is the reality behind it. You sometimes cannot force a person to become enthusiastic about photography, just like you could give me the best fishing tackle in the world and I would never get around to trying it out. Ditto with golf clubs. In those areas, I'm the horse you can lead, but! :)

I know one fellow who kept buying better and better DSLRs and then more lenses, but just never had the time or interest to delve into even the most basic controls. He ended up with an iPhone for his pictures. THis happens a lot. Modern cameras have gotten very complicated compared to an old stop-down metering Spotmatic. Too bad there isn't a digital version without the15 modes and scenes.

If someone has had a camera for two years, they are unlikely to warm up to it

Someone suggested a decent bridge camera, as opposed to buying another lens for the disused DSLR. I have remarkable Fuji one and recently found a 16 MP Powershot -in the box- for $5 at a thrift store. It lacks an electronic eyepiece, but would be a fine travel camera with a "live" view to adjust exposre, saturation, etc.

Hope that makes my horse comment make more sense in context.

DanielB Loc: San Diego, Ca

I second this with the addition of practice, practice, practice.

Keen

Will you try to publish your photos, sell them to National Geographic, etc, or will they just be for you, and your family, to look at in your photo album, or what? If just for your own use, carry one superzoom lens.....18-400mm, or such. The photos will be fuzzy / grainy when blown up a bit, but you won't notice so much if you keep the prints smaller....4x6", or so. If you will blow your prints up much larger, go with Prime lenses, or zooms on which the highest focal length is 3 times, or less, the lowest focal length....70-210mm, 35-70mm, etc. Have at least one wide angle lens (less than 50mm), and one telephoto lens (larger than 50mm). A 20mm Prime lens, and 100-300mm zoom lens, would make a good two lens travel photo combo. If one of your lenses is a true Macro lens (1X magnification....1:1), that will make it more useful still. So, a 3 lens system is probably a better idea....a wide angle Prime lens, and telephoto zoom lens, and a Macro Prime lens. Carry two lenses in your bag, and one lens in your wife's bag for weight limit / distribution. Such a 3 lens system will let you get great wide shots of distant bays, expansive parks, etc, as well as close up images of distant statues, and the like, as well as closer up images of small coins, flowers, and the like.

Keen

Youtube should have some videos dedicated to the camera you have, and the lenses you are considering. Watch them. Experiment with the camera, and the lenses you get, while watching the videos. Then go out and use the cameras, and lenses, in local parks, etc, until you are accustomed to them.

MDI Mainer

If you want one lens, no fussing with changing lenses, and the versatility to go from wide to telephoto, think about either the Sony or Tamron 18-200 for Sony e-mount.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B006OGD8XK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/Sony-18-200mm-F3-5-6-3-E-Mount-Lens/dp/B00836H2DQ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=sony+e+mount+18-200&qid=1555560936&s=electronics&sr=1-3

You might also want to check out some of the many video guides to the a6000, some are free on YouTube, others are available for a small fee on CreativeLive. I like "Sony a6000 Fast Start" by John Greengo.

BebuLamar

I shot recently about 300 images using auto ISO and most of the shots are at ISO 100.

anotherview Loc: California

Then you must've had good light for exposure with that low ISO setting. It's also possible you had your lens set to an aperture of f/2.8 or wider. The exposure triangle governs settings for a given exposure -- stating the obvious.

BebuLamar

In fact almost all the shots were made at f/8.0. A few at f/5.6.
You said that auto ISO tends to go high and overexpose. Not true! It will goes high when there is little light but can you shoot at low ISO in those condition if you set it manually?

jcboy3

Buy a good compact camera and take some pictures. Your cheap DSLR will suck the joy out of life.

topcat Loc: Alameda, CA

Look at the Gary Fong videos on YouTube. They are great and will help you in how to set up your 6000.