My first experience has been with the Sony a6000 which has an EVF as well as an excellent LCD screen. Coming through the Canon DSLR evolution I have been a staunch OVF guy. That's starting to change now. The EVF is excellent and I don't miss dragging a large DSLR and heavy glass into the field. I'm not ready to ditch it yet but am getting close.

in the Phoenix area we have traditionally had multiple photography stores catering to the knowledgeable photographer. The oldest and largest went out of business two years ago and has since re-opened with a different name in another location. It is but a shadow of what it was. The other major outlet is still in business undiminished and caters to the professional photo community. Several small shops catering to amateurs have just gone away. I, too, try to buy locally when I can. I'm willing to pay 30% more (plus tax) than online just to have someone to talk to while I'm doing it and get advice. I want to keep thee guys in business. When the spread gets over 30% I'll just buy from B&H justifying it by noting that I tried. Now I save the tax and, in most cases, shipping too.
I've often fantasized about owning a camera store in a small town with tourist action. Whenever I do I look at the online ads and realize that it would be so difficult to keep the doors open in the face of those bargains. The fantasy quickly fades. Yes, there are people out there who are doing it and I salute and will support them whenever it makes even a modicum of sense.

Sony A6000 16-55 kit lens.

Sharp enough?

Thanks. No tar or feathers. APS andd 4/3 work fine for printing and I'm looking to uprez those pesky phone shots.

Tell us more about Perfect Resize.

These are beautiful. I assume the hummingbird standing on the feeder was shot wide open at a fast shutter speed. Handheld or tripod?

Ok, you convinced me. I'm going to be on the beach at Tybee Island next week and I'll give it a try with the Sony. Even if they don't come out I already have way more seagull pix than I can use in a lifetime.

Birds are fun - often happenstance and occasionally planned

Stalked this young roadrunner for 30 minutes. Actually he was more copncerned about the nearby coyote than me.

The mirrorless camera transmits a portion of the light to an auxiliary sensor that produces an image in the electronic viewfinder. The image is the same as on the screen in back so you have the option of looking through a viewfinder rather than relying on live view. Formerly these electronic viewfinders left a lot to be desired but the new ones are as good as, and possibly better than the optical. They are bright and have virtually no shutter lag.

I totally get where you are. Everything you are doing would be fine with a mirrorless - except birds. My experience as a seagull freak has taught me that the instant response of a DSLR shutter shooting at high speed through an optical viewfinder is the way to go. My suggestion would be to get a mirrorless for day to day stuff and until you can afford a DSLR with appropriate lenses, rent one for your bird shoots.

I've been shooting with Canon SLR's since long before anyone thought of digital photography. So when digital came along I continued buying Canon so that I've owned 5 of their DSLR's starting with the 10D. The results have been rewarding and exciting as I've traveled the world getting some amazing shots. But now I'm older and schlepping those heavy cameras and lenses has become a burden. For my last trip I bought a Sony alpha 6000 mirrorless with 2 lenses that take me from 17 to 215 mm. Fast? No and I wouldn't use this gear for sports. But for everything else the results have been amazing. On a travel assignment in Spain last month I packed this gear with an add-on flash, 2 extra batteries with charger and a bag of SD cards in a bag that would not fit my Canon 5D II body. I quickly got used to the EVF versus optical viewfinder and even found myself shooting (Gasp!) live view. The results were startlingly good and I certainly didn't miss the heavy gear bag.
So, for the serious photographer, do we give away credibility by not carrying the impressive bulky stuff? Until this trip I probably would have said yes but now, I know what I can do and if anyone doesn't like it they can volunteer to carry 30 lbs of stuff for me.

Roman Aquaduct Norhern Spain near Burgos

Studio flooded by freak storm in AZ. Equipment high and dry undamaged and in storage.

4 Photogenic Studiomax monolights with reflectors
1 matching speed ring
1. 36X24 softbox
1 36 inch octagonal umbrella/softbox
2 shoot -through umbrellas
1 3X6' scrim with frame.
1 weighted boom
multi[pe size foam reflectors
1 20" beauty dish with color balanced flourescent bulb
1 small fixture with florescent for use as fill or on boom for hairlight
1 desktop computer with 27" monitor equipped fo tehered shooting
1 posing table with stool
1 triple background paper holder with individual chain pull-downs. Includes white, gray and black 8' rolls
1 single roll background stand
1 remote flash trigger - eliminates need for synch cords though they are included with lights.
Barndoor and snoots
Numerous adjustable stands to hold everything

May sell Canon DSLRs and accompanying L glass.

Respond to Skip@skipstyle.com

Yes it does. I have the wide angle, fisheye and telephoto too. The company makes a case for the 5 that has a flip-up corner to give access to the phone lens for the slip-ons

My Iphone 5 with slip on wide angle and telephoto works great too.

I've been around photography for a very long time. Trained in fashion back in the film days I expanded into lanscape, event and portrait photography though I am really a street shooter at heart. For the last few years I've run a small studio specializing in portraits. (www.skipstyle.com) Unfortunately in a freaky bit of Arizona weather the studio got flooded out so all my equipment is now in storage. Now I have to decide whether to reconstruct the studio or sell the equipment and move on to other projects. I've been shooting with canon equipment for years - a 7D for everyday use, a 5dMark II ion the studio and a 40d for backup and a good collection of L glass. Having gotten tied of lugging heavy equipment around while traveling, I recently bought a Sony alpha 6000 with the 15-55 kit and a 55-210 zoom lenses. I'm in love with the mirror-less concept and recently completed an assignment in Spain using only that camera. Honestly, looking at the results, I don't think I could have done better with the bigger, bulky camera.

Me, at work.


Roman aquaduct in Nothern Spain near Burgos