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[leng jai]

If you like shallow DoF then it will be a bit dissapointing. A theoretical 24-80mm f5.6 on a FF camera and a theoretical 16-55mm f4* on an APS-C camera would both have the same DoF as that lens wide open. ISO performance will also be noticable worse, but outside of action you can take advantage of the IBIS and modern sensors still do really great for most people.
*16-53mm f3.7 for APS-C, close enough

I'm not that good with mirrorless systems, but the basics I know is that MFT has the smallest sensor, but biggest lens lineup. Fuji has been praised for its JPEG processing, but the lenses are really expensive. Sony has a lot more bargains and a bigger lineup than Fuji, but they don't have many premium lenses for APS-C.
Mirrorless Nikon and Canon both suck.

My recommendation as always is to find lenses (and eventually bodies) you want and make your decision upon that. If you want multiple lenses that is likely where most of your money will go. If you're not planning on any other lenses in the near future then the 12-40mm looks decent with good reviews.

Yeah, I'm probably not going to buy another lense for at least a year so I'm looking for one that can be used for general everyday use. How would the DoF control compare to the RX100 MKII? I was pretty happy with the results I could get with that.

 

[Ty4on]

Yeah, I'm probably not going to buy another lense for at least a year so I'm looking for one that can be used for general everyday use. How would the DoF control compare to the RX100 MKII? I was pretty happy with the results I could get with that.

DPreview made a handy graph of EQ aperture for various point and shoots including the RX100 II (yellow).

As you can see it is only barely beaten at the widest focal length. I think it also focuses closer at the tele end, max magnification is 0.3 which is quite good. You can see lot's of bokeh examples here.

 

[Astral/H3X]

I don't know if any of you guys would be interested (or if it's even entirely appropriate), but I'm selling my a5000 over in the BST thread for $260.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

I have barely had any time to play with the A7ii as I was just waiting for some new memory cards to come in. I hate USPS. No idea why Amazon uses them. Anyways, I had to run out but took some photos just in Auto/Jpeg on the kit lens just to see how they came out. Shit lighting and it auto'd the ISO up to 6400 f/5.6 and it still came out pretty okay.

Test Shot A7ii by adamrfletcher, on Flickr

 

[BJK]

Be sure to tell us how you like the 70D, I wanted to pull the trigger on it myself on black friday. Unfortunately for me I've run into financial troubles so I have to put all my gear plans on hold for a long time. It's a shame too because it would have really helped with my portrait work.

Finally got a chance to shoot a basketball game with my 70D. Unfortunately, the facility changed its camera policy to prohibit carry-in of lenses of 100mm or more....meaning my 24-105 f/4L was a no-go. 15-85 was my best option, since I don't have an 85 f/1.8 yet.


Jackson Kick-out by bjkrautk, on Flickr

Aperture of f/5.6 means the pictures are a bit noisier than I'd like, and I probably underexposed by a stop (first time not shooting auto ISO)...but I'm relatively happy with the results. Even with a "slow" lens, the 70D focused quickly, with very few OOF shots.

Significant features upgrade over my T3i...now I just need to buy a reference book to teach me what all the settings actually do.

 

[leng jai]

Just pulled the shit out of that trigger. Guess my news year's resolution is to get out and take more pictures.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

This A7ii is pretty nice in low light. I'm loving it.

A7ii Low Light Test by adamrfletcher, on Flickr

Edited the RAW in Lightroom from above of my dog. Much better :-]

A7ii Test with Lightroom by adamrfletcher, on Flickr

 

[FStop7]

All in.

After years and years with DSLRs it's time for a change...

 

[sechsterangriff]

All in.

After years and years with DSLRs it's time for a change...

One day... One day...

 

[Doc Holliday]

All in.

After years and years with DSLRs it's time for a change...

Sheeeeet!

 

[TerryLee81]

All in.

After years and years with DSLRs it's time for a change...

Oh wow, nice pick up! Have you owned one before?

 

[FStop7]

Oh wow, nice pick up! Have you owned one before?

Nope. I'd been curious about rangefinders for some time. I tend to shoot manual and I wanted something smaller for travel. There's a Leica store in the area so I stopped by and tested the M 240 and the M Monochrom. Took an instant liking to how the rangefinder works. Took the DNG files home, put them through Lightroom, and loved the results, even at 100% crop. Spent a few weeks arguing with myself if I should do the deed and finally went for it. I am a big fan of the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, he shot a great deal of his best work with nothing other than a 50mm lens. The Leica 50 1.4 just blew me away. It felt like the best fit, though at some point I would like to get a 35 and perhaps a 75. The Voigtlander and Zeiss M mount lenses have a lot to offer at a fraction of the price of the Leica glass, too. Not to mention all of the vintage stuff.

 

[Sami+]

Just bought a SEL50F18 on Amazon, it'll be here on Friday. I'm really loving my a6000 (first DSLR I've ever owned) but I figure it's time to upgrade from the kit lens. Any of you guys have this lens?

 

[Doc Holliday]

Just bought a SEL50F18 on Amazon, it'll be here on Friday. I'm really loving my a6000 (first DSLR I've ever owned) but I figure it's time to upgrade from the kit lens. Any of you guys have this lens?

Well it's technically not a DSLR There is no mirror in it.

 

[leng jai]

Quite the departure from shooting from a RX100. As soon as I handled picked up the camera, looked through the EVF and heard the "click", I knew I was in love. The build quality is quite beastly, don't feel like I have to baby this thing at all.

 

[Astral/H3X]

Just bought a SEL50F18 on Amazon, it'll be here on Friday. I'm really loving my a6000 (first DSLR I've ever owned) but I figure it's time to upgrade from the kit lens. Any of you guys have this lens?

Its a mirrorless, not a DSLR. Same pics, half the size.

And I just got my a6000 yesterday! I've been using the a5000 the last few months, and personally I just use some old ass manual lenses for cheap, to take my pictures.

 

[Sami+]

Well it's technically not a DSLR There is no mirror in it.

Its a mirrorless, not a DSLR. Same pics, half the size.

And I just got my a6000 yesterday! I've been using the a5000 the last few months, and personally I just use some old ass manual lenses for cheap, to take my pictures.

Haha, my bad. I know it's mirrorless (specifically went out of my way to get a mirrorless because I wanted something I'd always have on me), but I made the mental mistake of "DSLR = Good Camera".

Honestly having used the Nikons and Canons at my school for a while I haven't really noticed any difference at all other than weight. I don't know what DSLRs have over mirrorless anymore.

 

[Astral/H3X]

Haha, my bad. I know it's mirrorless (specifically went out of my way to get a mirrorless because I wanted something I'd always have on me), but I made the mental mistake of "DSLR = Good Camera".

Honestly having used the Nikons and Canons at my school for a while I haven't really noticed any difference at all other than weight. I don't know what DSLRs have over mirrorless anymore.

The only difference is that they use a mirror to create a viewfinder. That's it. Literally, nothing else is different. It doesn't use the mirror in any way as far as the actual resulting image is concerned, and with an electronic viewfinder (like on your a6000) you can actually see the result of what you shot.

Really not much advantage, especially considering the weight.

 

[FunnyBunny]

I'm so happy to learn a few more people bought the A6000—it's a great camera.

The Sony 50mm/f1.8 is a very solid lens for the price. Consider picking it up!

 

[leng jai]

Damn, after using the E-M1 for two days I think I'm going to have trouble going back to the RX100 with its lack of EVF.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

Damn, after using the E-M1 for two days I think I'm going to have trouble going back to the RX100 with its lack of EVF.

EVF master race. It is amazing, agreed.

 

[FStop7]

Welp. The verdict is in: I like the Leica. I'll post more when the Q1 2015 photo thread goes up.

 

[Donos]

I guess the chains are not part of the sculpture but they fit.

 

[Donos]

EVF master race. It is amazing, agreed.

With my old NEX 5N and then 5R i always thought that i don't really need one but i use it almost the whole time now with my NEX-6. Don't want to go back either. And i have eyeglasses.

 

[Radec]

I'm so happy to learn a few more people bought the A6000—it's a great camera.

The Sony 50mm/f1.8 is a very solid lens for the price. Consider picking it up!

The 35SEL18 is great as well.

 

[FStop7]

I guess the chains are not part of the sculpture but they fit.

That's what caught my eye... the chains, the abrasions and splatters, but still the expression was serene.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

I had my camera bag stolen out of my car in St Louis over the holidays. While it sucks, I'm not too overwrought by it since it the gear in it was pretty old, it's not like I had wedding photos on the cards or anything, and insurance is covering replacement value (so yea, new gear.) Since I'm essentially starting over (the bag had virtually all of my system-specific gear in it) and I haven't followed gear developments for a few years, I thought I'd ask you guys for advice on what to get as replacement.

I had a Canon 400D (Digital Rebel XTi,) the old 18-55mm kit lens, a 50mm f/1.8, and a Lensbaby Composer.

The Lensbaby is non-negotiable, it's by far my favorite lens and I need it on whatever new system I get in to. It's available in these mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony A, Pentax K , Olympus 4/3, Micro 4/3rds, Sony E, Samsung NX. Beyond the Lensbaby, I'd like a range of nice glass in a mount standard that will last until the next time I'm an idiot and get my gear stolen.

I don't need crazy ISO ranges or megapixels falling out my ass. It'd be nice for ISO1600 to be cleaner than my 400D's was and 16-20 megapixels should be fine (famous last words.)

I don't really have a dog in the DSLR vs mirrorless fight and while I lean Canon, I could see myself going for another system that has a strong upside. I think I'm probably going to go for a 700D or whatever Canon mirrorless thing is, but hasn't that gotten horrible reviews? Looks like the EF-M mount would require a converter to fit a Lensbaby's EF mount, does anyone have any experience with such a set up (it's possible to get some weird vignetting on a normally mounted Lensbaby, I imagine it could get worse with a converter in the middle?)

Any suggestions? EDIT: I'm guessing budget on the camera kit (excluding the non-kit lenses) will be about $750-800.

 

[Astral/H3X]

I had my camera bag stolen out of my car in St Louis over the holidays. While it sucks, I'm not too overwrought by it since it the gear in it was pretty old, it's not like I had wedding photos on the cards or anything, and insurance is covering replacement value (so yea, new gear.) Since I'm essentially starting over (the bag had virtually all of my system-specific gear in it) and I haven't followed gear developments for a few years, I thought I'd ask you guys for advice on what to get as replacement.

I had a Canon 400D (Digital Rebel XTi,) the old 18-55mm kit lens, a 50mm f/1.8, and a Lensbaby Composer.

The Lensbaby is non-negotiable, it's by far my favorite lens and I need it on whatever new system I get in to. It's available in these mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony A, Pentax K , Olympus 4/3, Micro 4/3rds, Sony E, Samsung NX. Beyond the Lensbaby, I'd like a range of nice glass in a mount standard that will last until the next time I'm an idiot and get my gear stolen.

I don't need crazy ISO ranges or megapixels falling out my ass. It'd be nice for ISO1600 to be cleaner than my 400D's was and 16-20 megapixels should be fine (famous last words.)

I don't really have a dog in the DSLR vs mirrorless fight and while I lean Canon, I could see myself going for another system that has a strong upside. I think I'm probably going to go for a 700D or whatever Canon mirrorless thing is, but hasn't that gotten horrible reviews? Looks like the EF-M mount would require a converter to fit a Lensbaby's EF mount, does anyone have any experience with such a set up (it's possible to get some weird vignetting on a normally mounted Lensbaby, I imagine it could get worse with a converter in the middle?)

Any suggestions? EDIT: I'm guessing budget on the camera kit (excluding the non-kit lenses) will be about $750-800.

I'd recommend the a6000, personally. Super light and tiny for what it shoots, and I've heard the menu system is a vast improvement over the NEX's (which I have no experience with). Also a body for it only costs $450.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

I'd recommend the a6000, personally. Super light and tiny for what it shoots, and I've heard the menu system is a vast improvement over the NEX's (which I have no experience with). Also a body for it only costs $450.

Thanks for the recommendation, I appreciate it! I went to Best Buy to get my hands on it and see how it feels. While it was a nice bit of kit, it wasn't what I was looking for, nor were the other mirrorless camera they had out (a couple other Sonys, a Fuji, and a Samsung.) I didn't mind the heft of my old DSLR, and if anything, I appreciated the size of the 60D they had (although the floor model looked pretty trashed.)

One of the things that really swayed me was the speed. My first digital camera was a crappy Olympus P&S, the thing took forever to boot up and the shutter lag was interminable. That probably sensitized me to lag and I adored the lack of that lag with my XTi. The mirrorless cameras were nowhere near as bad as my ancient Olympus, but in my in store testing, I had two frames fired off on the DLSR before I could get on off on the mirrorless cameras. The "fly-by-wire" zoom on the Sony also put me off, there was a lag with zooming and I may be old fashioned, but I love the feeling of connectedness that mechanical zoom gives me.

But the nail in the mirrorless systems' coffin for me was the glass. I go to B&H and there's maybe 20 lenses for the Sony E mount. There's 20 pages of lenses for the Canon EF mount (numbers pulled from my ass and are overstated since the EFs have US and grey market versions.) I know I'm never going to have more than 3-4 lenses, but I like knowing there are so many options available. I mean, there's 3 50mm primes from Canon alone! The system has so much inertia that I just feel safe with it. Plus, I have lots of friends with Canon gear that I can borrow if needed.

Now, I haven't actually bought the camera yet, I just needed to decide to before buying the Lensbaby on a $100 discount. It's not like I've written off mirrorless systems - on the contrary, I think they're going to evolve and eat in to the DSLR market pretty heavily and it looks like they already compete on quality. Just that for me, for now, sticking with Canon's EF system made the most sense.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

Thanks for the recommendation, I appreciate it! I went to Best Buy to get my hands on it and see how it feels. While it was a nice bit of kit, it wasn't what I was looking for, nor were the other mirrorless camera they had out (a couple other Sonys, a Fuji, and a Samsung.) I didn't mind the heft of my old DSLR, and if anything, I appreciated the size of the 60D they had (although the floor model looked pretty trashed.)

One of the things that really swayed me was the speed. My first digital camera was a crappy Olympus P&S, the thing took forever to boot up and the shutter lag was interminable. That probably sensitized me to lag and I adored the lack of that lag with my XTi. The mirrorless cameras were nowhere near as bad as my ancient Olympus, but in my in store testing, I had two frames fired off on the DLSR before I could get on off on the mirrorless cameras. The "fly-by-wire" zoom on the Sony also put me off, there was a lag with zooming and I may be old fashioned, but I love the feeling of connectedness that mechanical zoom gives me.

But the nail in the mirrorless systems' coffin for me was the glass. I go to B&H and there's maybe 20 lenses for the Sony E mount. There's 20 pages of lenses for the Canon EF mount (numbers pulled from my ass and are overstated since the EFs have US and grey market versions.) I know I'm never going to have more than 3-4 lenses, but I like knowing there are so many options available. I mean, there's 3 50mm primes from Canon alone! The system has so much inertia that I just feel safe with it. Plus, I have lots of friends with Canon gear that I can borrow if needed.

Now, I haven't actually bought the camera yet, I just needed to decide to before buying the Lensbaby on a $100 discount. It's not like I've written off mirrorless systems - on the contrary, I think they're going to evolve and eat in to the DSLR market pretty heavily and it looks like they already compete on quality. Just that for me, for now, sticking with Canon's EF system made the most sense.

Just get an adapter for other types of glass that you want to use? Sure you may not have the AF on some of the glass that has that but you can even use super old vintage glass with the adapters.

One cool thing with the A7ii is that it has 5 axis image stabilization and with other lenses, you can have the camera still provide image stabilization for those lenses with as the body has it built in. Even lenses that never had stabilization built in. Pretty nifty. I think most recommendations i've read everywhere have told people switching from Nikon or Canon cameras to not abandon their old glass and keep them and get an adapter like a Metabones.

But yeah, some people may prefer the AF that their Canon lenses provide and its something an adapter just wont carry over.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

Just get an adapter for other types of glass that you want to use? Sure you may not have the AF on some of the glass that has that but you can even use super old vintage glass with the adapters.

One cool thing with the A7ii is that it has 5 axis image stabilization and with other lenses, you can have the camera still provide image stabilization for those lenses with as the body has it built in. Even lenses that never had stabilization built in. Pretty nifty. I think most recommendations i've read everywhere have told people switching from Nikon or Canon cameras to not abandon their old glass and keep them and get an adapter like a Metabones.

But yeah, some people may prefer the AF that their Canon lenses provide and its something an adapter just wont carry over.

And frankly, I could still go that way, I just needed something to base the decision on which mount of Lensbaby to get before the sale ended. I see that there are E-mount adaptors for T-mount lenses, which have some stupid long tele lenses (at stupid high f-stops.) Hell, I cringe a little bit every time I hear of a new photographer getting in to the hobby/business and going with a DSLR.

Still, for me, the mirrorless cameras offer features which aren't that important to me (mainly size) at the cost of features which are (mainly native glass, speed, longevity of the system.)

 

[Astral/H3X]

So GAF, next week I need a flash unit. I've got my a6000, which I primarily got over my a5000 in order to use external flash, so now I need the flash.

I'm not looking for some exotic super flash unit here, I'd like to spend around $~100 to $150, and I suppose I need TTL as well. Also, I'll need some way to diffuse it. I've heard that the new Sony cameras are incompatible TTL wise with a whole lot of other flashes, but I really have no idea what to look for in a good "value" flash unit. Any suggestions?

 

[Squirrel Killer]

So GAF, next week I need a flash unit. I've got my a6000, which I primarily got over my a5000 in order to use external flash, so now I need the flash.

I'm not looking for some exotic super flash unit here, I'd like to spend around $~100 to $150, and I suppose I need TTL as well. Also, I'll need some way to diffuse it. I've heard that the new Sony cameras are incompatible TTL wise with a whole lot of other flashes, but I really have no idea what to look for in a good "value" flash unit. Any suggestions?

$150 is tight for external flash and diffuser, are you looking to go off camera too? David Hobby at Strobist recommends LumoPro LP180 as his cheap flash recommendation, but that's without TTL and nearly $200. I went with a $60-70 Yongnuo YN560-II based on someone's recommendation here (and against Hobby's advice at least for the mark I model) and I've been happy with it, although I don't really shoot with it all that much. As for diffusion, I'd start out with a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce unless you have a specific shooting set in mind that would call for something different (such as a stand and an umbrella.)

For wireless triggering I went with Yongnuo RF-603C, again on someone's recommendation here, and there I'm a little less confident with them. I've been able to use them when actually shooting, but it seems there's always some resetting/rebooting that I have to do with them.

 

[Astral/H3X]

$150 is tight for external flash and diffuser, are you looking to go off camera too? David Hobby at Strobist recommends LumoPro LP180 as his cheap flash recommendation, but that's without TTL and nearly $200. I went with a $60-70 Yongnuo YN560-II based on someone's recommendation here (and against Hobby's advice at least for the mark I model) and I've been happy with it, although I don't really shoot with it all that much. As for diffusion, I'd start out with a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce unless you have a specific shooting set in mind that would call for something different (such as a stand and an umbrella.)

For wireless triggering I went with Yongnuo RF-603C, again on someone's recommendation here, and there I'm a little less confident with them. I've been able to use them when actually shooting, but it seems there's always some resetting/rebooting that I have to do with them.

Well, how important IS TTL? Photography is an incredibly complicated and technical thing to learn (I do full manual, at less on the camera itself), and flash seems like an entire other mountain to learn -- TTL seems like it would be incredibly useful. Or are all the flash settings something I could quickly adjust based on some quick test photos? If so I could drop the TTL, I rarely find moments of "oh crap I need this ONE photo to work" at a moments notice.

I was looking at the HVL F20 from Sony, looks like I can get it for about $120. Is it a good choice.

 

[ana]

In november the multi selector broke of from my nikon d300.. So i decided to buy "new" camera.. I found barely used D700 with 24-120 lens and battery grip and today it came in the mail. Can't wait to try it tomorrow.. I had been planning to move from dx to fx for a while now so luckily old camera broke down

 

[Squirrel Killer]

Well, how important IS TTL? Photography is an incredibly complicated and technical thing to learn (I do full manual, at less on the camera itself), and flash seems like an entire other mountain to learn -- TTL seems like it would be incredibly useful. Or are all the flash settings something I could quickly adjust based on some quick test photos? If so I could drop the TTL, I rarely find moments of "oh crap I need this ONE photo to work" at a moments notice.

I was looking at the HVL F20 from Sony, looks like I can get it for about $120. Is it a good choice.

David Hobby (whose Strobist blog I highly recommend although he seems to be updating it rather slowly nowadays) swears by manual and that's the Kool-Aid I've been drinking since before I even had an external flash to make my opinions with, but he's even fuddier and duddier than me. My understanding is that TTL is very important for documenting quickly changing situations (like say, a wedding.) In other situations, if you have a particular effect you're going for (like say, an artistic portrait where you want low key lighting or some such,) you really want manual controls that won't be overridden by the camera's exposure presets.

That flash looks like a fine starter flash, TTL, decent battery life, nice recycle time, and you can angle it up. But it look like it has some limitations (which might be fine for your planned use): a bit weak, no manual controls, and it doesn't rotate side to side (so you can bounce it off the ceiling, but not the wall to get off-axis lighting.)

 

[Astral/H3X]

David Hobby (whose Strobist blog I highly recommend although he seems to be updating it rather slowly nowadays) swears by manual and that's the Kool-Aid I've been drinking since before I even had an external flash to make my opinions with, but he's even fuddier and duddier than me. My understanding is that TTL is very important for documenting quickly changing situations (like say, a wedding.) In other situations, if you have a particular effect you're going for (like say, an artistic portrait where you want low key lighting or some such,) you really want manual controls that won't be overridden by the camera's exposure presets.

That flash looks like a fine starter flash, TTL, decent battery life, nice recycle time, and you can angle it up. But it look like it has some limitations (which might be fine for your planned use): a bit weak, no manual controls, and it doesn't rotate side to side (so you can bounce it off the ceiling, but not the wall to get off-axis lighting.)

How difficult would you say it is to understand manual flash, to the point that you could get the photo you wanted in about 3 shots? If its not too hard I'll just go ahead and get a non TTL for now, its just that some blog aid read made it sound as though non TTL photography was damn near impossible.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

How difficult would you say it is to understand manual flash, to the point that you could get the photo you wanted in about 3 shots? If its not too hard I'll just go ahead and get a non TTL for now, its just that some blog aid read made it sound as though non TTL photography was damn near impossible.

From what little experience I have, I would say that it's difficult, but no where near damn near impossible. But I would think that if you can judge exposure somewhat decently (can you get the exposure right in 3-4 shots in manual?) you can probably get competent with manual flash.

The thing is, it really depends on what you're trying to do, and it sounds like you're gearing up for a planned low light event shoot soon. That's a situation where you don't want to be fiddling around with a manual flash while you're still learning it. Since you have the option of a reasonably priced first party flash with TTL, for me the ease of use under fire would outweigh the raw power and creative freedom.

Spoiler

Although since I purposely never undertake those types of shoots, power and freedom guide my personal gear.

 

[Astral/H3X]

Nah, so far I'm just trying to get a decent set of equipment so I'm never totally fubar, and taking pictures at my unit can be a pain, since the stage that have a lot of stuff go on at happens to have no light on it, but lots of light everywhere else in the room. Ugh. So a flash of some kind is important. But, I dont want to have a big sack of flashes, and can't afford any super expensive ones, so I'm trying to feel out a good value flash that will cover most of my bases at least adequately.

I may get the Yongnuo, since I never have only one shot to get the shot. I can fiddle around with some test shots to get it set right, so Ill just have to work with that.

 

[Astral/H3X]

So, I'm thinking of going with the Yongnuo 560 IV, and I have just a few questions:

From what I gather, the main setting that I need to worry about, is the flash power. If I'm allowing myself test shots, is setting this as easy as giving it more power if the subject is too dark, and less power if it is too bright? And what is "zoom"? What does that do?

Say I want to have off camera flash, with the Yongnuo. I'm seeing the R603 here, is this what I need? Is it ALL I need? Do I just plug one on top of my a6000, one on the Yongnuo, and fire? Also, what is that cable that it has?

And lastly, is all of this compatible with the a6000?

 

[Ty4on]

Googling around I found out that Nissin have made TTL flashes for Sony's new shoe. Edit: It is over 200 dollars though and I don't see any cheaper model with TTL for Sony.

As for TTL vs nonTTL I have no idea. With one flash non TTL is easy, but I'm guessing it sucks with more than one having to adjust every flash manually.

 

[Astral/H3X]

Googling around I found out that Nissin have made TTL flashes for Sony's new shoe. Edit: It is over 200 dollars though and I don't see any cheaper model with TTL for Sony.

As for TTL vs nonTTL I have no idea. With one flash non TTL is easy, but I'm guessing it sucks with more than one having to adjust every flash manually.

That's part of why I'm looking at the Yongnuo. It seems like the flashes actually sync to each other before they go off, so if I got three of them, I'd only ever have to adjust one to get all three where they need to be. I'm glad that the 560 IV has the transceiver function, that makes it almost a no brainer to get. Doesn't hurt that it's the same price as the III.

 

[Ty4on]

That's part of why I'm looking at the Yongnuo. It seems like the flashes actually sync to each other before they go off, so if I got three of them, I'd only ever have to adjust one to get all three where they need to be. I'm glad that the 560 IV has the transceiver function, that makes it almost a no brainer to get. Doesn't hurt that it's the same price as the III.

That's pretty cool.

As for zoom that is concentrating the flash beam for when you're using a longer focal length. Modern flashes do it automatically (you probably need to dial it in if the flash can't communicate), but with older flashes you pulled the lens out.

Note the grey panel with focal length markings.

 

[hitsugi]

Upgrading from my Nex-3N to an A6000 - I'm excited. I could never appreciate the Nex's low-res LCD and always felt like I was missing out on something by not having a viewfinder (although I hear the a6000's isn't all that hot, it should be better than nothing). More than anything, I'm excited for the controls because I HATED the menu system on the 3N. Hated it.

 

[Astral/H3X]

Upgrading from my Nex-3N to an A6000 - I'm excited. I could never appreciate the Nex's low-res LCD and always felt like I was missing out on something by not having a viewfinder (although I hear the a6000's isn't all that hot, it should be better than nothing). More than anything, I'm excited for the controls because I HATED the menu system on the 3N. Hated it.

I went from the a5000 (Which is the upgrade NEX3), so I can just say you are going to LOVE the a6000. Though I don't get any complaints about the viewfinder... seems awesome as hell to me.
Also I never had to deal with the NEX menu system. That's why I went for the a5000 in the first place haha.

 

[Lender]

How could I miss these photography threads?

Currently shooting with:

Canon 1DMKIII
Canon 1DSMKIII
Fuji XE1

Lenses:
Canon 70-200mm F2.8 L IS
Canon 24-105 F4 IS
Samyang 14mm f2.8
Canon 300mm F2.8 L IS

Plus an excellent 35mm f1.4 on the Fuji.

The 1DS , 24-105 and 300mm are up for sale. The 1DS will be replaced by a 5DMKIII (while continuing to save for the 1DX). The 300 mm is just sitting there the last couple of months, and I want to focus on something new for which I won't need the 300mm that much. Plus I could use the 3000€. 24-105 will be replaced by the 24-70 F2.8.

 

[Groof]

Upgrading from my Nex-3N to an A6000 - I'm excited. I could never appreciate the Nex's low-res LCD and always felt like I was missing out on something by not having a viewfinder (although I hear the a6000's isn't all that hot, it should be better than nothing). More than anything, I'm excited for the controls because I HATED the menu system on the 3N. Hated it.

So envious. I would so want to upgrade to an a6000 from the 5R, but it still works good enough... And I got the EVF add-on recently.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

So, I'm thinking of going with the Yongnuo 560 IV, and I have just a few questions:

From what I gather, the main setting that I need to worry about, is the flash power. If I'm allowing myself test shots, is setting this as easy as giving it more power if the subject is too dark, and less power if it is too bright? And what is "zoom"? What does that do?

Pretty much, you also have the option of moving the flash unit closer. Remember that light works on the inverse square law, which I have no idea what it is other than that moving the light source a little affects the intensity and depth of the light field a lot.

The zoom affects the light spread. Imagine the shape of the cone of light coming from the flash unit, not unlike the focal length of a lens. 28mm is going to throw light just about everywhere in front of the flash, while 105mm is going to throw a more aim-able, tight cone of light. To get a really tight beam of light, you would use a modifier like a snoot.

Say I want to have off camera flash, with the Yongnuo. I'm seeing the R603 here, is this what I need? Is it ALL I need? Do I just plug one on top of my a6000, one on the Yongnuo, and fire? Also, what is that cable that it has?

Aside from the adapter mentioned below, you stick a RF603 in the camera's hot shoe and another RF603 on whatever you want to trigger (not sure, but the YN560-IV may have a compatible transceiver built in, so you would only need the RF603 on the camera hot shoe.) That's the bare minimum you need. Most of these small flashes come with itty bitty stands so you can set them upright, but you may also want a full size light stand (very cheap version) and bracket (another very cheap version.) You could also just hold the thing with your free hand or use a friend as a human light stand.

And lastly, is all of this compatible with the a6000?

Judging from this thread on DP Review, it looks like the Sony's hot shoe isn't standard and there are some extra connecting pins the cause the YN560 II & III models to work inconsistently. Apparently there's an adapter mount for standard hot shoe accessories to work that resolves the issue, but others have reported that just "fiddling" with the flash in the mount and tightening it resolves it too.

 

[Astral/H3X]

Pretty much, you also have the option of moving the flash unit closer. Remember that light works on the inverse square law, which I have no idea what it is other than that moving the light source a little affects the intensity and depth of the light field a lot.

I've heard of this, but thank you for reminding me, as I had forgotten haha.

The zoom affects the light spread. Imagine the shape of the cone of light coming from the flash unit, not unlike the focal length of a lens. 28mm is going to throw light just about everywhere in front of the flash, while 105mm is going to throw a more aim-able, tight cone of light. To get a really tight beam of light, you would use a modifier like a snoot.

Yeah, as soon as I saw the focal markings on the image earlier, I knew exactly what it was. Just matches the FOV on the two.

Aside from the adapter mentioned below, you stick a RF603 in the camera's hot shoe and another RF603 on whatever you want to trigger (not sure, but the YN560-IV may have a compatible transceiver built in, so you would only need the RF603 on the camera hot shoe.) That's the bare minimum you need. Most of these small flashes come with itty bitty stands so you can set them upright, but you may also want a full size light stand (very cheap version) and bracket (another very cheap version.) You could also just hold the thing with your free hand or use a friend as a human light stand.

The whole reason I'm going with the Yongnuo and the RF603 is because the mkIV version has a fully featured transceiver built in, so it not only transmits the flash signal, but also syncs those settings to any 560 III or IV. At least, that's how I understand it. The 603 is mainly for getting any flash off the camera.

Judging from this thread on DP Review, it looks like the Sony's hot shoe isn't standard and there are some extra connecting pins the cause the YN560 II & III models to work inconsistently. Apparently there's an adapter mount for standard hot shoe accessories to work that resolves the issue, but others have reported that just "fiddling" with the flash in the mount and tightening it resolves it too.

I read into this: apparently specifically the black Alpha cameras have paint on the hotshoe itself -- particularly in places that most flashes use as a grounding point. I've heard that I could use acetone or some other substance to remove that paint from the undersides of the hotshoe bracket to fix that, if I find that my Yongnuo doesn't like having a consistent connection.

Hrm. I feel like a relatively well informed buyer at this point. When the paycheck comes in, I'll grab this equipment. (As well as a diffuser for the 560)

 

[hitsugi]

So envious. I would so want to upgrade to an a6000 from the 5R, but it still works good enough... And I got the EVF add-on recently.

I wouldn't have done it if I didn't snag an almost new one for $500. That put it into a range I could afford. The 3N had a lot of weak points to it (especially the LCD with no option for an evf) and I had just had it.