Which lenses to buy for Sony A6000?

[TayTay92]

Hi there,

I'm new here and I hope you can help me. This forum has helped me a lot already so I thought it's time to finally sign up.

Recently I got a new camera. I decided to sell my Canon 600D and get the Sony A6000 with the double zoom kit. So I have the SEL1650 with which I'm not very happy in terms of low light performance and sharpness over all and I have the SEL55210 which I do like very much.

So for the longer focal lenght I'm set up but I need some replacement for the SEL1650. There are a couple of lenses which I'm very interested in but it is very hard for me to chose which one I should get.

First of all I want to say that I love shooting landscapes and I like doing a lot of night photography/astrophotography (Milky way and stuff like that).

Therefore I was thinking about these lenses for this purpose:

• Sony SEL1018 F4 (I saw a lot of pictures and I love this lense and it has a good range and if it is worth it I would be willing to pay the price for it. The only concern I have that it "only" has F4 and I'm worried about getting good shots at night of the milky way.)
• Sony SEL16 F2.8 (I like that focal length and the lense seems to be at a good price for what you get. Better than the kit lense but I'm not too thrilled about it overall)
• Rokinon 12 F2.0 (Seems like this is THE lense to go for astrophotography. Very sharp, very good at low light.)
• Sigma 19mm F2.8 (Very good lense for good money BUT no OSS and only center af focus point. Most of the time no problem but if I don't want to take my tripod maybe a little disadvantage over the Sony lenses.)
• Samyang 21mm F1.4 (Don't know what to think about it. Very expensive but F1.4)

I also like doing street photography and I travel a lot so it would be handy to have a kind of "always on prime" which makes me happy in most situations. (Not too short or too long. Just a nice middle.)

For this kind of photography I was thinking about these lenses (I now there is the 32mm Touit and the 30mm Sigma but I'm not too interested in either of them):

• Sony SEL24F18Z (This lense is very expensive but sees to be very good. Could be a good always on type of lense I think.)
• Sony SEL35F18 (Good price too and good overall lense as it seems. Not too short, not too long. Seems to be the perfect lense for medium range?

And every now and again I do like shooting portraits, animals and flowers. And there I only really have one option which seems to be the Sony. For the price its just perfect and seems it performs better overall than the Sigma 60 mm.

• Sony SEL50F18 (I'm pretty sure this lense is a must have but getting this lense depends for me on which of the above I buy. If I get the Sony SEL24F18Z the SEL50F18 would be a nice addition and must have. But if I buy the Sony SEL35F18 I'm not sure if it makes too much sense getting the 50mm as well.)

As you guys can see there are a lot of lenses to chose from and I'm thinking about it for weeks and still cant make up my mind which one to buy. I want for each purpose one at least one lense. One lense with a short focal lenght one for medium (as always on) and on longer lense. I wrote my personal opinion about the lenses behind each point.

My budget is variable. Just depends if the lense is worth it or not and I'm planning to buy them until my summer holiday in June/July because I'll go to Las Vegas and New York (by the way I'm from Germany) and I want to have a nice setup for my camera.

For the landscapes I think the SEL1018 would be the best choice but I'm not 100 % sure about it. If i get this one I pretty much can compensate for the Rokinon 12mm (which still is better at low light), the Sony SEL16 and the Sigma 19mm. If I buy those three vs one SEL1018 I'd be paying almost the same price as well.

For the medium range (my always on lense) I have the SEL24 and SEL35 chosen but I really don't know which to get. And therefore I cant decide if I should get the SEL50F18 because I think it only makes sense to buy this lense if I buy the 24mm. When getting the 35mm I can just walk a few steps for or back so...

I would be very happy to hear some recommandations. Oh and by the way I do not want to buy another zoom lense for the medium to long range. Just read too much bad about them. The only one I'm interested in is the SEL1018 for landscapes.

 

Thank you!

[Austerror]

Sony SEL24F18Z Is excellent. Combine with the 55-210 and you have a great combination.

 

The Sony Zeiss returns brilliant results and f/1.8 is handy.

[Guest Colin Scott Johnson]

The best street lens is the Sony 20mm F2.8 pancake.

Smaller, lighter and about the same IQ as the 19mm Sigma.

[Omniabsent]

Hey!

I also own the a6000+kitlens and was first looking for a more decent normal lens and then for an ultrawide.

I decided for the sony 35mm/1.8 and the rokinon/samyang 12mm/2.

 

Tough decision anyway. I really like the 35, it is the best all-purpose lens I have right now. I take it for shooting people and when I know I have more time to take cool fotos (I need more time to use the f1.8 wisely). When I just need a quick shot in any situation I take the 16-50. It's really sharp around 24-30mm and thanks to the OSS you can drive up the shutter speed to 1/10s or so at night. Good enough for travel souvenirs.

Right now I'd really like to have something a little wider. The 35mm is to long for me most of the times :/ Unfortunately the Zeiss is really expensive and lacks OSS.

 

Don't forget to consider the new Sigma 30mm/1.4!

 

The 12mm is my newest pick and I like the new perspective I get. A perspective you cannot get with a point and shoot travel cam. It's of course great for indoors stuff, astro. It's sharp, yes. Sometimes I fell it produces a little weird colors so that the processing in Lightroom takes longer for me.

I'm sure the Sony is really cool too. I took the Rokinon because I got a great deal, the sony would have been more than double the price.

[PierreP]

For a year now, I've had the 24f1.8 and the 50f1.8 as kit. A perfect combo in my opinion. I would shoot portraits, and some landscapes, with the 50, and for everything else, the 24 has been and still is my favourite lens.

 

Before the 24, I used to have this set : 20f2.8, 35f1.8 and 50f1.8. I decided to sell the 35 because I was finding myself always preferring the 50 and the 20 to it, though I must say it was a great lens. Then I sold the 20 to get some more money and buy the 24f1.8. I always found the 20 to be too soft for landscapes, even around f5.6 and f8, though it was great to have a pancake lens (though the A6000 body alone is already too big for my pockets).

 

The 24f1.8 was at first a bit disappointing : sharper than the 20f2.8, but no as sharp as its price made me wish it would be, especially in the corners. However, after some days, I've definitely learned to love it : the focal length is very convenient, the sharpness is very good in the centrer, the colours are great, f1.8 is a huge plus, and its close focus distance abilities make it a good lens for food photography (well, this, I didn't care, but not my girlfriend). Though it's not perfect, it is my favourite lens of all.

 

Regarding the SEL50f1.8 : it is the most obvious choice of the Nex lens line-up. It's sharp in the centre wide open, decently sharp in the corners around f5.6, and OSS makes it a super lens for low light events. The best portrait lens of Sony APS-C mirrorless system, only beaten by the Zeiss 55 and the FE 90, which are also really expensive (you may add the Sigma 60, super sharp, though only f2.8 and without OSS, which is a no if you want to shoot in low light). To me, it's a keeper.

 

If I were you, I'd get the Zeiss 24 + the SEL50. Two of the best lenses for your A6000, almost equal quality-wise, and not redundant. If you were to buy the 35f1.8, I fear you might feel, later, that the SEL50 is too close in focal range, and realise that unfortunately, there's not much above in Sony's lens line-up. Regarding WA, 20f2.8 and 16f2.8 are rather weak compared to the 35f1.8 (some say they're on par with the SEL1650 when closed down), which will certainly be quite off-putting, but then, the 24, the best option for a moderate WA, will appear to be too close to your 35 and too expensive for such a small change.

 

As for the SEL1018, I can't say. I've heard many good things about it, however, even though f4 will be too slow to get "good quality" shots of the Milky Way.

 

I hope this will help And above all, enjoy your camera : I've been using a Nex 6 and an A6000 for 2 years now, and I think there's not much you can't do well with them. Superb little cameras !

[Gilgenberg]

I have to second the quote above!

 

I don´t like the SEL 35mm 1.8 IMO.it is not sharp even at 5.6.......the FE28-70 kitlens is much better!

 

and the Zeiss 24 is much much better and the 50mm 1.8 is cheap and has awesome IQ (a no brainer)!

 

if 24mm is to small go for the Touit 32

 

The Sigma 19mm 2.8 is better that the Sony 20F28 IMO (but the Sony has more character (the 20mm is much better than the 16mm!)) but not as good as the Zeiss 24 and the touit but the sony 20f28 is a pancake lens...very nice

 

also a nice lens but manual focus is the Mitakon 24mm 1.7 freewalker, very nice colors very sharp in the center at 1.7 but not so good in the corners open....... at 5.6 corners are also o.k.

 

so go for the Sony 50mm 1.8 OSS and for shorter focal length you have plenty options, i like the mitakon very much but it has character and is MF (i like MF),

 

Zeiss is more sterile but has better IQ and AF so Touit or SEL24mm 1.8

 

don´t go for the SEL35mm!

[Austerror]

I still think the Zeiss is the best choice:

 

https://500px.com/photo/102663747/the-usual-quest-for-food-in-osaka-by-callan-odonohoe?ctx_page=1&from=user&user_id=12107669

 

At f/1.8 it is plenty sharp for me, as the above example indicates. Aside from sharpness, everything else is well controlled also. Things like coma, distortion and such are all nothing to worry about.

[omihay]

I have on my A6000 only very good lenses:

- Samyang 8mm f2.8

- Samyang 12mm f2

- Sigma 30mm f1.4

- Sony 50mm f1.8

- Samyang 100mm f2.8 macro

I love every single one of them.

 

Sent from my SM-G901F using Tapatalk

[duncanfoxphoto]

My favorite lens for the a6000 was always the 50mm f/1.8, but your usage might differ. Don't buy the 16mm f/2.8 because it's just terrible iq. Wide angle, I really enjoyed the 19mm Sigma. Also, Samyang is Rokinon. Different company names for different countries; good iq but terribly heavy and big for an a6000.

[bloodyheart]

you can refer to here. everything related to cameras : http://dslrsearch.com/

[Golem]

....... Also, Samyang is Rokinon. Different company names for different

countries; good iq but terribly heavy and big for an a6000.

 

I think it's also Mitakon, whose real honest actual company

name is Zhong Yi. I ordered a Mitakon product direct shipped

from Hong Kong and the engraving on it is Zhong Yi. All the

other names have that certain something about their sound

or structure, something that says "invented marketing name".

But "Zhong Yi" does not. So I figger it's the actual company.  

   

   

###############################################  

  

Caution ! Tangential Useless Information Follows Below !

 

"Samyang" seems designed to "remind the ear" of more solid

names like "Samsung" or even "Sony". "Rokinon" would be a

Mash up of "Rokkor" and the many respected European lens

formulae that end in "on" or "non" or "cron", which share the

linguistic source from which we also get lens formulae ending

in "mar", "tar", etc. The old lens formulae were given names

that bragged their attributes and names were based on Latin

or Greek. Does not a Summilux gather maximum light ? It's

a mash up of Summit and Lux. As to Mitakon, it seems to be

just invented out of the "correct syllables" to sound techy and

very optical ... ends in "on" has that "k" in there, etc.

 

Many Japanese optical company names are derived from

Japanese phrases that include "optical company" or "optics

factory". That "k" ? Think "Rokkor", "Konica, "Nikon", etc.

These are usually chopped down versions of phrase names.

Konica is "Konishroku Camera", Nikon is "Nippon Kogaku",

etc etc. So "k" is important when invent a marketing label

such as Mitakon or Rokinon.  

  

Today we just accept "Vivitar" as some well worn old brand

name. There never was a Vivitar factory. It's just a silly-assed

marketing label thaz been around so long we don't catch how

silly it is. But when it was first seen, it was very obviously the  

mash up of "vivid", and the respectable-lens-name-ending of

"tar" [as from Leica's Summitar]. Initially, "Vivitar" was just a

laughable cheap sounding fake name. But then came the 283

flash and the 70-210/3.5 Series One. Game ON !

  

Those are your study notes. There will be a sooprize quiz

sometime sooner than you think :-)

[Golem]

I can see how someone would accept the 50-210 kit lens

as decent but have reservations about the 16-50. Only the

shorty has the power zoom and collapsible barrel that are

real confidence destroyers.

 

Actually, the 16-50 is a decent optic up to about 35 or 40,

and easy to tote. Nevertheless, the shorter kit zoom was

originally the 18-55. Barely differing in zoom range from

the 16-50 but differing hugely in build and in operation ...

no power zoom etc.

  

Unlike the 16-50, the 18-55 is a really appropriate partner

to pair with the 55-210. It's still 3.5 to 5.6 but the OSS does

help and works very well. Since many users feel compelled

to "outgrow" their kit lens, try to find a used 18-55 OSS. It

only added about $150 to the body-only price, so a cast off  

by a user who "outgrew" it should be a bargain.  

  

Every now and then the a3000, a marketplace failure but a

decent cheap ILC with EVF, pops up for $200 or $225, as

refurb, open box, clearance, etc. The a3000, marketplace

flop that it is, ships with the 18-55 OSS ! Not to mention an

original Sony NPFW50 battery :-) Considering the value of

the lens and battery, the camera is pretty much free, as well

it should be since nobody bought them at the original $350.  

  

So, if you can bag one, you get the lens you need, NPFW50

spare battery, and a disposable but capable 20MP camera

body, for risky places. Or put the 16-50 on it and let your kid

or your Uncle Bob use it.

[Austerror]

Golem, that is a great idea!

[rats]

Hi everyone,

I am planning to buy Sony alpha mirrorless camera. I m just a beginner with passion for photography. Can you please help me to decide between A6300 & A6000. If image quality in both the camera is same then will go for A6000.

 

Also, with A6000, which lens should I consider: 50mm 1.8 OSS or 55-210mm which cones in offer.

[rats]

Hi Guys,

I am planning to buy Sony mirrorless camera. I am a beginner in photography and really appreciate the sharp picture quality as posted by someone in this blog. Please suggest, if A000 or A6300 if there is not much difference in image quality. We also have an offer on A600 in this link.

 

Please advise if A6000 would be good choice or I should go for A6300. Here is Link.  Extra lens is included in the offer

 

In the lens: Sony 50mm 1.8 OSS  or  Sony 55-210mm Lens??

 

Waiting for your response. Thanks!

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

The A6000 is good enough so if you don't feel the A6300 has any clear advantage for you personally, the A6000 will serve you well. Then you will have some extra money for lenses, which is important.

 

Both the 50/1.8 and 55-210 are useful lenses. I would recommend the 50/1.8 if you prefer to take photos of people. It does very nice portraits. If you like walking around and photographing outdoors, even birds or animals, you should get the 55-210.

 

In the long run you should probably get both as they are very useful lenses at quite good prices.

 

Hi Guys,

I am planning to buy Sony mirrorless camera. I am a beginner in photography and really appreciate the sharp picture quality as posted by someone in this blog. Please suggest, if A000 or A6300 if there is not much difference in image quality. We also have an offer on A600 in this link.

 

Please advise if A6000 would be good choice or I should go for A6300. Here is Link.  Extra lens is included in the offer

 

In the lens: Sony 50mm 1.8 OSS  or  Sony 55-210mm Lens??

 

Waiting for your response. Thanks!

[haygrrr]

Just got my a6000 in fall and came with 16-50. First lens I bought was 35/1.8 which is fantastic. Seriously lacking range though and after borrowing a friends 55-210 for a bit, just bought a used one on eBay that should be here Tuesday. Good luck!

[robbo333]

Jumping in on this thread...

 

I've been shooting with the a6000 for about a year while traveling. It's an incredible little camera and I would like to upgrade lenses to something that can capture sharper images straight out of the glass. I work from a whitewater kayak often and as is such, I would like a small zoom to accommodate my inability to always change physical distance for the right shot. 

 

In my realm of photography 16-35mm covers most everything I need. Given that I am shooting APS-C, I know I will not actually get that focal range from that dedicated lens. Ultimately my question buckles down to this: Is is worth putting the money towards an f/4 lens that will fall within that range? 10-18 seems decent...

I am tempted to switch back to canon just for the better glass and price points but I am so in love with the sony system that I am having a tough time making the decision. I know there are adaptors, but for this small body and heavy canon glass, I'd rather avoid it. 

 

Thoughts? 

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

The 10-18 is a compact performer, so it is consisteng with the small kit requirement.

[Cheatah]

I am very pleased with my SAMYANG Rokinon 2/12mm, which I am using mainly with fixfocus!

[Deleted account]

I'm also struggling with the lens selection for my A6500 that I have bought last week, I have Sigma 18-35 mm f/1.8 with MC-11 adapter and I'm very happy with it, but I'm also looking for something smaller and more portable. Maybe Sigma 19mm and 30mm primes with 55-210 could be good combination for travelling. What do you think?

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

I'm also struggling with the lens selection for my A6500 that I have bought last week, I have Sigma 18-35 mm f/1.8 with MC-11 adapter and I'm very happy with it, but I'm also looking for something smaller and more portable. Maybe Sigma 19mm and 30mm primes with 55-210 could be good combination for travelling. What do you think?

That will work fine. One suggestion for travels is the SEL18200 OSS. It is very convenient and surprisingly good. You could probably find a used copy for about the same price as the three lenses you mention.

[Deleted account]

That might also be an alternative, thanks for suggestion.

[rccasgar]

There are two versions of 18-200. I've heard that the older one (silver instead of black, fatter and heavier) has better IQ. Is this right?

[rccasgar]

By the way, SEL18200LE price tag new is in the 600-700 EUR. It is pretty close to the Zeiss 16-70 f4... which can also be bought used, but being very careful as there were bad copies overthere (decentered, ...), at least in the past.