November 25, 2021

Sony Mirrorless Cameras

I own a Sony A6000 that I bought used from my friend Howard. I have had it since maybe 2017. I use it almost exclusively with the 18-55 Sony lens. This is not the 16-50 "pancake" lens sold as a kit lens.

Other Sony mirrorless cameras

The current APS-C sensor camera is the A6600, which has a 24 megapixel sensor. A friend has the a7c, which is a very lightweight fullframe camera. It has a 24 megapixel sensor in a body not much bigger than the a6000. The usual lens is a 28-60 zoom. The battery seems bigger. As one person says: "The a7C fits almost all the capabilities of the a7 III into a body that has more in common with the a6000 series."

Right now the a7r-iii is selling for $1998, which is $800 off the usual price in some holiday pricing promotion. The a7c sells for $1798. If they chopped $800 off the a7c price, I might rush out and buy it.

It weighs 18 ounces (compare to 12 ounces for the a6000).
With the lens it weighs 23.9 ounces (compare to 19.4 ounces for the a6000).

My friend also has the Sony a7r-iii which has a 42 megapixel sensor. Note that there is also a a7r-iv with a 61 megapixel sensor The a7r-iv weighs 24 ounces without a lens.

Note that these are full frame cameras that take E mount lenses which will be a concern if you have a bunch of APS-C sensor lenses for the a6000 you might want to use.

A case in point is the 16-70 f/4 zoom with "Zeiss" hype. My friend has this lens and loves it. I came close to buying it. It would mount on the a7c, but would not cover the full frame. You can use it in APSC mode though on a full frame camera, which is nice.

Compare for a minute the 28mm end on a full frame camera with the 16mm end on a crop camera. The crop factor on the A6000 is 1.5 (not 1.6 like on a Canon), so 16mm has a field of view equivalent to 24mm. This is somewhat wider, and at the wide end, every millimeter counts for a lot, so the 28mm lens gets a demerit.

Feedback? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's Digital Photography Info / tom@mmto.org