Erin's 2006 Civic Sedan

[erinh]

taking a break from the car audio stuff to talk about my swap from DSLR to a mirrorless Sony setup....


Foreword:

I made this thread for those who might find themselves in a similar situation down the line of trying to decide if switching to mirrorless is a step forward or backward for them. Obviously the only person who can decide that is ultimately yourself, but hopefully my initial experience helps make your decision a bit more calculated. I am far from a pro but I am a hobbyist who likes to shoot from time to time. Also, what I'm comparing is the change from a particular Canon setup to a particular Sony setup. So keep that in mind as you read this.






Making the switch from DSLR to Mirrorless:

Over the last few years my wife and I have used our DSLR less and less (Canon t2i body + various lenses). We typically only vacation at Disney World with our daughter (5yo) and we both got tired of lugging multiple lenses around so we got to the point where we pretty much only used our 17-55mm lens, which was an excellent lens. This wasn't the best Canon body. It's still a 'Rebel' and uses a cropped sensor but it was a really good prosumer type combo. The t2i+17-55 was a good mix of great PQ and ease of transport (relatively speaking, compared to my full camera bag of stuff). But still... it was a PITA the majority of times and it wore on me after an hour or two of lugging it around my neck at the parks.

We have a trip to Disney Land coming up and I was looking forward to taking some cool photos there but I wasn't looking forward to packing up all our DSLR gear and lugging it around. We've done that numerous times and after a while it pulls from the enjoyment of vacation... getting the camera in/out of the bag, walking around with the lug on my neck and trying to carry my daughter around. It makes for great shots but also comes at a price of convenience. And frankly, I've accepted the fact that I'm no pro and I'm not going to get the stellar images I see online from some of these guys who have more time and experience than I do. So, I admire their images via Google search and live with the photos I'm able to obtain.

We considered mirrorless cameras a couple years ago but the reviews back then weren't positive enough for me to dump the DSLR rig. But with our vacation coming up, I told the Mrs. about the mirrorless tech, noting the size and weight reduction, and how it's come a long way since we last looked at it and with practically no coercion she said to go for it.



The Decision (not Lebron James'):

I had seen great things about the Sony A6000 Body so I pretty much knew right away that was going to be the pony. Jason B was one major reason I picked this one up because he had such great things to say about it. But, I did due diligence in researching the various options as we do... mainly to verify my bias. lol. Still, I fell right back at the Sony.

I went with that but decided against the kit, which comes with the 16-50mm for the reasons below. Now, the new A6300 is a step up but I couldn't justify the additional $400 price tag for the body. You can find all sorts of discussions/sites regarding the differences. Some good cases made for the upgrade but a lot of people also not able to justify the increase based on their usage. So, I decided to put that savings toward a lens.



Lenses:

Now, the thing I find about Sony (and maybe other mirrorless-minded brands?) compared to Canon/Nikon is they are less... established... than the other big DSLR brands. Which unfortunately means costly lenses if you want a fixed/low aperture. I really don't want to lug around a bajillion lenses on vacation so the 16-50mm kit lens probably would suffice. But I also didn't want to go on vacation with not-quite-ideal glass.

Rather than purge my wallet on a zoom lens, I decided to shop a few prime lenses for their balance of price/PQ. I wanted a good walkaround lens. That was key. There are a lot of prime lens options out there for this camera but picking the right focal length with ability to shoot in dark places was important. For how I shoot, 50mm is way too cropped and 35mm is still too cropped. 20mm is a bit more wide than what I needed. Based on how I shoot, 25-30mm range made more sense. Ultimately I found the Sony SEL28F20 (28mm, f/2.0) to be the best option for me. It has excellent reviews if you dig around... some folks even suggest it over the more expensive glass primes. The cool thing about it is you can buy an ultrawide lens adapter for about $250 which converts it (rather nicely, according to reviews) to 21mm or this fisheye adapter to get you to 16mm. EXIF data works with both adapters, too.



Impressions of the Sony A6000 and SEL28F20:

I got the a6000 + 28mm last Friday and did a couple shots with it. Right away I realized one huge benefit over my previous t2i+17-55mm combo: sharpness. The images are much sharper. Based on previous experience with prime lenses, I presume the prime nature is the reason. The Canon was great but the lens natively had some slight softness that I personally didn't care for. No more.

As for other pros/cons, I can't really speak to that in detail juuuust yet because I haven't had the chance to take a lot of various pictures. However, I've done some shots around the house and the Sony is definitely different with respect to the menu/options structure. It's not necessarily worse. Just different. Going to take a bit of time to get used to it. One thing I don't personally care for is that the Auto-Focus and Manual focus isn't on the lens; it's in the menu structure and I don't like that. Not a deal breaker.

The big plus, though, is the reason I bought it: size and weight savings. The sony combo (a6000+28mm) weighs 485 grams. The Canon combo weighed 1175 grams. That's about 60% weight savings. This little Sony setup is so much easier to carry around and that's great for vacations. Heck, case in point: I'll be taking it with me on work travel in a couple weeks so I can go to the Very Large Array in Socorro, NM specifically to take photos there (it's about an hour and a half from my hotel). I have been there once before about 5 years ago and it was a truly awesome place. I travel to that area at least once a year and have wanted to go back a to take photos but didn't want to deal with taking the big ol' Canon. The Sony's ease of travel will make that a much more livable experience and I'm excited about getting back out there to take photos. I definitely plan to post them up here if I can get some good ones.



So the bottom line is:

I'm glad I made the switch.

Size/weight savings is a no brainer for our purpose. Picture Quality is stellar, at least as far as I can tell so far. I realize the pro types aren't going to ditch their DSLR's but I think for the pro-sumer types such as myself, the sony mirrorless route is a certainly a viable option. Images are sharper and Auto-Focus is MUCH faster than with my DSLR setup and keep in mind that Canon 17-55mm USM AF was no slouch. The 28mm prime is the perfect (prime) focal length for how/what my wife and I shoot at this point in our lives. It will force us to think about some shots a bit more and we will have to work for some more than others but I understand that tradeoff for a prime. Now, I may still pick up a zoom or an extra prime or two down the line just to have *in case* the mood strikes but for now I can say that the 28mm prime is a fine purchase decision for what we shoot. If anyone with the sony mirrorless cameras is looking at prime lenses in the 20-35mm range, I suggest checking this one out.





Sample Photos:

Here's some random test shots I took using the A6000 + 28mm, all shot in JPEG. I don't have anything to process raw photos yet and frankly, I'm not sure I'd know what to do with them at this point. Though, I will be shooting raw+jpeg on vacation.


JL TwK88 DSP:
Sony a6000 Test by Bikinpunk, on Flickr


Mcintosh MC4000m amp meter:
MC4000M by Bikinpunk, on Flickr




My BMX (yep, I still ride it from time to time):

Bike Time by Bikinpunk, on Flickr

Bike Time by Bikinpunk, on Flickr


Bike Time by Bikinpunk, on Flickr

[naiku]

Thanks for that post, one of the biggest complaints I have with our is the same as yours with the Canon.... lugging around a bag, swapping lenses out, instead of just taking photos. Might look into this kind of setup when the Nikon starts to get long in the tooth.

[slade1274]

Confused and too lazy right now to check out what the deal is with the mirrorless setups as it looks like a 75% version of what you had. Still have swapping lenses to drag around..... I guess that 25% size reduction is a big deal.

[erinh]

Size/comfort is a big factor. Weight savings is nice. PQ is stellar (like I said in the review above, one immediate difference is the sharpness of the photos). Larger sensor, higher ISO, better dynamic range. the only downside I've found thus far is the battery life is much less than the canon. but I bought a few backups so it's all good.

you can do a comparison of the body styles here:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/came...vs/sony/a6000/


As for lens swapping, I purchased the single 28mm prime. I am borrowing a 12mm w/a from Jason right now and I plan to take this to Disneyland with me so we can get the very wide shots a zoom wouldn't capture. but that fits in the same pouch as the camera. so no oversized travel bags. Will I need multiple lenses? I'm sure there will be times where I will think "man, if I had a zoom lens this would be easier" but it's a tradeoff I'm willing to accept as zooms are costly to get low aperture and PQ in the same package. The a6000+28mm prime is an incredible walk around setup.


I may sound like a broken record but this setup's PQ leaves me with no regrets on ditching the Canon rig. Zero. Obviously individual needs/use case varies but it was a good swap for me. And the form factor is a solid plus. Layla digs it because now she can use the camera. which leads me to this post...


My daughter (5yo) has been asking if she can use the new camera we got last week (sony a6000) so I obliged. I took her for a drive to the river park, put the camera on auto and said "don't drop it" and then let her do her thing. Here she is.

IMG_9061 by Bikinpunk, on Flickr





She took about 40 photos. Obviously some were bad, but she did get a few that I thought were really cool. So here they are:

DSC00156 by Bikinpunk, on Flickr


DSC00145 by Bikinpunk, on Flickr


DSC00163 by Bikinpunk, on Flickr





On the way back home we stopped by the old BMX/skate shop/skatepark I used to work at. All the ramps were demolished when he closed up shop but the building remains as a nice piece of nostalgia for me. It's been closed for about 12 years now but it still stands. Though, I don't know how given all the trees on top of it. That place was my haven for many years and was my first job as a teenager. I was 18 and opened/closed that place... a teenage BMX'r with the keys to a skatepark... yea, I was pretty much in heaven. lol.

Highwheels Forever by Bikinpunk, on Flickr

and ever by Bikinpunk, on Flickr

[beak81champ]

Great pics, and even greater to see there is a child that appreciates being outdoors doing cool stuff with her dad, instead of being on the couch with a phone in her hand! I think she has some natural talent for photography, and its easy to see where that came from.

[erinh]

well, I am definitely not a great photographer. I just do the best I can and hope that it looks ok. lol.

but she had a blast. I could tell she understood that me letting her use the camera was a big responsibility and she was proud that I let her do that. really was a cool father/daughter thing beyond just letting her use a camera.

[astrochex]

^ Thats awesome on so many levels, Erin! I hope photography becomes a lasting bond for you and your daughter.

[thebookfreak58]

Nice swap. I did a similar one from my Canon 400D (can't remember the Rebel US model no) with a stack of L lens' to a Fuji XT-1. Best swap ever. Size wins for sure!

[erinh]

so back to the car audio...


I was going to use my JL XD400/4v2 for rear fill. But last week I saw a guy on facebook post this Mcintosh MC423 up for about $170. It's a small little dude... does about 30wx2 @ 4 ohm. Figure that's perfect for rear fill and to keep the Mcintosh amp theming. So, tada!!!!!

[erinh]

I've also been a bit curious about the Sony RSX-GS9 headunit. My first impression last year when it was coming out was it looked/seemed stupid. It's display is pretty much useless and I didn't see the point. I got to mess with it in Tim's truck a couple months ago and it wasn't so bad using the SongPal app. Took me a bit to realize that it's intended to be used a bit differently than other headunits. Most you plug up a USB or iDevice to it and control it from the deck. However, the sony is a different story: it's intended to be navigated via the app. Plug a USB drive in to it and control song selection via the SongPal app. You guys know how this audio hobby can be sometimes where you want to try something and it festers until you do. So, that's what I did. I got a "loaner" to try out.

Since I'm not installing anything yet I figured I'd order the GS9 to try on the bench and see how I like it in person. I haven't gotten to do that just yet but I did go ahead and look at it with the Denon meters. Then compared it to the P99 with Denon meters. The Sony matte finish looks better with the Denon but the P99's window matches the Denon. Of course, if I were to run the GS9 then I'd have to use a DSP... which is perfect because I have the JL TwK88 pictured a few posts above. I'm gonna need some time with the sony to see what I think. And I do want to do some listening comparisons to see if there's anything absolutely noticeable sound-wise compared to the P99.












The power supply for the Sony is a beefy dude: