I always used to use SLR’s in the good old days of film, now dubbed ‘analogue’. I became disillusioned with carting heavy cameras around, especially as my passion at the time was all things mountains. I would invariably lug a heavy SLR and lenses up a hill and then down again without taking a shot. I was worried about the camera getting wet/damaged and quite honestly it was a faff to stop and get it out of my rucksack. I changed to compact cameras, firstly film (sorry analogue!) and then digital. I was happy, as the saying goes, the best camera is the one you have on you at the time.
Recently I decided that I wanted to be a bit more creative with my photography and not being tried to any particular manufacturer’s ‘system’, I discovered the Sony mirrorless cameras. Pretty much a digital SLR but in a nice light and compact package.
The ‘kit’ lens that generally comes with these cameras is a very small power zoom (16-50mm), which makes the camera look like a compact camera, in fact it is quite possible to walk around with the camera in your pocket. Of course this lens is a bit of a compromise in that it eats batter power and vignetting at its widest angle but it demonstrates how much technology can be packed into a small package.
Now many reading this will maybe laugh but I am not anti DSLR, they are just not for me, I know if I bought one, I wouldn’t get the use out of it. If I needed a ‘bigger’ camera, then I would opt for one of the Sony A7 mirrorless, full-frame models. Practically the same size as the A6000 but with the viewfinder on the top, making it look DSLR-ish, even though its nowhere as big as a DSLR.
What follows is a list of the kit I currently use and my rationale for buying it.
Sony 18-55mm
Sony 28-70mm
Sony 55-210mm
Samyang 300mm
Samyang 100mm macro
IMAGINE 