mirrorless Pentax

steve_t.1 · March 15, 2016

Hi Gang, long time, no see...

I'm dyed in the wool Pentax. K1000, K100DS, K20D, K-5, now K-3. But I know there are a lot of really good cameras out there with other names on them.

A few days ago I was introduced to the Sony A6000. 24mp APS-C just like my K-3 (sister sensors?), mirrorless, light weight, compact. Electronic viewfinder. Highly regarded. (The A6300 is due soon.) A real gem, and I want it for light travel, such as bicycle travel. The problem is, its kit zoom lens has a below average reputation- barrel distortion, vignetting, and glass that doesn't meet the potential of the sensor. Aftermarket wide-normal zooms by Sigma and Tamron make the whole project outside my budget, and physically larger than I'd hope for. I want a zoom for this one, and the size of the Sony kit zoom is very nice.

I'm not interested in going back in time to Pentax's previous K-01 camera, and I have no interest in their small sensor Q format. I haven't been active in Pentax's presence on the internet in the past year or 2 (other hobbies and interests). Has there been chatter about Pentax exploring mirrorless (with built-in viewfinder!) for APS-C again in the future? At least I'd be loaded for bear with lenses.

Oh, if anyone owns the A6000 with kit zoom and can offer your experience with it, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks,

Steve.

hinman · March 16, 2016

I have Sony A6000, you can visit my <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hin_man/">flickr photos</a> and you will see I use a combination of Sony A6000, Sony A7 and NEX 5N. I still shoot Pentax K-5. My usage is most on the aps-c with Sony A6000. It is lightweight and compact. The wonderful lens on the camera will make a lot of difference. The high end lenses series in the G or Zeiss branded lenses of Sony native E mount are expensive. I highly recommend the non-native Sigma (especially the older version1) on 19 mm f/2.8 and 30mm f/2.8. The Sigma 60mm is only available in version 2 and the 60 is the sharpest aps-c lens for Sony that I have used. Well worth the money and you can shoot all wide open and not worry about sharpness. That is especially true on the Sigma 30 and 60. <a href=" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5605/14998432423_fd52a1dcd8_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="680" /></a> sigma 30mm f/2.8 and NEX 5N @ f/2.8

The Sigma 19mm f/2.8 is the weakest link out of the trio but I like it for landscape and street shooting. It is my DA 21mm replacement on Sony aps-c sensor camera <a href=" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7324/9613044795_c492ca4d9f_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="819" /></a> Sony NEX 5N and Sigma 19mm f/2.8 <a href=" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3859/14682256682_1c64dbdb62_b.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="1024" /></a> Sigma 60 and NEX 5N

The A6000 is a fast and action packed camera. It has its quirks but it can shoot 10 frames per second and it has a Eye-AF where it places the focal point on one's eye and a green square can appear over one's eye for focusing when face detection is on. The A7r2 and A6300 even have Eye-AF and refined lock-on focusing in AF-C and video. Yes, all AF with work seamlessly on video.

<a href=" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1669/24958270193_56702a9ff5_b.jpg" alt="" width="819" height="1024" /></a> Shot with a $25.00 Fujian 35mm f/1.7 wide open in f/1.7 and Sony A6000

If you like to experiment with MF lenses on the cheap or the opposite with Leica priced lens, you will be wowed on Sony with range-finder like lenses such as the Voiglander 40mm f/1.4 and Voiglander 21mm f/1.8

<a href=" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7711/17384929715_770c6bacc4_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" /></a> Voiglander 40mm f/1.4 on Sony A7 -- the combo is tiny, not any bigger than a 43mm f/1.9 on Pentax

<a href=" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7682/17212447861_855c4e0c57_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="672" /></a> Voiglander 40mm f/1.4 and Sony A7 likely in f/1.4

And you can reuse your super-takumar (my favorite Pentax MF lenses) on Sony A7 usage such as the Super-Tak 105mm f/2.8 (tiny m42 lens) on hiking

<a href=" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1474/24530696064_9260685c56_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" /></a> Sony A6000 and Super-Tak 105mm f/2.8 and lens turbo that adds 1 stop of light and provide a 0.71 crop factor to offset the 1.5 aps-c crop factor. Can other mirrorless does what Sony has done, you bet! And I think both Olympus and Fuji have done amazing work on their latest. But Sony has done quite a remarkable job on the senor along with innovative products and the previous problems with lack of lenses are improving and not as bad as before. The big issue on A6000 or the development on aps-c in general lies in Sony putting more emphasis on FF instead of aps-c. It is both good and bad. Bad in customers like me who love aps-c and good for FF die-hard fans who are crazy on resolution or the bigger-the-better camp. When I get A6000 and A7, my take-away is that the smaller camera is more satisfactory for me. The FF is very much hyped up for my usage. FF is great but not as fantastic as what others have hyped up the value of FF for average-joe enthusiasts like me. I am much happier with a lighter camera when I go hiking or carry my camera bag for outdoor activity. The FF does has its important places and it is worth the trouble and money. Had Pentax gotten K-1 in 2013, there is no way I will get Sony A7. If I go back in time and that Pentax has a solid K-1 in 2012/2013 time-frame, I will grab k-1 for professional work while getting A6000 for weekend and light camera to have with reasonable tracking, frame rate and reliable AF. The A6000 and the Sony E mount excels the most with adapters that you can easily buy a few AF native lenses while using many of your existing lenses with AF support (Canon) or shoot all in MF. Sony excel in focus peeking along with good magnified view on EVF or LCD. The EVF is superb and once you get over the hurtle in adaptation with Evf over Ovf, you can't go back as you see the aperture change and melt your hearts away with the bokeh and rendering effect of vignette right at you view finder.

<a href=" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1668/25472958635_dca356465d_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="791" /></a> Sony A6000 with Fujinon 75mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8

hinman · March 16, 2016

Sigma super-wide 24mm f/2.8 on Sony A6000

Sigma 30mm f/2.8 @ f/8.0 on Sony NEX 5N

Super-Takumar 150mm f/4.0 wide open with Sony A6000

Sigma 60mm wide open in f/2.8 and Sony A6000

hinman · March 16, 2016

I dislike the kit zoom with 16-50mm like many others but I keep it because of its pancake like size. The build quality is much to be desired. But it is what it is, a kit zoom. It is good on center sharpness and in good lighting, I won't hesitate to shoot and it is very reasonable in quality. I hate to compare two lenses. If I am asked today if the Sony kit zoom is any better than the Pentax Kit zoom, I can't give you a straight answer. For tiny bit better image quality, I prefer the older kit zoom with 18-55 but that is larger in size.

<a href=" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7021/6715710563_45e7caeb9c_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="1024" /></a> Older kit zoom with 18-55 and Sony NEX 5N

If you want to go wide and don't want to pay a lot, the Samyang 12 and 14 should be on your radar. The Voiglander has native E-mount wide on 10, 12 and 15 but they are all expensive. The 10-18 is your go-to lens on Sony aps-c world. I don't have the 10-18 but plan to look into Voiglander 15mm f/4.5 v3 or some similar. But the 10-18 f/4.0 will be a good choice if the price comes down a bit or if you can get a used copy around $500 to $600. <a href=" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7157/6721187491_a402d7c47f_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="680" /></a> Sony NEX 5N and older kit zoom 18-55

I have a Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8 that works on my Sony A7 but that is not wide enough on aps-c. I have the Sony E 16mm f/2.8 along with a 0.75 wide converter. I won't recommend that wide as it is soft on corners. Strangely the pancake wide 16 seem to work better with the 0.75x wide converter

Sony A6000 plus Sony E 16mm f/2.8 pancake and 0.75x wide converter

Sony A6000 plus Sony E 16mm f/2.8 pancake and 0.75x wide converter

hinman · March 16, 2016

Sigma 19mm f/2.8 and Sony A6000

Sigma 19 and Sony A6000

steve_t.1 · March 16, 2016

Thanks for your in-depth feedback, Hin. Wonderful

sample images, as always. But it looks like your

impression of the Sony kit zoom is fairly low, like most

others I've read. And like most others, primes seem to

be the go-to replacement.

But it is a wide-normal zoom that I want to use

exclusively with this camera. Maybe I need to re-

examine things and consider the Sigma/Tamron zoom

choices. Maybe it's time to sell off some under used

Pentax lenses to move into the future.

Steve.

Jochen_S · March 16, 2016

I have a Voigtländer 15mm and was never overwhelmed by the results. I keep it mainly as a compromise ultra wide for my M8 (APS H) or to take an odd selfy with Monochrom (FF, but unlikely to show purple banding in the corners).

As a "no weight" kit I have a pair of Fujis with consumer zooms. - They do a great job giving an illusion of a decent image from the 16-50mm lens on my 4K screen during JPG processing but no, that combo isn't the hyper quality for high res sensor pixelpeeping you seem looking for. On a pixel level the Fuji cheapo zoom images can't compete with decent primes on either K20D or Leica. Seeking mirrorless AF performance I 'd surley give Sony a go these days and wait for Fuji to maybe catch up some day. - My bodies are their unspectacular 1st generation and I'll replace them with something used when its down below 50% retail price.

Concerning Pentax my crystal ball seems dull. Isn't it too late for them to jump on the mirrorless bandwagon? And wouldn't the compact killer kit zoom you are desiring demand optical miracles even Pentax aren't capable of?

wayne_campbell · March 16, 2016

Our bete noir Ken Rockwell gives the above-mentioned 16-50mm a passing grade.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/sony/lenses/16-50mm-pz.htm

hinman · March 16, 2016

@Steve, let me clarify on my use with 16-50. It is a love and hate type of lens It is great for its compact size and it is an above average lens. What I don't like about it is on the build, the very awkward W/T zoom ring, and the absence of a lens hood for protection. Image quality is good especially in center. Corners and distortion is not-so-great but it is something that you can expect from a $100 zoom lens. Kind of think of it, if you ask me today to take pentax kit zoom or the sony kit zoom, I would have picked the Sony because of the size but if you ask again for better image quality and build, I would pick the pentax especially those with WR. Does that make sense? You decision on getting a system comes with a whole suite of lens and not just the kit zoom and there is a lot to consider besides the kit zoom. A new system come with a whole suite of lens and each goes with its pros and cons and compromises are there to be made for sure. And you should also look into other mirrorless systems if compactness is your key criteria. I like the look of Olympus pen-f digital.

hinman · March 16, 2016

Sony A6000 with 16-50 kit zoom in 20mm f/5.0 and iso2000 and flash is on and I tilt the built-in flash up for more diffused lighting

hinman · March 16, 2016

<a href="

src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/603/21822906478_d323110c4e_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="644" /></a> Sony A6000 with 16-50 kit zoom in 16mm f/5.6, iso 500 and flash on. I may not have tilted the flash as I am far enough for diffused lighting. It is not the best shots to show the lens but shooting indoor can post challenge even for lens that are 10+ times the cost of the kit lens such as the FE 16-35mm f/4.0 that are in $1345 range. My philosophy for enthusiasts use is to take what you have got within the budget and set the expectations accordingly and work with its sweeter spots. I would have preferred not to use the kit lens on the above shot but rather use it for the previous post where the center at 20mm is sweet while the 16 has distortion and not-so-good-corners to deal with.

hinman · March 16, 2016

Sigma 19mm f/2.8 @f/5.6 and iso 1000 and Sony A6000. This is great street shooter that I can rely upon even at f/2.8 as long as the corners are not key as in landscape.

hinman · March 16, 2016

Sony A6000 with 16-50mm kit zoom @19mm, f/5.6 and iso 2500, flash tilted up for diffused flash light. I usually shoot in jpg on A6000 and raw on A7. With jpg, all the distortion correction kicks in and I don't need to sweat as much in the post processing. And my use of jpg and raw also depend on the lens that I use. With Kit zoom, that is a default jpg setting for me as the jpg has the default distortion correction. I need to confirm, but the distortion correction on jpg is set-table as an setting on Sony. And the WiFi and smart camera apps are wonderful once I manage to get the kinks out of its poor user interface. It is great and I feel deprived when I go back to shooting with my older Pentax K-5.

steve_t.1 · March 16, 2016

Like they say, you won't know until you try. I bought the

Sony A6000 with the kit lens today. It's charging right

now. I also bought an inexpensive Pentax to Sony lens

adaptor for the few older lenses I own with aperture

rings- FA50mm, (?)28mm, and a (?)135mm (can't recall

the generations right now, it's been awhile). Photoshop

is my friend!

Boy, the camera really is a sweet little fella. Just a bit

bigger than my aging but trusty Panny LX3, but much

smaller than my K-3. Fits my hand well for a small

camera. I hope I can live with the lens. I've got 30 days

to find out. And a couple weeks left on a Sony lens

promotion in case I want to add the 55-200mm lens to

the deal.

Should be interesting, this mirrorless experiment. At

least 3 solid mirrorless interchangable lens camera

makers are out there paving the way. Ricoh/Pentax

should step up before they miss the bus again, like they

did with full frame for so many years. I don't see the

small sensor Q line being their route to success.

Thanks,

Steve.

hinman · March 16, 2016

@Steve, really surprised that you act so fast in the decision. And congratulation. Few things that can help you with the good experience with the A6000 with lighter weight, compact, 179 PDAF points and 25 CDAF focal points that works quite good on AF-C and tracking, eye-AF, WiFi, few free impressive apps especially the smart remote with iPhone or Android, good enough sensor for most usage especially for traveling light. There are quirks that you need to get informed and work around in the following areas:

<ol>

<li>Poor battery life -- get a set of external battery charger and have a minimum set of 2-4 extra batteries. In each outing, I carry an average of 2+ extra batteries.</li>

<li>Have Airplane mode turned ON to save battery juice</li>

<li>Turn off the annoying and pretty useless AF illuminating light</li>

<li>poor ergonomics when a heavier lens over 85mm focal length is mounted. Please get a A6000 3-rd party L-bracket</li>

<li>Poor AF in low light shooting, try AF-C and have 'wide' setting</li>

<li>Poor MF -- no that is not possible, you have to train yourself on the use of magnified view and have the right setup with peek focusing with color intensity.</li>

<li>Poor distortion on 16-50 especially on the wide end, shoot jpg to get quicky fix or shoot raw learn to correct in your favorite processor</li>

<li>No weather sealing, buy yourself a rain proof bag in < $25 dollar range and use common sense to shoot in rain</li>

<li>Pentax DA lens without aperture ring, buy yourself a good and solid adapter with aperture control. I use a $90 Kipon Pentax KA to Sony E adapter. The aperture control is step-less.</li>

<li>Not a FF, learn and equip yourself with a Lens Turbo version I adapter, all of your full frame lenses adds 1+ stop of light and you get back very close to the original FF field of view. </li>

<li>Not enough buttons -- make sure you customize the C1, C2 and C3 along with 10 to 12 shortcuts on Fn menu. </li>

</ol>

Okay, some pictures to show the talked items <a href=" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8664/16026595853_82d5f6087e_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="678" /></a> A L-bracket for Sony A7, I have a similar 3rd party L-bracket that works with A6000. The bracket adds solid build feeling to the combo and you feel safer with the ruggedness added by the bracket. Cost is < $15 at most The lens mounted above with A7 is the Sony FE 55mm f/1.8 Zeiss lens and it is one of the best 55mm that I have used. Color pops and image quality sits above my very positive experience with Pentax limited.

<a href=" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8587/16035317423_2d48436819_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="681" /></a> Sony E 50mm f/1.8, this lens is slower in AF than other lens but a great lens in E-mount with OSS. This is my low light shooting lens. Bokeh and color are quite good

<a href=" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1561/25500405225_7d2b2db871_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="768" /></a> Fujian 35mm f/1.7 in c-mount in silver chrome color on right and Fujion 75mm f/1.8 also in c-mount. The thin C-mount to E-mount adapter are both mounted on bottom of the two lenses above.

If you need a fast 35mm in MF, I highly recommend the Fujian 35mm. The catch is in getting the right c-mount adapter that don't turns the lens upside down. You can actually adjust the screw on the bottom of the lens to line up properly with a C-mount adapter. I mount each of my 2 c-mount with an individual adapter and I adjust the mount to line up so that each is ready to go like a converted E-mount.

hinman · March 17, 2016

FE 50mm f/1.8 @ f/2.0, iso 320, sony A6000

Sigma 30mm f/2.8 @ f/3.2, iso 500, Sony A6000

Sony E 50mm f/1.8, @f/3.5, iso 640, sony A6000

steve_t.1 · March 17, 2016

What can I say, Hin... you've been a wealth of solid ideas

and information for me, thank you very much!

My wife and I are taking a couple days away from home

this weekend. This will be my chance to wring out this

camera and lens to see if its objective function and

behavior match my subjective level of lust for it from

before I bought it.

I took some time with it last night to understand its basic

operation, also setting up custom buttons for exposure

comp. and white balance. I am looking forward to

getting to know it, but I am resolute in my thinking that if

it doesn't meet all my needs, back she goes and the K-3

then remains the king of the hill for all photo tasks.

Thanks again,

Steve.

hinman · March 17, 2016

Be inspired with Brian Smith's work and his pretty up-to-date information on Sony landscape <a href="http://briansmith.com/sony-e-mount-universal-lens-mount/">http://briansmith.com/sony-e-mount-universal-lens-mount/</a>

And this guide give you a valuable list of lenses to consider <a href="http://www.dxomark.com/Reviews/Best-lenses-for-the-Sony-A6000-Primes-and-Zooms">http://www.dxomark.com/Reviews/Best-lenses-for-the-Sony-A6000-Primes-and-Zooms </a> Whatever you do, please don't be like Hin who buys too many too soon. I always pay my fair share of price in being curious. The end results of your photography may not be better than your K-3. There are many things K-3 excel over the A6000 such as weather sealing, beautiful shutter sound, great ergonomics along with a suite of quality lenses that are not crazily priced. I hate the shutter and highly sensitive shutter in Sony A6000. Not bad in A7 but too sensitive for me on A6000. What differs most for me is the shooting experience on A6000 that offer compact overall size and lighter weight in traveling light. And traveling light requires your careful selection of lenses. I use my K-5 where I need to shoot like a photog which requires reliable battery life and good SR support. And the Sony A6000 is my go-to camera in weekend excursions or a single-lens type of shooting. I enjoy hiking with A6000 with my Sigma 24mm f/2.8 or my Sigma 19mm f/2.8 or 30mm f/2.8. 1-lens that does it all and don't get in the way on my day-pack. In skiing trip, I find it a chore even to bring my A6000, I use a point & shoot and a action camera for video. And I do use the 16-50 kit-zoom when I need the most compact form factor. <a href=" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7744/17579230353_cf42e682bf_b.jpg" alt="" width="683" height="1024" /></a>

<a href=" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8878/18012588788_6322d47908_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="1024" /></a> All shot with Sigma super-wide II 24mm f/2.8 and Sony A6000.

steve_t.1 · March 17, 2016

"I use my K-5 where I need to shoot like a photog which requires reliable battery life and good SR

support. And the Sony A6000 is my go-to camera in weekend excursions or a single-lens type of

shooting."

This is exactly my intention with this camera. It won't be replacing my K-3.

The Kipon Pentax to Sony adaptor, I don't see it at Kipon's website. Thoughts?

Steve.

hinman · March 18, 2016

This is not a 'highly recommended' adapter from me but this one costs a bit more than your KA to Sony E adapter. This particular adapter offers a step-less aperture control. This is not the vendor that I bought my copy but it is similar <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/330748733854">http://www.ebay.com/itm/330748733854</a>

The hard-to-understand poor design issue on this adapter is the missing label to engage the adapter on fully open or stopped-down mode. And it takes a while to remember the setting to switch between DA and FA type of lenses. When I mount a FA lens with an aperture ring, I need to engage the adapter on one side so that you can actually stop down with the aperture ring. It is not a biggie but something that I want you to be aware of. You will have the same issue with your current copy of DA to Sony E mount. When the adapter is used with FA type of lenses, I need to turn the silver ring counter-clockwise to one end so that I can stop down the lens with aperture ring. If the adapter is turned clockwise to one end, the aperture will be fully open.

hinman · March 18, 2016

This is how it looks with 100mm WR macro <img src="http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g192/hinioman/4sale_2016/20160126-DSC00217_1.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /> The lens on right is the Contax G 90mm f/2.8 made by Zeiss. It is a super-sweet lens that is on-a-budget type of lens and it is the smallest 90mm that I have used. I sold it when I got the Pentax 100mm macro as I try to consolidate and the Pentax 100 is wonderful for macro and casual tele shooting. Had Pentax put in a focus limiter and aperture ring on the 100mm, it would be screaming buy for everyone especially for its size, WR and unique Pentax limited solid metal build and design.

<img src="http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g192/hinioman/4sale_2016/20160222-DSC00353.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="546" /> I am getting rid of FA 35 and likely DA 35 as I am in the cycle of gear consolidation. Having more is a chore for me. I have sold 9+ items and 1 body this year and so far I got 1 single lens with Pentax 100 WR macro. The DA 35 used to be my go-to lens on Pentax but I have FA 31 and I am contemplating of having 1 lens in 31-35 focal range. I am not firm yet as the DA 35 can do things with close up that the FA 31 can't do well.

hinman · March 18, 2016

One of the drawback in having multiple systems is my planning on gear purchase and how I handle my emotions when I find myself either in the buying spree or in the stage of cage-fight to control my excess of gear or to diminish my guilty feeling of indulging myself with multiple systems and formats. A word of advice in buying gear is not to think twice but triple in the planning. Sometime it is okay to overlap in both systems and sometime it is not. And buying prime and zoom make it more complicated in decision-making as you may end up with gear pulling your legs every time you gather your toys/tool before leaving for the trip/journey with your beloved family that you treasure the most and not the tool that you pick for photo opportunity.

Size is not necessary an advantage once you add on adapter for dSLR type of lenses. What is on the left is a Sony A7 with LA-EA4 adapter and a cheap Minolta AF 50mm f/1.8 in the $50 range. Size will be an advantage when you go with Leica-M, C-mount, Contax G mount, Konica AR, Pentax Auto 110 (yes on that and they do work wide open in aps-c), some M42 especially the Super-Tak small lenses as in 28 f/3.5, 35 f/3.5, 105 f/2.8, 50 f/1.8,1.4 etc.

Sony FE 35mm f/2.8 Zeiss, I won't recommend this lens because of the high cost but I will highly recommend the FE 55mm f/1.8 Zeiss.

Sigma 30mm f/2.8 (1st version) gets my most use on A6000 and NEX 5N on Sony aps-c platform

This bugger is the reason that I use much less on Pentax DA 35 f/2.8.

CharlesBecker-Toronto · March 18, 2016

Steve-the instruction 'manual' that comes with the a6000 is not of much use but I think that you'll find this to be quite helpful. Get familiar with the Fn function-I find it invaluable. http://download.sony-europe.com/pub/manuals/consumer/ILCE6000_HG_EN.pdf

CharlesBecker-Toronto · March 18, 2016

Hin Man: re #2, Airplane mode? "There are quirks that you need to get informed and work around in the following areas: