Jump to content

Looking at getting a camera most likely second hand.
Im looking at the sony alpha range as I want to take photos in low light but also at events (music events festival etc) so with lots of darkness and with some sections being really bright.
Im also after the exact opposite of that use case where Im taking daylight photos on tripods and time laps shots.

The A6400 A6500 Alpha7 I/II are in my budget range and Im struggling to decided.
Anyone got any thoughts?

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1290534-sony-alphaa/
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

Looking at getting a camera most likely second hand.
Im looking at the sony alpha range as I want to take photos in low light but also at events (music events festival etc) so with lots of darkness and with some sections being really bright.
Im also after the exact opposite of that use case where Im taking daylight photos on tripods and time laps shots.

The A6400 A6500 Alpha7 I/II are in my budget range and Im struggling to decided.
Anyone got any thoughts?

Given the option between APS-C (a6400/a6500) or full-frame (a7...), go full frame.

 

The one thing I've noticed between my older APS-C Sony and my A7II is how much better it handles dynamic range (even backlit subjects turn out). Auto-focus might be a little iffy (that wasn't fully dialed in until the a7III), but with the right lens(es), it will do.

 

On that note: keep in mind that a camera is often more about the lens than the body. Lenses good for low light are not necessarily cheap, and the kit lenses are not optimized for that at all.

Main System (Byarlant): Ryzen 9 5950X | Asus B550-Creator ProArt | EK 240mm Basic AIO | 32GB G.Skill DDR4 3600MT/s CL16 | XFX Speedster SWFT 210 RX 6600 | Samsung 990 PRO 2TB / Samsung 990 EVO Plus 4TB | Corsair RM750X | StarTech 4× USB 3.0 Card | Realtek RTL8127 10G NIC | Hyte Y60 Case | Dell U3415W Monitor | Keychron K12 Blue (RGB backlight)

 

Laptop (Narrative): Lenovo Flex 5 81X20005US | Ryzen 5 4500U | 16GB DDR4 3200MT/s (soldered) | Vega II 384SP Graphics | SKHynix P31 1TB NVMe SSD | Intel AX200 Wifi | Asus 2.5G USB NIC | Asus ProArt PA278QV | Keychron K4 Brown (white backlight)

 

Proxmox Server (Veda): Ryzen 7 3800XT | ASRock Rack X470D4U | Corsair H80i v2 | 128GB Micron DDR4 ECC 3200MT/s | 2× Samsung PM963a 960GB SSD / 4× WD 10TB / 4× Seagate 14TB Exos / 4× Micron MX500 2TB / 8× WD 12TB (custom external SAS enclosure) | Seasonic Prime Fanless 500W | Intel X550-T2 10G NIC | LSI 9300-8i HBA | Adaptec 82885T SAS Expander | Fractal Design Node 804 Case

 

Proxmox Server (La Vie en Rose)GMKtec Mini PC | Ryzen 7 5700U | 32GB Lexar DDR4 (SODIMM) | Vega II 512SP Graphics | Lexar 1TB 610 Pro SSD | 2× Realtek 8125 2.5G NICs


Media Center/Video Capture (Jesta Cannon): Ryzen 5 1600X | ASRock B450M Pro4 R2.0 | Noctua NH-L12S | 16GB Crucial DDR4 3200MT/s | EVGA GTX750Ti SC | UMIS NVMe SSD 256GB / TEAMGROUP MS30 1TB | Corsair CX450M | Viewcast Osprey 260e Video Capture | TrendNet (AQC107) 10G NIC | LG WH14NS40 BD-ROM | Silverstone Sugo SG-11 Case | Sony XR65A80K

 

Workbench (Doven Wolf): Lenovo m715q | Ryzen Pro 3 2200GE | 16GB Crucial DDR4 3200MT/s (SODIMM) | Vega 8 Graphics | SKHynix (OEM) 256GB NVMe SSD | uni 2.5G USB NIC | HDMI add-in module

 

Network:

Spoiler
                       ┌─────────────── Office/Rack ───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
Google Fiber Webpass ── Cloud Gateway Max ══╦═ Pro XG 8 ══╦═ Flex 2.5-8 ══╦═ Doven Wolf
                      La Vie en Rose (DNS) ═╬═ Narrative  ╠═ Veda-NAS     ╠═ La Vie en Rose (vmbr)
                                Veda (DNS) ─┘             ╠═ Veda (vmbr)  ├─ Ptolemy (vmbr)
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩═ Ptolemy-NAS  ├─ Veda (Mgmt)
║   ┌ Closet ┐      ┌───────── Bedroom ─────────┐                         └─ Veda (IPMI)
╚═══ Flex XG ══╦╤═══ Flex XG ══╤╦═ Byarlant
       (PoE)   ║│              │╠═ Narrative 
Kitchen Jack ══╣└─ Dual PoE ┐  │╚═ Jesta Cannon*
   (Testing)   ║┌─ Injector ┘  └── Work Laptop
     Bedroom ══╝│        ┌─────── Media Center ────────────────────────────┐
     Jack #2    └──────── Switch 8 ────────────┬─ nanoHD Access Point (PoE)
Notes:                                         ├─ Sony PlayStation 4 
─── is Gigabit / ═══ is Multi-Gigabit          ├─ Pioneer VSX-S520
* = cable passed from Bedroom to Media Center  └─ Sony XR65A80K (Google TV)
Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1290534-sony-alphaa/#findComment-14368557
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, YellowJersey said:

What do you currently shoot with?

It's down at the bottom of my sig (don't blame you for not looking), but I have an a7II with a Sony 24-240mm (all-rounder, but not great, I just prefer the flexibility; may be replaced by the Tamron 28-200 someday), a Sony 50mm (the cheap one), and a Samyang 35mm (pretty sharp). I wouldn't call myself a professional, but I take enough pictures that the price was right.

Main System (Byarlant): Ryzen 9 5950X | Asus B550-Creator ProArt | EK 240mm Basic AIO | 32GB G.Skill DDR4 3600MT/s CL16 | XFX Speedster SWFT 210 RX 6600 | Samsung 990 PRO 2TB / Samsung 990 EVO Plus 4TB | Corsair RM750X | StarTech 4× USB 3.0 Card | Realtek RTL8127 10G NIC | Hyte Y60 Case | Dell U3415W Monitor | Keychron K12 Blue (RGB backlight)

 

Laptop (Narrative): Lenovo Flex 5 81X20005US | Ryzen 5 4500U | 16GB DDR4 3200MT/s (soldered) | Vega II 384SP Graphics | SKHynix P31 1TB NVMe SSD | Intel AX200 Wifi | Asus 2.5G USB NIC | Asus ProArt PA278QV | Keychron K4 Brown (white backlight)

 

Proxmox Server (Veda): Ryzen 7 3800XT | ASRock Rack X470D4U | Corsair H80i v2 | 128GB Micron DDR4 ECC 3200MT/s | 2× Samsung PM963a 960GB SSD / 4× WD 10TB / 4× Seagate 14TB Exos / 4× Micron MX500 2TB / 8× WD 12TB (custom external SAS enclosure) | Seasonic Prime Fanless 500W | Intel X550-T2 10G NIC | LSI 9300-8i HBA | Adaptec 82885T SAS Expander | Fractal Design Node 804 Case

 

Proxmox Server (La Vie en Rose)GMKtec Mini PC | Ryzen 7 5700U | 32GB Lexar DDR4 (SODIMM) | Vega II 512SP Graphics | Lexar 1TB 610 Pro SSD | 2× Realtek 8125 2.5G NICs


Media Center/Video Capture (Jesta Cannon): Ryzen 5 1600X | ASRock B450M Pro4 R2.0 | Noctua NH-L12S | 16GB Crucial DDR4 3200MT/s | EVGA GTX750Ti SC | UMIS NVMe SSD 256GB / TEAMGROUP MS30 1TB | Corsair CX450M | Viewcast Osprey 260e Video Capture | TrendNet (AQC107) 10G NIC | LG WH14NS40 BD-ROM | Silverstone Sugo SG-11 Case | Sony XR65A80K

 

Workbench (Doven Wolf): Lenovo m715q | Ryzen Pro 3 2200GE | 16GB Crucial DDR4 3200MT/s (SODIMM) | Vega 8 Graphics | SKHynix (OEM) 256GB NVMe SSD | uni 2.5G USB NIC | HDMI add-in module

 

Network:

Spoiler
                       ┌─────────────── Office/Rack ───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
Google Fiber Webpass ── Cloud Gateway Max ══╦═ Pro XG 8 ══╦═ Flex 2.5-8 ══╦═ Doven Wolf
                      La Vie en Rose (DNS) ═╬═ Narrative  ╠═ Veda-NAS     ╠═ La Vie en Rose (vmbr)
                                Veda (DNS) ─┘             ╠═ Veda (vmbr)  ├─ Ptolemy (vmbr)
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩═ Ptolemy-NAS  ├─ Veda (Mgmt)
║   ┌ Closet ┐      ┌───────── Bedroom ─────────┐                         └─ Veda (IPMI)
╚═══ Flex XG ══╦╤═══ Flex XG ══╤╦═ Byarlant
       (PoE)   ║│              │╠═ Narrative 
Kitchen Jack ══╣└─ Dual PoE ┐  │╚═ Jesta Cannon*
   (Testing)   ║┌─ Injector ┘  └── Work Laptop
     Bedroom ══╝│        ┌─────── Media Center ────────────────────────────┐
     Jack #2    └──────── Switch 8 ────────────┬─ nanoHD Access Point (PoE)
Notes:                                         ├─ Sony PlayStation 4 
─── is Gigabit / ═══ is Multi-Gigabit          ├─ Pioneer VSX-S520
* = cable passed from Bedroom to Media Center  └─ Sony XR65A80K (Google TV)
Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1290534-sony-alphaa/#findComment-14368680
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, AbydosOne said:

It's down at the bottom of my sig (don't blame you for not looking), but I have an a7II with a Sony 24-240mm (all-rounder, but not great, I just prefer the flexibility; may be replaced by the Tamron 28-200 someday), a Sony 50mm (the cheap one), and a Samyang 35mm (pretty sharp). I wouldn't call myself a professional, but I take enough pictures that the price was right.

An A7II, eh? Well, in that case, an A6xxx body with a telephoto lens would give you some awesome reach.

System Specs: Second-class potato, slightly mouldy

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1290534-sony-alphaa/#findComment-14368909
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×