Need a new camera, but...

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SK_Cookie

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Martin
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Hello all,

I am wanting to take the next step into my photos...
I love travel photography and wildlife but equally motorsports so very varied. Oh... my kids and dog too :-)

I currently have a Sony A6000 with two Lens’s
1) Stock 16-50 i think it is
2 E 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS

I have no idea how to use photoshop and lightroom and i have limited knowledge of the settings of cameras SO, i am going to get some books or online courses sorted and learn! But i just want to check if I should be looking at new setup (no more than 3000) or will i be OK with what i have?

The Wife and I will return to the Maldives in June and i really want to be in a position to capture the beauty of the islands rather than sit on Auto! , the blues of the ocean, the reds of the sunset, the twinkles in the sky at night and the golden specs of the sand and of course myself and the wife.

Any help and advice will be appreciated.


Mart
 
Also...
I have a very high end PC with 3 4K IPS screens and an iPad Pro 12.9 Gen 3 with pencil - what should I be using for processing and working on images
 
What you have will suffice for all except the motorsport I'd have said. Very capable kit in the right hands.

Learn the camera, PS & LR before you go and you'll put your time to good use.

No point in spending £3k on new kit you don't know how to use really mate.
 
SK_Cookie said:
Also...
I have a very high end PC with 3 4K IPS screens and an iPad Pro 12.9 Gen 3 with pencil - what should I be using for processing and working on images
Click to expand...


Any pc or Mac will do. 16GB RAM is preferable with an i5 processor or equivalent or higher and some say you need to calibrate your screen but I'm fine with my iMac 21.5".

Maybe I've just been lucky?
 
I totally agree with you on spending money where not really needed, however i am of the mindset now that i want the best tools for the job (just ask my wife about my power tool collection,,,) In that what i really me is.
If i am going to start to learn the art from scratch would it be best to do so from kit i intend on keeping long term or invest now in a alternative kit that i intend to keep.

that said, if the A6000 and lens’s be adequate then bloody fantastic. Wasted money is not my favourite thing do
 
I've never had an A6000 but I gather it's a capable camera and the lenses may be nice too if not state of the art. I like primes so personally I'd add a nice f1.4 or f1.8 for low light use and creative depth of field but other than that a kit zoom is maybe a very nice and versatile thing.

Processing is a big thing... and I think it's worth learning more and if you're not doing so I'd recommend shooting raw and processing for best effect. I'm not a great one for effect filters but some love them. I do have Nik Filters and if you Google them you'll eventually find a free version which is IMO well worth downloading and seeing if they suit you and the look you like.

Once you're into the swing of things I'd recommend reading about exposure and the effect aperture, shutter speed and ISO have and of course you can experiment with setting and see the effect altering things has quite easily. Once you're comfortable maybe you can move from auto to Aperture priority, which is my usual mode, and go back to auto as and when you think it's the best choice.

Good luck with it all.
 
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Have to agree with others.

Forget the Photoshop. forget spending more money.

to improve what you really need to do is study and understand the basics of photography.
 
The A6000 was my first digital camera and we still use it.
It is very capablee
Definitely no slouch and I'd say you should be able to pull off shooting motor sport with it too.
 
As alan has said shoot in RAW and learn Lightromm before your trip.

You'll be surprised how easy it is to do the basics in the develop module.
 
I wouldn’t spend 3 thousand pounds at first. Learn how to use your existing kit and once you learn the limitations then spend the money. As others have said learn how to post process your RAW files as this has a huge impact on your final image.
 
I use an A6000 as my travel camera - and it's capable of great images.
The only thing you might want to consider is getting a lens such as the 35 f/1.8 OSS or 50 f/1.8 OSS as an option for when the light starts to drop (both are decent quality, and reasonably priced)

You'll learn more on Aperture as you read about exposure, but in essence an f/1.8 lens can let in ~ four times the amount of light in a given period as an f/3.5 lens (which is the max aperture on both the 16-50 and the 18-135), which means it can take acceptable images in much lower light levels.
 
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