Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Which Camera a6000, NEX 6, or OMD EM10

ggibson913

ggibson913

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 11, 2006
1,105
619
I am kind of stuck. I traded in my Nikon D7000 which I did not use very often and even when I did my photos were of the basic nature. I realistically would hardly ever see myself printing about 8 X 10.

I do Crop and sometimes quite a bit. I have learned that Megapixels are great but 16 or 24 would be more than fine for my purposes. I like the a6000 based on the review I have read. the OMD EM10 appeals to me because it seems the build quality is terrific and it is a camera that would more than hold its own ( of All the sample shots I have seen the OMD EM10 has the best).

The NEX6 is currently at an amazing price. I can't help but think the NEX 6 would more than meet my needs. I do buy a couple of lenses but not too many, likely just a prime and a zoom of some kind. IT would of course be wonderful if I could wirelessly upload my photos to my mac.

Any recommendations would be helpful. Thanks
 
Ambulater

Ambulater

macrumors member
Dec 14, 2012
87
78
All Good Choices

I don't think you can go wrong with any of these camera's. I haven't used the EM10, but it's very well reviewed, produces great photos, and is pretty stylish besides. I personally would prefer a larger ASP-C sensor system to an M43 sensor, but you can make the argument either way. Certainly the M43 lens selection is more robust.

I have owned, and used extensively, both the NEX-6 and now the a6000. I truly loved my NEX-6 and found it to be a superb shooting experience (with the exception of the 16-50mm kit lens which I didn't care for, for a number of reasons). I think you would be happy with the NEX-6, but would recommend buying it body only (if still available as body only). I would recommend a decent prime like the sel35f18 for general shooting or the sel5018 for portrait work. The sigma 19 and 60 are also nice, well regarded lenses for more of a budget price.

The a6000 adds a number of nice enhancements including: much, much faster and more accurate auto focus, a more functional EVF (less lag, better contrast, better color), a greatly improved menu system, more customizable buttons, better button and dial layout, better low light performance (even at 24mp), and auto-ISO in manual mode. The same caveats apply to the kit lens which is the same as the NEX-6. Whether or not these enhancements are worth the extra money is purely a personal call. All these things combined make the a6000 a nicer shooting experience for me, but I can't say it's a must-do upgrade.

Just my two cents.
 
ggibson913

ggibson913

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 11, 2006
1,105
619
Ambulater said:
I don't think you can go wrong with any of these camera's. I haven't used the EM10, but it's very well reviewed, produces great photos, and is pretty stylish besides. I personally would prefer a larger ASP-C sensor system to an M43 sensor, but you can make the argument either way. Certainly the M43 lens selection is more robust.

I have owned, and used extensively, both the NEX-6 and now the a6000. I truly loved my NEX-6 and found it to be a superb shooting experience (with the exception of the 16-50mm kit lens which I didn't care for, for a number of reasons). I think you would be happy with the NEX-6, but would recommend buying it body only (if still available as body only). I would recommend a decent prime like the sel35f18 for general shooting or the sel5018 for portrait work. The sigma 19 and 60 are also nice, well regarded lenses for more of a budget price.

The a6000 adds a number of nice enhancements including: much, much faster and more accurate auto focus, a more functional EVF (less lag, better contrast, better color), a greatly improved menu system, more customizable buttons, better button and dial layout, better low light performance (even at 24mp), and auto-ISO in manual mode. The same caveats apply to the kit lens which is the same as the NEX-6. Whether or not these enhancements are worth the extra money is purely a personal call. All these things combined make the a6000 a nicer shooting experience for me, but I can't say it's a must-do upgrade.

Just my two cents.
Click to expand...

Thanks, it is a tough call.
 
MCAsan

MCAsan

macrumors 601
Jul 9, 2012
4,587
442
Atlanta
The wife and each had 5D3, 7D, and a world of L lenses. We sold it all off for the reduced size and weight of E-M1. We are glad we did.

If video is important, you want a Panasonic GH4 that shoots 4K video.
 
shinji

shinji

macrumors 65816
Mar 18, 2007
1,329
1,515
Have a look at Fuji's mirrorless lineup as well, maybe an XM-1.
 
MCAsan

MCAsan

macrumors 601
Jul 9, 2012
4,587
442
Atlanta
Only OLy and Panasonic bodies are M43 that follow open published standards, have interchangeable lenses (from any M43 vendor) and things like lens correction data being passed in the raw file to Aperture or Lightroom.

Read about M43 before going for any mirror less camera.
http://www.four-thirds.org/en/microft/


Going for a standards based camera system, instead of one proprietary to a vendor, makes a huge difference in the overall cost, availability of bodies and lenses...etc. Where else but M43 do you have access to as many lenses as you can have with native M43 lenses....plus the added bonus of using older Four Thirds lenses via an adapter ring?
 
  • Like
Reactions: yeg780
X

xStep

macrumors 68020
Jan 28, 2003
2,031
143
Less lost in L.A.
I recently bought a Sony a6000 which is my first new camera since 2005. All the higher end mirrorless models seem competitive with each other so I limited my considerations. I didn't want a DSLR size body and I did want a large sensor and the ability to try different lens. My brother liked his NEX-6 and hasn't had any issues with it, so with limited research and some hands on in a store, so I jumped into the Sony camp.

The most annoying thing is the menu system. I've been using manual mode a lot and popping back and forth can be a chore. There is a quick menu you can get to but sometimes you have to go into the settings menu. The main menu is not logically layer out well.

I'm still getting familiar with the a6000. I hope I can memorize the menu system because that is the biggest problem I have with the camera. I'm still trying to remember where some items I access often are located. :confused:

I bought the time-lapse app. The apps are easy to find and start, but they are slowwww to start, and if you need to set some base setting back in the regular menu, you have to exit the app.

Apple has not _yet_ released a RAW file reader/driver so I've used the Adobe DNG Converter to make DNG files which I can use in Adobe Elements 9.

Some little annoying things…

One oddity I discovered is that you can't use an a6000 when plugged in to charge the battery because it thinks it should be handling a USB connection. Video recording time seems to be limited too. I'm still looking into that. The delay timer is limited to 10 seconds!
 
ggibson913

ggibson913

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 11, 2006
1,105
619
Thanks guys I am still confused but you are helping me with a difficult choice. The a6000 looks like a great camera but the NEX 6 seems the wiser choice. So of the two the NEX 6 would be my likely choice. There is something alluring about the OMD M10 that really calls to me. Of all the cameras or right now that one seems to have the most room for growth. I want to get my hands on one at a photo store to see how it feels in my hand.
 
Last edited:
kingalexthe1st

kingalexthe1st

macrumors 6502
Apr 13, 2013
475
165
You're in the same predicament as me, OP. I am selling all my heavy gear and going mirrorless, and checked out all the cameras you mentioned. In the end, I went for (read: will be buying) the E-M10. My reasons are:

The image quality between m43 and APS-C is negligible. The lens you get plays a much larger part in IQ. Don't worry about DOF, it's fine on m43. Talking of lenses:

The lenses are smaller, cheaper, amazing quality, and you have everything you could want. All the essential primes? Yup. Professional grade zooms? You got it.

Optical image stabilisation built in to camera. I just read a review of someone getting crisp exposures of 0.6s. With a little practice, they could get 1s as well. The E-M1 easily gets 1s exposures, but that's a butt-load more money. The point is that it's built in to camera, so the lenses are cheaper as they don't need OIS built in to them.

In the end, for me, it came down to size and lens selection. I can't wait to buy mine. Regardless of what you get, you'll be getting a great camera that will last you years.

Alex
 
ggibson913

ggibson913

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 11, 2006
1,105
619
Decision

I decided to go with the NEX 6. The Olympus was a good camera but not cheap. For the photography I do, I believe this camera at the amazon price of $519 is a bargain.

If I get serious about my photography again, I can look at that time to replace with a better model. My research indicates that the a6000 is a little better than the NEX 6 and $200 more. This solution suits me best, I think. Thanks for all of your input, it was really helpful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom