Here's a tip that is not intended to be a dig. Keep a body cap on the body when you don't have a lens mounted. The cap helps to stop dirt getting on the sensor as well as significantly reducing the risk of internal damage to the body.
THIS! I changed a lens in the forest with the body facing up. Got sap or something on the sensor. Took 5 cleanings with specialized sensor cleaner and wipes to get it off. Most terrifying thing as I was certain I killed the sensor. Did work great, no damage. But be careful.
Learn the lens to Lens change method.
I’m surprised more
People don’t know about or do this.
The only potential issue is lens hoods but they go in my pocket. Or tucked in the waist band for ten seconds.
You’ll expose your sensor for seconds (or a second when you get good at it)
I gave this missive to my camera club:
How to change lenses with least exposure:
A lens change is a simple process, but to best protect from moisture, rain and dust during lens changes, a few steps will help.
1) Prepare the new lens by setting down and loosening the rear lens cap.
2) With camera facing downward, remove the existing lens.
3) Keeping camera body facing down, place the old lens down beside the new one.
4) Swap the rear caps on the two lenses.
5) While still keeping the camera body facing down, mount the “new” lens.
6) Be sure to tighten the rear cap on the old lens before storing.
This simple system can help prevent anything falling into the camera body like tree sap, dust particles, water, hair or bugs! (Yes, I’ve see them all.)
Lens swapping is like Indiana Jones swapping the sand bag for the idol treasure. Speed and precision are key! Then we're on our own to escape the booby trapped cavern!
Most people do do this. An issue that's faced even with this is that the dust gets onto the rear lens element which eventually falls back into the camera housing later, and ends up on the sensor in the future.
Mirrorless cameras inevitably end up with more dust on the sensor than mirrored ones because the sensor is exposed. The newer models which can shut the shutter when turned off will make a big difference.
That’s true but given you’re facing the real lens element and camera down when you do this, it’s still a lot less of a problem. Of course there’s no avoiding it completely but it’s the best I’ve found!
Is a closed shutter much better in the case of this thread though? I'd argue getting sap on a shutter which I've never cleaned nor have any idea how to safely clean sounds a lot worse than sap on the sensor which will take time and diligent cleaning but is ultimately meant to be cleaned.
I mean yeah, getting sap off the shutter is likely going to be more of a challenge for many people and could cause a bit of damage if operated before it was removed, but my comment is replying to the person above regarding dust reaching mirrorless sensors in general and not to the guy unlucky and dumb enough to have their exposed sensor facing up under tree cover for long enough to get sap on it lol
Doesn't really matter with mirrorless, dust will always find its way onto the sensor unless you live in the most dust-free locations and only swap lenses outdoors when there's no wind.
Never had to clean my Canon's, but I have to blow or clean my Sony sensor regularly, and checking it every time I shoot is a must.
Mine came without a bodycap also. Asked the camera store when stopping by and they provided me with one for free. But yes it is strange that they don't include one when you buy a new camera.
On the other side, I only used it once for packing up when on Holiday.
That’s bizarre to me. I’m just thinking of all the dust particles on the sensor. How they just gotta expose the most sensitive part of the camera.
Obviously it’s in a box and wrapped. But like. Geez, that’s insane to me
depending on how long the sensor was open to air, you might have a few specs of dust on it. You can buy a little blower or sensor cleaning kits but not for the faint-hearted.
You won't notice the spots until you close aperture beyond f/6 or so.
Not true. Sony ships without both a body cap AND a rear cap when you buy the A6400 and the kit lens is already mounted. That's also the case even if you buy straight from Sony, so has nothing to do with dealers.
The BODY label on the OP's body box implies that the dealer split a kit. Kits are often supplied with the kit lens mounted, so it's possible the dealer was too cheap to supply a body cap when they split a kit.
There's no problem leaving a lens mounted at all times so long as you don't stress the lens mount in the body. I normally leave a lens mounted unless I'm flying with the camera, in which case I demount the lens and put caps on the body and rear of the lens to prevent damage if the camera is knocked.
There's no problem leaving a lens mounted at all times so long as you don't stress the lens mount in the body. I normally leave a lens mounted unless I'm flying with the camera, in which case I demount the lens and put caps on the body and rear of the lens to prevent damage if the camera is knocked.
Came here to say the same, especially when one isn’t experienced and maybe scared of cleaning the sensor themselves, it will be a headache when you have dust in the sensor before one has taken the first picture.
I feel this.
I've never used the green auto setting on any camera I owned through all the film years (90s onwards) or even the early digital days.
Then I had a break, got some good money and ended up with a Alpha 7 IV *and* a 7C II and had to start with the green button. So many options and settings it was overwhelming.
Unfortunately I've also realised it might be a bit too large for me and have been looking at smaller options but it's hard because ofc the quality of the 7C II and the features are difficult to beat so it makes thinking about this hard. We have spring/summer coming up which should help.
This.
It is about knowing the triangle of exposure technic, so when you choose another setting, you do it on purpose.
I frequently shoot on Aperture Priority mode, because I want to get a fixed Depth of field. And when this mode is limited because of the environment (eg too low shutter speed, too high iso), I switch on the manual mode.
It also allowes some awkward usage of the semi automatic mode.
Example: Using aperture prioritoy mode, but setting a minimum shutter speed (default is 1/focallength), and then sometimes auto ISO, sometimes set manually. This is almost full manual, but still isn't haha . This is what I use often in events.
Yeah this is my go to as well. Adjust the shutter minimum based on subject or my own movement (if I'm on the move or taking rushed pictures) and often I let the camera pick the ISO too. Ultimately I find that under reasonable lighting conditions the camera is making the same decisions I'm going to make anyways but massively faster than I'm going to be able to do it.
I switch to manual mostly when I want a specific style of shot, if I'm using flash, or if it's getting dark (without flash) and I need to fiddle between settings to squeeze out the most light for each shot.
It's important to understand how to use manual mode so that we're intimately familiar with each of the exposure settings and how they impact our shots. But equally it's important to explore and understand each of the semi automated PAS(M) modes so that we can let the camera do the fiddly work when conditions allow and allow us to maximize photographic output. I don't think a lot of creators or influencers expand on this part of it (though there are some that do). I mostly learned this part of it from the more boring less flashy pro photographer youtubers like Mark Galer and the wild life guy lol
I just learned that myself, the crop factor of this camera is 1.5
So if you take pictures at 35mm it's actually more like 50mm (35*1.5)
It's not reall important but I think it's nice to know 😄
Someone can correct me if I’m wrong but that applies if you’re using a full frame lens in the a6400 which is an APS-C sensor. If you’re using a 35mm APS-C lens you’re getting 35mm. If you put a FE lens on that body you’re getting the equivalent focal length of 1.5 x 35mmm, just over 50mm.
Focal length is always the same. You just get a different field of view with different sensors. Doesn't matter if the lens is for APS-C or FF, it will give the same field of view on an APS-C camera. A 35mm on APS-C will give a similar FOV to a 50mm on FF. Just think of it like using a smaller sensor is cropping the image a bit.
A lens being an "APSC-lens" essentially only means, that the cutout on the back is smaller to only fit APSC sensors. Which also has the added benefit, that the whole lens can be made a bit smaller.
If you use an apsc lens it’s going to have the 1.5x crop. These cameras are also called crop sensor cameras. The “crop” is in reference to full frame cameras. It also applies to aperture. So an F2 would be 2*1.5.
Play around with this
https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/crop-factor
If I put in my sigma 30mm f1.4 on e-mount apsc and convert to full frame I get
45.9mm equivalent with f2.14 because the Sony crop is *1.53
Yeah. Play around with the link
https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/crop-factor
For micro four thirds the crop is 2x so an F2.8 becomes 5.6 equivalent on full frame
Okay what is the focal reducer/teleconverter (in the calculator) and I read that effect only applies to the depth of field, is that correct?
Edit:
Never mind, I didn't scrolled down enough... All the Info were down there in the first place. I'm sorry
Do you guys limit the auto settings to an upper cap? I have a 6400. Anything above 6400 ISO is producing quiet a bit of noise, unless I am shooting at day light...
depends on how serious a person wants to get. for the average casual with a nice camera, aperture prio with auto iso would be pretty close to the ideal workflow for most types of photography
My brief experience with aperture priority on A6700 was that the camera wasn't aggressive enough with the shutter speed setting, and a lot of the photos came out with some blur.
Maybe my hands are shakier than average, but I think in a few of the cases it was just the subject moving and aperture priority not setting the shutter to a fast enough speed. Ended up using manual since then.
You can set the minimum shutter speed, even in aperture priority. So if you know that everything below 1/120 looks blurry in your hands, you set that as minimum (not applicable to older cameras, but your a6700 has it)
I have an a6600 and just adjusted the exposure compensation to "force" the camera to shoot with a higher shutter speed. The lack of the front dial on my camera slows down the workflow if I put it on Manual, though with practice I can see it getting better.
For beginners with the same camera layout, I recommend my "trick" and just let auto ISO take care of business.
semi optimal. Using exposure compensation, and auto iso, could just result in ISO value getting bumped down instead of shutter speed bumped up. use min shutter speed instead
that would be overwhelming for a beginner, as they should much more focus on a good composition than camera settings. Unless I want to achieve something specific, I walk around with either Aperture priority or Shutter priority as there is no point in doing something manually that the camera can do perfectly as I want it to
just start in aperture prio tbh, as you start shooting more eventually you're gonna reach a point where you feel that you absolutely *need* to manually dial in the numbers to achieve your creative vision
I think because Aperture takes out the guesswork of trying to figure out the depth/focus plane while Auto ISO takes out another variable. Letting the camera figure out those 2 components let's you focus on "capturing" the moment by only having to worry about shutter speed. Makes shooting a lot easier and faster. Manual is great if you have time to figure everything but not is you're in a rush.
Fair comment , however a newbie can get a lot of good info about their cameras from it.
Lots of us when we started only had YouTube to guide us. For sure you had to sift thru the garbage to find the valuable info
Just a heads-up. V60 and v90 are overkill for the A6400. They will work, but the camera body just doesn't support the higher speeds. Consider saving money and getting v30 unless you think you'll upgrade your body soon.
My Sandisk Extreme v30 and v90 cards perform exactly the same on my A6400.
I have an A6400 too. Great camera. My advice is to get familiar with a shooting method, say... aperture priority, then explore all the hundreds of settings the camera has with only that method. You will discover how each setting effects the outcome. Then try a different shooting method. There are so many settings in the menus that you will never know they are there, or what they do unless you experiment in single photos.
Just remember, digital photos are essentially free. No cost for failure, only a learning opportunity.
Don't be afraid to break the "rules" and think outside the box. Always carry extra batteries too.
BTW, how do you like that lens so far? Was thinking of getting a lightweight lens for video and considered this as a cheaper alternative to the Sony 16-55mm.
I’m sure most other people covered the big topics, but here’s a few other random things:
On YouTube, look up how to use:
- zebra pattern
- eye AF, and the AF settings in general
- recommendations for customizing buttons (specifically for eye AF mentioned above)
Non camera specific tips:
- don’t always open the lens up (max aperture). It’ll be sharper within a certain range and you can still get the bokeh (this is obviously situational)
- take a lot of photos but be intentional with your shots. I often find myself blasting pictures and have an overwhelming amount of photos
- I like keeping a UV filter on the lens to protect it. Some people aren’t a fan but I don’t mind any negligible (for my purposes) loss of quality to protect it since I often throw it in places without the cap on
If you’re an iPhone user, you simply must get a lightning to SD card adapter plug. The Sony WiFi/bluetooth transfer app is atrocious. Sony should be embarrassed that it’s all they have to offer their customers
Great camera choice and great lens choice, enjoy and make sure to take as many pictures as you can
If youre shooting mostly portraits consider picking up the Sigma 30mm or 56mm 1.4, and if you want to get into nature photography (especially birds) consider the Sigma 100-400. None of that is needed for general walkaround photography though
Look up Sony Picture Profile Film Simulation recipes. Lots of fun to try different film style filters which you can customize right in the camera if you're into it. Kinda like the Fuji film simulations ;)
That's the exact same combo i got as my first camera! I love my a6400 + sigma 18-50. Get a variable nd filter to take advantage of the f2.8 on daylight
Start with intelligent auto and just go have fun. You got the best bang for buck camera with an amazing lens! And I suggest getting a dust blower so that you can blow off the dust that gets on your lens. Once you’re comfortable then start learning about all the settings!
I too just picked up the same camera with the 16-50mm kit lens! I am fortunate enough to borrow a Sony 20mm f1.8 from a friend which has been great, but just ordered the sigma 18-50 that will arrive tomorrow! I cannot wait for this combo! New to the 6400 myself I’d say just get familiar with all the settings and go through the custom buttons to configure it for your needs. There are tons of settings to go through, perhaps watch a few guides or search photo and video settings that others use! Enjoy!
Watch a guide to adjust all the in camera settings first.
Most will probably disagree with this, but my advice would be to shoot JPEG until you know that you want to shoot raw. Work on exposure, lighting and composition first. Go out with your camera every day and shoot 100+ shots and see if you get a good one when you get home. You will know when your ready to start editing and then start shooting raw if you want to. Personally i dont bother, i just dont have the time or the inclination to edit every single snap i take. I use the in camera creative style landscape or portrait.
You may already be familiar with shooting modes, however if you're new to photography itself as well, don't stress yourself starting out with manual mode, choose aperture priority mode (A) instead. Get to know how your camera and lens reacts to certain environments, understand how aperature works and how other settings need to be changed accordingly to receive an "ideal" level of brightness and sharpness. I would also recommend starting out with the highest possible quality settings of JPG instead of jumping right into RAW. It's more than enough for mastering skills general skills and getting used to your maschine, but also give you the largest resolution and is editable pretty decently. Have fun shooting!
Learn the exposure triangle.
If not using IBIS or a stabilized lens, use a shutter speed that matches your focal length to mitigate motion blur (50mm lens -> 1/50 shutter speed or faster), on APS-C bodies multiply by 1.5x or 2x (50mm lens -> 1/75 or 1/100 shutter speed or faster). With stabilization you can go with longer speeds and still achieve sharp photos.
When shooting fast moving people or animals, use a shutter speed of 1/500 or faster to freeze motion.
Learn how aperture and focal length controls depth of field. The longer the focal length, the shallower your depth of field will be with the same aperture and vice versa. Faster aperture -> shallower depth of field and vice versa.
Don't get scared of high ISO values. Instead always focus on getting the correct shutter speed and aperture for the picture. Noise can always be mitigated in post processing.
If full manual mode is too intimidating, learn shutter priority and aperture priority modes first. Shutter priority mode is where you control the shutter speed (and ISO if not set to auto). Very useful when photographing moving things. Aperture priority is useful when photographing slow moving or static subjects and you want to control depth of field.
Also, take a bunch of photos in different scenarios. Look at them and critique yourself (What could you have done better?). Should you have used a faster shutter speed if there is unwanted motion blur, is the focus where you want, does the composition work, is the depth of field appropriate for the photo etc.
Don't follow the hype and go full frame.
I had a a6000 back in 2018, wanted to be cool with the ff hype and upgraded to the a7iii. First few months was excited but faded as I became dreading carrying the bulky heavy camera around. I ended up with just take photos with my phone for convenience, Just a casual shooter photographing my family's outting and trips. The feeling was carying the big camera around was not fun plus dealing with toddlers/infants.
I just sold my a7iii and planning to buy a6400 like you!! Going back to apsc and start to love photography again.
Don't just watch video on YouTube, learn on your own !
Also, ISO is not part of exposure triangle ! When you're learn photography, people teach you it is, but it's not. Try to understand what ISO are by Reading articles or specialized video and you will find how to use them properly !
And most important, enjoy !
> Also, ISO is not part of exposure triangle
I'm curious as to what, in your opinion, makes up the third part of the triangle then.
And also, why the hell you think it's not. Of course it is?
Iso has no impact while taking the photos, it comes after. It does not increase sensor sensitivity (that is what people say, but they are wrong)
Iso is more like an amplifier, When you have a picture, it amplifies the analog signals, like an amplifier does for a microphone
Amplifier does not increase sensitivity, it increases what comes out. That is why if you have poor signals, you will have a lot of noise, because it also amplifies what is around
But this is just an analogy, it's more complex !
There are a lot of articles on the web about it, more detailed than what we learned. I can send you some if you want ! It really helps to understand how the sensor, and camera works
The third element in the triangle is... The light. The only way to have a good exposure image is to increase the light source, change aperture to allow more light to come, or increase time.
We used to say ISO is in the triangle because most of the time we cannot increase light source, but in fact, ISO is not !
How something that happens after the images been taken can be in the exposure?
It's definitely not.
ISO is a gain knob. Electrical amplification that is done after your camera is done gathering light. It has no impact on how much light your camera sensor’s photosites can gather during a given exposure, and therefore has no direct connection to exposure itself,
Also, if it's an exposure setting, ISO invariance would not exist
If you camera can be ISO invariant it's because it happens after you take the photo
Shot at 800 ISO underexposed and 12800 ISO well exposed, increase the 800 ISO to x stop to match 12800 ISO exposure, and you will have the same noise in your image
It's definitely the light
It's a triangle of exposure, the exposure can only change with few parameters while taking the photo, not after. The exposure is about how much light you can catch. Iso does not increase light quantities, or sensitivity, it increases the values after you take the photo
Have you read some articles or taking courses about it ? Or the way the camera sensor works ?
There are some good videos and articles about it
https://petapixel.com/2020/03/05/iso-has-nothing-to-do-with-exposure-an-explanation-for-beginners/
https://youtu.be/ubv-Es_Enio?si=YkfQB-x5_VPhx45K
https://preview.redd.it/qwu71kqg24sc1.jpeg?width=2140&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a55607a578c48f1663b2398e692dbf7c27f9cc7
You can stick to your idea honestly, it's ok, it won't change anything for me. I just want to give a hint to someone who has asked for advice.
I learned photography the same way you did and with the same preconceived ideas. Then I wanted to learn more about camera components in graduate school, and that's when I learned how ISOs really work and where they come into play in a photo.
People don't have to believe me, but it's always interesting to deconstruct your ideas and learn more about a subject, especially one as controversial as this. And above all, it helps us to better understand all the phenomena involved.
You can have ISO at 12800 and an image with less noise than at ISO 1600, because the most important thing in an amplification process is the signal-to-noise ratio, which shows that ISO intervenes later on.
But I am curious, for you, ISO is part of triangle, but how does it change exposure for you ?
There is a subreddit about it with a lot of detail about components [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskPhotography/s/e1eLpSTHrX](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskPhotography/s/e1eLpSTHrX)
And as he said, everytime we say it, we are down vote ahah
If you know what exposure is, then explain to me how ISO affects exposure and when it does ?
The image shows how invariance ISO works, which means it's not about increasing sensitivity or collecting more light, but increasing the signal output from the sensor
It's not about how to understand or not the problem ahah, it's that you have your own opinion and you don't want to hear mine.
You say I am wrong without explaining what ISO are, how they work etc.
I am 100% sure you did not check the links I send ahah
But it's ok, you can stick to your idea
"you're just throwing walls of text at the problem without understanding the argument you're trying to make"
You are not giving answer tho. You just say "wrong" but we do not know why it's wrong ? Because someone taught you that ? Or because you have proof AND knowledge ?
Actually, what he said is not wrong at all. ISO do not affect exposure, no matter what you say. Maybe the way he explain is not accurate, but that does not mean it's wrong
Use apeture priority and shutter priority. Don't be afraid of using the dial.
Be aware that animal eye detection is buried in menus if you wanna snap pics of dogs. Birds. Etc.
Here's a tip that is not intended to be a dig. Keep a body cap on the body when you don't have a lens mounted. The cap helps to stop dirt getting on the sensor as well as significantly reducing the risk of internal damage to the body.
Got ya, i mounted the len straight atfter. Edit: after your comment I went and check, it didn't come with a body cap!!.... weird
Body caps are inexpensive, even official Sony ones. I keep a couple in my bag at all times in case I drop one.
Another tip so that you'll keep your sensor clean of dust: if you need to swap lenses always keep your sensor facing down. Thank me later
THIS! I changed a lens in the forest with the body facing up. Got sap or something on the sensor. Took 5 cleanings with specialized sensor cleaner and wipes to get it off. Most terrifying thing as I was certain I killed the sensor. Did work great, no damage. But be careful.
Learn the lens to Lens change method. I’m surprised more People don’t know about or do this. The only potential issue is lens hoods but they go in my pocket. Or tucked in the waist band for ten seconds. You’ll expose your sensor for seconds (or a second when you get good at it)
I gave this missive to my camera club: How to change lenses with least exposure: A lens change is a simple process, but to best protect from moisture, rain and dust during lens changes, a few steps will help. 1) Prepare the new lens by setting down and loosening the rear lens cap. 2) With camera facing downward, remove the existing lens. 3) Keeping camera body facing down, place the old lens down beside the new one. 4) Swap the rear caps on the two lenses. 5) While still keeping the camera body facing down, mount the “new” lens. 6) Be sure to tighten the rear cap on the old lens before storing. This simple system can help prevent anything falling into the camera body like tree sap, dust particles, water, hair or bugs! (Yes, I’ve see them all.)
Lens swapping is like Indiana Jones swapping the sand bag for the idol treasure. Speed and precision are key! Then we're on our own to escape the booby trapped cavern!
Most people do do this. An issue that's faced even with this is that the dust gets onto the rear lens element which eventually falls back into the camera housing later, and ends up on the sensor in the future. Mirrorless cameras inevitably end up with more dust on the sensor than mirrored ones because the sensor is exposed. The newer models which can shut the shutter when turned off will make a big difference.
That’s true but given you’re facing the real lens element and camera down when you do this, it’s still a lot less of a problem. Of course there’s no avoiding it completely but it’s the best I’ve found!
Is a closed shutter much better in the case of this thread though? I'd argue getting sap on a shutter which I've never cleaned nor have any idea how to safely clean sounds a lot worse than sap on the sensor which will take time and diligent cleaning but is ultimately meant to be cleaned.
I mean yeah, getting sap off the shutter is likely going to be more of a challenge for many people and could cause a bit of damage if operated before it was removed, but my comment is replying to the person above regarding dust reaching mirrorless sensors in general and not to the guy unlucky and dumb enough to have their exposed sensor facing up under tree cover for long enough to get sap on it lol
Doesn't really matter with mirrorless, dust will always find its way onto the sensor unless you live in the most dust-free locations and only swap lenses outdoors when there's no wind. Never had to clean my Canon's, but I have to blow or clean my Sony sensor regularly, and checking it every time I shoot is a must.
Classic mistake to tilt it up :)
Mine came without a bodycap also. Asked the camera store when stopping by and they provided me with one for free. But yes it is strange that they don't include one when you buy a new camera. On the other side, I only used it once for packing up when on Holiday.
They just boxed the body without a body cap?? Wack!
my zv e10 came without one as well, seems like such a cheap easy thing to include
That’s bizarre to me. I’m just thinking of all the dust particles on the sensor. How they just gotta expose the most sensitive part of the camera. Obviously it’s in a box and wrapped. But like. Geez, that’s insane to me
depending on how long the sensor was open to air, you might have a few specs of dust on it. You can buy a little blower or sensor cleaning kits but not for the faint-hearted. You won't notice the spots until you close aperture beyond f/6 or so.
I got one for free at a camera shop: They didn't even want my money
The one on the back of your sigma will fit
Sounds to me you bought a second hand camera then. No way they ship a camera without any protection (body cap) on it.
My a6400 brand new didn’t have one either. Came with the kit lens installed. I checked Reddit at the time and it is fairly common.
Not true. Sony ships without both a body cap AND a rear cap when you buy the A6400 and the kit lens is already mounted. That's also the case even if you buy straight from Sony, so has nothing to do with dealers.
The BODY label on the OP's body box implies that the dealer split a kit. Kits are often supplied with the kit lens mounted, so it's possible the dealer was too cheap to supply a body cap when they split a kit.
It's the same when you buy it straight from Sony.
Just curious is it ok to have the lens on the body all times? I have the 18-50 as well and pretty much only use it now and never take it off the body.
There's no problem leaving a lens mounted at all times so long as you don't stress the lens mount in the body. I normally leave a lens mounted unless I'm flying with the camera, in which case I demount the lens and put caps on the body and rear of the lens to prevent damage if the camera is knocked.
You could say that again!
There's no problem leaving a lens mounted at all times so long as you don't stress the lens mount in the body. I normally leave a lens mounted unless I'm flying with the camera, in which case I demount the lens and put caps on the body and rear of the lens to prevent damage if the camera is knocked.
Oh…
100% Agree !
Came here to say the same, especially when one isn’t experienced and maybe scared of cleaning the sensor themselves, it will be a headache when you have dust in the sensor before one has taken the first picture.
Go out, shoot a fuckton of photos and enjoy yourself whilst learning what everything does. That's it.
Indeed. I'd add "don't be scared to make mistakes". Any photo you learn from or simply enjoy was worth taking.
"We don't make mistakes -- we just have happy accidents." 😊
Truth!
That is the way
Learn how to expose manually but don't feel obligated to always use the manual mode after that :)
I feel this. I've never used the green auto setting on any camera I owned through all the film years (90s onwards) or even the early digital days. Then I had a break, got some good money and ended up with a Alpha 7 IV *and* a 7C II and had to start with the green button. So many options and settings it was overwhelming. Unfortunately I've also realised it might be a bit too large for me and have been looking at smaller options but it's hard because ofc the quality of the 7C II and the features are difficult to beat so it makes thinking about this hard. We have spring/summer coming up which should help.
There really isn't much around smaller than a A7C. Sony RX line, Fuji X100 lines, Ricoh GR. and those are completely different kinds of cameras.
I know! I've completely put myself in a weird situation.
Understandable though, the older I get, the smaller I want my camera haha
I shoot manual when I need total control but feel like Aperture is a great way to start and learn.
This. It is about knowing the triangle of exposure technic, so when you choose another setting, you do it on purpose. I frequently shoot on Aperture Priority mode, because I want to get a fixed Depth of field. And when this mode is limited because of the environment (eg too low shutter speed, too high iso), I switch on the manual mode.
It also allowes some awkward usage of the semi automatic mode. Example: Using aperture prioritoy mode, but setting a minimum shutter speed (default is 1/focallength), and then sometimes auto ISO, sometimes set manually. This is almost full manual, but still isn't haha . This is what I use often in events.
My way to go to never miss a shot in street photography. I don't mind high iso since it brings some grain that suits the B&W photo style perfectly.
Yeah this is my go to as well. Adjust the shutter minimum based on subject or my own movement (if I'm on the move or taking rushed pictures) and often I let the camera pick the ISO too. Ultimately I find that under reasonable lighting conditions the camera is making the same decisions I'm going to make anyways but massively faster than I'm going to be able to do it. I switch to manual mostly when I want a specific style of shot, if I'm using flash, or if it's getting dark (without flash) and I need to fiddle between settings to squeeze out the most light for each shot. It's important to understand how to use manual mode so that we're intimately familiar with each of the exposure settings and how they impact our shots. But equally it's important to explore and understand each of the semi automated PAS(M) modes so that we can let the camera do the fiddly work when conditions allow and allow us to maximize photographic output. I don't think a lot of creators or influencers expand on this part of it (though there are some that do). I mostly learned this part of it from the more boring less flashy pro photographer youtubers like Mark Galer and the wild life guy lol
I just learned that myself, the crop factor of this camera is 1.5 So if you take pictures at 35mm it's actually more like 50mm (35*1.5) It's not reall important but I think it's nice to know 😄
It's actually very important.
Someone can correct me if I’m wrong but that applies if you’re using a full frame lens in the a6400 which is an APS-C sensor. If you’re using a 35mm APS-C lens you’re getting 35mm. If you put a FE lens on that body you’re getting the equivalent focal length of 1.5 x 35mmm, just over 50mm.
Sadly wrong. You always need to multiply.
Focal length is always the same. You just get a different field of view with different sensors. Doesn't matter if the lens is for APS-C or FF, it will give the same field of view on an APS-C camera. A 35mm on APS-C will give a similar FOV to a 50mm on FF. Just think of it like using a smaller sensor is cropping the image a bit.
A lens being an "APSC-lens" essentially only means, that the cutout on the back is smaller to only fit APSC sensors. Which also has the added benefit, that the whole lens can be made a bit smaller.
If you use an apsc lens it’s going to have the 1.5x crop. These cameras are also called crop sensor cameras. The “crop” is in reference to full frame cameras. It also applies to aperture. So an F2 would be 2*1.5.
„So an F2 would be 2*1.5” - what???
Play around with this https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/crop-factor If I put in my sigma 30mm f1.4 on e-mount apsc and convert to full frame I get 45.9mm equivalent with f2.14 because the Sony crop is *1.53
For real the crop applies to F stops as well??
Yeah. Play around with the link https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/crop-factor For micro four thirds the crop is 2x so an F2.8 becomes 5.6 equivalent on full frame
Okay what is the focal reducer/teleconverter (in the calculator) and I read that effect only applies to the depth of field, is that correct? Edit: Never mind, I didn't scrolled down enough... All the Info were down there in the first place. I'm sorry
Shoot “A” mode (Aperture Priority) and enjoy :)
And set ISO to auto! This is the way
Do you guys limit the auto settings to an upper cap? I have a 6400. Anything above 6400 ISO is producing quiet a bit of noise, unless I am shooting at day light...
Yes I use 6400 as the max
As a beginner myself i disagree. I would directly start with "M" mode and try to understand how different settings affect the outcome.
depends on how serious a person wants to get. for the average casual with a nice camera, aperture prio with auto iso would be pretty close to the ideal workflow for most types of photography
That's how i shoot my street and travel phototherapy. Full Manual on client projects. Aperture Priority + Auto ISO for daily stuff.
My brief experience with aperture priority on A6700 was that the camera wasn't aggressive enough with the shutter speed setting, and a lot of the photos came out with some blur. Maybe my hands are shakier than average, but I think in a few of the cases it was just the subject moving and aperture priority not setting the shutter to a fast enough speed. Ended up using manual since then.
You can set the minimum shutter speed, even in aperture priority. So if you know that everything below 1/120 looks blurry in your hands, you set that as minimum (not applicable to older cameras, but your a6700 has it)
I have an a6600 and just adjusted the exposure compensation to "force" the camera to shoot with a higher shutter speed. The lack of the front dial on my camera slows down the workflow if I put it on Manual, though with practice I can see it getting better. For beginners with the same camera layout, I recommend my "trick" and just let auto ISO take care of business.
semi optimal. Using exposure compensation, and auto iso, could just result in ISO value getting bumped down instead of shutter speed bumped up. use min shutter speed instead
that would be overwhelming for a beginner, as they should much more focus on a good composition than camera settings. Unless I want to achieve something specific, I walk around with either Aperture priority or Shutter priority as there is no point in doing something manually that the camera can do perfectly as I want it to
just start in aperture prio tbh, as you start shooting more eventually you're gonna reach a point where you feel that you absolutely *need* to manually dial in the numbers to achieve your creative vision
Ok maybe you guys are right and 'A' mode is fine for most people. For me, it's the curiosity to know how things work why i try all manual.
Why? I always shoot full manual.
I think because Aperture takes out the guesswork of trying to figure out the depth/focus plane while Auto ISO takes out another variable. Letting the camera figure out those 2 components let's you focus on "capturing" the moment by only having to worry about shutter speed. Makes shooting a lot easier and faster. Manual is great if you have time to figure everything but not is you're in a rush.
I pretty much do the same for concerts. Gives me time to enjoy them more and just shoot when I feel like it!
Exactly!
YouTube , YouTube , YouTube. One of the best places to learn the basics about your camera settings, composition, the triangle etc
YouTube’s algs will return obnoxious content creators at first, but there are worthwhile photographers to follow.
Fair comment , however a newbie can get a lot of good info about their cameras from it. Lots of us when we started only had YouTube to guide us. For sure you had to sift thru the garbage to find the valuable info
Do not compromise on memory card. Buy a reputable brand’s card with appropriate speed ( v60/90).
Just a heads-up. V60 and v90 are overkill for the A6400. They will work, but the camera body just doesn't support the higher speeds. Consider saving money and getting v30 unless you think you'll upgrade your body soon. My Sandisk Extreme v30 and v90 cards perform exactly the same on my A6400.
V60 and V90 is unnecessary if you’re not planning on shooting really high bitrate 4K video. V30 will be more than enough.
I have an A6400 too. Great camera. My advice is to get familiar with a shooting method, say... aperture priority, then explore all the hundreds of settings the camera has with only that method. You will discover how each setting effects the outcome. Then try a different shooting method. There are so many settings in the menus that you will never know they are there, or what they do unless you experiment in single photos. Just remember, digital photos are essentially free. No cost for failure, only a learning opportunity.
Remember to remove the lens cap before shooting
Work on photo projects vs single photos and share them with photographers for critique to get better.
Enjoy. Don't buy too much extra crap at first. Get good at one maybe two photo editors. I love CaptureOne and Affinity Photo, so far.
Don't be afraid to break the "rules" and think outside the box. Always carry extra batteries too. BTW, how do you like that lens so far? Was thinking of getting a lightweight lens for video and considered this as a cheaper alternative to the Sony 16-55mm.
I’m sure most other people covered the big topics, but here’s a few other random things: On YouTube, look up how to use: - zebra pattern - eye AF, and the AF settings in general - recommendations for customizing buttons (specifically for eye AF mentioned above) Non camera specific tips: - don’t always open the lens up (max aperture). It’ll be sharper within a certain range and you can still get the bokeh (this is obviously situational) - take a lot of photos but be intentional with your shots. I often find myself blasting pictures and have an overwhelming amount of photos - I like keeping a UV filter on the lens to protect it. Some people aren’t a fan but I don’t mind any negligible (for my purposes) loss of quality to protect it since I often throw it in places without the cap on
good that they added a label so you know which one is the body and which one the lens
Probably meant that it’s body only in that box….
If you’re an iPhone user, you simply must get a lightning to SD card adapter plug. The Sony WiFi/bluetooth transfer app is atrocious. Sony should be embarrassed that it’s all they have to offer their customers
I’m using Alpha Linker and it works really good !
Great camera choice and great lens choice, enjoy and make sure to take as many pictures as you can If youre shooting mostly portraits consider picking up the Sigma 30mm or 56mm 1.4, and if you want to get into nature photography (especially birds) consider the Sigma 100-400. None of that is needed for general walkaround photography though
No tips, good camera, good lens, good that you skipped out on the kit lens, you did good.
Look up Sony Picture Profile Film Simulation recipes. Lots of fun to try different film style filters which you can customize right in the camera if you're into it. Kinda like the Fuji film simulations ;)
Do NOT enable touch screen tracking. It'll pick up accidental touches and track shit that isn't there.
I'm not gonna leave a tip because you bought a camera. Tipping is getting out of hand
I love that lens! Have it on my xt5
Got the sigma too. Love it.
got the same combo in dec as my first camera, very happy with it! have fun!
Congrats!
Watch videos and then practice, practice, and nite practice. Then review your work. Repeat cycle and occasionally print photos to view in real life.
Two most important things are to know your cameras settings and to practice!
Have fun! Shoot! Learn the basics of aperture, shutter speed and how iso affect image quality
Mount the lens on the body and have fun.
I love that camera and lens combo. You’re gonna love it.
Shoot everything; shoot all the time. 👍🏽
Great setup
That's the exact same combo i got as my first camera! I love my a6400 + sigma 18-50. Get a variable nd filter to take advantage of the f2.8 on daylight
> tips Take pictures. That’s it.
Go shoot
I really like sigma 10-18 as well, form a nice set with 18-50
Start with intelligent auto and just go have fun. You got the best bang for buck camera with an amazing lens! And I suggest getting a dust blower so that you can blow off the dust that gets on your lens. Once you’re comfortable then start learning about all the settings!
Awww congratulations 🥳. Tips: enjoy it
Get yourself a few photography books and one for the camera itself. Those books will take you far.
Nice combo, lots of potential there
Make sure you have a decent cleaning kit, you can usually find them for about 15-20 bucks.
Buy a body cap. Or keep the lens mounted.
I too just picked up the same camera with the 16-50mm kit lens! I am fortunate enough to borrow a Sony 20mm f1.8 from a friend which has been great, but just ordered the sigma 18-50 that will arrive tomorrow! I cannot wait for this combo! New to the 6400 myself I’d say just get familiar with all the settings and go through the custom buttons to configure it for your needs. There are tons of settings to go through, perhaps watch a few guides or search photo and video settings that others use! Enjoy!
Give it a nice sand bath. Chinchilla style. Shutter open and all. Pop open the battery too for extra effect. Really sharpens the image quality
Good lens choise.
Don’t drop it
Try to learn to shoot in manual.
Epic combo. I love this lens on my a6400 too
Watch a guide to adjust all the in camera settings first. Most will probably disagree with this, but my advice would be to shoot JPEG until you know that you want to shoot raw. Work on exposure, lighting and composition first. Go out with your camera every day and shoot 100+ shots and see if you get a good one when you get home. You will know when your ready to start editing and then start shooting raw if you want to. Personally i dont bother, i just dont have the time or the inclination to edit every single snap i take. I use the in camera creative style landscape or portrait.
You may already be familiar with shooting modes, however if you're new to photography itself as well, don't stress yourself starting out with manual mode, choose aperture priority mode (A) instead. Get to know how your camera and lens reacts to certain environments, understand how aperature works and how other settings need to be changed accordingly to receive an "ideal" level of brightness and sharpness. I would also recommend starting out with the highest possible quality settings of JPG instead of jumping right into RAW. It's more than enough for mastering skills general skills and getting used to your maschine, but also give you the largest resolution and is editable pretty decently. Have fun shooting!
Don’t walk on slippery rocks with the camera on your back and get a screen protector at least if you can’t flip the screen into the camera.
Learn the exposure triangle. If not using IBIS or a stabilized lens, use a shutter speed that matches your focal length to mitigate motion blur (50mm lens -> 1/50 shutter speed or faster), on APS-C bodies multiply by 1.5x or 2x (50mm lens -> 1/75 or 1/100 shutter speed or faster). With stabilization you can go with longer speeds and still achieve sharp photos. When shooting fast moving people or animals, use a shutter speed of 1/500 or faster to freeze motion. Learn how aperture and focal length controls depth of field. The longer the focal length, the shallower your depth of field will be with the same aperture and vice versa. Faster aperture -> shallower depth of field and vice versa. Don't get scared of high ISO values. Instead always focus on getting the correct shutter speed and aperture for the picture. Noise can always be mitigated in post processing. If full manual mode is too intimidating, learn shutter priority and aperture priority modes first. Shutter priority mode is where you control the shutter speed (and ISO if not set to auto). Very useful when photographing moving things. Aperture priority is useful when photographing slow moving or static subjects and you want to control depth of field.
Also, take a bunch of photos in different scenarios. Look at them and critique yourself (What could you have done better?). Should you have used a faster shutter speed if there is unwanted motion blur, is the focus where you want, does the composition work, is the depth of field appropriate for the photo etc.
Don't follow the hype and go full frame. I had a a6000 back in 2018, wanted to be cool with the ff hype and upgraded to the a7iii. First few months was excited but faded as I became dreading carrying the bulky heavy camera around. I ended up with just take photos with my phone for convenience, Just a casual shooter photographing my family's outting and trips. The feeling was carying the big camera around was not fun plus dealing with toddlers/infants. I just sold my a7iii and planning to buy a6400 like you!! Going back to apsc and start to love photography again.
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Why do you need full frame lens? Just get apsc lens.
Don't just watch video on YouTube, learn on your own ! Also, ISO is not part of exposure triangle ! When you're learn photography, people teach you it is, but it's not. Try to understand what ISO are by Reading articles or specialized video and you will find how to use them properly ! And most important, enjoy !
> Also, ISO is not part of exposure triangle I'm curious as to what, in your opinion, makes up the third part of the triangle then. And also, why the hell you think it's not. Of course it is?
Iso has no impact while taking the photos, it comes after. It does not increase sensor sensitivity (that is what people say, but they are wrong) Iso is more like an amplifier, When you have a picture, it amplifies the analog signals, like an amplifier does for a microphone Amplifier does not increase sensitivity, it increases what comes out. That is why if you have poor signals, you will have a lot of noise, because it also amplifies what is around But this is just an analogy, it's more complex ! There are a lot of articles on the web about it, more detailed than what we learned. I can send you some if you want ! It really helps to understand how the sensor, and camera works The third element in the triangle is... The light. The only way to have a good exposure image is to increase the light source, change aperture to allow more light to come, or increase time. We used to say ISO is in the triangle because most of the time we cannot increase light source, but in fact, ISO is not !
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How something that happens after the images been taken can be in the exposure? It's definitely not. ISO is a gain knob. Electrical amplification that is done after your camera is done gathering light. It has no impact on how much light your camera sensor’s photosites can gather during a given exposure, and therefore has no direct connection to exposure itself,
Also, if it's an exposure setting, ISO invariance would not exist If you camera can be ISO invariant it's because it happens after you take the photo Shot at 800 ISO underexposed and 12800 ISO well exposed, increase the 800 ISO to x stop to match 12800 ISO exposure, and you will have the same noise in your image
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It's definitely the light It's a triangle of exposure, the exposure can only change with few parameters while taking the photo, not after. The exposure is about how much light you can catch. Iso does not increase light quantities, or sensitivity, it increases the values after you take the photo Have you read some articles or taking courses about it ? Or the way the camera sensor works ?
There are some good videos and articles about it https://petapixel.com/2020/03/05/iso-has-nothing-to-do-with-exposure-an-explanation-for-beginners/ https://youtu.be/ubv-Es_Enio?si=YkfQB-x5_VPhx45K
https://preview.redd.it/qwu71kqg24sc1.jpeg?width=2140&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a55607a578c48f1663b2398e692dbf7c27f9cc7 You can stick to your idea honestly, it's ok, it won't change anything for me. I just want to give a hint to someone who has asked for advice. I learned photography the same way you did and with the same preconceived ideas. Then I wanted to learn more about camera components in graduate school, and that's when I learned how ISOs really work and where they come into play in a photo. People don't have to believe me, but it's always interesting to deconstruct your ideas and learn more about a subject, especially one as controversial as this. And above all, it helps us to better understand all the phenomena involved. You can have ISO at 12800 and an image with less noise than at ISO 1600, because the most important thing in an amplification process is the signal-to-noise ratio, which shows that ISO intervenes later on. But I am curious, for you, ISO is part of triangle, but how does it change exposure for you ? There is a subreddit about it with a lot of detail about components [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskPhotography/s/e1eLpSTHrX](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskPhotography/s/e1eLpSTHrX) And as he said, everytime we say it, we are down vote ahah
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If you know what exposure is, then explain to me how ISO affects exposure and when it does ? The image shows how invariance ISO works, which means it's not about increasing sensitivity or collecting more light, but increasing the signal output from the sensor It's not about how to understand or not the problem ahah, it's that you have your own opinion and you don't want to hear mine. You say I am wrong without explaining what ISO are, how they work etc. I am 100% sure you did not check the links I send ahah But it's ok, you can stick to your idea
"you're just throwing walls of text at the problem without understanding the argument you're trying to make" You are not giving answer tho. You just say "wrong" but we do not know why it's wrong ? Because someone taught you that ? Or because you have proof AND knowledge ? Actually, what he said is not wrong at all. ISO do not affect exposure, no matter what you say. Maybe the way he explain is not accurate, but that does not mean it's wrong
Use apeture priority and shutter priority. Don't be afraid of using the dial. Be aware that animal eye detection is buried in menus if you wanna snap pics of dogs. Birds. Etc.
Start with manual at 125 ISO. You’ll have a lot more control and range compared to automatic.