Is E-mount really limited?

[PliotronX]

Hey gang, so a whole new world is opening up for me. I loved messing with my Panasonic DMC-FZ15K which was a fixed lens pseudo-SLR, perhaps a grandfather of mirrorless. I had lens hoods, multi-coated polarizers, swivel bounce external flash, all kinds of neat stuff. Since then I have been relegated to the convenience of smart phones which have been getting impressive (my S5 does admirably) but my daughter's first birthday is coming up so I decided to get back into the game with a Sony A6000. The AF capability and monstrous sensor intrigued me because the noise of Panasonics has always been their achilles heel. So of course the kit lens is subpar but there are many options as it is for the E-mount and then adapters holy cow! I wanted to see what you guys might suggest as a system to get into like Nikkor lenses? With an adapter, is there a good IS/OSS pair that I might look at? I am thinking of just having two good lenses, 35-50mm and perhaps a longer zoom range. I was spoiled by the FZ15's Leica lense which maintained f2.4 throughout the entire 35-400mm range but I have always wanted something like an SLR maybe with a bit less bulk. Either way this is going to be fun as hell!

 

[CuriousMike]

So, while your FZ15 did have an f/2.8 throughout its zoom range, it also had a 1/2.5" sensor.

So, today you can google "equivalence".
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/2666934640/what-is-equivalence-and-why-should-i-care

i.e., the amount of light you were getting doesn't wholly match a FF sensors f/2.8

So, even if your Sony is giving you f/5.6, that's still more light than your Panny at f/2.8.

 

[tdawg]

It all depends on how much you want to spend, but the cost for a good adapter and a Nikon or Canon expensive lens is probably not worth the premium of e-mount lenses that retain full functionality.

I do not believe any adapter is going to offer you image stabilization of any kind. Some sony lenses are stabilized and Nikon and Canon obviously make in-lens stabilized lenses, but you won't get some sort of add-on to give you image stabilization for any lens you attach.

If I were going to an aps-c sensor, I'd be looking at the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 to start. That's a 35mm-equivalent 27-52.5mm lens on that sensor size. The e-mount primes are beautiful and solidly constructed if you go with the zeiss options (at least the fe mount sony lenses are).

 

[blastingcap]

Hey gang, so a whole new world is opening up for me. I loved messing with my Panasonic DMC-FZ15K which was a fixed lens pseudo-SLR, perhaps a grandfather of mirrorless. I had lens hoods, multi-coated polarizers, swivel bounce external flash, all kinds of neat stuff. Since then I have been relegated to the convenience of smart phones which have been getting impressive (my S5 does admirably) but my daughter's first birthday is coming up so I decided to get back into the game with a Sony A6000. The AF capability and monstrous sensor intrigued me because the noise of Panasonics has always been their achilles heel. So of course the kit lens is subpar but there are many options as it is for the E-mount and then adapters holy cow! I wanted to see what you guys might suggest as a system to get into like Nikkor lenses? With an adapter, is there a good IS/OSS pair that I might look at? I am thinking of just having two good lenses, 35-50mm and perhaps a longer zoom range. I was spoiled by the FZ15's Leica lense which maintained f2.4 throughout the entire 35-400mm range but I have always wanted something like an SLR maybe with a bit less bulk. Either way this is going to be fun as hell!

If you're stepping up from a camera like the FZ15K, then by the time you are "limited" by something like an a6000 and existing E mount lenses, there will be more E mount lenses (by Sony, Sigma, Zeiss, and other companies) for both APS-C and FE.

You can buy a Commlite, Yongnuo Smart, or Metabones adapter and they will work with many (not all) Canon lenses and even give you rudimentary AF and full IS. But why bother? I have both Canon and Sony glass and I simply refuse to buy adapters that will drop like a rock in value once more E-mount lenses are available.

The only real limit in E-mount right now is in native long glass. The only workaround is to either a) wait or b) buy A-mount glass and an A to E adapter. The adapter is expensive, too expensive for me to justify since I rarely go over 210mm on APS-C and with 24MP that's a lot of cropping margin, too.

 

[PliotronX]

So, while your FZ15 did have an f/2.8 throughout its zoom range, it also had a 1/2.5" sensor.

So, today you can google "equivalence".
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/2666934640/what-is-equivalence-and-why-should-i-care

i.e., the amount of light you were getting doesn't wholly match a FF sensors f/2.8

So, even if your Sony is giving you f/5.6, that's still more light than your Panny at f/2.8.

Exactly why I was drawn to the "big jim" sensor That's exciting, I was reading about the Sony 35mm prime lens and it lets even more light in than the kit lens. This is going to be awesome.

It all depends on how much you want to spend, but the cost for a good adapter and a Nikon or Canon expensive lens is probably not worth the premium of e-mount lenses that retain full functionality.

I do not believe any adapter is going to offer you image stabilization of any kind. Some sony lenses are stabilized and Nikon and Canon obviously make in-lens stabilized lenses, but you won't get some sort of add-on to give you image stabilization for any lens you attach.

If I were going to an aps-c sensor, I'd be looking at the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 to start. That's a 35mm-equivalent 27-52.5mm lens on that sensor size. The e-mount primes are beautiful and solidly constructed if you go with the zeiss options (at least the fe mount sony lenses are).

Thank you, I think I got overly jazzed at the thought of adapters and messing with lenses but the more pragmatically minded of users take your approach and I am following suit!

If you're stepping up from a camera like the FZ15K, then by the time you are "limited" by something like an a6000 and existing E mount lenses, there will be more E mount lenses (by Sony, Sigma, Zeiss, and other companies) for both APS-C and FE.

You can buy a Commlite, Yongnuo Smart, or Metabones adapter and they will work with many (not all) Canon lenses and even give you rudimentary AF and full IS. But why bother? I have both Canon and Sony glass and I simply refuse to buy adapters that will drop like a rock in value once more E-mount lenses are available.

The only real limit in E-mount right now is in native long glass. The only workaround is to either a) wait or b) buy A-mount glass and an A to E adapter. The adapter is expensive, too expensive for me to justify since I rarely go over 210mm on APS-C and with 24MP that's a lot of cropping margin, too.

Good to know, thank you! I was just reading that Sony actually still supports the A-mount which is encouraging for the E-mount's longevity. I am glad they don't change standards like certain CPU manufacturers' sockets :whiste: Going to run the A6000 through its paces and then see when I can't live without more (soon).

 

[blastingcap]

Exactly why I was drawn to the "big jim" sensor That's exciting, I was reading about the Sony 35mm prime lens and it lets even more light in than the kit lens. This is going to be awesome.


Thank you, I think I got overly jazzed at the thought of adapters and messing with lenses but the more pragmatically minded of users take your approach and I am following suit!


Good to know, thank you! I was just reading that Sony actually still supports the A-mount which is encouraging for the E-mount's longevity. I am glad they don't change standards like certain CPU manufacturers' sockets :whiste: Going to run the A6000 through its paces and then see when I can't live without more (soon).

If you don't care about fast AF you can buy the cheaper A to E adapters with CDAF-only, but if you want PDAF then you will either need to use native E-mount glass that supports PDAF (mostly Sony lenses, also the Sigma lenses can do it in the central area only), or the LAEA2 or LAEA4 adapters. Those literally have the translucent mirrors with PDAF sensors in the adapters themselves which is why they are so expensive. But it does work as a stopgap to allow you to use longer lenses like the 70-300 A-mount lens, with PDAF. No stabilization though until in-body stabilization comes to other cameras not named A7II.

 

[Buttercream]

1. IMO, E-mount is here to stay. Sony is clever to have one mount cover both APS-C and FF, there's a good amount of third party lenses for it, and then you have adapters as well. However, I advise you stick with native E-mount lenses for now, as you'll loose the fast PDAF with adapter, and that's kinda the point of the A6000 to begin with.

2. Do you use your FZ-15 entire zoom range? Especially towards the 400mm end? Sony don't have a E-mount lens with that reach yet, the closest ones being 300mm.

2, Speaking of, Sony's native e-mount lenses are kinda limited, mostly slow-ish zooms, not much prime. There's a few gems in there though.

E 50mm F1.8 OSS
http://store.sony.com/e-50mm-f1.8-oss-e-mount-prime-lens-zid27-SEL50F18//cat-27-catid-All-E-Mount-Lenses?vva_ColorCode=000

A touch short for portrait, but it's a fast prime, so you can get nice background blur with it, and it has OSS, and it's very reasonably priced.

The kit lens is adequate, it may not be fast, but it has OSS, and it's small, and retracts into a small package, so you can have it on and bring it everywhere.

Sony has multiple long zoom, I personally am not a long zoom guy, maybe someone else can give you better advise on that.

3. The much larger (15x) sensor size, along with multiple generation of sensor improvement, means the a6000 will give you much better high iso performance than the FZ15.


TL;DR
No, E-mount is not limited, E-mount lenses kinda are. Start with the zoom and a prime, then go from there, and the a6000 will give you much less noise.

 

[mooncancook]

For all around prime lens, highly recommend the 35mm f1.8 OSS.