Sony α6500 - A camera for all occasions
18.2.2017
Translation: machine translated
I'm not a photographer, but I like beautiful pictures. But I want to be well equipped for my holiday in Iceland. That's why my camera in the far north is called the Sony α6500. But a camera alone is not enough: I received valuable photography tips from our product managers.
I have no idea about photography. I either do event photography or mood pictures. I certainly don't know anything about video. Because I'm a newspaper journalist and newspapers and video don't mix very well. Back then at the newspaper, I learnt the following three things that make every snapshot look at least tolerable
.
- Never use the flash
- Never crop the subject's head and feet. You can do all this in Photoshop afterwards if you have to.
- Take pictures of a subject in both portrait and landscape format
Later on, I learnt a few other little pieces of wisdom from the photographers, such as "morning light makes beautiful lighting". All in all, I've taken some really nice snapshots so far.
"My God, you really have no idea about anything," Ovidiu Oprea tells me. I quickly realise: Oprea is on the job with fire, passion and a healthy volume. Photography is important to him. More important than I assumed, to be honest.
I explain to him that I want a camera that even I can take great pictures with. Because anyone who has ever seen a picture from Iceland knows: there's something to see. Ovidiu Oprea looks at me a little dumbfounded, then asks, "You do realise that as a photographer you can't rely on the camera alone?" Yes, I do, but I need an all-round camera that takes good photos at night as well as during the day and also makes some video.
A few hours later, Oprea found the camera for me. It was not only extremely well made but also easy to use, small in size and impressed him with its performance. The term Sony Alpha 6500 or Sony ILCE-6500 means nothing to me. Nor does "Sony E 16-70mm f4 ZA OSS Zeiss Vario-Tessar T*, E-mount". I just believe him and trust that the camera will do what I want it to do. The technical specifications sound impressive as far as I understand them. But as I mentioned at the beginning, I'm not a photography expert. Please consult the technical data for details. But one thing first: I have always worked with digital SLR cameras at the newspaper and have learnt to appreciate them. So I was amazed at the recommendation, because the Sony Alpha 6500, known internally by Sony and in the operating instructions as the Sony ILCE-6500, falls into the mirrorless system camera category. I was a little uneasy about it until I took a few pictures in the office.
Why do I need a camera? Because I'm going on holiday to Iceland and the landscape there impresses with its visual power.
Crash course in photography
Oprea doesn't just want people to buy cameras in his job, he also wants them to take good pictures. He sets himself high standards and hopes that others will not simply be satisfied with mobile snapshots in their lives. "A photo is so much more than just a snapshot. Many people have almost forgotten that," he says almost wistfully.
"You know, this camera can do a lot more than it seems," he says, quickly running through the menu. His tip: Budding photographers should try out all the image profiles and effects. "This won't produce the perfect picture, but the effects provide a good overview of what a picture can look like, what facets a shot has and what you personally like." However, he adds, professionals are not fans of image effects, known as "creative mode" at Sony, and only use them in extreme cases. And even then only hesitantly.
In Iceland, however, I never needed all the monochrome and sepia effects. Because the Sony Alpha 6500 simply delivers good shots, even if you only have a tenth of a second at most. The following shot was taken in S mode, which is designed for shutter speed.
With little effort and even fewer adjustments, the Sony Alpha 6500 delivers beautiful portraits with depth and warmth in P mode, i.e. a preset with focus on exposure. Even when it's cold outside.
As I was encouraged to try out all the modes, I was tempted to take one or two panoramic shots. Because let's be honest, how can I resist such a panoramic view?
Conclusion of the photography experience: Even with little photographic sensitivity, I can take great pictures with the Sony Alpha 6500 that I will enjoy for a long time to come.
A camera for tough people
It's clear that a camera needs to be splash-proof and most photographers take this for granted. Because sometimes beautiful pictures can only be taken with water. One example: a few years ago, vlogger Nanalew recorded a music video for the Awolnation song "Sail", which essentially consists of her colleague spraying her with a garden hose. She filmed it with a Canon 60D, which certainly didn't stay dry.
In Iceland, my Sony Alpha 6500 didn't just have to deal with splash water. It's not just the landscapes of the northern islands that are extreme, but also the weather. During a trip to the Snaefellsnes peninsula, we had to contend with wind speeds of over 20 metres per second. Plus rain. Lots of rain.
Me and my Polish colleague Adam climbed back into the super jeep with 42-inch tyres, dripping wet. The camera: also soaking wet. But it survived well. Neither wetness nor cold can harm the device. Cold is mainly a factor because batteries often fail more quickly at low temperatures than in moderate weather.
Northern lights: beautiful to see, difficult to photograph
"I can take all these pictures with my mobile", you might be thinking. That may be true. But when it gets dark at the latest, you will reach the limits of your iPhone or Pixel. Because at night, a very special spectacle takes place over Iceland: the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis. The lights can be either green, grey or purple to red, depending on the intensity of the sun's activity. They are easy to recognise with the naked eye when the sky is clear.
Taking a photo of them is difficult, however.
So that night along the Garðabraut road, I switched to M mode, i.e. all manual. Our tour guide recommended the following settings:
- Iris, i.e. the F value, opened as wide as possible
- ISO value between 1600 and 3200
- Exposure time between 15 and 30 seconds
Add a tripod. The recommendation from Ovidiu Oprea:
After some trial and error, the Sony Alpha 6500 took the following picture.
The settings for this image:
- F-Stop: f/5
- Exposure time: 10 seconds
- ISO: 1600
- Focal length: 16mm
- Aperture: 4
I'm gripped by curiosity. At 22:43, I turn the ISO up to the maximum, i.e. 51200, just to see what the camera can do.
The conclusion from amateurs and experts
My conclusion, from a photographer who knows nothing about cameras, to you: You are well to very well served with the Sony Alpha 6500. It has never disappointed me, has held out with ironclad determination and has become a loyal companion. So if you're looking for a reliable camera, then I can only recommend it to you.
"Yes, something like that," says video blogger Stephanie Tresch as she walks past my desk and sees the camera's packaging. "I added it to my camera range a few weeks ago," she adds. And she has provided me with the following lines for my review:
I have the Sony a6500 both privately and professionally. It's my favourite second camera and works well with my professional camera, the Sony 7S II. I often use it with the Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS lens. Its 5-axis stabilisation and S-Log2 or S-Log3 image profiles make it a sexy little video camera. It has its problems, but for the price and what it delivers, these are quirks that I'm happy to accept: Sweet piece! Recommendation to buy!
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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