As most people know, mirrorless is rapidly becoming THE way to shoot Infrared images. With a mirrorless converted camera there are no focus issues and you get to compose your images by seeing in Infrared. I get the opportunity to speak with most people who have a camera converted with Life Pixel and for the last couple of years I’ve noticed that Sony mirrorless camera are the brand that most people are choosing. And everyone loves them. I would love to go mirrorless, but I AM a Canon shooter. I’ve been a Canon shooter since I bought my first AE-1 in high school. I have quite a few Canon lenses AND . . . Canon is about to bring out a full frame mirrorless, . . . or so they said in 2015.
I got the opportunity, just recently to get hands on with a Sony Mirrorless, the A6000.
Now I want to be honest, I went into this with the same attitude as a 2 year being told to take a nap.
“No, no, no, no, … I’m not going to like it.”
So, I got the camera. And my first reaction was, perhaps a bit sarcastic.
“How cute, it looks like a camera, ..only smaller.” “ Maybe you could plant this and grow a full size camera”
The A6000 is small, and light weight. With a battery in and a 18-55 lens the unit weighs a mere 16.5 ounces, ….. as in a little over one pound. My lunch weighed more than that.
Okay, so maybe it’s lighter than my 7DMKII, or my 6D, …. Yeah it weighs about half as much as one of my Canon bodies, without a lens. So what!
I got the manual out to check the specs.
Umm, …. No, this can’t be right. This tiny little toy camera is 24.3 mega pixels, and my 7DMKII is …. Never mind that’s not important.
Next I decided to take it for a test shoot. I grabbed my smallest camera shoulder bag, …. It was too big, way too big. I could have put 2 or 3 of this camera in the bag and still had space for lunch.
Shooting with the Sony A6000 is not challenging. Sony has placed the adjustments knobs so that you can access all the necessary things easily. ISO, f-stop, shutter speed, all can be adjusted on the fly.
And the burst rate when you shoot brackets is very impressive; it’s 11 frames a second, which is one frame faster than my 7DMKII, and …well the 6D is so slow that it’s not worth mentioning.
I took the A6000 out for a shoot in a couple of locations, and very quickly got comfortable with it. It is easy to use. If you are someone who likes to get low angles and doesn’t want yo get your knees dirty, the articulated screen does make quick work of it.
So, the Sony A6000 is very small, light weight, and easy to use. Buuut, how are the images?
Well. . .
Here’s the thing.
They’re great. And it pains me to admit that.
I used Sony’s RAW converter, Capture One Express for Sony. It is a free download. It’s very easy to use, and has an eye dropper for White Balance like most RAW converters do.
The color tones in Super Color were very crisp.
And with a Channel swap and a few adjustments, here it is.
I am now officially impressed. I ran thru a series of images, trying all different post production scenarios, and here’s some more examples.
My final assessment is this:
- The Sony A6000 is a great mirrorless camera and makes a good IR camera.
- If Canon doesn’t get their act together and bring out a good mirrorless soon, Sony is going to take their number one slot.
Now I want a Sony A6000. BTW, if you are interested in this camera, or most any other camera, you can now get one pre-converted from us.
Click here for more information.
* Side Note: I did borrow a EF – E mount converter ring from a friend to try out my Canon Lenses on the A6000. The converter ring made the auto focus very slow, and I do not suggest it.
Latest articles by Dan Wampler (see all articles)
- Seal Bay photoshoot - March 7, 2023
- Major Copyright Infringement site Scroller.com - March 6, 2023
- Kangaroo Island Wallabies and Roos - March 1, 2023
Dan Wampler
Dan Wampler is a digital artist from St Louis, MO. Having been interested in art and photography since childhood, he spent most of adult life working for Kodak and in the portrait photography industry. A student of the works of Ansel Adams, Any Warhol, and David Hamilton, Dan attempted to keep a wide range of artistic style.
As an early adopter of digital imaging, he found it gave him a way to completely incorporate art and photography. Began shooting Digital Infrared in 2004, and had first camera converted in 2006. His work has been seen in numerous gallery shows, is featured in an iTunes app. He produces Infrared and natural color digital art for sale and teaches his post-production techniques online.
Dan is LifePixel's Creative Director, social media manager, lead blog author, main workshops and training sessions instructor. His images appear in this gallery and throughout the website.
If you have a topic suggestion or request feel free to shoot him an email at danwampler@lifepixel.com
Otherwise all LifePixel customer service inquires should be directed to service@lifepixel.com or by phone at 866-610-1710.
View more of Dan's work on his Website | Facebook
See All Articles by Dan Wampler
I have a question…
Do you see the IR effect in Real Time on the screen or Viewfinder of the a6000,
since it is a Mirrorless camera? … and is it the same for Video?
Thanks
That is a great question Mark, yes you do see in Infrared which allows you to better compose your images.
Thanks so much for getting back to me quickly, as to me that would
be the most important thing about having a Mirrorless IR Camera.
I am considering buying one from your site, as these are on a Special sale right now…
Thanks again,
Mark
I’ve been working with infrared film for quite a long time and currently experiment with a digital camera and infrared filter combined with other filters (more for fun). But I’m not familiar with infrared converted cameras. In combination with a Sony A6000 or A6300 is there any Sony lens recommended that doesn’t have the problem of hotspots? Is there a difference between prime lenses and e.g. the lenses mentioned above? I don’t like adapters too much. Thanks.
Since September, 2016, I’ve been shooting with an a6000 that LifePixel converted for me. I’ve got several observations regarding the a6000 as a good IR camera and using Canon lenses with it. I agree that a6000 takes good IR images, and I’ve found the fast shutter action to be very useful when bracketing. However, given that I’ve shot Canon for the past 40 years, I’ve found that the Sony frustrates me frequently, especially with its tiny dials and buttons. Admittedly, I’ve got large hands; however, the difference between the a6000 and my 5DMII and 5DMIV is night and day when it comes to making adjustments on the fly, focusing and reviewing images once they’re captured.
I use my Canon lenses with the Sony via a Metabones MIV adaptor. It works very well, and the autofocus, most of the time, is quick and accurate. I’ve also had no issue with hot spots with my 16-35 f/4 L and 24-105 f/4 L lenses. I’ve noticed some edge softness with both lenses, especially at wider focal lengths and apertures, more so than on my full frame bodies. I don’t know if this is due to the adaptor or the a6000 sensor.
Finally, I have found that attaching the big lenses onto an adaptor and then hooking them onto the Sony makes for a pretty large setup, nearly as big as with my Canon bodies.
So, I’m stuck in a dilemma. Should I unload the Sony and have my 5DMII converted? Or should I invest in some Sony lenses and end up with two camera bags? I’ve gone back and forth since purchasing my 5DMIV earlier this year.
Any thoughts about this?
Roger, I agree that carrying both sets of gear could be an annoyance. I did try out the Canon converter ring and the auto focus was a bit slow for me. Personally, if I make a change from Canon, it will be complete and I will just switch over to all Sony. I’m not to that point, ….. yet.
Hi, Dan.
I agree with your assessment of this camera. I have an A6000 converted by LifePixel with the 72nm standard filter. Makes great black and white as well as color.
My biggest challenge is finding lenses that don’t hotspot. The 16-50 you show in the first picture is awful. The 16-70 f/4 is better, but not great. I ended up using a Canon 18-105 coupled with a Commlite EF-NEX adapter. Auto focus is hopeless, so I keep on manual all the time. With focus peaking, it’s no great loss. I really like the range of this lens, the images are sharp and no hotspots.
My wife and I are traveling to England next month. My kit is going to be an A6300 for conventional photography and the A6000 for IR. I’m leaving my big guns home and suspect I won’t miss them.