Sony NEX-6/B Mirrorless Digital Camera with 3-Inch LED - Body Only (Black)

A point I want to get across first is if your reading this, you have to decide what kind of photographer you are right off the start.Are you someone just starting?Are you a casual shooter who just wants good pictures and either is considering this first an entry level dslr or has one already but is considering a size reduction?Are you a legacy lens shooter who knows about and is looking towards using vintage glass via adapters?Are you a professional/semi professional protog looking for a second/third back up or travel focus camera?The reason why I wanted to start with that is because this camera, can be your boon or our bane largely on what your exceptions coming in.--The Causal ShooterSimply put for image quality, kit lens quality, auto focus speed,this camera will be on par with t3i,t4i,t5i or the 3000 series from Nikon, epl/ep series from olympus easily plus or minus some pixel peeping tid bits. This particular APS-C sensor is fantastic at low light while providing plenty of resolution for a crisp decently large size print, cropping, and obviously way more than needed for any sort of online social media sharing. Just let it be known that while smaller, it gives up almost nothing in terms of image quality, don't let size fool you! However, on the subject of size, it comes down to this. It's a smaller, much more compact camera than any DSLR out on the market, and thus way easier to carry around. However a reduction in size does obviously mean a reduction of ease of use. The Nex 6 has more than plenty of buttons and wheels for easy access for most controls, however a dslr simply always has more features and more dials, buttons etc to make it more quicker for setting changes on the go. Thus if your very casual shooter looking for very simple controls towards a nice photo, than the NEX series may be just for you. It gives you all the same ability and quality of a dslr just without the fluff. I also forgot to throw in that with the NEX on board flash, you can tilt it upwards to create a bounce flash that is far better than limiting you to a direct flash alone like other cameras.--Current Entry Level DSLR OwnersThis moves on to those who may already have a entry level DSLR and is considering a switch. This is a tougher situation but what you need to ask yourself is if your someone hoping to grow with photography, or simply looking to scale down. If your one of those people who bought a dslr hoping for those nice images you see other people have but eventually realized the bulk and the amount of buttons and knobs that you never bothered to learn just gets in the way then I'll say a sideways move to a NEX series camera is best for you. Your not giving up any image quality while reducing your size and again ridding of the fluff.Now if your someone who does want to grow with photography, then you need to seriously consider Canon, M 4/3, Pentax and Nikon systems before you make this jump. I'm not going to lie, the brands simply has much much more to offer in the long run than the E mount at this point. Entry level lenses, mid level IS lenses, L lenses, TTL Flash, etc etc at a much better price point than any E Mount, or full frame E Mount gear currently. For example, Sony wants roughly $300 for a 50mm F1.8 while Canon offers a 50 1.8 for $100? 50mm F1.4 for $330? You get the idea.--Legacy ShootersI personally use my Nex 6 so that I can use the plentiful amount of old legacy lenses out there. If you don't know already, due to the short distance of the mount, your able to use adapters to mount any, and I do mean almost any, film camera lenses , and if you wish modern af lenses (although with no af controls outside of the contax G and A Mount I believe) to your Nex. I currently shoot Konica AR, Canon FD, and a few C Mount, Eos Mount, and Olympus mount lenses and all I have to say, it's the most joyful thing in the world. Obviously they are plenty of times where I wish I had autofocus due to the speed of the subject in which I'm taking my photo, however by shooting manual, I've grown to feel like I'm being more hands on with my photography than simply pressing a shutter button and calling it a day. No dig towards modern AF since well, obviously it's almost better in every way hence why we have it, but having old film lenses, and plenty of them is a joy to use. They render extremely nicely on the NEX 6 sensor (I previously owned a Nex 5n) with no resolution problems as seen on the Nex 7. The extra dial at the top makes it much easier to control shutter speed all the awhile the thicker body and grip of the 6 makes it much easier to balance the weight of the camera since most film lenses are quite heavy. My only grip is that the third wheel that is offered on the NEX 7 would've been nice for say exposure comp or quicker iso change but the downside is that NEX 7 Sensor pushes just a few too many MP and you lose the low light performance of the 6 , which for me personally, I find myself shooting far more often with not enough light than plenty.--Protogs looking for a 2/3 back up or travel cameraWhile I want to recommend this camera to you, I might have to say you should at the very least consider the competition. I think it's somewhat agreed that the NEX sensor is amazing, maybe second only to the AA less filter sensor of the fuji line, however the controls, the software, even the lens options, if your use to shooting cameras such as the 5d, 6d 70d etc your going to run into a situation where it baffles you on how limiting the NEX can be at times. Auto ISO almost always checks you in at 3200, histogram menu appears only to take away other information from the screen instead of allowing you to see it all at once or picking and choosing. Like I mentioned above, the price of lenses is insane, there's a massive premium compared to other brand lenses. Limited battery life, sd slot is housed in the same door as the battery slot, no weather sealing, I don't think I need to go on since if your one of these types you most likely already know the spec sheet by heart. The one thing I will say in the NEX favor however, is look at it's price point. For the images you get say NEX 6 + 35 1.8 (~$1046 going by amazon prices as of 2/1/2014 vs $1300 for a 23mm F2 Fuji X100s vs $1300 for body only EM1) the closest thing may be the $800 for XE-1 with Kit vs $748 for NEX with Kit in which case it's nearly a coin toss. In the pixel peeping wars, I believe the XE-1 wins out by a air with a bit better sharpness and obviously better rendering due to the lack of AA. However, it must be said that at what point are you going to need that extra pixel of sharpness? If your making life size prints, then by all means your going to need superior glass and rendering but if you already have a better camera for that then wouldn't anything not your primary camera not as good? This I believe will be hardly left to what sort of subjects your planning to shoot, and how each camera handles to you overall.-- Last wordsNow, I did notice I made no mention of the direct competition in that the M43 sensors cameras. Make no mistake, Olympus and some Panasonic cameras are amazing, especially the OMD Em1, the EP5 etc. I would love to have their 5 axis stabilization but for me personally, with their 2x crop factor, their higher price tag, and their (although such a touch) lower performance in low light high iso, I found the NEX series a better value for price point. M43 does have a much better system in that they have an amazing selection of extremely quality glass. Some bodies and lenses are weather sealed and honestly with enough light in the scene, they perform just as well as any non full frame sensors but overall it's just not for me.

Bought this camera from Amazon with one day shipping. Received it quickly and have been playing with it for about a week. I have been researching on a replacement of my Canon XSI that is about 4 years old. I have the lastest iPhone that can take great videos but I thought switch from camera to iPhone may not be practical to catch the moment some time.Considered T4i which is a very good camera also and would be a big upgrade from the XSI. But I wanted a more portable camera because I travel abroad during summer a lot. The 16-50 lens will lack the zoom like the 18-135 kit lens T4i has, but it is much smaller and better than my old 18-55, especially for the wider view and portability.I agree with other reviewers who give this camera 5 stars on most of the things they feel. It does hit the sweet spot for my use. The camera has great low light performance, fast auto focusing, and the speed priority continuous shooting is a blast. I used a SanDisk 32GB Extreme Pro 95MB/S, and it clears the buffer in about just a couple of seconds and you can start the bursting again. Really amazing! I managed to capture about 200 shots in less than one minute.Also considered Panasonic G5 (almost bought it if not seeing Sony is releasing the NEX-6 in November). G5 is a great camera itself with fast burst speed, touch screen, and video. But size and style wise, I like NEX-6, which my wife likes its sleek looking as well. She can put it in her bag without adding any bulk.There are a lot of nice features that have been discussed in other reviews. I like the function of using the back dial to zoom in and zoom out which basically allow you to operate the zooming with one hand easiy. Yes, I can do this with two buttons on Canon XSI too but it is not as neat as NEX-6. There are other functions like Wi-Fi which I consider is not the primary factor in purchasing a camera, but it does add convenience. Connected iPhone to NEX-6 and uploaded pictures to iPhone, and used iPhone to remote control the shutter.It is the first time I use an EVF so it does take some time to get used to. Then you will appreciate that it gives real time feedback of how things are going to look like in the picture before taking the shot.Had some reservations with the battery life, but the battery actually works pretty good for taking over 300 ~ 400 shots easily (not using much flash though). Add you can easilly get a lot more if you shoot in burst mode. You do have to fully charge it at least twice before the battery becomes stable, i.e., holds charge much longer. Have left the battery in the camera for about three days, and it still showed 100% charge. But I bought an extra sony battery anyway.All in all, a great camera for a guy like me, not professional but likes taking pictures to capture the moment in life. Give it a try and you will be impressed!