Sony NEX-6L/B Mirrorless Digital Camera with 16-50mm Power Zoom Lens and 3-Inch LED (Black) (OLD MODEL)

I debated a lot about whether to go with another point and shoot type device or upgrading. I love the point and shoot's ability to compact down when off and then basically fit into my back pocket. In the end, years of frustration with slightly out of focus pictures told me it was time to upgrade to something more. I thought I was going to buy the 5R, after all it was new, touch screen and amazing reviews were flooding in - but I was worried about no built in flash and the size of the lens included in the 5's kit. (The 5's lens was also getting very good reviews). I ended up checking out the 6 for these two specific reasons - the view finder I felt was a ho hum item for me. The flash was knowing it wasn't going to be the best, but something to be more of a fill flash for the slightly backlit shots was the key. In addition, the amazing compactness of the Power Lens on the 6 was a huge selling point. I have to say I'm not disappointed in the slightest. I don't just drop a grand on a whim, and was nervous, but I received the camera kit on Dec 20th and haven't looked back. I've started to realize that sometimes you can be good, composing shots, etc, and sometimes you can be lucky... Someone was talking about how they got 2000+ photos and still loved the camera... well I took close to 3500 photos over the Christmas holiday (PS a photo program for chewing through as many photos as this baby can take is critical of course). I'm on a fake it till you make it type of strategy with this - while not ever photo is perfect focus, its not the camera's fault but the owners - and I've got nearly 20 to 1 more in focus than our old point and shoot. The ability to instantly (and I mean INSTANTLY) take 10 photos is crazy. I've learned to focus very well for the first - rattle off 5 to 10 (as soon as I can lift my finger), bracket some, and focus bracket some (through the additional apps). We've gotten some gold through this camera and its worth getting them while our kids are young. I do have to say, there is a slight pause on the start up / shut down for the lens to do its thing. I've also noticed that this camera can't do two things at once when shutting off - say you rattle of 10 shots, it will pause you for a few seconds to write (maybe a full 3 seconds) during which time a little red light on the bottom by the battery / SD card slot will be lit. If these were your last shots, and you intended to power off and have the lens retract (to put the cap on and walk for example) it will WAIT for the writing to finish and then retract the lens - no way around it. I don't know why it can't write and retract at the same time - but it can't. The other small grip is actually the Movie record button (it is on the right hand side - about thumb level). In terms of starting the movie record, I have no problems with it, but man I keep forgetting where its at when I want to stop recording... trying to learn and become familiar with it more and remember this. That being said, I've been editing out the last few seconds of the videos I'm taking in order to have them stop where I intended. I will also mention that the weight, size (when on or off), and quality are all amazing. I've been so impressed with this thing. For a step up from a point and shoot, it really does not feel like its taken a bigger foot print at all. It easily fits in my coat pocket and is very light - when people say they don't notice the weight, I totally agree. Overall, as mentioned, as I've used this camera more, I've not regretted my purchase. The apps are great, the camera build quality is great, feels very comfortable in the hand, and the pictures are such an improvement I'll never go back. PS - we use the view finder more than we thought we would too - my wife more than I, but is very helpful in odd light spots.

This is a rather specialized review that I'm writing for people who are interested in using great old Nikon lenses (ca 1960s to 1980s) with their NEX-6. They make an excellent combination and the old Nikon lenses can be obtained for relatively cheap. What I have to say my be true for other lenses such as Canon but I have no experience with them. NEX-6 REVIEW It's an excellent camera. I was attracted to it because of its low light capability and it's viewfinder. Both are excellent. I can usually shoot at ISO 3200 if I need to and get good results. The viewfinder is big and bright and I would not consider a high-end camera without a viable viewfinder, especially when using old lenses. I think the software is horrible. It is poorly organized and some functions are named so that you would never know what the function is unless you dig into the documentation. I would not recommend this camera for a novice. Overall I rate it at four stars. WHY OLD LENSES? Actually, I found out that I could use an old Nikon 50mm f/2 lens I had that's close to 50 years old. So I gave it a shot and it worked great. Everything is done manually and I find that improves my photography because I actually get to think about what I'm doing. With the NEX-6's 1.5 crop factor the 50mm is equivalent to 75mm for a 35mm format. This lens has become my favorite lens, again. Once I realized the 50mm worked so well I was hooked. I soon discovered that I could acquire some of the best lenses Nikon ever made at low cost. I probably went a little overboard but now I have a great collection of six Nikon prime lenses ranging from a 20mm f/2.8 to a 200mm f/f4. I even purchased an 80-200mm zoom that's built like, and weighs like a tank. The total cost of five lenses I purchased was $500. I believe the equivalent optical power in new lenses would cost thousands. WHAT YOU GIVE UP You give up autofocus, anti-shake, and many other automatic capabilities. But you don;t give up everything and not the ones that I think could the most for the quality of your photos. With a Nikon lens mounted you basically have a limited functioning camera and a lens. The rest is up to you, the photographer. You also sacrifice having the lightest weight and compact camera and lens. The Nikon lenses are known for their rugged metal construction and so they are heavier than today's lenses. If you only want to aim your camera and press the shutter I would not recommend this path. You can stop reading now. PICKING LENSES The lenses I go for are the Nikon's made anywhere from the 60's through the 80's. They are either "AI" or non-AI (older are non-AI). You can read about AI on Ken Rockwell's site mentioned next. Basically, to AI or not makes no difference on the NEX-6 in and of itself. However, AI lens may have higher resale value but they generally cost more. There is an excellent web site by Ken Rockwell. Do a Google search and you will find it. Ken has reviewed just about every Nikon lens ever made, in fact it may be all for all I know. Although his reviews are based on all-Nikon shooting (camera + lens), I found the reviews to be very helpful, allowing me to select the lenses I wanted to hunt for (which turns out to be easy, more below. He has separate pages for the best and worst lenses and he explains his reasoning. Call me crazy, but I focused on the best lenses. Do not purchase "G" lenses. I have not used any but I think they have a different mount than all the others and I have been told they won't work. THE SECRET SAUCE In order to use the lenses on an NEX-6 you need a lens adapter. I chose the Nikon Lens to Sony NEX E-Mount Camera Mount Adapter which is about $15 on Amazon. It gets the job done. But because I was committed to using the old lenses I decided to purchase an adapter for each lens which obviously adds some cost. But I wanted the convenience of having the adapter+lens combination as a single unit to make it quick and easy to mount the lens. Attach a lens. Then turn on Peaking which allows you to make precise manual focusing adjustments by highlighting the edges that are in focus in your choice of three colors (white, red, or yellow). I wouldn't even consider old lenses on a modern camera unless there was something comparable to the Peaking technology. Go to Setup Go to Peaking Level and select a level. I like medium. Go to Peaking Color and select a color. I like red. In order to use your Nikon lens you have to go into the menu system again and change a menu setting, which has a name that sounds like nothing of what it does. Go to Setup Go to "Release w/o Lens' Set it to "Enable" The camera will now work with non-Sony lenses like Nikons. When you switch the lens back to a Sony E-mount lens change the Release w/o Lens setting to "Disable". I also set "Menu Start" in Setup to Previous so that I can quickly get back to Release w/o Lens when that was the last setting I changed and I want to use my E-Mount lens. USING THE LENSES Like I said, everything is manual. I'm still experimenting with exposure combinations but there is a way to use the lens that works well for me under many lighting conditions. I set the ISO to auto. Auto ISO on the NEX-6 will not go over 3200 so that's fine for me. I set to S for shutter speed control and usually set the speed for the conditions while being careful to follow a rule of thumb of having a shutter speed set to a value that is at 1.5X the focal length of the lens to minimize motion blur in hand held shots. For example, with the 50mm lens, 1.5x is 75. So I want the shutter speed faster, usually 1/100 of a second or faster. With those settings I am free to pay attention to f-stop knowing that the ISO will auto adjust as needed. This is evident in the viewfinder because you can see the final exposure and see if it looks right to you. Mostly it does unless it is very bright or very dark. Then more shutter speed and aperture adjustment is needed. With the shutter speed set I then make the manual aperture setting the focus of my attention. For great Bokeh with the 50mm lens I'll shoot wide open at f/2. ACQUIRING LENSES Once I have decided which lens I want I'll shop on eBay. I haven't found a lens that isn't available there. By doing a search you will quickly get a sense for what a reasonable price range is. If you want to bid you may wind up getting a phenomenal lens at a great price. Me, I'm the impatient type so I purchased all my lenses as "but it now". But there are some very specific things I look for in a lens and seller. 1. The rating of the seller. I stick with 99+% buyer feedback. And there are many that fit that. 2. Returns. I want a seller that has at least a 14 day return policy. If no returns I move on. 3. Lens description--I read descriptions carefully to see if that's what I want. The good sellers will have good descriptions and lots of photos. 4. Cost--I look for a price that's acceptable to me for the lens. The prices can vary widely to unreasonably low for a lens that has problems, to unreasonably high by sellers who I suppose want to prey on the naive buyer . But like I said, with a little bit of comparison shopping it becomes pretty easy to tell what fair price is. For example, the 50mm f/2 Nikkor AI or pre-AI, a terrific lens, can currently be had for about $50 (But It Now), or less in an auction. 5. Shipping--I look for free shipping or up to about $10. There are overseas sellers and their shipping will stand out as being much higher, $20, $30, or more. I stick with US sellers. I did buy one lens off of Craig's list and that worked out great. The seller was nearby, a delightful person, and a professional photographer who gave me some photography tips. THAT lens is a Nikkor 20mm (30 mm on the NEX-6) f/2.8. It is my most expensive lens at $200 but $100 or more dollars cheaper then if I purchased it on eBay. When I get the lens I test it. I make sure everything moves okay and that's generally smooth as silk like Nikon lenses usually are. Then I do some shooting test. They will include a shot or two at a clear part of the sky or cloudy sky, stopped down as far as the lens will go, f/22 for my lenses. This type of shot will bring out lens imperfections such as scratches or other problems. The lenses I got all checked out great except for one lens that had very noticeable spots in the viewfinder with the lens stopped down. But I couldn't see anything on the lens so I blew on the sensor. That fixed the spots. It was dust on the sensor. The honest vendors will state the condition of the lens. I purchased a couple of lenses where the seller said there was a mild scratch in the coating. When I got the lens I thought the problems were overstated because I could not see anything. But I appreciated the honesty. The lens tests look fine to me so I kept the lenses. My lenses test always includes transferring the images to the computer and carefully examining the images for problems. They have all passed with flying colors. I did return one lens because it had a built in lens shade and the paint was peeling somewhat. The peeling was visible in the sellers pictures but in person I know it would continue to bother me aesthetically although the lens tested fine. The seller took it back, no questions asked and made the process very easy. CONCLUSION I have tried to bring out the main things that are important to me and what I've learned about using a state-of-the-art NEX-6 with old, high quality Nikon lenses. I don't claim to be a photo expert but I have been a life-long amateur photographer. I'm also sure there are people who would say why this route is a really dumb idea. Ken Rockwell for one is a big fan of auto everything. I might be too if I had really deep pockets. This way I can have the enjoyment of bringing great variety and optical quality to my photography at prices I can afford. And like I said, I think going manual with a quality prime lens makes me a better photographer.

when it comes to my experience in taking pictures I'm a novice at best but I can, and do shoot in other modes other then auto. plus I have purchase a couple other lens to use with camera other than what came with it. with that said I bought this camera to replace and upgrade from my NEX f3 that I bought a couple of years ago. I researched both the NEX 6 and the A6000 that was going to replace it and I was set to purchase the A6000 when it came out. but ultimately it came down to money and at the time I could buy the NEX 6 for a couple hundred dollars cheaper, plus with the A6000 not out yet their were a few things that they had changed that I wasn't sure if they were for the better or not. so here's my impression of this camera for the couple months that I have had it first the bad CONS. the menu system: and this goes for all Sony NEX cameras. if you plan on taking pictures in any other mode than automatic it takes way too long to find some of the settings that I'm looking for. setup is the worst by far there are settings in this menu that should be under camera and settings under camera that would better served under settings. the control wheel: again this goes for all Sony NEX cameras and even the new A000 series that replace the one I have. it's simply a bad design, it's too easy to bump it and go into another setting that is designate for this wheel not to mention it likes to flip back to a previous item on it's own. if you are trying to navigate the menu system this task is made I little worst on the NEX 3 were the mode dial is part of that same menu system. E16 - 50mm lens: I don't like this lens for a couple of reason for one since it's meant to be more compact in size, the zooming in and out is by wire instead of the traditional mechanical, which means that when you turn the rotator ring there is a lag between your action and the Len's response time and its a little annoying when your trying to compose a shot just right. the power zoom lever in my opinion isn't much better. the other thing to note about this lens is the distortion at the lower end of the zoom range. Phase Detection Compatibility: I found out by accident that the Phase Detection part of the hybrid AF system on this camera is a firmware feature of the E16- 50mm lens. yes you do have ability to turn this function on or off (Setup Menu) on the camera but the Phase Detection AF is only compatible with certain Lens. you can't use it with third party lens or some prime lens. and if you bought one of the older E mount lens like I have, it becomes a compatibility issue without a firmware upgrade to the Lens itself. I have a E55 - 210mm lens I had purchased in a bundle when I bought my NEX 3 and had to do this upgrade. note that the particular lens that you want to updated has to be connected to the camera while doing so. as of this writing firmware updates are only available for the E18 -55mm, E55 - 210mm, E18 - 200mm, and the Sonar TE 24mm lens. check the Sony site for updates. Eye Sensor (for EVF): on bright days if your hand passes over this sensor as you are adjusting the LCD screens angle it will confuse the camera into thinking that you are using the EVF and briefly turn of the LCD screen off. that being said its still a nice thing to have. PROS. EVF(electronic viewfinder): this is one of the main reason why I wanted to purchase this camera. their are some situations were the LCD screen just wont work, like a bright sunny day or on a winters day when everything is covered in snow, it helps to have this feature. best part is that 100% of what you see is exactly what your shot will be so composition is a no brainer. the downside of this is that even at over 2,000,000+ dots the picture is still noisy with colors tending to be a little over saturated. and on cloudy days it's hard to pick out details, however the brightness of this viewfinder can be adjusted to compensate for this. just keep in mind that the EVF actually uses more battery power. Build Quality: taking this camera out of the box first thing I notice is how this felt better in my hand than the NEX 3. I know they're pretty much the same camera but this one feels a little more like it was honed from one piece of metal even though the housing is basically plastic. it still has weight to it, not too much though. I love the feel of the grip in my hand. I'd rather walk around with the camera in hand like this than around my neck, that's why I bought a Joby wrist strap for it. the mode dial requires a little more of a cokes to turn it than the control dial below it. this will ensure that it wont be accidently moved while it's in your bag or if it gets bumped up against something. Mode Dial: if you've had a NEX 3 or 5 this speaks for itself. Control Dial: this is a great addition and alternative to the control wheel that the NEX series uses to navigate Aperture or Shutter Priority. it's also better to use this to navigate the menu system than that bloody wheel. Fn (function button) + other customizable buttons: think of this as a mini menu for your most used settings. you can program up to six different items. Dedicated ISO & EV Buttons: even though there located on the control wheel I love so much. at least there easy to get to. just access the menu and do the adjustment that I want. Adjustable LCD Screen: you can adjust it 90 Degrees up and 45 degrees down. no you cant do selfy's with it like some of the cameras in the NEX/A000 line up but this isn't something I personally care about. although side to side adjustability would have been welcomed. Battery Life: in my personal use with this camera in low light conditions were it requires me to have this thing on for awhile, or times that I have to use the EVF, or even when I'm using the Wi-Fi connection so I can use my smart phone as a wireless remote I would have to save that battery life is pretty descent. it's still good to invest in a extra Sony made battery though. Wi-Fi: the main reason I like this feature is that like I said up above I can use my smart phone(in my case a lowly s4) as a wireless remote. for instance when the sun is lower in the sky or at an angle that reduces my ability to see what I have composed in my shot I can walk into a shaded area away from my camera to see if I have the camera positioned right. or the sun is low and I'm trying to capture the shadows of the late day, on a tripod but I find that my shadow might be in the shot as well, I can walk a few feet away until I'm out of the shot and still see how it looks. or my tripod is positioned all the way to the ground looking up at some trees or whatever, and I don't want to lay on the ground to compose the shot. I just position the camera using my phone's screen to make sure I have the shot the way I want. contrary to what I have read of some of reviews on this site or YouTube videos about this feature,(Smart Remote Control) if you are using it in say Aperture mode or even complete manual mode like I have done you DO have control of the camera settings on you phone. you just have to make sure you have downloaded the latest version of the Smart Remote Control from Sony's app store. bottom line this a really good camera to grow into (get out of auto mode and experiment) and it's even better if you take the time to learn what your camera can do. if your on a budget like I am but want to be able take descent pictures better say than what a point & shoot can do (they can't compete with a APSC Sensor) I would say you cant go wrong. however if you can afford to spend the extra money get the Sony A6000 than do so. the new menu system on the A6000 worth the upgrade alone...

I am glad I waited until the NEX-6 to upgrade from my NEX-5. The NEX-6 provides a great viewfinder, flash, nice mode dial, a cool level-indicator to help you avoid tilted photos and digital zoom. Some people criticize digital zoom since it is only in-camera cropping, but it really is better than post-cropping since the exposure and focus is based on the zoomed image. After many test shots, I found the new 16-50 power zoom lens is sharper than the old Sony 18-55 zoom. Sony sold a lot of the 18-55 zoom lenses and they should be ashamed of that lens since is was very soft, very large, and rather slow. The 3200-6400 ISO noise seems slightly better in the NEX-6 and the auto-ISO now extends up to 3200 which comes in handy. Like other reviewers mentioned, the WiFi function takes a lot of button pushing, but it works and really not too hard to set up. The Android/iPhone remote control app is very cool; it provides a live viewfinder on your phone, with exposure control, and you can take a photo by pressing the button on your phone - this is so much better than the ten-second dash to beat the self-timer. The NEX-6 shoots multiple frames much faster than the NEX-5, this makes shooting with exposure bracketing faster and it is a big improvement for HDR shooting since it reduces the risk of ghost images resulting from motion in the frame. The phase detect auto focus is fast and reliable. Some reviewers have commented about the image in the viewfinder sometimes seems dim or off-color; it seems fine to me. Maybe the other reviewers did not understand that the viewfinder shows you what you will see in you photo and if the exposure is too dim or the white-balance is wrong then you will see the bad results in the viewfinder. So, I think the viewfinder does what it should. The auto-whitebalance is as good as any camera I have used. The dual-control power zoom is easy to control for both still and video and makes it much easier to smoothly zoom the lens for video. However, the zoom lever is not progressive; it has only one zoom speed. In addition to the passable paper user guide, there is an expanded user manual provided on a CD-ROM. My main complaint is that such a sophisticated and feature loaded camera like the NEX-6 should have user settable favorite/custom settings. There is no way to save the current configuration of settings as user defined custom setting. But there is hope since the NEX-6 has downloadable apps and maybe SONY will add a Custom Setting app for the NEX-6. Only SONY provides the downloadable apps, so I hope they get busy and provide some useful new apps. The other thing on my Sony wish list would be a good quality, compact E-mount power zoom from about 60-180mm. Overall, I am very pleased with the NEX-6 and I have no problems with its operation.

This is my favorite camera I have ever owned. I have also owned a huge variety of prosumer and professional cameras, as well as point and shoots. I do semi-professional work, as well as a variety of small-scale video projects, all from this camera. Previously for a simple general use camera I have had Canon rebels, a couple low end nikons (D3100), I've tested the comparable panasonic micro-four thirds, and even played with some of the advanced powershots (G12, S120). This Sony is by far my favorite and most manageable. I have also worked with high end cameras like the Nikon D2, Canon 5D, and canon X series video cameras. I think the Sony offers a very reasonable amount of quality and features to poke its way into the professional video world. The updated kit lens is very nice, works well, very clear, super quick autofocus. I also use a cheap Fotasy CCTV lens for creative videos and product shots, and some other various lenses. All work well with the appropriate adapter, and any with the E-Mount have very quick autofocus. Picture quality is simply excellent, with very little effort. This would be an outstanding camera for anyone who wants DSLR quality with minimal fiddling and settings modifications. Auto mode provides wonderful images. It's great out of the box for both picture and video. Wide variety of shooting options for stills and videos. Video can be shot at full 1080p, 60fps or 30, as well as several lower resolution modes. Manual controls work well enough for someone like me, but a true professional would likely need something with a bit more fine control. I believe this would still be a worthy backup. Flash works well, illuminates effectively, and is bendable, so you can bounce the flash. Full hot shoe provides access for many accessories. Viewfinder is ok. It's better than not having one, not as good as some higher end DSLRs. It is not color accurate, but does provide plenty of detail for shooting. The LCD is much better as far as accuracy, so quick review is easy before importing pictures to a computer. The camera works effectively with the PlayMemories app from Sony to import the images into a smartphone. The Android version is quicker and easier to use than the iOS version, but both function. I have average to small size hands, and the camera fits me very comfortably. I would consider adding a bottom grip at some point, and would recommend this for anyone with larger hands. Bottom line - I have a very specific look in mind that I want my pictures and videos to show. This camera consistently provides that to me with very little effort, and has plenty of manual controls to expand into if I need more fine-tuned control. These settings tend to be more buried in menus than accessible from the physical controls, so a true professional would be better suited with the Sony Alpha line. For the quality and general enjoyment of use, as well as affordability, I would never consider a Canon or Nikon DSLR over a Sony model in the foreseeable future.

really darn good camera. feels a little overpriced but works really really well. the pictures have a sort of tone that i can’t really describe other than mysterious if that makes sense. the lens is also pretty good considering it’s a starter one. got the camera for my photography class but also had a Europe trip the next month so bought it to document my trip. came out very pleased other than the price it is an incredible camera not even glazing. easy to use and the lens is good. only thing is that there’s not input for your own mic and to import videos you have to have a computer. the app doesn’t let you download through the phone nor through an sd card reader only with a laptop.

Okay, first of all I am not a professional photographer. I am just a guy who likes to take good quality pictures without worrying about taking a special class in photography, reading books, or spending hours if not days reading the manual. I owned a Panasonic ZS7 after reading all the great reviews about it. However, I was never satisfied. It has a very slow shutter speed, an okay picture quality, and poor quality software (I will never buy a professional software to edit my pictures. If the camera did not come with one, then I have to live with my raw pictures). Couple of months ago I decided that it's time to upgrade, but I have no interest in carrying a bulky DSLR camera or hiring someone to carry it for me (The Sony A77 weight is 5 pounds with the lens!!!??). So I decided to look for a compact camera that has the DSLR features and capability. After looking all over the internet and considering every single review out there, I found out that the NEXs are the best fit for my needs. I waited until NEX 6 was out and I contacted Michael Mckeem (the first to review this camera on Amazon). I was concerned about the slow AF in the new 16-50 lens and its overall performance and quality (remember the first camera in the NEX family to get the 16-50 lens is NEX 6). His response was very helpful and I was really close to make the final decision. I went back again and start looking for more reviews and pictures other have taken and posted online (This is a $1000 investment and I had to be careful). Then I decided it is time to get one. I received my camera about two weeks ago. The day it arrived I took it with me to an international festival we had in town and start playing around (remember, I am not professional and I do not know how to set the camera manually to take good pictures, I mainly leave it on Auto and let it does it things). I went back home and start viewing the pictures and I was stunned by quality and color richness. Until that moment I have not touch or play with any of the manual settings of the camera. The next day my wife was baking some cookies for thanksgiving and I had to stay with the girls out in the back yard (I live in the woods and my backyard is about 2 acres). I started taking pictures and playing with the settings since I have a lot of time in hand. That's when I became obsessed with this camera and its capability. I do not want to go any further with my review because first of all I am not professional and second I am not familiar with the terminology used to describe my feeling about this camera. However, I want to tell those who are interested in this camera the following: if you want a camera that can give you more if you ask for it, NEX 6 is the one. Also, do not worry about the limited E-mount lenses in the market because you can always buy an adaptor. I bought one for EOS lenses and I ordered a canon 70-300 III USM lens. I will update my review once I receive it and start taking pictures with it. Over all, NEX 6 is a bit expensive, but you get what you paid for. The software is amazing and it will do a great job editing your pictures. I disagree with those who said it is hard to play with the settings, if I can do it in two weeks, you can do it in a couple of days.

These are just first impressions of a practical user, I would like to give it a higher score. As of now I am split 50/50 on keeping or returning it. Background: My main camera is Pentax K-5 with 16MP Sony APS-C sensor (also used in Nikon D7000) that was considered best in class before the latest 24-36MP offerings. Before K-5 I used 12MP K-x and 10MP K2000. A year ago, while looking for more portable alternatives with decent image quality, I stumbled upon Panasonic G1 with 14-45mm kit lens (considered the best kit lens) and was immediately sold on the micro 4/3 system. Even though the m4/3 sensor is inherently smaller than APS-C, the G1 is 2 generations behind the current G5 and the focusing speed isn't that great, the handling of the camera (non-slip rubbery coating all over, protruding battery grip, excellent controls and ergonomics, fully articulated flip screen) compensates for its shortcomings and make its use a real pleasure. This is also one of few cameras there iA mode really works (see below) unless you are trying to shoot backlit birds in flight while riding a rollercoaster. Later on I added more pocketable Panasonic G3 with better sensor / AF speed, touchscreen and video recording that left me with mixed feelings - what it gained in updated electronics, it lost in handling. The body is too small, slippery and at least 2 physical buttons short compared to the G1. As a result, when I use the G1 the first question in my head is "Can I get this shot knowing its limitations?", while with the G3 "Where should I grab it to get the shot?". I am also using PS Panasonic ZS7 with pretty sharp Leica zoom as a "pocket notebook" in PASM (unlike the G1 its iA and iA+ are just horrendous), so ZS7 IQ is the lowest end on my scale. I am on the fence with Olympus OM-D - it's IQ, focusing speed and customization beats many DSLRs but the body is on a smallish side and rather "dense" that makes its handling similar to the G3. Recently a reasonably priced 3rd party screw-on plastic grip has been release that should improve on handling. Based on the above, my expectations for the NEX-6 were a compact but not too small size with comfortable handling, use in bright sun - OVF, tiltable screen (not fully articulated but better than fixed), IQ between K-5 and K-x/G1/G3, not the fastest in the industry but fast for my purposes AF, compact lens (willing to compromise a bit at the expense of IQ) and focus peaking for manual high quality lenses (with adapter). Here is what I've gotten so far: Build/Handling Pros: The size is just right - not too small, not too big. Great handgrip enhanced with a textured rubber coating stretching to the back where it's contoured. The rest of the body is not rubberized but slightly textured that makes it more grippy, less shiny /conspicuous and doesn't show fingerprints smudges. The collapsed pancake zoom slightly protrudes beyond the grip with very nice weight distribution. Easy to hold and point with one hand, even better if you cradle the lens/body bottom with the other. The placement of slightly recessed textured Movie button on diagonally sliced off top right back corner is ingenious. Out of the way but easily reachable with positive tactile feedback - can't miss it in total darkness! All dials well textured with just right resistance and clicks. VIEWFINDER- VIEWFINDER- VIEWFINDER!!! LCD is good but you can't read it in bright sun, tilting helps but not that much. Bright, decent resolution, less "oily" look than previous generation, clear fonts that I was able to read clearly w/o glasses (the larger LCD with font set to large could read about 80%). Histogram in the EVF, changing PASM modes and parameters within them with the dial w/o taking your eye off it is a PLEASURABLE experience (and fast). DMF mode for zooming-auto-manual focus with the lens zoom ring (+good tactile feedback with a minute lag). Shows battery charge in %. All the above is simply delightful photographic experience! Cons: -1*. SD card in the battery compartment is place very close and parallel to the hinges of the door (m.b. 1-2mm apart), very difficult to remove. The card/camera will be eventually broken/damaged /jammed. Absolutely idiotic engineering for $1000 camera. Even if I solve the rest of problems, most likely I will return the camera just for that. Do you want to loose 64/128GB of data and/or the camera in the most inappropriate moment? Unpleasant but I can live with: USB 2.0 - slow file transfer, SD cards are getting bigger and faster, why on earth not USB 3.0? Battery charging in camera - for 280min ~5h you can't use the camera. Not even browse pics/menu while on charger - it charges in OFF position. External charger with 2 spare batteries goes for ~$30 on Amazon but at least a basic Sony charger should have been included for the price. Menus are not bad but long untabbed - there is a scroll bar on the right showing how far you are from the beginning-end, no use for left-right buttons of the multi-dial as in most other cameras. Someone here complained that the menus are broken into multiple subdivisions (Camera-Settings-Color etc) and it makes difficult to remember where to find what you need. This is true bit it also makes these subdivisions shorter and easier to scroll, otherwise we would have to deal with menus similar to the Fuji X10 that are 5-6 pages deep w/o any indication on what page you currently are. Also, for the camera of such caliber the list of offered of menu options is a bit short. Of the present options you can put the histogram on LCD only in one set of limited number of other parameters shown. Why can't I put it with any of available sets? Makes no sense. The battery life is on a shorter side. To prolong it one can set LCD to Viewfinder only - use it to show parameters only and have live view /histogram in the EVF. JPEG image quality. I expected IQ between that of K-5 and G1/G3. For some reason it is consistently below G1 with very sharp Panasonic 14-45mm or 20mm f1.7 lenses (to be fair Panasonic uses in cameras lens correction by default), not to mention that of K-5. To test the system I turned OFF all lens correction in the menu and switched from the hybrid to normal AF. About 100 test shots were done under day light with shutter speed 1/1250-1/2000 with IS ON (that shouldn't matter at such short shutter speeds, noise reduction set to stnd first, low later. There is no option to disable the NR). I have an impression that the camera slightly front focusing. Handheld shots with very sharp stopped down to 5.6 SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7 in manual mode with focus peaking were not as sharp as expected for rather advanced Sony sensor. To eliminate potential problems with IS, I`ll redo MF shots on a tripod with IS OFF and the same with the kit pancake with and w/o in camera lens correction. At the same time, all my shots show a clear decrease in sharpness and increase in details smearing ("watercolor" effect) with increase in ISO. ISO 100 shots are passable, higher than that it depends with quick deterioration at ISO 400-800. From this camera I expected clean out of camera JPEGs at ISO 1600. I might have gotten a defective camera but these are image processing artifacts. Could not try RAW yet w/o updating LR to 4.3. -1* for jpeg processing. iA and iA+ in my copy of the NEX-6 are below par, for the sake of others hope it's a fluke. Just a fair warning - don't expect stellar pics out of the box. The uploaded pic shows better dynamic range (understandably) of the APS-C sensor vs. smaller micro3/4 but the resolution (as out of the camera JPEG) is not even close to 2yr old G1 with very sharp kit 14-45mm or pancake 20/1.7. Those from G1/G3 would show every single coat hair and her extremely long and thin eyelashes almost "sticking out" of the pic at 100% zoom. Once again, I am reviewing MY SINGLE COPY of the NEX-6/pancake zoom combo, that may be defective. The handling is exceptional (looks like other people have no problems with the SD card port), JPEG quality at the base ISO100 no better than micro4/3 and visibly degrades with ISO increase, the hybrid AF is adequate but not on par with that of Nikon 1. Feels like a "beta" version released before the Holiday shopping season. I applaud Sony's innovations put in one small package and hope that with the firmware updates it will be worth the price. P.S. This is my first Sony camera, would appreciate feedback from people with NEX-5n NEX-7 experience. P.P.S. Put links to Quesabesde "Fujifilm X-E1 and Sony NEX-6: face to face" comparison in the comments section. Shows clean RAW ISO3200 images.

I was looking for a light, compact, pocketable camera which was NOT a point-and-shoot and the NEX-6 fits that bill perfectly. I'm looking for great photos, but not outstanding ones. The 16-50mm SEL lens retracts into a small size making this camera easy to put into any bag. Sony packed a very good compact bag in the box along with a 4GB SD Card, which is good enough for starters. The SEL 16-50mm lens is not the best out there. However, Sony's philosophy of making a cheaper lens and fixing defects in software is something that you could live with (unless you're picky about quality). The power zoom works well for videos, reducing a lot of zoom noise and giving fine grained control. Because the lens retracts, it adds a little time at shutdown/sleep/power on. Nothing that an enthusiast cannot do without. In my opinion, Sony's E-Mount is missing more of such cheaper price + quality lenses. I'm sure there is a huge marked for photographers who would pay 24mm lens that does not break the bank but with inferior quality to the excellent Zeiss 24mm f/2.8, which is the only option but costs ~$1000. Cheaper lenses makes sense for those who the lower end E-Mount cameras (A-3000, A-5000, A6000) and are willing to put up with sub perfect lenses. Either way, that has little bearing on the quality or performance of the NEX-6. Compared to other full-sized DSLRs that cost the same or more, the NEX has some stand out features that are sorely missing on the bigger bodies - focus peaking, better FPS, better AF, cleaner ISO performance, WiFi, applications. On the flip side, I would have liked a dual wheel navigation like on the NEX-7 and mid-tier Nikons (D7100).

I have to spend much more time with this camera (learn the functions etc) before being able to really give a review so for now I'll say that I like it. One thing that is VERY annoying first-off is that the lens cap needs a lot of attention as it is extremely easy to lose - it is a separate item and you cannot attach a string or anything to it. I already had to search for it and know that, one day, it will be gone forever and I will have to look for a replacement. Perhaps another user has a thought on this subject?

Good, excellent time delivery

A real powerful device, delivering outstanding outputs am using this for an year now, and with it, I was able to take many nice shots. Being a wifi enabled device, transferring images is very easy, especially during outdoor trips Really nice

For enthusiasts. Not pros