- Tiny camera, big hulking lens.
Hey everybody, this is Roberto Blake of robertoblake.com,
helping you create something awesome today.
So, today, I'm going to be talking about how
I've been creating awesome with an interesting piece of gear
that my friends at BH Photo Video sent me.
#NotaSponsoredVideo, they are a friend of the channel,
I'm getting paid $0 to talk about this Sony A6500,
and this really great piece of glass.
This piece of glass is
the F2.8 24-70mm Sony Master series lens.
This thing is a monster.
This thing weighs so much.
But, it's okay, because it is a tremendous piece of glass,
the optics are just brilliant,
and it gets the job done.
I've been using this for a couple of days now,
and I wanted to try this out,
I have a full review coming,
but I wanted to try this out in real-world scenarios.
I did a lot of different things with this.
I did some low-light tests,
I did some motion tests.
I also really tested the autofocusing very vigorously,
and what I can tell you is this:
As someone who's using and filming right now with
the Panasonic Lumix GH5,
and is primarily using Panasonic cameras right now,
I have to say that this Sony,
the autofocus system, sure, it's better.
That's just truth.
The low-light performance, it's better.
That's just the truth.
The problems that I have with it,
from a usability standpoint is
the lack of a full touchscreen,
and the lack of a full flip-out screen,
versus just a tilty screen.
As someone who self-records a lot of content,
as someone who is a one-man band,
if i have to be in front of a camera, I need those things.
Now, on the other hand, if I were a guerrilla filmmaker,
or I was a wedding filmmaker,
this camera is a no-brainer,
this camera is an absolute yes,
this camera has everything you need
if you're someone who prioritizes being behind the camera.
If you need something that's not a full-frame camera
as a photographer, but you have this kind of glass,
it's no-brainer, this is fantastic.
This gets perfect, beautiful, crisp stills,
(shutter clicks)
with great boka, great optics,
the video image quality is tremendous,
the autofocusing is spot-on.
And I love all those things about it.
And, in terms of weight,
aside from this big hulking lens,
it's not terrible.
Now, on the other hand, there is something to be said
for still not having a touchscreen.
There's something to be said for
not having unlimited 4K recording,
or at least, not overheating.
One of the issues I do have, as a first impression,
with the A6500, is the fact that
it still actually gets really warm after shooting with it
for, you know, a half-hour to 45 minutes,
whereas, I do not have that problem at all
on most of my other cameras,
which are primarily Panasonic cameras.
I also get to shoot unlimited 4K,
without any issues, on the GH5,
and as long as I'm shooting within the memory card
and the time limit, on the G7.
There's no overheating at 4K.
This still actually gets rather warm, even in HD.
It gets hot in 4K shooting,
and I do have a time limit on it.
So, those are the downsides.
But overall, I really dig the A6500.
I've actually reviewed the Sony A6000
on this channel before,
I think I did that over a year ago.
I also borrowed that camera from our friends at Lumoid,
and I think that the Sony system,
in terms of these portable cameras, is amazing,
as far as cameras where you actually can
interchange out a lens.
I'm going to be testing this with the 24-70,
I'm also going to be testing the 50mm F1.8
that I have for this.
But, overall, it's a great camera.
The build quality is tremendous.
The ergonomics are actually pretty solid.
This
(plastic clicking)
could be a little better.
But, you know, you're not going to be changing
the modes too often, at least, not if you're me.
I shoot everything in manual.
But, for the rest of you, maybe that's a dealbreaker.
I don't like the placement of the menu button,
but that's just me.
I have it in other places and I like that.
I actually really dig the way that they handle all of that
over on this camera,
I just prefer the ergonomics on this.
But, again, that's just my personal preference.
I think that a full-touch display and a flip-out screen
would have made this one of the best cameras on the planet.
I still think it's an amazing camera.
Theoretically, in the future, if I was spending more time
behing the camera than in front of it,
I could justify purchasing this.
As it is, for me, this is just nice to be borrowing,
as the kind of thing that I would rent.
If I wasn't going to rent, like, an α7S II,
then I would rent something like this
if I felt it merited it,
especially for travel.
If I was going to travel,
and I absolutely wanted a great video and photography camera
and I wasn't worried about the weight,
and, for some reason, I couldn't bring my Panasonic gear,
or I wanted something with better autofocusing,
then guess what?
This is exactly what I would be bringing in that situation.
That's kind of who I feel this camera is for.
I feel that this camera is more, like,
somewhat of an indie-filmmaker camera,
or a travel photographer or travel videographer camera,
if you're not vlogging.
If you're vlogging, maybe not so much.
There are ways around that, though.
So, there are ways that I could think of
to get around that not having a flip screen,
by using the app and using your phone,
while having this on a tripod, that could make sense.
But, that really could feel cumbersome for a lot of people,
so, Sony, just start making flip-out screens,
and then you win.
You make flip-outs screens, Sony, you win the market,
hands down, that'll be the end of the story.
Favorite feature on this camera overall?
Gotta be that sweet, sweet autofocus.
It's one of the best autofocusing systems
I think I've ever seen.
So, I'm really digging that.
Anyway, those are my first impressions of this camera.
Like I said, there will be a full review
after I've used it more,
and after I test my other lens on it.
I'll also doing comparison videos of
this camera versus the GH5 and the G7,
and, actually, I'll be comparing this Sony, the A6500,
to the Sony RX100 Mark V,
so if you guys are interested in that, let me know which one
you're kind of looking forward to first.
I'll put a poll up here,
so maybe you guys actually influence
which video comes our first.
Will it be this versus the GH5
or will it be versus the Sony RX100 Mark V?
You guys will probably decide that.
Anyway, like this video if you like it,
don't forget to subscribe.
Send me your questions in the comments about camera gear.
All of my camera gear is linked up in the description below.
Gear like this will be linked up as well.
Thanks again to our friends at BH Photo Video
for letting me borrow this.
Really appreciate it, guys.
Anyway, as always, thank you so much for watching,
and don't forget,
go out there and create something awesome today.
Maybe with one of these.
I don't know.
Which one do you like better?
(cheerful, relaxing music)