Renaissance Faire with 50mm and 85mm lenses

[rpcrowe]

I played with my A6500 at a local Renaissance Faire using a native Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS lens and a Canon 85mm f/1.8 adapted with a Sigma MC-11 adapter. I shot both these lenses wide open...

Although the Canon works just fine in face detect mode, the native Sony lens with Eye AF is a bit easier to use...

50mm
1.

2.


85mm
3.

4.


If I can sell some of my excess photo and fishing gear, I would like to snag a Sony 85mm f/1.8 lens and a Sigma 16mm f/1.8 (or perhaps the smaller and less expensive Sony 19mm f/2.8 DN lens)

I must admit that the Sony A6500 has entailed a bit more of a learning curve than did my Canon DSLR cameras. I had been shooting Canon SLR cameras for years when I transitioned over to the Canon 10D DSLR so, although I was new to digital, I could adapt a lot of my experience over from the Canon A-1 SLR to the 10D DSLR.

The Sony A6500 has been an entirely new ballgame for me! However, each time I use it in a real life shooting situation, I get better with it and like it better.

[Shadowman]

Nice captures.

[Tom Barry]

Very well done, indeed.

[rpcrowe]

Thanks for the nice comments! The Renaissance Faire is a great place to shoot! The participants just love to be photographed and it would be a great venue for a photographer new to shooting people...

My photo club visits the Faire twice a year (one is held in the spring and the other in the fall). Many of the club members carry full frame DSLR cameras with large lenses such as the 70-200mm f/2.8L and even the 100-400L Mark-2. I used to come equipped like that but, as I am growing older, I can certainly appreciate a lightweight kit that can perform quite well. My previous entry into lightweight cameras is the Canon SX50-HS. While this little camera is great for carrying to dog rescue events in order to photograph my dogs and their new families, it is not quite up to par for general shooting...

The 50mm f/1.8 has really surprised me as a portrait lens on a crop camera because I seldom used it when I shot with my DSLR kit...


Of course, there is sometimes distortion when shooting really close up with this lens. But, I can often use that distortion to my advantage...


I mentioned a learning curve with the A6500... I shot these images of the "Queen" of the event under a canopied area that resulted in a very yellow light.



I have since learned how to set and apply a custom white balance with the A6500. In fact, I can set three different white balances and easily switch back and forth between them...

Here are different versions of the above three images...

[William W]

Wonderful.

It occurs to me though it might be a learning curve AND you are having a great deal of fun with your new Sony gear.

WW

[rpcrowe]

Bill,
You are absolutely correct. This is the most fun I have had with a new camera since I first went digital with the Canon 10D many-many years ago.
Everything is new and I don't anticipate many of the new ways to work this wonderful little machine. I cannot believe that Sony has been able to cram so very much into this tiny form factor...
Sometimes I just get awed, like being able to see what my exposure will look like "BEFORE" I shoot. I think that this is standard with mirrorless cameras but, it is mind boggling to me as is the ease with which I can manually focus using focus assist and focus peaking.
Things like learning to navigate the menu and customizing the various buttons on the camera keep me busy.
Now I am working to sync up a Godox XPro-S transceiver with my Godox flashes.

[Cantab]

Richard, this is a great set of enjoyable images.

P.S. I noted your new avatar!

[rpcrowe]

Richard, this is a great set of enjoyable images.

P.S. I noted your new avatar!

In celebration of Halloween!

As I was photographing the "Queen's Court" wearing my "Combat Veteran Vietnam" ballcap, the "Queen" asked me to come forward and pinned a ribbon on my chest, thanking me for my service...

That was really a neat experience. Not so much for the ribbon but for some young folks who probably were not even born at that time, thanking me for my service...

[William W]

Richard,
I get it. Focus peaking is sensational, as a by the way and not to change the topic of your conversation, I am in a similar slot to you with my EOS M5 and my set of fast Manual Prime Lenses. I am like a kid at Christmas time - so I do "get it".
Regards.

[rpcrowe]

Richard,
I get it. Focus peaking is sensational, as a by the way and not to change the topic of your conversation, I am in a similar slot to you with my EOS M5 and my set of fast Manual Prime Lenses. I am like a kid at Christmas time - so I do "get it".
Regards.

It is lots of fun, isn't it? And, unless you are doing this to make money, fun is the name of the game!

Along that line, I found a used Native Sony 85mm f/1.8 lens at Adorama at a great price and that should increase my fun. After all, it will have Eye AF which I absolutely adore. I will now have a set of four relatively fast primes all of which have f/1.8 apertures except for the 16mm which is an f/1.8...

[William W]

It is lots of fun, isn't it? And, unless you are doing this to make money, fun is the name of the game!

Along that line, I found a used Native Sony 85mm f/1.8 lens at Adorama at a great price and that should increase my fun. After all, it will have Eye AF which I absolutely adore. I will now have a set of four relatively fast primes all of which have f/1.8 apertures except for the 16mm which is an f/1.8...

Yep. Copy that. I have all but given up the professional side of the game. I do pro bono work for Charity Functions and some restorations if people plead a lot; I love the forensic interrogation work and that's about it on the 'pro side' - so much more time to be a free amateur, again. It is truly invigorating.

Yes again... I am now forever hunting at B&H and Adorama for bargain second hand lenses (even though it costs a bit for delivery to me, it is worth it because the two US Stores have an huge range, and pretty good service too.

[dje]

Nice set of shots Richard

Things like learning to navigate the menu and customizing the various buttons on the camera keep me busy.

One tip I'll pass on which i only learnt about fairly recently and that is the power of the Fn button. This can be customised to display and adjust up to 12 settings such as ISO, metering, focus area, focus mode etc. This gives very quick access to the settings that are important to you. In fact I find myself routinely hitting this button at the start of a shoot to check what these settings are. They are all nicely aligned in two rows and can be seen at a glance and adjusted quickly from the same display.

But you may already be aware of this!

Dave

PS This is what it is like on my a6000, presumably it is similar on the a6500?

[rpcrowe]

Nice set of shots Richard




One tip I'll pass on which i only learnt about fairly recently and that is the power of the Fn button. This can be customised to display and adjust up to 12 settings such as ISO, metering, focus area, focus mode etc. This gives very quick access to the settings that are important to you. In fact I find myself routinely hitting this button at the start of a shoot to check what these settings are. They are all nicely aligned in two rows and can be seen at a glance and adjusted quickly from the same display.

But you may already be aware of this!

Dave

PS This is what it is like on my a6000, presumably it is similar on the a6500?

The Fn button is great as is the ability to customize virtually any button on the camera to function the way that I want and to have one place on the menu in which I can modify all the buttons. I have programmed the AEL button for Eye AF because I find it a lot easier to hit this button with my thumb than using the center button when I am shooting in the horizontal mode. However, it seems easier to have the center button set for Eye AF when I am in the vertical position...