Moving away from a heavy DSLR was the toughest transition for me as I began to adopt a more lightweight backpacking gear list. Clothing, food, warmth, and comfort were all easy to sacrifice, as I knew I’d have them at home as soon as I returned from my trip. Photography was different though, for most trips there is no going back. You can’t recreate a sunset or simulate the spontaneous movement of wildlife. My first attempt to go ultra-light failed pretty badly when I tried to shoot exclusively with my iPhone. The pictures were fine for Instagram and thumbnails online, but anything larger than 5×7 prints just came out terrible. It was here I began my search for the perfect balance of weight, cost, and image quality. After looking at smaller crop-sensor DSLRs, point-and-shoots, and mirror-less options, I knew that I wanted the flexibility of an interchangeable lens system, manual options, and a large sensor. The main candidates were the Olympus OM-D E-M1, the Fuji Film X-T1, the Sony a7R, Panasonic Lumix GM1, and Sony a6000. After reading countless reviews online, I narrowed it down to the Sony a6000 or Sony a7R. I ended up choosing the a6000 and in the following review will illustrate why. I would have loved the full frame sensor of the A7R, but the price, weight, and limited full frame e-mount lens options made it a non-starter.
Support Trail to Peak by purchasing the Sony a6000 from Amazon using the links below:
Sony Alpha a6000 Body only
a6000 Features:
The 12 oz (body only) Sony a6000 comes with a 24.3 megapixel APS-C sensor, which doesn’t quite have the size of a full frame, but is much larger than the 4/3 systems used by Olympus and Panasonic. Sensor size isn’t everything, but in use, I’ve really enjoyed having the APS-C sensor for my “bread and butter” landscape shots. It’s also been more than adequate for low light shots at dusk and dawn. The a6000 gets 11 frames per second continuous shooting with auto focus which is really useful for wildlife shots, or when trying to get the perfect shot of my dog running on the trail.
The a6000 comes with a 3″ tilting screen that I feel could use some improvement. For starters, it’s not a touch screen. This isn’t mandatory, but would be very nice. My second gripe with the screen is that it doesn’t fully articulate, which would be nice for selfies and other strange angled exposures. The actual 921k dot screen is very nice though, and I haven’t had any trouble viewing images with the exception of very bright direct sunlight. In situations where the direct light is too bright for the back screen, I use the built in EVF, which has proven to be very handy. The downside to the electronic view finder is that it eats up the battery.
I use this camera almost exclusively outdoors, which means I haven’t used the flash outside of a first-day test. This camera does have a built in flash if you’re interested, but I have no intent to use it enough for a review on it’s performance. Most built in flash units are pretty poor though from my experience, so get something external if you’re looking for real flash creativity.
The a6000 uses Sony e-mount lenses, and you can use 3rd party lenses via an e-mount adapter. The initial knock on the Sony NEX line and mirrorless alpha line was that they were lacking in quality e-mount specific glass. Lately, this has been starting to change, with more offerings being made available every year. My favorite is the Sony 10-18mm wide angle, but there are also a lot of really great primes I’m looking to purchase.
On the connectivity side, the a6000 comes with Wi-Fi and NFC built in, as well as supporting the Sony PlayMemories App. I haven’t used these all that much as they take a serious toll on the battery life (which is not all that great to begin with). They’re also not that useful on backpacking trips. I prefer to remove the SD card and insert it directly to my computer when I return home as opposed to any other option.
On one battery charge, I can usually go through a day of serious shooting on a hike. This usually gets me about 250-300 exposures, with about 5 short videos. The a6000 set to AVCHD encoding can shoot 1080p movies at 60p, 50p, or 24p/25p. I’ve shot a good deal of video with the a6000 and the results are really nice. The audio isn’t the greatest from the built in mic, but you can easily attach a hotshoe mic if you’re looking to improve the audio quality of your videos.
a6000 Handling:
The a6000 feels really great in my hands, which is something I can’t say for the majority of mirrorless cameras. For anyone that has shot with a quality DSLR, you’ll know the feeling of connectivity you get with a quality camera grip. Everything just feels right, and all the dials and wheels mesh perfectly with your fingers. You’re not going to get that same cohesion with a smaller mirrorless body, but the a6000 gets pretty close. It starts with a protruding grip on the front of the camera that allows my right hand to relax and have full control at the same time. The rubber grip wraps around the side of the camera body to where your thumb rests just below the control dial.
The control wheels and dials are very well positioned and give the feeling of quality while in use. The setting dial on the top has a secure click for each function, and the studded wheel works well with a bare hand or with gloves. The control wheel next to the settings dial feels equally sturdy, and works very well in all conditions.
a6000 Performance and Sample Shots:
If you’re a pixel peeper looking for 50 comparison shots of a bedroom wall to evaluate ISO settings, there are plenty of other reviews online. For my performance evaluation, I’m going to focus strictly on hiking and backpacking situations and how this camera has fared.
To start, the camera fires up and turns on pretty quick. I’ve never felt the power-up to be too slow, or feel that it’s caused me to miss a shot. The menus and settings are well set up and the instruction manual is only needed when digging deep into menu settings. Most of the things a hiker would use on a camera of this nature I found to be intuitive and easy to access. There are two memory buttons which have come in handy on numerous occasions on hikes where I’m switching from shade to direct sunlight. The Fn button and rear control wheel allow quick access to just about every exposure setting you would need. ISO, display format, exposure settings, and drive mode can be quickly accessed by the wheel, and everything else can be accessed by diving a little deeper with the Fn button. In real world hiking and backpacking situations this layout works very well as it’s not all that likely that you’d have to quickly change a large amount of settings at once.
Support Trail to Peak by purchasing the Sony a6000 from Amazon using the links below:
Sony Alpha a6000 Body only
Most people looking to buy a camera for hiking and backpacking will want to take great landscapes, which is what I do 99% of the time. Others prefer to focus on wildlife photography with a zoom. I’ll focus mostly on landscape, as that is where I’ve really put then camera to the test.
The colors and sunlight of the early morning make this my favorite part of the day. You can see below how well this camera renders the early morning colors.
During the day on the trail, you’ll come across a few common situation. The first is cloudy and dark, the second is cloudy with sunlight, and the third is bright direct sunlight. Here are a few examples of how this camera handles these situations.
The final “time of day” shots that I tend to shoot are sunset and night time. The camera handles both very well, and the manual settings allow for the perfect amount of creative control.
I’m a huge fan of photographing animals, especially my dog. For this, the fast and snappy auto focus has proven incredibly effective.
Finally, some cameras have a very difficult time exposing lots of white, which can kill the beautiful snow shots. The a6000 has no problem here and has given me countless winter wonderland snow exposures.
a6000 Conclusion:
If you’re looking for a more spec oriented and detailed review, I would recommend Cameralabs, Ephotozine, and Sony. As you can see, I love this camera and am very happy with my purchase. For $549.00 (body only), I don’t think there is a better option on the market. Yes, there are a few things I would change: weather sealing, touch screen, better screen articulation, and better battery life. The reason I don’t discount the a6000 too much for this is because these are all features found in cameras that cost twice as much. Camera bodies are easily replaceable, and their technology is usually considered prehistoric after two or three years. Lenses are not this way. A great lens from 15 years ago is still a great lens. That’s why I spent less on the a6000 and bought the equally expensive Sony 10-18mm lens. Together, the two are the perfect pair. If you’re in a similar situation, go with the best you can afford, but don’t forget that the lens is sometimes more important than the camera body. Having said that, the a6000 still offers a whole lot. I have album upon album of photography and memories that I’ll keep with me forever. When you look at the sensor, manual options, hardware, and final product of video and images, I think this is a purchase that is tough to beat.
Support Trail to Peak by purchasing the Sony a6000 from Amazon using the links below:
Sony Alpha a6000 Body only
Beautiful pics!
Thanks!
Hi Drew. I do mountain climbing and DSLR are really heavy to carry around. Someone introduced me to mirrorless and he’s using fuji film. But I’m not really fan of fuji film and read some reviews on other brands. I read canon has one too.
Your review helped.
I’m glad this review helped. I did a ton of research before I bought the a6000. Cameras can be very personal. I used Canon before I moved to mirrorless, but really liked what Sony had to offer.
I thought at first theyre only good when it comes to compact.. i mean the point and shoot ones until I read your review which made me think twice for sony.
I thought the same thing as I only used Sony for my Playstation before this! I started to see a lot of the older NEX-7 while traveling and hiking, and that’s what made me really start to consider the a6000 and A7r.
I’ve been looking for something much lighter than my D7000 for hiking. From your review, this camera looks promising. On my D7000, I use a Tamron 18-270mm lens most of the time as it’s got such a wide range of focal lengths and I avoid carrying multiple lenses with me.
I am curious about your take on a couple of points… Is there a similar wide-range zoom available for the a6000? How do you like the auto-focus capabilities, especially with fast-moving shots like trying to capture a bird in flight?
Hey! Thanks for writing. Sony makes an 18-200mm e mount lens for their mirrorless cameras, and any lens can be used with an adapter. It’s nice to have that wide range and not have to swap during the day! The autofocus on the a6000 is phenomenal. It tracks and locks very quickly. Sony bills it as the “world’s fastest autofocus system”…I’m not sure I buy that, but it works very well 🙂
I bought the Sony A6000 a few months ago and love it so far. Nice review!
Nice! It’s a great little camera!
Hey – thanks so much for this post. Your pictures with this camera look amazing – can I ask if they are edited at all? (With absolutely no judgement on editing as a thing to do!). I’ll look into this camera. Deciding which camera to take was a massive decision for me on my trip because I love my DSLR but it’s too heavy and I didn’t want to worry about it being stolen. I took a Canon point and shoot with a good zoom in the end – sometimes this was the best decision ever as it was so small and light and sometimes I am disappointed with the results.
Anyway… thanks for the review. Useful food for thought.
Hello, and thanks for the comment! All pictures have been edited in Lightroom for color correction and lighting. The pictures come out of the camera looking great, but I like to add a little post processing.
Enjoyed reading your review and seeing the beautiful shots. Camera review by a backpacker for backpackers! Appreciate the thorough discussion of this Sony camera from the trail’s point of view.
Thank you very much for reading! I appreciate the kind words.
Like you, I come from a Canon body (5D3) and am looking to shed some pounds. What has been tormenting me lately, though, is finding the best solution for the JMT trip I signed up for this summer (I stink with logistics, this one I’ll leave up to a professional). The a6000 seems to hit the image quality/size/weight sweet spot, but how many batteries would the a6000 burn through in 23 days? I would likely be using the viewfinder much of the time, as well as doing a lot of twilight and landscape with Milky Way shots (multiple long exposures). Do you think the a6000 would be a viable choice for such a long trip?
Hey! Thanks for the message. I’ll be hiking JMT this summer too and am asking myself the same questions. The battery question is a big one for me as well. I used the a6000 on Tour du Mont Blanc this summer, and have a pretty good feel for it’s consumption. As much as it pained me, I turned off the viewfinder and continuous auto focus to save juice. I also turned off the auto-review after each shot. I was able to get 350-400 shots with about 10 minutes of video on each battery. The long exposure shots are what will kill you. The a6000 takes 3-5 seconds of “processing” after each shot and after taking 5 in one night, I was down 15% on my battery. Still, this works with my shooting habits as I’m not a huge long exposure shooter. I’m going to bring 4 batteries, and an external USB charger. My 10000mAh battery weighs about 10 oz and gives 3 full charges on the a6000 plus it charges my GPS watch. I still have some work to do on planning, but I should have more on my JMT page pretty soon. For reference, I’m planning to hike it in 14 days.
Thanks for the reply! I actually did a 5 day section of the JMT last summer with Southern Yosemite Mtn Guides, and haven’t been able to think about anything except getting back out there ever since. Going with the same guide company this summer as I just don’t have the experience to try something like this solo. 23 days will be plenty enough challenge for me with my aging knees, sure wish I had gotten my hind end out there when I was younger. I have a 7000mah battery charger, myself, and was thinking I might grab a second 10000mah battery to swap with at the Vermillion Lakes resupply. I also have a GPS watch, as well as a Petzval head lamp to recharge along with the camera batteries, maybe those 2 chargers will be enough. It would really stink to go all that way and run out of juice right before Whitney. We will be going north to south, starting on July 11th. Not sure which direction your going, or when you start, but I’ll try to keep an eye out for ya! Thanks for the gear info!
Great review! I bought the a6000 a while back and I am still impressed with the image quality. If you had the opportunity to do the Camino Frances again, would you bring the a6000 or would you settle for the smartphone again?
The a6000 is incredible. If I were to walk the Frances again, I would bring my a6000 without hesitation. My phone was functional for web display, but anything larger than 8×10 prints is pushing it. With my a6000 I can print any size I want, and the video looks a lot better as well. I’ll be bringing the a6000 along with me for the John Muir Trail this summer.
My a6000 and SEL1018 came in the mail today. Thanks for the sweet review dude.
Awesome! Great to hear you’ll be shooting with the a6000 and 10-18mm! It’s a great setup!
Hi! Just read your review of the a6000! Ive been stuck between either buying the a6000 or the canon rebel t5i. I decided to upgrade from my iPhone camera. What is your take on either of these cameras? Im looking for a camera that will give me good landscape and portrait(bokeh effect) photos. With either of the cameras which lenses (that aren’t too expensive) would you recommend? I would love to hear about your thoughts and would appreciate any other advice/insight!
Hello Jeanah,
That’s a tough call. I used to have a T3i, but moved to the a6000 to save weight and have a smaller camera body. You can’t really go wrong with either for image quality and creative control. Landscape and portrait (bokeh effect) has way more to do with your lens than with your camera. For landscape you’ll want a wide angle. I use the Sony 10-18 for the a6000 and I used the Canon 10-22mm with my T3i. Bokeh can be attained many different ways, but for portraits you’ll want a prime lens in the 50mm to 85mm range with an f/ of 1.4 to 1.8. You can get a little lower or higher, but 1.4 and 1.8 lenses are pretty affordable and easy to come by on the used market. I’ve used a Canon 50mm 1.8 and 50mm 1.4, and really liked the photos (https://www.flickr.com/photos/drewrobinson/sets/72157622538831847). If you’re worried about the cost of lenses and don’t really mind the extra size, I’d go with the T5i, as there is a much larger selection of lenses, and you can find some really nice options for cheap. You can get the Canon 50mm 1.8 for around $100 and a third party Rokinon wide angle for around $300. I prefer to spend more on lenses, as I keep them for a long time and use them on multiple bodies. Plus they retain their value much better than camera bodies do if you intend to sell them later.
After reading your awesome reviews, I too will shortly be picking up the a6000 and can’t wait to start taking some shots. Will be my first serious camera, and so I am still a bit unsure on which lens to purchase, and was hoping for some insight. Right now I’m looking at the sony 10-18mm that you also reviewed, or possibly the Zeiss 12mm f2.8. It seems from your photos from the sony 10-18mm you can’t really go wrong, but it is a little more expensive from amazon than the Zeiss. Do you wish you would have gone with a prime lens over the zoom? Camera will be seeing a lot of backpacking trips and trail time like yourself(JMT here I come!). Keep up the awesome work, love your site!
Thank you for this very helpful review! How do you find the video quality on the camera? And for long are you able to shoot continuous video before the battery goes out?
I think the video quality is excellent. You can find a link to my YouTube page here on the blog. I don’t know how long I can shoot on a battery for just video. I was able to take around 150 photos and about 25 minutes of video on one battery this Saturday at the Grand Canyon.
Great review. I was leaning towards the Olympus OM-DE-1…but the Sony a6000 may be the ticket. I just returned from the Tour Mont Blanc trek in September and was lugging my Nikon D750 up those peaks. Don’t want to do that again on future backpacking trips.
The sensor size on the sony is great. Price beats the Olympus too. One thing that bothered me was that on the CameraLabs review, it mentioned there was no exposure bracketing…without downloading an app. Is that true? Those snow/sky/mountain contrasts…like on the TMB, seemed to require this feature.
Thanks Rodger. I was torn between the Olympus and Sony when I made my decision as well. The larger sensor is what pushed me to the a6000. I’m really wanting a full frame A7r now! I took my a6000 on the Tour du Mont Blanc and loved it.
I’m not sure what they mean in the CameraLabs review. Setting up bracketing is pretty straight forward on the a6000. You can find some clear instructions on it here: https://community.sony.com/t5/Alpha-SLT-DSLR-Cameras/a6000-AEB/td-p/468579
Thanks. Rather than getting the a6000 with the kit lens (16-50mm), which hasn’t had the best reviews…how do you feel about getting the sigma 19mm, f2.8 DN lens instead?
I don’t have any personal experience with the Sigma 19mm. When helping friends in the decision of which lens to get, I often tell them to go back and look at EXIF data from all of their favorite pictures. This is especially useful when they’ve been shooting with a zoom. When I did this on mine, I realized I was always at 18mm, and that’s why I went for the wide angle. Now with a 10-18mm, I’m still always at the 10-12mm, which will give me the confidence to buy a wide angle prime when the time for another purchase comes. When looking at my exif data while traveling, I see that I do a lot of low light shots and am always at the limit of f/4 on my lens. This is what makes me really want an f/1.4-2.8 lens, to take better exposures in low light. The Sigma you mention is at f/2.8 which will give you a little more flexibility in low light, if that is what you desire. My only caution would be the fixed 19mm, and if you’d be comfortable shooting at that focal length for extended periods.
I’m planning to buy this with the 16-50mm lens, should I opt for the 10-18mm lens? Thanks
What are you looking to shoot? It really depends on your usage and shooting style. I shoot landscapes, so I’m always at the low end of the zoom. On a 16-50mm, I would be in the 16-20mm range 99% of the time, making the 20-50mm range useless. Others may utilize that range a bit more. If you have a camera now, take a look at your EXIF data and see where you tend to shoot. If not, go with what interests you most. When I’m not hiking or traveling, I like to shoot with a 35mm or 50mm prime with 1.4f or 1.8f. These help capture crisp low light images that my 10-18mm can’t achieve hand held.
Thanks a lot for the suggestion. I’m going for hiking/traveling in Western Australia and New Zealand soon. I’d love to shoot more landscape hence the interest in 10-18mm after looking at your dope images taken with it. They’re all awesome! Thank you again 🙂
If it’s landscapes you’re looking to shoot, it’s hard to do better than the 10-18mm. Thanks for checking out the blog!
Ahhhh a soul mate reviewing a camera on my shortlist! Finally!
Currently got a Nikon crop dalr (d5000) but not really satisfied with low light results. So I was looking at an upgrade within the Nikon lineup because of my current lenses (all crop) which got me to full frame territory rather quickly….including their weight and bulk.
Logically, I turned to the A7 series but man they’re pricey. A part from the actual purchasing costs, I’m not sure I want to haul thousands of dollars of gear on multiple day trips with nothing more than a tarp protecting it…
I knew about the A6000, which is around for a while already, and never really considered it because hey, it was just another crop. But it is so light! And the performance should be at least on pair with my current gear, for a fraction of the size and weight. I do not think the low light performance will satisfy my needs, but maybe pairing it with so ff lenses for to prepare for an A7 in the future when their prices become more realistic (and battery life…). Hmmmm
Thnx for the review mate, keep up the great shots!
Thanks for reading!
I bought an A6000 for the same reason. I wanted mainly to do landscapes and would be hiking with it. I am still happy with it. I have several lenses. Recently I got the 10-18 and now this is my main outdoors lens. I was torn between the Zeiss 12 and the Sony 10-18 but I am glad with my choice. I also have, and highly recommend the Sigma 19mm. It is cheap and sharp.
I am planning a Colorado Grand Canyon river trip of 9 days and am wondering what to take. Weight is not an issue, but space is. Current plan is A6000, 10-18, 18-200, Sigma 19mm all in a 1100 Pelican box. I am thinking of 3 batteries and a 10,000mah charger. I wonder about solar but am not sure it would have enough time to work. I also have a Olympus TG-4 for water shots.
For anyone planning to buy an A6000, I would go ahead and get the package with the 2 kit lenses (I did). They are not great but the price is too good to resist and they get you in the game.
I agree, that kit is a pretty nice bargain.
I know I’m really late to the party, but I just got the a6000 and the 10-18. Love it! Was wondering if you could give me some tips. I am an active day hiker that usually carries a small backpack with minimal items. I travel and hike very light-weight, mostly on 2-6 hour hikes. I am trying to figure out the best way to hike with the a6000. I want to protect it, but I also want quick access to pull it out and get a great shot when I see something I like. How have you handled this? Thanks for the great review if the camera and lens.
Chris
Better late than never! The a6000 and 10-18mm are a great combo! I have a very small camera case with two carabiners on the side attachments. With this set up I can have the camera on either backpack side strap, or use both and string the bag across my chest.
You actually already recommended this camera to me in the comments of another post of yours and then I found this post and am sold haha. How did you get such good shots of the stars and dawn in the pics up above? Did those turn out pretty well with the camera immediately or did you have to do quite a bit of editing?
I just set the camera on a tripod for a long exposure. They looked really great right out of the camera, but I did do some color correction with Lightroom.
How do you shoot your photos? With Aperture priority/ Program or full manual? I’m curious because you’re able to consistently get the dark parts of the photo dark with the a6000. If there’s a person wearing a black shirt in the image, the meter always brightens up the whole image to compensate for the black (matrix metering). When it brightens up the whole image, the sky sometimes is pushed up all the way to near white and looks unpleasant. My solution now is to use AEL while metering for the sky and lock it before taking a picture. Any ideas? And what mode do you shoot with?
Also, do you use RAW or JPEG?
It all depends on where and what I’m shooting. If I have time, I’ll shoot M, otherwise I’m in A or P. On longer trips, I’ll shoot JPEG to save on storage and battery. For shorter trips I’ll shoot RAW. As for not capturing true blacks in your photos, which lens are you using on the a6000? I shoot with the 10-18mm for best results, but can have issues with other lenses.
I’m using the Sony FE 28mm f2 lens. I often find I have to apply negative exposure compensation in A or P modes (about-0.5 to -1.5)
or lock exposure while pointing at something bright while shooting around dusk or night. If I don’t do that, the dark shadows (like shaded pavements) will be brightened up to about middle gray and sometimes, bright light sources like buildings will get overexposed. Maybe it’s just the camera perceiving the scene differently from me, in which it wants to make it look like daylight by making everything middle gray while I want night photos to look dark because that’s how dark nighttime actually is.
It’s like if you take a picture of your friend while he is wearing dark clothing, the camera will compensate for the dark clothing and make the face partially overexposed.
Don’t you get that problem sometimes?
I’ve experienced the same thing on my a6000. When I’m hiking at dusk, I often have to override the exposure compensation. I think you’re right in that the camera is perceiving things differently than our eyes. Usually, it’s pretty good though.
Hi Drew, thanks a lot for your GREAT review, I’m definitely going to buy the Sony a6000. [And sorry for bad english, I’m french]. Like you, most of my photo are landscape photography. I want to be able to shoot the morning, the night etc. I’m a beginner so there are lots of terms I don’t understand. I had a basic Canon 1100d with 18-55mm lens so it’s really basic DSLR and zoom is not great. And it was terrible for night photography (I guess a good photographer can took some great night picture, but obviously not me). So I have 3 questions. 1/I don’t really understand what mirrorless is, is it OK if I just buy the lens 10-18mm with the body a6000 or do I have to buy an intermediary lens …. ? (I know it surely sound stupid for you, but I looked at lots of reviews and I don’t really know if it’s just OK with the lens, the facts that reviews are in english does not really help me to be sure of that). And 2nd question is : 2/What is the difference between the 10-18mm from Sony US I guess and the one 10-18mm “international” without guaranty ? ’cause I’m in canada (but I’ll buy it in France where I go back) so is this available in France and do you think there is a guaranty ? (well, I’m going to check on amazon.fr, etc but your answer is still helpful 🙂 ). And 3rd question 3/How do you charge your a6000 and battery ? ‘Cause I’ve bought a Goal zero Solar panel & lithium ion “converter” so I’ll be able to charge directly the sony a6000, but do I will have to just charge the camera WITH the battery inside (so it will charge the camera) or do I will have to charge the battery separatly ? ’cause you said the battery is quite short. But I don’t think I’ll shoot 250 pictures per day so I guess it will help saving the battery .. but at the other hand I’ll just have the solar panel to charge my phone (no mural home) so it’s gonna take 8hours to charge my a6000.
Thanks a lot ! Odin.
Hello Odin, I’ll try to answer your questions in order.
1.) Mirrorless is just a term to describe cameras that use a sensor to provide an image to an electronic viewfinder, as opposed to an optical viewfinder. This allows mirrorless cameras to be much smaller, yet still have the same APS-C or full frame sensors.
The 10-18mm lens is a great choice if you do a lot of landscape shots and like a wide field of view. I mostly shoot very wide, so the 10-18mm is perfect for me. Some people don’t like to shoot wide, so they will say it’s not a good lens if you’re only going to have one. An 18-55 will allow for more options, but isn’t very good if you only shoot landscapes. The same can be said for a 35mm or 50mm prime.
Buy the tools for the jobs you do, not the jobs that others do. I’m a hiker that shoots landscapes, so I buy tools like the 10-18mm that excel at that task.
2.) From what I can tell, there is no difference with the international lens. It’s only the US warranty that is not included, thus it is less expensive.
3.) I charge my a6000 batteries with an external charger. I bought the 3rd party Wasabi Power replacements that come with a wall charger. This way I can charge batteries at home while using others. When I’m hiking, I just carry a bunch of charged batteries so I don’t have to worry about charging with the USB. I brought 7 batteries on the John Muir Trail that got me through 11 days of photo and video. On my usual hikes, I’ll just bring one spare battery and almost never have to use it. The Wasabi batteries are really good for the price, but have a shorter cycle life when compared to the Sony batteries.
Thanks a lot for you answer. I checked wasabi power battery and I will buy 2 ! =)
No problem!