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.

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 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