Sony Alpha 6400 | APS-C Mirrorless Camera with Sony 16-50 mm
Sony Alpha 6400 | APS-C Mirrorless Camera with Sony 16-50 mm f/3.5-5.6 Power Zoom Lens ( Fast 0.02s Autofocus 24.2 Megapixels, 4K Movie Recording, Flip Screen for Vlogging ), Black
α6400 E-mount camera with APS-C Sensor
Grab the best of life
Despite a compact size & light weight, the α6400 delivers speedy performance & a range of features you’d expect from a professional model. Whether you’re taking still shots or movies, creative compositions or everyday selfie shots, you’ll enjoy beautiful images that you’ll want to share, on the go.
Innovation in service to your creativity
Speedy, reliable autofocus
Reliable AF for great action shots
425 phase-detection & 425 contrast-detection AF points
Densely distributed focus points blanket around 84% of the image area, aiding subject capture.
Lightning-fast AF
Lightning-fast AF of just 0.02 seconds
The camera’s Fast Hybrid AF system combines the best of phase-detection AF and contrast-detection AF.
Persistent tracking ability
Tracks the subject’s motion, keeping it in sharp focus.
When subjects are in motion, AF points densely positioned around the subject are activated for accurate tracking.
Continuous shooting
Fast continuous shooting with AF/AE at up to 11fps
Never miss a moment of the action thanks to fast internal processing and high-capacity buffer memory. Fire off shots at up to 11fps with after-view or 8fps for live-view, with minimal display lag, and take up to around 116 shots in JPEG (Standard) or 46 shots in compressed RAW format in one continuous burst.
Silent continuous shooting
Silent continuous shooting at up to 8fps
When your shoot calls for absolute quiet, such as when you’re photographing a live performance, silent shooting with no shutter noise allows shooting at up to 8fps with AF/AE tracking, even in AF-C mode, with Real-time Eye AF, or with Real-time Tracking, expanding your range of shooting options.
Durable shutter constructionThe shutter mechanism is designed to suppress vibration and withstand around 200,000 shutter cycles.
” data-position=”triggerHorizontal” />Dust and moisture resistantSealed buttons and dials and double-layered interlocking components help keep out dust and moisture.
” data-position=”triggerHorizontal” />Versatile connection and charging via USBThe camera can be powered via USB cable. The camera has an HDMI micro jack and Multi/Micro USB terminal. An external microphone can be attached via the microphone jack for clearer-sounding movies.
” data-position=”triggerHorizontal” />Incredible Image Quality, Real-time Eye AF & Real-time Tracking
Incredible image quality
Enjoy beautiful, remarkably detailed images
Thanks to the large sensor and the latest image-processing engine, you can shoot whatever you encounter in your everyday life, with beautifully crisp and clear images and natural colours even in low-light settings.
APS-C sensor
A 24.2-megapixel sensor plus enhanced image-processing engine
The APS-C sensor features copper wiring and enhanced circuit processing that aid in boosting light collection efficiency. In conjunction with the image-processing engine, this helps achieve superior image resolution and more natural depiction of textures.
Noise suppression
Cleaner images even in dim light
Improved noise suppression has led to cleaner image quality, even in dark scenes where high-sensitivity shooting is required. The native ISO sensitivity has increased to a maximum ISO 32000 (with expanded ISO sensitivity at a maximum ISO 102400 for stills). Noise reduction is particularly effective in the frequently used medium-to-high sensitivity range.
Real-time Eye AF
Smart subject-tracking & Sophisticated eye recognition and tracking
Enhanced Real-time Eye AF reliably recognises human faces and focuses precisely on a person’s eyes. There’s no need for special settings – just press the shutter button.
When AF-C is set, Real-time Eye AF maintains a stable focus on a moving subject even when part of the face is hidden, the face is backlit, or the subject is facing downwards.
Now you can choose Left Eye, Right Eye, or Auto from the menu in advance, leaving you free to pay more attention to composition.
Real-Time Tracking
Real-time Tracking reliably maintains focus
For sporting events and other situations where your subjects are moving quickly, keeping them in constant focus can make all the difference between catching an important, dramatic moment or missing it.
Real-Time Tracking
Persistent tracking for subjects on the move
A newly developed subject recognition algorithm processes spatial information based on colour, subject distance (depth), pattern (brightness), and face and eye information at high speed in real time.
Seamless transitions from body to face and eye tracking – When shooting a distant person in motion, the tracking system captures the whole body, and the focus area will seamlessly change between the face and the eyes according to the condition of the subject.
High-resolution 4K video, advanced colour grading & fast Hybrid AF for movies
If you’re shooting vlogs, the 180-degree tiltable LCD monitor is useful for framing your own shots. For sound recording, in addition to the external microphone jack there is also an optional XLR adaptor to facilitate the use of pro-level microphones to give you better audio quality.
Check out the Sony E-mount APS-C range
 ILCE-6400 |  ILCE-6600 |  ILCE-6100 |  ILCE-6000 |  ILCE-5100 |  ILCE-5000 | |
| Image sensor size | APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor | APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor | APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor | APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor | APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor | APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor |
| Effective pixels | 24.2MP | 24.2MP | 24.2MP | 24.3MP | 24.3MP | 20.1MP |
| Maximum ISO | 102400 | 102400 | 51200 | 25600 | 25600 | 16000 |
| Movie recording | 4K recording, X AVC-S | 4K recording, X AVC-S | 4K recording, X AVC-S | Full HD, X AVC-S | Full HD, X AVC-S | Full HD, AVC-HD |
| Autofocus / Real-time Eye AF | 425-points Hybrid AF | 425-points Hybrid AF | 425-points Hybrid AF | 179-points Hybrid AF | 179-points Hybrid AF | Contrast AF |
| Real-time Tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Continuous shooting | 11 fps | 11 fps | 11 fps | 11fps | 6fps | 3.5fps |
| Silent shooting | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Stabilisation | No | 5-axis in-body optical | No | No | No | No |
| LCD monitor | 921K 3.0″ Tiltable/Touch | 921K 3.0″ Tiltable/Touch | 921K 3.0″ Tiltable/Touch | 921K 3.0″ Tiltable | 921K 3.0″ Tiltable/Touch | 460K 3.0″ Tiltable |
| Viewfinder | XGA OLED Tru-Finder | XGA OLED Tru-Finder | 1.0 cm electronic viewfinder | XGA OLED Tru-Finder | No | No |
| Wi-Fi / NFC | Yes / Yes | Yes / Yes | Yes / Yes | Yes/Yes | Yes/Yes | Yes/Yes |
| Weight: | 403 Grams |
| Size: | Gehäuse + leistungsstarkes 16-50-mm-Zoomobjektiv |
| Dimensions: | 12 x 6.7 x 6 centimetres |
| Brand: | Sony |
| Model: | ILCE6400LB.CEC |
| Part: | ILCE6400LB.CEC |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
| Dimensions: | 12 x 6.7 x 6 centimetres |
| Size: | Gehäuse + leistungsstarkes 16-50-mm-Zoomobjektiv |
Kleine kompakte APSC-Kamera. Hatte vorher eine a6000, mit der ich auch schon zufrieden war. Autofokus gut, schn auch der Tieraugenautofokus. Das Menu der Kamera ist gewhnugsbedrftig, am Ende aber gut und schnell nutzbar, Zu bemngeln ist weiterhin die schlechte Qualitt der Akkus, aber dies ist ja ein altbekanntes Problem der Sony a Kameras.
Meine erste Sony! Die Sorge vor dem verschachtelten Men hat sich relativ schnell zerstreut. Auf Youtube gibt es tausend Tipps und das Buch zur Kamera von Stefan Klapszus ist beraus hilfreich. Die Kamera ist kompakt und hat eine hnliche Gre wie meine Mft-GX8 von Lumix. Aber eben mit dem greren Sensor. Bis ISO 6400 kann man die Bilder noch gut ansehen. Der fehlende Bildstabi im Gehuse hat fr mich seinen Schrecken verloren: Selbst mit einer unstabilisierten Festbrennweite von Sigma 60 mm 2.8 kommen Verwacklungen nur selten vor. Allerdings habe ich hier die hervorragende Bildstabilisierung meiner MFT-Kameras, speziell meiner Lumix G9 noch einmal neu zu schtzen gelernt. Alles hat seine Vor- und Nachteile. Die tollen MFT-Kameras sind echt nicht zu verachten.
Inzwischen habe ich auch das Kit-Objektiv ausprobiert. Es ist besser als sein Ruf. Auf jeden Fall. Da ich allerdings sehr gerne Portraits mache, ist dieses Objektiv auf Dauer keine wirkliche Option fr mich. So nach und nach kaufe ich mir die Super-Festbrennweiten, die ich auch im MFT-System so gerne nutze: Sigma 60 2.8 (ein Schrfewunder auch auf der Sony A6400) und auch das Sigma 56mm 1.4 (ein Traum). Die stabilisierte Festbrennweite von Sony 35 mm 1.8 besitze ich und kann sagen, dass ich sie ab Blende 2.0 ziemlich gut finde. Wenn sie fr meinen Geschmack auch nicht an die Festbrennweiten von Sigma heranreicht. 35 mm sind aber eine ziemlich gute Brennweite, wenn es um Streetfotografie und Peoplefotografie geht. Wobei man natrlich bei allen Brennweiten den Cropfaktor von 1,5 berechnen muss. 35 mm sind hier also 52,5 mm. Praktisch ein Nifty-fifty.
Portraitbrennweiten interessieren mich eben. Mit dem 16-50 von Sony, was ja auch stabilisiert ist, kann man schon einige Bereiche abdecken, wie Landschaftsfotografie bis in die Peoplefotografie hinein. Hier fehlt eben vor allem die Lichtstrke. Aber es ist durchaus ein brauchbarer Allrounder.
Ich mchte fr die Sony A6400 mit dem Kitobjektiv durchaus eine Kaufempfehlung aussprechen. Die Kamera ist eine sehr gute Lsung fr die allermeisten Fotografen. Durch die Kompaktheit ist es mglich, dass man nicht Unmengen mit sich herumschleppen muss, auch was die Objektive angeht. Sie sind eben auch kleiner als z.B. an einer Vollformatkamera. Hier wird fr viele Fotografen eine tolles Paket geliefert, finde ich.
Ich wollte sogar noch mehr Geld ausgeben, damit ich sie beim lokalen Hndler kaufe. Das hilft bei der Auswahl und Entscheidung immens. In meinem Fall war die Belegschaft wirklich schlecht gelaunt. Da kann man getrost das gnstigere Angebot bei Amazon nutzen.
Trotz aller Daten und Fakten half mir vor allem, die Kamera mal in die Hand zu nehmen.
Sie hat eine tolle Qualitt. Ist handlich. Den Sucher find ich toll, ich hatte an der 5000er gar keinen.
Meiner Ansicht nach macht die Kamera derart gute Bilder, dass es nurmehr eine Bauchfrage ist.
Ich habe die richtige Kamera gefunden. Die vorhandenen gnstigen Standardobjektive sind meiner Ansicht nach zu Schade fr dieses Gehuse. Ich empfehle eine lichtstarkes Objekt mit der Lieblingsbrennweite (od. Zoom). APS-C ist richtig cool.
Die a6400 ist eine kompakte und leichte Kamera, die leicht transportiert werden kann. Sie ist auch sehr gut verarbeitet und verfgt ber ein groes und gut ablesbares Display.
Die Bildqualitt der a6400 ist sehr gut. Der Sensor liefert scharfe und detailreiche Bilder, auch bei schlechten Lichtverhltnissen. Der Autofokus ist sehr schnell und przise und kann auch bei Bewegungen scharfstellen. Die Videoqualitt ist ebenfalls sehr gut. Die a6400 kann 4K-Videos mit 30 Bildern pro Sekunde aufzeichnen, die eine hohe Detailschrfe und einen guten Dynamikumfang bieten.
Insgesamt ist die Sony a6400 eine leistungsstarke und vielseitige Kamera, die sowohl fr Fotografen als auch fr Videofilmer geeignet ist. Sie ist kompakt, leicht und gut verarbeitet und bietet eine hervorragende Bildqualitt.
Hier sind einige der Vorteile der Sony a6400:
Leistungsstarker 24,2-Megapixel-APS-C-Sensor
Schneller Autofokus mit Augenerkennung
Serienbildaufnahme von bis zu 11 Bildern pro Sekunde
4K-Videoaufnahme mit 30 Bildern pro Sekunde
Kompakt und leicht
Gut verarbeitet
Groes und gut ablesbares Display
Hier sind einige der Nachteile der Sony a6400:
Kein Bildstabilisator im Gehuse
Keine Touchscreen-Funktion
Kein integrierter Blitz
Insgesamt ist die Sony a6400 eine leistungsstarke und vielseitige Kamera, die sowohl fr Fotografen als auch fr Videofilmer geeignet ist. Sie ist kompakt, leicht und gut verarbeitet und bietet eine hervorragende Bildqualitt
Das objektiv was dabei ist ist schlecht.
The good:
Lightweight but still feels well built.
18-135 lens performs very nicely (especially after about f8)
Autofocus is snappy and tracks well.
The bad:
Eye-level viewfinder is a bit lo-res, and it’s very difficult to adjust the dioptre correction.
No in-body stabilization (but the lens does a good job). You may find videography suffers if you add a fast unstabilized prime.
Questionable ergonomics: only one command wheel (rear) and no forefinger wheel.
The ugly:
Video cannot be started except by a dedicated ‘record’ button which is badly placed. Selecting video mode doesn’t allow the shutter button to start or stop the recording.
This has replaced my old 5100, vastly improved overall and viewfinder is excellent. Sony does quality.
Seems ok but im not very impressed just yet. I may have to learn how to use it properly because at moment is been just a ok camera
it’s value for money over the a6500 cause you take so many features but you don’t have the image stabilisation if you don’t do videography you are fine without it and if you don’t use it for telephoto pictures (over 60mm on APSC)..
i love a lot the eye tracking and it makes it so easy to take pictures and focus what you want to take.
For travel, family and everyday adventures — this is a great camera for the price. The combination of great image quality, sharp focus, and a nice lightweight body make it perfect for slinging over your shoulder while on vacation and during weekend activities.
I have 2 sony a6400!
Great cameras for starting in videography, I’ve been using them for 2 years and I feel like I have another good couple of years until I need to upgrade or find that I get restricted by their technology.
Not having the in body image stabilization it’s the only drawback, but it’s something that can be combatted with a good gimbal or by adding weight to your setup.
Una cmara perfecta para fotografa. Ntida, rpida, con gran resolucin, manejable y buen rango dinmico. Es la segunda mejor cmara APS-c sin espejo del mercado sin lugar a dudas (para m solo la mejora la Alpha 6600 por su mayor batera y el estabilizador).
Comentar los puntos en los que esta cmara es ms negativamente criticada.
ENFOQUE: Bueno, en este aspecto no es criticada pero s estn haciendo comparativas con las nuevas cmaras Nikon y Canon (de ms de 2000) y eso es injusto. El enfoque de esta cmara es increble. Lo rpido que es y las pocas veces que falla. Si aprendes a usar bien sus modos y reas de enfoque es muy difcil que falle en el enfoque. En zonas donde no hay mucha luz le cuesta enfocar (a veces no lo hace). El reconocimiento de caras y ojos es MUY bueno y reconoce caras a gran distancia. Suele fallar el reconocimiento de ojos en personas asiaticas que no tengan los ojos muy abiertos y en personas con gafas (de ver o de sol).
MENS: Al contrario de lo que la gente dice, los mens no se me hicieron para nada pesados. Es cierto que tiene muchsimas opciones, pero eso no es algo negativo, al revs, algo muy positivo pues tiene las mismas funciones que las cmaras SONY de gama alta, de ah que tambin compartan los mismos mens. Adems tiene mens y teclas personalizables para aadir cualquier cosa que quieras.
BATERA: No, no dura 400 fotos tal como anuncian en su web. Creo que de media suelo hacer unas 250 fotos en una sesin normal de Street donde tengo la cmara el 95% del tiempo encendida. Si quieres ir tranquilo en este aspecto recomiendo comprar una o dos bateras extras aunque no sean de la marca original y a poder ser con cargador externo ya que esta cmara no trae y por poco dinero adems te puedes pillar una powerbank e ir recargando bateras mientras usas las otras.
COLORES: A Sony suelen atacarle duramente en este aspecto, pero he de decir que yo que vengo de reflex Nikon y los colores de esta Sony son espectaculares. Me gustan ms que Nikon y para nada que envidiar a ninguna otra cmara.
CARPETAS: Le han atacado incluso en esto, las carpetas al conectar la cmara al ordenador. Pues nada diferente al resto. La tpica carpeta DCIM que aparece en todas las cmaras. No tiene prdidas ni los.
BOTONES: casi todos sus botones son configurables, por lo que me parece increble y suficientes, aunque no estara de ms tener alguno ms especialmente dedicado a configuracin personalizada.
La rueda me parece un acierto y es muy cmoda y util. Por poner un ‘pero’ pero esto solo es algo personal pero que he coincidido con otra persona que tambin le ocurra y es que los botones tienen una textura de ‘lineas’ muy finas y juntas, que da una sensacin desagradable para algunas personas causandole la sensacin por la espalda que te eriza los vellos del cuerpo. Alg as como “dentera”. La correa que trae tambin tiene un material que puede causar la misma sensacin.
PANTALLA: es tactil pero no es tactil. Solo es tactil para controlar el area de enfoque, el disparador y para poder mover las fotografas en la previsualizacin. Es una limitacin de software que podran haber habilitado sin problemas. Mal por Sony en este aspecto. Pero bueno, es muy muy util y suelo usarla mucho ya que puedo seleccionar en la pantalla que zona de la escena quiero que enfoque, incluso puedes elegirlo antes de tomar la foto adelantandote a lo que ests viendo. No podra volver a una cmara que no tuviera esta funcin.
VISOR: Lo he usado 3 veces contadas y lo he desactivado. Creo que solo es util en momentos de mucha luz que no puedas ver la pantalla, pero aun as nunca lo he necesitado. El sensor que detecta cuando colocas la cmara en el ojo y cuando no para alternar entre monitor y visor es muy sensible. Notars que muchas veces agarrando la cmara el monitor se pone negro, eso es por tapar con la mano el sensor. Algo MUY MUY incmodo. Lo he desactivado y siempre uso el monitor y as me quito ese problema. Siempre puedes configurar un botn de la cmara para alternar entre monitor y visor.
ISO: Polmico tema. El ISO me ha defraudado, pero quiz es porque vena con las espectativas demasiado altas. Vena escuchando que Sony haca un manejo del ISO fabuloso y claro, uno ya vena creyendo que tenan la solucin. La realidad es que en ISOs de ms de 1600 el grano se hace muy evidente. Con buena iluminacin se puede llegar a 3200 y la fotografa ser perfectamente vlida. A ISO6400 dicen en las reviews que an da muy buenos resultados, pero yo no opino lo mismo. En ciertas situaciones donde la iluminacin no es muy baja pero se necesite disparar a una velocidad alta pues puede “remediar el problema”, pero el resultado no ser para nada limpio. En estos casos es mejor no mostrar la imagen con mucho zoom y evitar recortes.
ERGONOMA: Es pequea y pesa muy poco, se puede agarrar con 2 dedos (literalmente). Al contrario de lo que mucha gente habla, a m se me hizo extremadamente cmoda y eso que tengo las manos bastante grandes. Su peso facilita las fotografas en vertical con una sola mano. He de decir que a pesar de que sus materiales son de muchsima calidad, transmite sensacin de que si se cae al suelo te quedas sin cmara, cosa que jams me pas con Nikon durante aos.
PRECIO: Aqu es donde creo que Sony se ha columpiado. El precio me parece desproporcionado, pero si partimos que ninguna otra marca ha conseguido ofrecer lo mismo que esta con mucho que lo han intentado (ni siquiera en sus gamas altas han conseguido esta calidad de enfoque) entonces Sony tiene va libre para pedir “lo que quiera pedir”.
En definitiva, me parece una compra fantstica. No me arrepiento de haber pagado su precio ya que me ofrece practicamente todo lo que estaba buscando. Cada da que la agarro es un disfrute y sientes que tienes en las manos una mquina muy potente, que est ms cerca de lo profesional que de lo amateur.
I bought this camera from another website, but wanted to write a review here as it was so good.
I’m new to photography, but wanted a camera which allows me to develop myself as I learn how to take photos. All the photos I have attached to this review, were taken on my camera with the default 16-50 lens. I also have the 55 – 210 lens too, which is also very good.
Anyway, there are a lot of guides online on how to set the camera up for the best quality settings – so I followed those guides. I also wanted a camera where I could record video too – which is just as well, as the quality of this camera is outstanding. I have set it to 4K 30fps (NTSC) and the clarity and colours are vibrant. You can even hook it up to a PC or MAC and use it as a high quality webcam.
The only downsides are the lenses are expensive – and the touchscreen is basic.
So glad I purchased this camera!
Great camera for video.
Not great user experience e.g. connecting to a PC to get pics off.
You get used to the menus and steps involved.
This is one of those items that for the price you feel like you’re getting spoiled. Stunning censor. Amazing build quality makes you not scared to give it bang. Photos and videos turn out beautiful. The best thing is that with how affordable the body is, means you can spend more on the lens (which is what matters)
I was having second thoughts if I should buy online. Its good but my only feedback to seller and the reason its not 5 star is that it should be packed with some protection. A Camera is a fragile item. I was bit surprised there was no air pouches / bubble wrap or for that matter anything. It should just cost couple of pounds I guess for the packaging.
I will add to this review later as I am learning as I go along. I knew I needed to upgrade and purchase a decent SLR, and my investigations pointed me to mirrorless and the Sony A6000. Life got in the way for a wee while, and when I went to purchase my mirrorless camera Sony had revamped and changed their models. Hence the purchase of the A6400 and 55210 stock lens. The camera reviews speak for themselves, and I knew that I needed to add the 1650 lens too, in order to get my eye in and learn to use the camera. I have bought some extras too – small rig, mic, ring flash, LED backfill lighting etc.
The A6400 is fantastic! Well built, heavy and robust aluminium body, easy to navigate (and learn) menu system.
Amazon were faultless as usual (IMO) with delivery.
I would urge folk to purchase the accident/loss insurance at checkout too. I have searched the web, and you cannot get anywhere near the same level of cover for the price.
Very good camera, although it has some flaws, like the lack of PC drivers (there is a 3rd party pseudo driver) , the iOS/Android app is also total garbage, not allowing exposures longer than 30s, and i had problems getting it to work at all., so i wouldn’t recommend this camera for astrophotography, for other things it’s worth the money.
I use this camera for 4K video editing. My favourite feature hands down is phone control. I can shoot, adjust settings and do the entire operation from my iPhone. Can strongly recommend
I’m still getting to grips with this camera as I came from a Nikon background using FX bodies D4, D750, D810, D850 and Z6
Now I’ve retired from wedding photography, I wanted something light and easy to transport.
The A6400 fits the bill perfectly
Good image quality with the 24mp sensor, great AF(takes time to get used to it coming from Nikon)
EVF is nice and clear and I especially like the personal menu setup. This save trawling through the extensive Sony menu system to find commonly used settings.
I’ve not really used the eye AF much as I prefer to pick my AF target but it seems pretty good in tests I’ve done.
Fast 11fps and good up to ISO3200.
I use it with Sony 18-105 f4, Sony 50mm f1.8, Sigma 16mm f1.4 and it performs brilliantly with all of them.
I’ve yet to try the video capabilities but I’ve bought the Ronin SC so I’m looking forward to trying it out.
OK, coming from a wedding photography background, it’s not a Nikon D850 or Z7 but that’s the point. It’s. Extremely compact, capable and very efficient.
I really like it and because of its light weight, it never leaves my side.
Bought it to use it for our podcast room and it works perfectly fine. Happy with the purchase
If you wanna use this as webcam you have to change the ‘heat protection’ value from standard to high, otherwise the camera will turn off after 40 minutes.
As i did a lot of research this is the best camera in its price class and a housefull of features in it. The only drawback is it doesn’t have an inbuilt stabilizer but if you use it with a lens with in built stabilizer then no problem. If you are too shaky then consider this. Otherwise not a big thing. The build quilty is exeptional and i love the tiltable monitor as it helps to take photos in allmost any angle. The size of the grip is good as i dont have bigger hands. But if you have large hands then this camera is not for you. This is very small compared to dslr. In my case this is perfect for me. Shooting either with the viewfinder or the monitor both are pretty interesting. other major thing is this camera is weather proof. You can take it in rough weather conditions. The body only package came along with a one year warranty and when i get registered with mysony i got another 1 year extension. Highly recommended and worth every penny.
I bought it for my recently launched YouTube channel and the 4k video from this camera is superb.
This camera have a really good quality picture and color reproduction, autofocus makes it extremely easy to use in photo or video mode.
This camera offer uncapped 4k video recording with option to use a variety of log Gama settings, just determined by your SD card size and battery life, it also have the option to feed the camera through micro USB so you can use a power banks for long video recording or time lapse sessions without an special an adaptor.
A downside is the stabilization, it doesn’t offer in body stabilization so everything happens in the lens, video capabilities is affected by this so you’ll need to use a gimbal for a smooth video shooting, but for pictures you’ll have not big problems.
I have a canon7D mark II tje new sony a6400 is brilliant focusing is perfect and picture quality is fantastic also has eye track so the camera focuses on your eye to get the perfect sharp photo also has animal eye tracking aswell
.best camera I’ve had
For a full review of the camera, there are hundreds of youtube videos that show just how good this camera is. But as an upgrade to the A6000 I would say definitely yes, as the autofocus is now incredible, plus the touch focus/tracking is really changing the way I use the system.
Reality is, if you like Canon/Nikon/Fuji etc, you will find something to moan about the A6400, but as an enthusiastic amateur I cannot fault the camera – especially as I am used to the menus (they’re not that bad), also as I have a few e-mount lenses and of course lots of spare batteries. The last point is only a problem if you are a professional wedding photographer etc.. otherwise you just need a maximum of a couple of spares for a days holiday/nature/etc shooting.
From the absolutely AMAZING autofocus to the sharp 4K quality, better overall picture & the best feature, being able to constantly record without a 30 minute cap AND being able to keep it plugged in so it doesn’t die from low battery – this is a YouTuber’s dream!!!
I’ve got this connected to a CamLink as well so I can use it for streaming and both work amazingly well together.
My two biggest negative pieces of the camera are very minor;
-not much use of a touchscreen outside of touching to focus. Would be nice to be able to touch settings on the menu, but not the end of the world
-video recordings seem to go into some random folder inside of the SD Card that’s quite hidden away rather than in the main directory. Could be I’ve not configured this properly but I can’t fully work out on how to change this or if it’s even possible, but again, not the end of the world!
Overall though, an absolutely UNREAL camera, especially for 750 with the kit lens, which I forgot to mention, is the best kit lens I’ve ever had!
Really great camera ideal for hillwalking very compact , great for hill walking
Getting a bit long in the tooth and not capable of 4K, I felt like I needed and upgrade and although a 70d isn’t the largest camera in the world I was interested in a mirrorless replacement for even more ease of travelling etc.
At first, coming from the 70d, the small size of the a6400 did make it feel a bit like a toy or point and shoot compact camera, but it’s got a nice sturdy construction and although definitely lighter than the 70d, it’s got enough ‘heft’ (for it’s size) to still feel like a quality piece of kit.
The only thing that still concerns we is how long the flip up screen mechanism will last. Compared to the flip out screen on the 70d, it just seems a bit like these a few too many thin, exposed pieces to the mechanism that could potentially bend or snap with robust use.
And to be honest, although the flip up screen is in a more natural place for ‘to camera’ vlogging style use, it slightly annoys me that the bottom 5mm or so of the screen is obscured behind the camera and of course that it’s placement when flipped up makes it impossible to mount anything (mic for instance) on the existing hot shoe without obscuring the screen completely.
But you can get either a hot shoe relocation plate pretty cheaply or as I’ve opted for, SmallRig make a great little camera cage that solves the issue.
Niggles aside though.. In use, this little thing is lightyears ahead of the old Canon in terms of technology and video quality.
4K 60fps would have been nice, but hardly any camera offers that anyway.
4K 24 or 30fps is plenty good enough for most cases – Actually it’s gorgeous!. It does offer 60 and 120fps in standard HD, so if you do need to record some super slow-mo Peter McKinnon style B-Roll, so can alway upscale these sequences within an otherwise 4K timeline without too much notable quality difference. (it’s nice crisp HD)
The auto focus on this camera is amazing.
For years I’ve heard that Canon’s dual pixel AF is where it’s at, but Sony’s AF on this camera is out of this world (for stills and video).
I’d pretty mush given up with face detection AF on the 70d and when doing ‘to camera’ as it would routinely either loose me or not detect me at all. I instead opted to manually focus and just stay on my mark, which works and there’s no chance of ‘focus hunting’, but if you do like a shallower depth of field, it’s pretty restrictive as it’s really easy to move in and out of focus just with head movements.
But the face detection AF on the Sony? Forget about it! Just have Face detect switched on and stand in front of the camera.. Instant lock on! And it stays locked on, even at f/1.4 on a 3rd party Sigma lens!
Object tracking is brilliant too. Just tap an object on live view screen and the focus system will stay locked on that object no matter where it (or you) move. – For instance tap a moving car, pan and focus stays locked on the car.
The a6400 doesn’t have IBIS, but for video i either use it on a tripod or on a gimbal, so stabilisation isn’t really an issue, even with a lens without OSS.
The battery life isn’t the best, but I got a decent quality 3rd party ‘RAVPower’ battery / charger kit on here that seems reliable enough.
It doesn’t face the in video eye AF that can be found on the newer a6600, but in all honesty face tracking is plenty fine for most applications.
Why not get the a6600?
I nearly did.
But even with the increase in battery life the IBIS and in video eye AF, it’s just not enough for me to justify the huge difference in price. I had to sell all my Canon gear to swap to Sony and I was able to get an a6400 with kit lens, Sigma 1.4 prime lens and a gimbal for less than an a6600 body and decent lens.
So glad I went Sony for video and so glad I chose the a6400 for best all round value.
PRO: 1. enormously versatile body with a large range of lenses. I also bought two prime lenses: the Sony 50mm (FF 75mm) 1.8 and a 12mm (FF 18mm) Samyang manual focus lens. The camera is nicely balanced and /handles/ beautifully with all three — though my kit lens (18-135) is quite large by the standards of the Nikon glass I was used to.
2. Easy to customise (if you must), but the (several) custom buttons are already allocated to very sensible functions.
3. A large number of well thought-out modes: including the usual PASM (P mode feedback in the display is very helpful) as well as Panorama, High-dynamic-range (SCN).
4. Bluetooth linkable to my phone to get GPS data, and to control the camera remotely. The menu system that controls this is a tad complex unless you already know what you are doing, but it only takes getting it right once to know what you are doing.
5. Wifi link to upload images (unexplored as yet: I use the fast USB connection)
6. The images are … just great. I use RAW+JPEG, and the on-camera processing for the JPEG is virtually instantaneous. With a decent speed SD card you don’t notice the processing or the write time.
7. Charges in a couple of hours or less via the USB port; and a good power supply is provided. If you run out of charge you can also power the camera from the mains via this USB supply, or from a phone-style portable power supply. I also bought a couple of after-market batteries and an external charge-adapter for a tiny proportion of the cost of the camera, and I haven’t investigated whether you can charge and run at the same time.
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CONS: (not dealbreakers)
1. Sony imaging software is not very versatile or very good (Nikon’s is much better) so I have had to take to Lightroom, because A6400 is not known to OS/X Photo program on versions of OS/X before the most recent one (even though A6300 and A6500 are) . Arguably this is a gripe about Apple not retroproviding updates to basic software and forcing one to update to their bleeding edge (which I won’t).
2. Sony’s layout of the “image database” on the SD card is a tad idiosyncratic; and initialising it with the camera (the only way) forces an SD volume name of “NONAME” — tough if you use more than one SD card and don’t know how to rename the volume . And don’t you DARE try to delete images on the camera from your computer. The (spurious) advantage of being able to recover photos you accidentally delete on the camera itself is more than offset by the inconvenience of not being able to treat a mounted SD card as a straightforward part of your filestore.
3. Deleting images after importing them /has/ to be done on the camera. This can be tedious if you have taken images over several days…. 3 or 4 button presses per day. Simply reformatting the SD card does it faster; but at the cost of putting up with it renaming the volume to NONAME. Stupid.
I’ll add some pictures in due course.
What can I say but fantastic. I love this little but powerful camera. Fits in your pocket. The 4k video is amazing and the images are spot on. Sharp and the colour is great. This camera is so customizable in its menus for all situations. I would recommend this camera to all my friends. Thanks.
Premetto che sono un appassionato di fotografia ( non un professionista) e provengo da una Nikon d7100 avuta per 5 anni e col quale mi sono trovato molto molto bene..per negli ultimi tempi ho sentito l’esigenza di “viaggiare pi leggero” con obiettivi ottimi e ben mirati per il tipo di foto che a me piace fare ,parliamo di naturalistica, ritratti, tramonti (perch no?) paesaggi in genere ..niente matrimoni,sport e pochissimi video.
In base a queste mie esigenze ho fatto una “cerchia” fra le mirrorless migliori che fanno per me in questo periodo e la a6400 ne uscita vincitrice ( sulla carta ) quindi l’ho ordinata..mi arrivata a casa da Amazon ottimamente imballata e con mia bella sorpresa un anno di garanzia premium di casa Sony.
Tralasciamo il contenuto della confezione che piuttosto scarno..un caricabatterie con un cavo lungo una 40 cm circa e la tracolla ..e basta..nessun tappo per coprire il foro dell’obiettivo o magari un sacchetto in pile per l’obiettivo ..niente.. ecco per 1000 euro queste cosine ci possono stare per un colosso come Sony.
Andiamo alla sostanza ..
Ergonomia: la macchina bella da tenere in mano, trasmette una bella sensazione di robustezza e non di plastica ( il corpo in magnesio tropicalizzato) l’impugnatura un p piccola e infatti , all’inizio, ho fatto un p di fatica a prenderla perfettamente,(provenivo dalla d7100 con un battery grip) ma una questione di pratica..infatti in queste 2 settimane noto d’averci preso la mano e durante le foto rimane ben stabile.
I pulsanti personalizzati sono ben piazzati e sufficienti per le varie scorciatoie che a un fotoamatore medio occorrono. Un cosa che un p non mi piace lassenza di una seconda ghiera, se come me , siete abituati a usarla full manuale vi troverete ben spiazzati nei primi giorni..infatti la consiglio usandola con priorita di tempi o diaframma.
Lo schermo tiltabile una vera chicca! Ha una bella risoluzione e testandolo sotto il sole diretto di mezzogiorno posso dire che si vede molto bene ed essendo tiltabile , appunto possiamo muoverlo un p come vogliamo (tratto girarlo di lato) ..se( come me ) siete abituati al mirino non c’ nessun problema ..infatti nel mirino si vede molto bene e oltre ai vari tempi e diaframma , esposizione si pu visualizzare anche una comodissima livella che ci indicher illuminandosi di verde quando siamo “in bolla” si perch dotata di giroscopio ed ha un sensore di prossimit accanto al mirino cosi quando vi avvicinate con l’occhio al mirino automaticamente si spegne il monitor.
DImensioni: ero MOLTO titubante che una cosina cosi piccola riuscisse a fare come( o meglio) di una reflex ..ed invice mi son dovuto ricredere ( ci arriveremo dopo) E’ piccola il giusto..con l’obiettivo in dotazione la si pu portare sempre con se in viaggio, nella borsa o nei tasconi laterali dei pantaloni. Diventer la vostra compagna di viaggi!
Prestazioni: non sono un tester , quindi non posso paragonarle a tante altre mirrorless o reflex esistenti sul mercato, ma solo alla mia ex nikon d7100 e rispetto a quest’ultima devo ammettere che la batte sotto molti aspetti..( e lo dico con un p di amarezza) La sony a6400 ha un autofocus che lascia sbalorditi per la precisione e il riconoscimento delle scene. Impostato su automatico riconoscer che tipo di scena stiamo riprendendo e se nell campo entra una persona o un animale andr automaticmante a cercarne il viso e subito dopo l’occhio ( dx o sx dipende dalle nostre impostazioni) e non lo lascer pi , continuer a tenerlo a fuoco anche se il soggetto si muove o se noi ci stiamo muovendo.
Poi ISO v dai 100 ai 102 400 . Allora fino a 2600/3200 le foto appaiono nitide anche col buio,oltre questa soglia, per me , non sono passabili perch amo la nitidezza ..le faccio solo ed esclusivamente se devo portare a casa la foto . Ma il mio range l’ho impostato da 100 a 2600 comunque nulla toglie che in post produzione si possa togliere della granulosit e del rumore e si possono scattare foto anche sopra a tali ISO .
Velocit di scatto : si pu impostare un singolo frame ..fino a 11 scatti al secondo ( vi consiglio una memory card molto veloce per non riempire il buffer in fretta, tipo le sandisk extreme pro o le nuove samsung select)
Velocit massima dell’otturatore ; 1/4000
Men: qui ho letto peste e corna sul famigerato men fatto male di sony..in realt NON fatto male..io mi sono letto le 600 pagine in pdf del manuale e l’ho trovato abbastanza chiaro. Certo di primo impatto pu sembrare confusionario , ma se lo capite non avrete nessun problema e potrete cucirvi la a6400 in base alla vostre esigenze.
Video: qui la a6400 subisce lo scotto di non avere uno stabilizzatore sul sensore. Quindi se volete fare video stabilizzati orientatevi sulla a6500 . Per oltre allo stabilizzatore posso dire che i filmati in hd e in 4k sono una delizia ..specialemtne gli slow e i quick motion . Comunque il problema della stabilizzazione risolvibile in parte usando obiettivi tipo sony OSS o altre marche che adattono lo stabilizzatore. Anche meglio se usate un gimbal. Personalmente per fare video ho preso l’osmo pocket che perfetto per video, timelapse , inseguimento del volto e qualit.
Autonomia: ..niente anche solamente tenendola accesa con monitor acceso vedrete la percentuale di batteria scendere inesorabilmente..farete 350/370 scatti o mezz’ora di video e poi la dovrete ricaricare. Consiglio vivamente di prenderne un altro paio ( se non originali sui 25 euro col caricabatterie) e sarete sereni.
L’obiettivo stock: oddio..non si grida di certo al miracolo , come ottica..per stabilizzato ha un’ampia apertura per potersi fare dei bei selfi ed piccolo e leggero..diciamo un piccolo tuttofare che non cosi male, diciamo nella media.
Alla fine mi sento molto soddisfatto del mio acquisto e della scelta fatta, la Sony ha saputo creare una bella macchina, certo le manca quell’aspetto e quel lato un p pi professionale ..ha dei difetti, SI, ne ha ..ma tutto ha dei difetti per sono anche aggirabili e con i quali si pu convivere molto bene.
Spero che questa guida sia stata d’aiuto per qualcuno che si trova indeciso su quale prendere nell’ormai sempre pi vasto mondo delle mirrorless.
This is my second Sony camera, I had the a6000 before this. The menu screens are very similar.. the big improvement is the auto focus and eye detection! It’s so fast!
The touch screen is really good too and you can enable touch focas which is really handy!
Generally the camera feels more sturdy than the a6000 and it has also been weather sealed.
I’m glad I upgraded!
The a7r ii is no slouch but it has its limitations with tracking moving subjects.
I had a brief stint with the A6300 just to see if I would get on with the size of the camera, happy to report the ergonomics are excellent despite all the negative feedback on the internet. My only complaint with that camera was with poor auto-focus in low light where the A6300 camera struggles a lot.
Onto the A6400 and I can happily report I am blown away by its performance. The main headline is the updated auto-focus which is like noting I have seem before – its simply amazing.
What has really surprised me is the other improvements that don’t seem to feature in the reviews I have seen.
Low light AF is improved a lot, no issues using the camera in low lighting. Another nice improvement is the de-activation of the EVF sensor once you lift the rear LCD, this has been a frustration with mirrorless cameras when shooting from the hip and getting the camera too close to my body – this issue is now resolved, a fantastic update.
There is lots of talk about colour science on the net and I am happy to report that the colour straight out of camera is the best I have seen. I have spent time with Canon, Nikon and Fuji and to my eye Sony now have a perfect balance of contrast, pop and reality. I gave up on the Fuji cameras as I felt the colour was too un-natural for my taste – Canon was always my preference, especially for skin tones (until now!).
For me the touch screen does all I need, in fact I have limited it to only be active when I have the viewfinder to my eye so I can use half the screen to position my focus point if needed. This is another thing reviewers get fixated on for some reason. Touch screen is a pain in the bum in the field and adds confusion IMO. (bloomin smart phone generation!!)
We all know when considering a camera system the glass should be a consideration, again the misleading information on the internet would lead you to believe Sony is lacking in APS-C glass. Sony have great 3rd party support from Tamron, Sigma and Samyang to name a few. Sony offer some top lenses and access to the excellent full frame line up and if like me you want to also use full frame cameras this is an excellent bonus of the system being able to switch between formats.
I initially saw this camera as a stop gap until I could afford the A7 iii but I am not sure I will need that camera, I may simply buy a used A7r ii as the price of that body is getting more and more affordable and its still an amazing full frame camera – the A6400 can cover the fast stuff.
The world and his friend seems to be working against Sony but all the negatives I have found in my research simply seem to be rubbish – Sony offer a complete system , some of the best glass you can buy and now this (A6400) that is just about all the camera anyone would ever need.
Its always nice purchase a camera that continues to impress the more you use it, doesn’t happen very often!!! Well done Sony!!!
With a good zoom lens, or a few primes this things a beast, really enjoying getting out into the country side to get some landscape photos and into the city centres to get some street photos.
The A6400 price will drop over time, and then become a more affordable option.
I initially wanted to get the Canon M50, since it was more user/beginner friendly, but i never liked how the faces were all too smoothed out in every single video. That was for me a deal-breaker and I turned my attention ( and budget) to Sony A6400. In my mind it was a little bit hard to justify spending 1000 just on the camera alone, but now that I have got it …. it goes beyond words. This thing is way sharper in pitch black with just the laptop’s monitor on my face than Canon is broad daylight. I mean … I just looked at the footage and a genuine WOW came out of my mouth.
In regards to Sony’s proverbial complicated menu (as opposed to Canon’s) I will say this: it’s not as bad and complicated as some reviewers make you think. The fact that it has “my menu” feature is game changing and helps me a ton as a beginner, since I will always have the most important settings right at my fingertips.
If you want to use it as a webcam as well, you do not need the ElGato Cam Link necessarely. All you have to do is install Sony Remote App onto your computer and then add that Window Capture into OBS. The only downside is that you have to have the remote app maximized in order to ger the footage in OBS. It doesnt have to be on top, but it has to be up and not minimized on the taskbar.
Video and photo quality is just insane, with loads of features as you already know. What makes me happy is that changing from one mode to another is really easy and once tou get the hang of how the dials work in each mode …. you are good to go (it took me about 4-5 hours as a complete beginner who just got his first ever camera).
Battery life is okay, i managed to keep it up for 4-5 hours of intensive use (menus, settings, video recording on and off, loads of photos). If you are planing a full day’s use, then get 2 more batteries, just to be on the safe side (if you are doing a lot of video). I have shot 38 minutes of 4k video in a quite hot ambient and this thing was just mildly warm, so definetely no overheating issues.
In the end I will say this: if you can afford it, get it with no second thoughts. You can use it to produce amazing content, learn both photography and videography and grow into it. Kit lens is more than fine, Since it has a decent apperture and some reach / focal lenght to it, so it’s ideal to start learning with.
The stand out feature is the real time eye a/f and subject tracking. Most of my photography is people and portraits so this feature is a game changer. It nails the focus every time even when the subject is running. I have tried it with the 50mm, the 18-105 and the shots taken with my Batis 85mm have better subject isolation than any photograph I have ever taken. I took shots of my friend’s son doing skate board tricks and it didn’t miss once.
The colour and contrast of the jpegs out of the camera look great. I only use raw on more formal portraits that I have to spend some time on in post. Video works very well and, in video mode, you can customise the stop/start to the shutter button (or any other) instead of the awkward dedicated button.
Lot’s of people on Youtube are moaning about the lack of IBIS and the flip screen being obstructed when using an external mic. I’m sure IBIS will be featured on the a6500’s replacement later this year at a much bigger price tag.
There seems to be inexpensive work-arounds for the mic. position. I do my best to stay behind the camera, not in front of it so this does not effect me.
I am very happy with my purchase and it’s good to see that Sony haven’t ignored their aps-c customers. I was saving for an a7iii but this camera will do just fine.
I was looking forward to trying a DSLR again after a few years on the dark side (premium camera phones) and whilst it didn’t disappoint in most respects, as an overall experience I was left slightly disappointed.
In the box along with the camera itself is there is the battery, charger, branded full strap and paperwork. The multi-lingual manual is pretty scant unfortunately and the battery needed to be charged before use – inside the camera as with all of my previous Sony devices. Body only dimensions are 12cm x 7cm x 5cm and weight with 16-50mm kit lens attached is 534g. I slotted in my 32GB SanDisk Extreme class 10 which works fine. It feels weighty and extremely well built but ergonomically it is quite boxy and not hugely comfortable. The buttons and dials are pretty much in standard positions, but with the movie button being somewhat small and inconspicuous on the right side IMO.
If you are an experienced DSLR user you will be on familiar ground and menu nerds will be in heaven with its array of options and customizable functions. It makes very little concession to the beginner so they would best be served elsewhere but could always stay in AUTO if desired. The viewfinder is a joy to use, extremely clear and bright with portrait and close up images appearing almost three dimensional. The downside being you have to switch between it and the touchscreen if you want to change the point of focus. Talking of which, the focus is extremely fast and burst mode is super quick. The flash pops when the button is pressed and is good enough but you have the hot shoe mounting also.
Out and about, I have liked using this camera but it would be incorrect to say I enjoyed it. The screen is no bigger or brighter than that on my old Sony compact HX10V and the tilt and swivel mechanism is a little bit Heath Robinson — a bit over engineered and quite stiff in use. The viewfinder gets in the way of it slightly when fitted too. The dial I found to be a bit oversensitive in my big hands which was slightly irritating. Sending images to my smartphone required reconnecting afresh each time using the QR code and PlayMemories app. Results were good but comparing several dozen similar pics to my rather geriatric Nikon D3000, not hugely better and that is a more user-friendly and better handling piece of kit despite its age.
I will update this review as I further get to grips with this camera and see if my thoughts about it change.
The A6400 comes complete with an interchangeable 16-50mm lens but I was disappointed that a built in collapsible lens hood was not provided. A body and rear lens cap are not provided and together with a UV filter these are the first extras I would buy before taking the camera on a trip out. You will also require an SD memory card or two as none are provided. I would also recommend buying a spare battery with separate charger as with the camera supplied the battery can only be charged on-camera. Especially useful for videographers.
The camera comes with a host of features and I would recommend downloading the operating manual and programme the camera for the features you would use most.
The lens has a power zoom button conveniently located underneath the lens and is very quick, quiet and smooth. Autofocus is extremely quick and with the addition of real-time eye focus is a bonus and works very well.
The camera comes with a built in pop-up flash which is limited but very useful as a fill-in flash. Thankfully there is a hot shoe that a speedlight can be fitted to for full flash use.
The 24mp sensor is very impressive with an ISO range of 100-3,200 and an expanded upper limit of 102,400! with acceptable noise at the high levels making it great in low light situations. Good to see that RAW files are also available.
It has a convenient flip-up touch screen full 180 degrees and very useful for video and selfies. The touch screen auto-focus is very accurate and useful. Video produces excellent quality 4k HDR footage.
Wireless transfer of images to an iPhone or computer is an excellent feature that worked extremely efficiently.
All in all an impressive camera with a host of features. Recommended for amateur users wanting to be more creative and Vloggers and Bloggers.
Jeff Jones, photographe
They felt that camera was a good quality build and looked and felt solid
The grip was really good which makes for firm and confident handling
It was really easy to start up and use. My son appreciated the rotary dial mid way down the back of camera because it made navigating menus very easy.
They took portrait and wildlife photos and some views and were happy with results although they did say they could not wait to try with different lenses. They did think they camera performed surprisingly well in low light and my son loved the viewfinder. The quick auto focus was a treat to use.
They tried the video camera and really liked it feeling it would be excellent for vlogging. As far as they could judge battery life was as good if not better than others.
They loved the camera and enjoyed using it very much but when pushed they admitted that they would have liked a rear lens cap and a cover for the camera.
They did worry that it could be used as a back up for a DSIR Camera even although it could do as much. They felt it probably did not have the substantial feel of the DSIR Camera.
I am quite sure they will use it more than me but as I will get the benefits of the results I am more than happy. We all think it is a great camera
My opinion on the 5100 was always mixed at best. I found its daytime performance to be fairly middling, with blown out skies on sunny days and lots of grain in low light situations. It really needed a tripod to shoot at night as it would drop the shutter speed so much as to be completely unusable hand held. Video performance also unimpressed, with it maxing out at 1080p 60fps. Transferring images to an iPhone or iPad required an odd and cumbersome setup where the camera created its own wifi network which the iOS device then had to join so the PlayMemories iOS app could transfer the files. I always found it easier to simply insert the SD card into my PC and import directly.
Moving to the 6400 I was interested to see how it compared in like for like scenarios. To do this I visited a local National Trust location and shot the same photos on each camera. Some outside, some inside (which was mostly a very low light environment). I then pixel peeped in Photoshop when I got back home to gauge any differences. In short, there weren’t any. Daytime shots still exhibited the same blown out sky, as the camera appeared to lack the ability to shoot HDR stills. After some research it turns out that it is possible to do this, albeit with some caveats – the camera cannot be in auto mode (it must be set to P (program mode)), and RAW must be turned off. This combination then unlocks a menu item buried very deep in the settings – DRO/Auto HDR which can then be turned on. Indoor shots had exactly the same level of grain as my old camera. From a picture quality standpoint, these cameras are identical.
It doesn’t end here however as the 6400 has some tricks up its sleeve. The most obvious one is that it has a viewfinder. It’s easy to forget how important viewfinders are, as we’re all so used looking an an inevitably difficult to see screen on the back of the camera (or indeed a phone screen). The viewfinder on the 6400 includes a rubberised guard to make it more comfortable on the eye (it’s also fine when wearing glasses) and is actually a tiny OLED display. The quality is excellent and it’s immediately became my preferred way to shoot. The screen on the back of the camera can be hinged and moved to a variety of angles, which I can see being useful when holding the camera up over a crowd. There is also a new night time shooting mode which takes multiple shots in close succession to try and eliminate hand held shake. This works to a degree, but don’t expect miracles. Perhaps the biggest difference I noticed though was how quickly the camera focuses, which is light years ahead of my 5100. This is especially noticeable in lower light situations, where the 5100 struggles to lock onto anything at all, but the 6400 is able to take a photo almost instantly.
When it comes to video, the 6400 is an upgrade but bizarrely still falls behind what my iPhone X can do. Video tops out at 4K 30fps. No 4K 60fps mode here, a truly bizarre omission. If you want 60fps, the camera limits video to 1080p. If you’re expecting the sort of steady cam like video phones generate these days you won’t find that here either, and in fact OIS (optical image stabilisation isn’t present in this camera at all. Interestingly Sony have also included a real HDR video mode. HDR is something of a catch all word these days and HDR stills are unrelated to HDR video. When talking about stills, HDR means taking multiple shots at different exposures then combining the results, so avoiding blown out skies or dark areas disappearing into blackness entirely. When video HDR means using the new HDR modes on modern TVs which allow pixels to reach higher brightness levels than they normally would and so creating a higher dynamic range. How bright they can be depends on your TV and how the video was shot. I wasn’t able to test this unfortunately for a few reasons – Sony don’t supply a mini HDMI to HDMI 2.0 cable (and I don’t already have one) so I couldn’t plug the camera directly into my TV. I also wasn’t able to copy the video onto my iPad Pro (which supports HDR) as the video format is incompatible. To compound the compatibility issues the HDR video is also in the rather obscure HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) format. If Sony had chosen a more common format, such as MP4 with HDR10 HDR that would have been more useful. The only video format which my iPad Pro would accept was the camera’s XAVC HD format, which shoots 1080p at up to 60fps in SDR.
I mentioned earlier in my review on the oddball system Sony used with the 5100 for transferring photos to an iPhone or iPad much to my surprise remains largely unchanged here. The only difference is to join the custom Wi-Fi network the camera creates is now made a little easier as the camera shows a QR code which the phone can scan. I’m puzzled for as to why the camera cannot simply use a regular home Wi-Fi network (which my iPad/iPhone are already on) to send images. It’s an inconvenient system to say the least and needs improvement.
A few other things of note – 1- The camera doesn’t have GPS but if you want geo location on your images this can be done by linking the Play Memories app on your phone to the camera over bluetooth. The app must be running on the phone for this to work (it can be in the background, as long as it has permission to keep sharing your location). This works fine and the geo data is backed into the image metadata as expected, but it unfortunately doesn’t last all that long (at least on iOS) and the app just be restarted. The Playmemories app itself is also pretty bare bones. 2 – The zoom lens cannot be operated from the camera body. This is something my 5100 could do, but the 6400 cannot. To change the zoom level you have to rotate the lens old school style, or use the slider on the side of the lens. 3 – The record button for video is tiny and inconveniently placed on the corner of the camera. It’s difficult to reach and is the only way to start and stop video. Expect unsightly jerks at the end of each video as you fumble around for the tiny button. 4 – There is an included flash as well as a standard flash mount if you need something bigger. 5 – The rear screen is a touch screen, but only for selecting focus points, it cannot be used with any of the menus.
Overall I found myself somewhat mixed on this camera. The auto focus is amazingly quick and seriously impressive in the dark, the OLED viewfinder is fantastic, and the build quality (surprisingly the body is plastic) is very good. However the image quality was identical in all but extremely low light scenarios to my much cheaper 5100. The lack of HDR stills in RAW format is also disappointing, and the process for transferring photos to an iPhone is unwieldy and inconvenient. HDR video is an interesting addition but the obscure format chosen (I assume because HLG also works in SDR) limits compatibility. Battery life didn’t blow me away either – shooting around 80 stills and a few videos over the course of a couple of hours dropped the battery from around 75% to around 45%. That said, this camera offers plenty of scope for enthusiasts with a vast array of options buried within its menus, including slow motion video a countless ways to control every aspect of how the camera takes stills. The lack of OIS in body is also a bit of a miss at this price point, although the included lens does I believe have some limited stabilisation. To conclude – this is a comprehensive bit of kit which is built to last and will satisfy the enthusiast and tinkerer, but for those who simply want great results without the hassle, – be that super stable video, easy to access HDR RAW stills, or an easy way to get photos onto other devices, this camera isn’t perhaps the best choice.
The A6400 is a compact interchangeable lens camera which features a whole variety of features, such as a large 24.2MP APS-C sized sensor, 4K HDR compatibility, Upto 120fps 1080p video recording, a 180 flip-up screen and an incredible auto-focus system.
This camera is great for those who want the potential of capturing quality images whilst still maintaining a rather compact and lightweight system. This camera is also ideal for those who want a decent secondary camera or vloggers.
– A6400 Main Features:
* 24.4 Megapixels.
* ISO Range of 100-32,000.
* 11 FPS.
* 425 Phase detection AF points.
* Real-time eye AF & tracking.
* Silent Shooting.
* Touch screen for focus & shutter.
For those debating which one is more suited: A6000, A6400 or A6500, here is a quick run-down:
* A6000: Is the oldest camera, being released back in 2014! However, just because it’s the oldest, doesn’t mean it should be shunned away, especially if you are on a budget. Whilst it may be slightly outdated, it’s still a very good camera that can be picked up for a reasonable cost.
* A6400: Released in 2019, this is the latest model of the three. The A6400 is most up to date and has a 180 flip-up screen which the other two models do not have. It also has real-time eye auto-focus which at the time of review, the other models don’t have either.
* A6500: Although released in 2016, this is still regarded as the flagship camera out of the three. It boasts impressive auto-focus, continuous Eye-AF capabilities and IBIS (In Body Image Stabilisation) which greatly reduces handshake.
There is a A6300 model available, however that model was renowned for some issues, such as over-heating.
Box Contents & Recommended Accessories
– Box Contents:
* A6400 camera.
* 16-50mm lens (vary depending on whether you chose ‘Body Only’ or ’18-135mm’ kit.
* Eye-piece.
* Battery.
* Micro USB cable.
* AC Adaptor.
* Camera strap.
* Manual & warranty paperwork.
– Recommended Accessories:
* Memory card (SDHC, though a SDXC is advised, especially if you plan on shooting RAW or 4K video).
– Optional Extras:
* Spare battery (NP-FW50).
* Manfrotto PIXI Mini Tripod (ideal for vlogging or placing on tabletop).
* E-mount Lens & Body cap (If you plan on storing the lens separately from camera).
– Optional lenses.
* Note: You can use normal E-mount lenses or the FE variant of E-mount lenses, it’s just the FE are made for the full-frame cameras in mind and are typically heavier.
* 18-105mm F/4 – SELP18105G (Good all round lens with internal moving optics and consistent aperture; very ideal for video).
* 20mm f/2.8 Prime – SEL20F28 (A wide-angle prime lens, ideal for landscapes).
* 30mm f/3.5 Macro – SEL30M35 (Good for general photos and great for close-ups).
* 50mm f/1.8 Prime – SEL50F18 (Great for portraits and low-light situations).
* 55-210mm Telephoto – SEL55210 (For shots where you need that extra zoom).
First Impressions, Ergonomics & User-Interface
– Build quality:
The camera body has an incredibly robust construction and feels solid when in your hands which give a good sense of quality. Despite the camera being small, it doesn’t lack in grip as the handle sticks out a fair amount allowing ease of grip when holding with just one hand.
– Flash:
The pop-up flash like many Sony models, can be manually bent backwards and pointed directly up which is very useful indoors if you want to bounce the flash off the ceiling and diffuse the light for a more balanced-lit photo.
– Screen (180 flip feature):
Despite it being pointless if you decide to mount anything on the multi-interface shoe, it’s a really nice feature to have and to be honest, long overdue. The screen can also be tilted up and down.
– Screen (Touchscreen):
I personally have never been a fan of touch-screen on cameras and typically disable it, however if touchscreen is of major importance, then you may be disappointed as it’s very basic; it allows you to focus on a subject by touch or zoom in on a photo taken, but navigating around the menu system by touch is not one of the features unfortunately. That said, it would be easier and quicker to navigate the normal way.
– OLED Viewfinder:
The viewfinder automatically turns on when your eye goes up against it to ensure no unnecessary battery is used when not in use. The viewfinder is easy to use even with wearing glasses, it’s clear and seems to for the most part, accurately represent of what’s being taken.
– Button placement:
Whilst not a deal-breaker, the record button could have been more appropriately placed, such as near the view-finder which the Sony A7M3 has; however, the grip does have a groove for your thumb to fit in to help prevent accidental recording; furthermore, you can set the button to only work when in movie mode (located on second tab, page 9). Record button aside, I’m a big fan of the layout of everything else and there are some well placed customisable buttons that can be changed within the settings to your own desire.
The user-interface is well organised, but like anything, may take some time to get used to and remember where everything is if you’re new to the brand. The menu system hasn’t really changed that much over the last couple of years, probably because it works well. You have five main tabs which have multiple pages of relevant settings; the sixth is customisable to your own needs.
– Battery life:
Battery life is okay, but if you’re planning on spending a whole day taking photos, get a spare battery and possible a battery pack, so when not in use, you can charge the camera on the go.
Image & Video Quality
With this camera having exceptional auto-focus, if it’s one thing to be sure, a lot of photos will be in-focus. Of course if you want to be more accurate or specific, tweaking the focus area is always a good move.
One major feature of this camera is it’s real-time eye-AF which works incredibly well; if for some reason it can’t detect an eye, it will automatically find a face instead, but it’s very rare where it couldn’t find an eye. I also have the ‘C1’ set to eye-swap, so I can choose which eye I want to focus on and it will do just that, incredible…
Overall I’m very impressed with the image quality the camera can produce, even with the kit lens. Though for the best results, find a lens that is best suited for your needs to unlock even more potential.
Video quality is also impressive, especially when using it to film people or yourself as the face-tracking is truly fantastic.
Final Thoughts
Sony have truly outdone themselves with the A6400; I cannot stress how good the auto-focusing system is, especially the real-time focus which is so handy to have; plus the addition of a flip-up screen just makes for a great all-round package.
Yes, it doesn’t have the In-Body Image Stabilisation which the A6500 has, but to keep the cost down, they had to make cuts. If you shake is going to be an issue, then you may want to go with the A6500.
I think for the price-point, the A6400 is a real contender.
Pros:
Decent build quality.
Fantastic range of features.
A variety of customisable buttons.
Very good photo/video quality.
Insanely good auto-focusing system.
Love the 180 flip-screen.
RAW Images (ARW format).
Variety of lenses available for the camera (optional purchases).
Neutral:
– Average battery life.
– Record button placement.
Cons:
Touchscreen could have more potential.
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I have uploaded some photos that were taken with the A6400 however with some alternate lenses. Photos were taken in RAW format and processed in Lightroom. These are more to show some examples of how it handled low-light situations and its auto-focus abilities.
Getting started with the camera was fairly quick. It comes with a printed instruction book that explains the key controls and contains a QR code to link to the website where a comprehensive, 648 page manual can be viewed or downloaded. The website and PDF contain many hotlinks so it is fairly easy to navigate through the manual.
The kit lens came attached to the camera inside the box, with no rear lens cap or body cap supplied. Body caps are useful when storing cameras but this would need to be purchased as an optional extra. The kit lens would also benefit from protection by a UV filter: fortunately 40.5 mm diameter filters are amongst the cheapest available, whichever brand is preferred.
The rear monitor position can be adjusted so that the monitor is either at 90 degrees when the camera is held down low or flipped up to provide a “selfie” view. By default, the camera has a 3 second timer in selfie mode when taking stills. However, it is also possible to enable a “Smile” shutter that worked really well.
I installed the Playmemories Mobile app onto my iPhone X, after scanning the QR code in the setup guide. I then was able to connect my iPhone X to the camera by scanning the QR displayed on the back of the camera. I then selected my photos using my iPhone and they were quickly transferred. The whole process was simple, reliable and fast.
I compared the A6400’s performance with my Canon M50. Both are of very similar sized and weight (559 vs 555 g, with battery, SD card and strap). They also both feature APS-C sized 24 MP sensors and are supplied with similar kit lenses.
The A6400 had better low light performance. Images taken at ISO 6400 and 12800 showed less noise on the A6400, with similar colour reproduction.
I was really impressed by the speed of autofocus and subject tracking with the A6400. Despite shooting at 11 fps, it was able to keep most of the shots in focus. This was a level of performance I would expect from a sports DSLR such as my Canon 7D Mark 2. The M50 wasn’t able to keep up.
It is really impressive that the A6400 can shoot 4K movies using the whole of its sensor, with no time limits on individual clip duration.
I found the rear touchscreen easy to use to select the appropriate focus point. The touchscreen does lack the ability to select menu items or to use multi-touch to zoom in or out, features that I have got used on my iPhone and Canon M50. However, the menu and combination of top and rear rotary controls work well. There is an incredible amount of customisation possible for keen users, with many screens of options to keep you busy as you get to know the camera.
In summary, this is a very impressive and capable camera that produces excellent images straight out of the box, which offers plenty of possibilities for advanced users to take full control of the camera and maximise their creativity.
Having moved through Sony’s NEX range and then owning the A6000, it feels relatively straightforward to pick up and run with the A6400. Having said that, the menu is vast, and I have only scratched the surface even now.
Currently, the box contains a thick manual that disappointingly only has a few pages of information in many languages, so you will need to go to the Sony site for the full low down and this will be imperative if this is your first Sony camera. A short start-up guide can be downloaded but I currently cannot find anything more substantial to download, although a lot of on-screen help is available that will help you get used to the camera and the vast array of settings.
It uses the same NP-FW50 battery as the NEX and A6000 ranges, but this is only chargeable in the camera and no separate charger is supplied. I purchased a charger separately as spare batteries are a useful commodity given their relatively short life/approximately 360-shots and this makes it easier to ensure all are charged. Once you have your battery charged, you can start to personalise your A6400.
NOTE: you do need to purchase an SD card, at least class 10, as one is not supplied with the camera, so do consider getting one if this is a gift to avoid recipient disappointment.
I went through the menu to set up language and date/time and suggest switching on DMF, which allows you to manually tweak the focus of your shot before finally pressing the trigger. Despite some advances in the autofocus of this camera, it was still useful to ensure perfect focus was achieved on the main subject, even though the camera achieves this a good proportion of the time. On the subject of focus, don’t forget to adjust the dioptre, or to fit the eyepiece cup, which is initially slightly uncomfortable, but you do accommodate to it fairly quickly. Focus is also aided by being able to use the touch screen to identify your subject, but my shots of the bridge in the picture I uploaded all needed some manual tweaking to bring it fully into focus despite this, although it was more successful with other subjects.
Another feature I have chosen to switch on is a warning that I am trying to take a shot without a memory card installed. Yes, you would think it obvious but the number of times I have grabbed the camera and thought I had taken a number of pictures without one in place is embarrassing; this tells me straightaway that there is no card present, enabling quick remedy.
You can see from the product images on the site that the LCD touch screen can be twisted round to facilitate selfies, etc. This could be a useful feature even if you do not do the selfie thing, as it means you can place the camera on a tripod (or whatever) and see what you are taking more easily than the viewfinder may allow, although the eye cup does get in the way and is probably best removed if you use this feature regularly. The brackets that enable this movement are sturdy and, as long as you take care, should last for the life of the camera. The LCD suffers in strong sunlight however, making it difficult to view.
I like the fact that the camera incorporates a pop-up flash, which will be adequate for most users. The hot shoe allows for some mixing and matching of accessories and, of course, the lens can be changed, so you are not stuck with the one supplied with the camera. Of course, that is when you start adding serious money to the equation, as well as a groaning kit bag. No rear lens cap or body cap is included and you may wish to buy a set, but I find it simple enough to swap these from whichever lens I insert instead. But do consider getting a lens cap keeper to attach it to the lens as it does have a tendency to ping off and land in the nearest cow pat…
The 16-50mm zoom supplied with the camera allows some good wide-angle shots, as well as the opportunity to get up close and personal; it is a good starting lens, albeit I wish it could be controlled from the main body of the camera rather than just on the lens itself.
Still picture quality is good, albeit I don’t think the autofocus has quite rendered the DMF option obsolete (and it is thankfully still available in the menu). Movie footage is fantastic, and I have not come up against any issues of the camera over-heating or switching off before I wanted to stop recording myself, although I only occasionally found that a problem over many years of ownership of the A6000.
This is a great camera that allows you to take images automatically or with a vast menu enabling virtually infinite tweaking and adjustments. The autofocus is good, albeit not infallible but a good step up from the A6000 and a camera I find difficult to rate at anything other than the full 5 stars.