With unbeatable auto focus and battery life, Sony's A6600 still leads the pack
APS-C cameras need to shout to be heard over the roar of increasingly popular full-frame cameras, but a pair of APS-C models announced by Sony in August 2019 prove that smaller sensors still have life left. The $750 A6100 may be a budget mirror less camera targeting the beginner or casual photographer, while the flagship A6600 is $1,400 enthusiast’s camera that ought to even make many professionals happy.
These cameras have much in common, including their 24MP sensors, 4K video, 11 frames-per-second continuous shooting, and lots of trickle-down features from Sony’s costlier A7/A9 full-frame line. We love full-frame cameras, but they often cost far more , and not everyone needs one. Today’s APS-C cameras take outstanding photos, and it’s nice to ascertain that Sony hasn’t neglected the format — albeit the A6600 hasn’t changed much from 2016’s A6500.
But with numerous similarities between the A6100 and A6600, you would possibly be wondering if the latter is well worth the higher price. we expect it's . From the higher build quality to longer battery life, it's the features which will keep you shooting for years to return .
Design and handling
Venerable is that the best thanks to describe the planning of Sony’s A6000-series cameras — outwardly, they haven’t changed much over the past five years. That’s to not say nothing has been enhanced.
The A6600 features a much deeper and easier grip than its predecessors, a nod to its audience of advanced enthusiast photographers. That larger grip has space for a way stronger “Z” battery rated for 810 shots, almost double earlier models.
The A6600 measures 4.75 x 2.75 x 2.4 inches and weighs 18 ounces without a lens. We had no issues walking around with this camera and therefore the 16-55mm f/2.8 G lens during our limited hands-on experience.
The controls, for better or worse, remain familiar. There’s an honest amount of direct access control, but we've to voice our usual squawk about the video record button being tiny and wedged into a corner). It’s an identical story for the menus, which, while improved, could still be made simpler and easier to navigate.
The EVF is 2.36 million dots while the touch-enabled screen is 921K pixels. Neither is best in school — the Fujifilm X-T3 features a 3.6 million dot EVF — but they worked fine in practice.
Video shooters will appreciate the inclusion of both headphone and microphone jacks along side HDMI out and power connections. Overall, the new A6600 features a nice “heft,” with the magnesium alloy frame contributing thereto feeling. The camera is dust and moisture resistant, as well.
The eyes have it
Although the new flagship camera features a familiar persona, it's many features of costlier full-frame Sonys like the new A7R IV ($3,500), including 5-axis in-body image stabilization. the simplest new features are Real-Time Tracking and Real-Time Eye autofocus (the latter of which now recognizes animal eyes additionally to human eyes).
We’ve loved the first Eye AF since it first arrived generations ago, and therefore the new Real Time improvements put Sony cameras at the top of the pack when it involves focus. Getting tack-sharp shots is simpler than ever.
Real-Time Tracking and Real-Time Eye AF also work great in video mode. Since video often deals with moving subjects or a moving camera, having a reliable AF system are often the difference between an excellent shot and an unusable one.
Initial image quality impressions
To give the A6600 a workout, Sony brought us to Coney Island in Brooklyn (we were guests of Sony, but all opinions are our own). While there have been no bizarre sideshow attractions to photograph, there have been acrobats, jugglers, magicians, and fashion models available. Nearby, there have been roller coasters, carousels, boardwalks and other iconic scenes.
Have we said what proportion we like Real-Time Tracking and Real-Time Eye AF? Forgive us for being redundant but this really sets this camera apart. you merely specialise in a face and therefore the camera takes over because it tries to lock onto a person’s eye.
In the viewfinder, you’ll see multiple illuminated points because the AI tries to work out what it’s seeing. it'll attempt to frame the face first, then choose the attention . When it hits the target, alittle box appears on the left or right eye (you can choose which one). Once the camera locks in you’ll get terrific portraits.
It was a dreary, misty day therefore the outdoor images presented a challenge for the camera. For the foremost part, the A6600 handled them fairly well, but noise was a problem at higher ISO settings. The camera features a native ISO of 100-32,000 which will be expanded right down to 50 and up to 102,400. Here, a full-frame camera would have proven its worth. Granted, Sony’s full-frame line starts at $2,000, but extremely low-light scenes is where you’ll notice the advantage of that larger sensor.
The next day was sunny, and here the A6600 performed alright . Again, the auto focus was the important winner. Real-Time Tracking was fast enough to capture a speeding cyclist as we walked the streets of Manhattan.
As for video, it all remains pretty standard for Sony. The A6600 records 4K HDR video with 2.4x oversampling to capture better sharpness. It’s still limited to Sony’s 8-bit XAVC-S codec, but it does offer both Hybrid-Log Gamma (HLG) and Sony’s standard S-Gamut/S-Log profiles for holding onto more dynamic range if you don’t mind color grading in post. Other cameras have surpassed Sony in some areas when it involves video — the Fuji film X-T3 offers 10-bit recording and reads its sensor faster for fewer rolling shutter — but, again, the A6600’s advantage comes right down to it auto focus, which offers unparalleled simple use.
Our first take
The new Sony A6600 may be a good addition to the series, delivering quality images and films during a compact package with an auto focus system that tops the category . Our issue is price — at $1,399 for the body, it seems a touch high for a camera that hasn’t really changed all that much over its 3-year-old predecessor. For current A6500 owners, it'd not be worthwhile .
You can save on the brink of $650 with the A6100, which has most of an equivalent technology but doesn't have in-body stabilization, the more solid construction, or as powerful A battery . It also doesn’t have S-Log, a headphone jack, or Eye AF for Movies, making it more for a still shooter than video graphers or bloggers. And there are other cheaper APS-C cameras like the Fuji film X-T30, the new Canon EOS M6 Mark II, and therefore the Sony’s own A6400 (which also has Real-Time AF) for $899.
The A6600 is far more evolution than revolution. But while much has remained an equivalent from the A6500, key improvements like Real-Time AF and a much bigger battery can't be understated. The camera isn't best-in-class in every respect, but those two features arguably do more to enhance the user experience than anything , which makes the A6600 easy to recommend
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