Look, I’m sorry OK? At the time, Sony’s A6400 was an incredible camera for the price–and, depending on your needs, arguably better than even the A6500. So it was easy to recommend, in fact I almost went out and bought one two weeks after I published my review.
But that’s all in the past now, and for everyone who bought an A6400, I do feel kinda bad for you. That’s because Sony’s just launched their brand new A6600 APS-C mirrorless camera, and well, it looks like this will be the new gold standard. I mean, it’s absolutely ridiculous.
Let me just start by saying that on paper, the Sony A6600 basically marries what I loved about the A6400 with what I really wanted in the A6500. What is that, you ask? That, my dear friend is something called IBIS, or in-body image stabilisation. Yes.
Sony’s brand new mirrorless camera is essentially the A6400, but now with 5-axis in-body image stabilisation. A lack of IBIS was really one of the biggest problems I had with the A6400 as a whole–alongside its convoluted menu system and flippy uppy screen–but those other two things are just typical Sony. So, realistically, we probably won’t see that change anytime soon.
That being said, Sony did make a couple more changes to the A6600 that I’m sure many will appreciate. One of my favourite things is that the new A6600 uses Sony’s Z battery pack which is what powers Sony’s more capable A7 full-frame cameras. This means that the A6600 has an incredible CIPA rating of 810 shots per charge with the rear LCD, and 720 shots with the EVF. That’s nuts for a mirrorless camera, and I love it. What’s more, if you’re planning on using this camera as a B-cam to your A7, you can now interchange batteries! A nice side bonus is also that this bigger battery now means you have a bigger grip to hang on to.
Then, Sony did what I never expected them to do on their APS-C line of cameras: They added a headphone jack. Now, if your video workflow doesn’t consist entirely of vlogging or filming yourself, you can actually plug in a pair of headphones to the 3.5mm jack and monitor audio.
On top of that, the A6600 features a lot of what I’ve already grown to love on Sony APS-C cameras including a 24.2-megapixel sensor, BIONZ X image processor, 425-point hybrid autofocus, real-time tracking AF and that crisp oversampled 4K video recording at up to 30fps. Basically, what made the A6400 such a formidable camera in the first place.
Of course, you shouldn’t forget about the flip up touchscreen (941K-dot)–I just wish they moved the position of the hotshoe so shotgun mics don’t block the screen when you’re vlogging. For stills, it will also support 11fps burst with AF/AE, and an entirely silent shooting mode.
That being said, the A6400 is still a very good option if you’re on a tighter budget. That’s because the Sony A6600 is a much more expensive camera, clocking in at USD1,400 (~RM5,902) for just the body. Yowza.
Maybe I shouldn’t feel so bad for A6400 buyers then.
