Sony Camera A6400 Review – Is It The Best Value?

If you’re in the market for a mirrorless camera, you’ll find that your options are plentiful. You’ll need to be careful to ensure that you don’t make the wrong decision since that could lead to disappointment in the future. Depending on what you’re after, you may find that the Sony A6400 is the best camera for you. While expensive, the camera is easily one of the best in terms of autofocus, real-time tracking, and ISO range. How does it stack up with the competition? Below, you’ll learn more about the A6400 and you’ll find out how it compares with the leading alternatives.

ISO Range

Whether you’re shooting in bright sunlight or during low light conditions, you’ll need to adjust the ISO setting. A higher setting is better for dark environments while a lower setting is best for bright settings. Just remember that going too high can result in your video being grainy and bad. So, which camera is best in this category? The Sony A6400 offers an ISO range of 100 to 32000 and it can be expanded up to 102400. Its older competitor, the A6300, has an ISO range of 100 to 25600 but it can be expanded up to 51200.

The difference is stark. With the newer Sony A6400, your camera will perform significantly better in dark environments.

Weather Sealed

You may decide that you want to go outside and film rainy weather. A rainy scene is a good way to set the mood for any video. Well, you should know that some cameras feature a weather-sealed body but others do not. You don’t want to head outside with a camera that can potentially be damaged by the water. The good news is that most modern cameras are protected from the elements. The Sony A6300 and the A6400 feature a weather-sealed body. Furthermore, the Zoom Q4 has a water-resistant jacket.

While you should place them in water, they’ll be okay if they get rain on a little bit.

Weight

You’ll likely find yourself shooting by hand. A tripod is great but movement can enhance the intensity and quality of your videos. So, you’ll have to pay close attention to the camera’s weight. If it is too heavy, you’re going to experience issues keeping the camera steady in your hands for long periods. Well, you should know that the Sony Alpha A6400 and Sony Alpha A6300 are similar in terms of weight. The A6400 weighs 403 grams while its competitor weighs 404 grams. So, there isn’t much of a difference here.

You should be able to tote around both cameras without too much effort. It also helps that they’re compact.

Stabilization

If you’re going to be shooting hand-held with your camera, you’ll likely get shaky footage and that can ruin everything. You can combat the problem with your editing software but you’ll also want a camera with some type of stabilization. With mirrorless cameras, your lens will likely have its own IS and the body may do the same. Unfortunately, the Sony A6400 does not have in-body stabilization. If you want to keep your video stable, you’ll have to rely on the image stabilization on the lens. Alternatively, you can use a gimbal. If you’re positive that you want your videos to be as smooth and stable as possible, you’ll want to upgrade to the A6500.

Nevertheless, a good lens and Premiere Pro can help make your slightly shaky A6400 videos look perfect.

4K Filming

At the end of the day, you’ll want your videos to be as detailed as possible. So, you should take advantage of 4K. 1080P is great but 4k is even better. This is one of the best things about the Sony A6400. It can record 4K video up to 30 frames per second. And, it’ll use the entire width of the sensor. It can perform a full pixel readout as well. This means that it is going to collect 6K of information that will be scaled down to 4K. So, you’re going to get an even sharper video.

If you switch to 1080p, you can record videos up to 120 FPS. You can create slow-motion videos using the camera. Alternatively, you can record it normally and slow it down during the post-production process. With the A6400, you can experiment with the Quick & Slow modes. This allows you to play around with frame rates from 1 to 120 FPS so you can get fast and slow videos.

Whether you want extra-sharp 4K videos or beautifully stunning slow-motion videos, you’ll likely be satisfied with the Sony A6400. It will not disappoint in either category.

Battery Life

Once you’ve started snapping pictures and recording videos, you’ll want to keep going until you’re finished for the day. Unfortunately, this may not be possible. After all, you’ll always have to worry about your camera’s battery dying during the middle of a shoot. So, is the Sony A6400 going to provide you with the best battery life? This camera uses the Sony NP-FW50 rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery. The battery life of CIPA will depend on many factors.

For instance, shooting 4k will drain the battery faster than filming in 1080p. Nevertheless, The Sony A6400 is one of the best Sony cameras in this category. It has a CIPA of 410 while the Sony A6500 has a CIPA of 450. So, the battery will likely last a bit longer on the A6400. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to have two batteries so you can film and snap without delays.

Continuous Shooting Speeds

Shooting in bursts is a good idea when focusing on action sports or something similar. However, you have to understand that some cameras falter in this area but the Sony A6400 does not. It can shoot at 11 FPS when using the mechanical shutter. It also offers up to 8 FPS when using live view and short blackouts will be available. If you’re using the electronic shutter, the A6400 can shoot bursts up to 8 FPS. This is a significant improvement from what you’re going to get with the A6300 and A6500. The latter cameras can only shoot up to 3 FPS using the electronic shutter.

However, the buffer depth is better with the A6500. So, the A6400 has a few minor limitations but most users likely won’t run into problems.

Quick Autofocus (AF)

If you know anything about cameras, you know the importance of autofocus, better known as AF among photographers. This feature is so important because it plays a major role in capturing the subject in the best view.

Cameras have definitely improved over the past few decades. It wasn’t until 1960 that AF Technology was beginning to take shape. AF Technology along with sensor technology was invented around the same time. It took more than 20 years for AF Technology to become fully functional in a Single-Lens Reflex (SLF) camera. The Carrefot by Leica featured a fully functional AF system. The Konica C35 AF was the first camera to be mass-produced with an AF system. But, this didn’t occur until 1978.

Over the years, Polaroid, Pentax, Nikon, and Minolta launched cameras with AF systems. These cameras were very a hit because they were so technologically advanced with AF systems.

The AF system integrated into modern cameras is capable of measuring the distance to the subject without the need for an optical system. The system focuses in on the subject automatically until it comes into clear view.

Without an automatic AF system, the photographer would be responsible for making focus adjustments. Not only would this be very inconvenient but it also slow down the photographer’s progress significantly.

The Alpha a6400 is integrated with a state-of-the-art AF system that delivers a clear view of a subject in 0.02 seconds. According to Sony, its camera has “the world’s fastest” AF system. The is a real-time AF system with the ability to track objects with ease.

Creates Time-Lapse Movies

Are you into time-lapse videos? If so, the Alpha a6400 is a must. Combining the camera’s ability to create time-lapse videos with your skills will ensure perfection in no time flat. This technology is utilized by professional videographers to compress time. So, the video can be drawn out for several hours, days, weeks, or months if that is what the videographer desires.

Time-lapse gives viewers the illusion that time is passing slowly when that is not the case at all. This is a great feature that will allow you to create time-lapse videos without the need for additional software. This will reduce the time it normally takes to create such a movie utilizing a time-lapse software program. The Alpha a6400 is like having two technologies all wrapped up into one electronic device.

Tiltable LCD Screen

The Alpha a6400 also features a tiltable LCD screen. This design allows the photographer to tilt the LCD in a specific direction to capture the best angle up to 180 degrees. The screen also flips to ensure a simple but very effective method of shooting selfies. You can utilize this feature when blogging to monitor your progress.

To add even more convenience to the camera’s functionality, Sony added touch technology to the LCD screen. This feature will come in handy when making adjustments to the settings, such as focus and shutter.

The touch capability of this camera is endless. Utilize it to enable or disable intuitive shooting and quick focus functionality. By enabling the Touch Focus feature, you will be able to select the desired focus by touching the screen where the subject is located.

Ergonomic Design

Photographers, especially videographers can spend hours perfecting their works. When you do not have the right camera, there is the potential to experience discomfort, poor handling, and mishaps due to poor control. Fortunately, this will never be an issue with the Sony Alpha a6400, thanks to its ergonomic design.

The ergonomic design offers not only a high-level of comfort but also full control and easy handling, even when shooting for hours. It will also give you full control of the camera with your dominant hand. Thee is a special place on the camera for your fingers to sit without interfering with the view in front of the camera.

The camera measures around 6.10 inches in length. And, weighs just a little over a pound. You can place it in your backpack and never be bothered by its size or weight.

Jacks And Ports

You’ll expect to get a lot from the Sony A6400. And, it delivers big in many categories. However, it has a few flaws here and there. As mentioned above, it doesn’t have in-body stabilization. Simultaneously, you’ll find that it doesn’t feature a headphone port. If you want to use your camera with a pair of headphones, you should not buy this camera. On the flip side, it has a good microphone jack. The camera’s audio is good but using an external microphone is best.

With the A6400, you’ll be able to use an external microphone without any difficulty. Plug it in and attach it to the hot shoe mount and you’ll be good to go. Still, it is a shame that the camera doesn’t have a port for your headphones.

Pros

• Price is competitive
• AF system is excellent
• Burst speeds are good
• Supports 4K up to 30 FPS
• Has an in-camera time-lapse feature

Cons

• Lacks in-body stabilization

Comparisons

Zoom Q4 vs Sony Alpha a6300 vs Sony Alpha a6400

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