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Photography news and reviews

Sony

Sony started out in digital imaging some years back with a raft of low-cost, compact 'snapshot' cameras and some more advanced models for enthusiasts. After a couple of false starts in the interchangeable lens camera market, it's now found a winning formula – and how – with its full frame Sony A7 series and A9 mirrorless cameras. These have made it a major force in the pro photography and video market.

Sony announces new A6400 APS-C mirrorless camera

Sony announces new A6400 APS-C mirrorless camera

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The A6400 revives Sony’s APS-C camera range, bringing powerful video tools and upgraded image processing to tempt both stills photographers and videographers with a camera that looks perfect for independent content creators.

For a while it looked like Sony’s APS-C mirrorless camera range was in the doldrums. The last new model launched was the A6500 way back in 2016, quickly superseding the A6300 which was launched just a few months earlier. And yet both cameras remained on sale to the present day, plus the ageing A6000 and A5100, both launched way back in 2014. It felt like Sony was just treading water until it finally pulled the plug on its APS-C camera range.

Officially, the A6400 replaces the A6300, but with no word from Sony on the A6000 and A6500, it looks like these will remain on sale. The A6400’s powerful new features and competitive pricing will put pressure on the older A6500 above it in the range, though this camera does have in-body image stabilisation, which the A6400 does not.

Sony A6400 main specs

The A6400 keeps the same 24-megapixel sensor of the existing A6000-series models, but it’s boosted by the BIONX X processor and advanced autofocus know-how from Sony’s top-end full frame mirrorless cameras.

It boasts a powerful hybrid AF system with 425 phase detection AF points and 425 contrast AF points covering 84% of the screen, and offers real-time subject-tracking and eye AF, boosted by AI (artificial intelligence) and the ability to track both human and animal eyes. Sony claims the world’s fastest AF time of 0.02sec, though in real-world shooting this will obviously depend on the subject, the conditions and the lens used.

The more advanced processing also brings better skintones and better high-ISO image quality. The A6400’s ISO range tops out at ISO 32,000 for stills and movies, but can be expanded to ISO 102,400 for stills.

The continuous shooting speed stays at 11fps and 8fps with live view, but the silent shutter mode gets a boost to 8fps. The buffer capacity has been increased to 116 JPEGs or 46 compressed raw files, but the A6500 still has a big advantage here, offering much longer continuous shooting bursts.

Videographers get 6K oversampled image capture, downsampled to 4K, to produce the sharpest possible footage, plus Sony’s SLog2, Slog3 and HLG modes built in. The new 180-degree rear screen makes selfies simple but should also be good for vloggers presenting to camera. The A6400 keeps the electronic viewfinder of the other A6000 series models too.

Many were expecting the announcement of a new high-end APS-C model, so were surprised by the mid-range A6400. A new flagship APS-C camera announcement is still expected, though, probably in February 2019.

Available: February 2019
Price: £950 body only, about £1,000 with 16-50mm PZ lens or approximately £1,300 with 18-135mm lens
More information: α6400 E-mount camera with APS-C Sensor | Sony UK

Manfrotto launches Befree GT carbon tripod specifically for the Sony a7 and a9

Manfrotto launches Befree GT carbon tripod specifically for the Sony a7 and a9

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Manfrotto has announced a special Sony-specific version of its “top performing” Before GT carbon travel tripod.

How can you have a tripod specific to a single brand (you ask)? It’s all in the custom-made version of the Manfrotto 200PL-PRO camera plate, apparently.

This is the plate that screws to the bottom of the camera and then clips into the tripod head. The new plate is specifically designed for the Sony a7 and a9 to offer maximum grip, performance and stability at all shooting angles. Like the one in our picture, for example.

That’s not the only Sony customisation. There’s also an “exclusive” tube graphic to match the Sony design and colour scheme.

This is actually the second Sony branded product from Manfrotto, following a collaboration first announced in September 2017.

So if you’ve got a Sony a7 or a9, you want to flaunt it and you think the specially designed plate might be worth a shot (these are cameras you DO NOT want to slip and slide), you can take a closer look via the link below.

We’re told the Befree GT carbon’s legs are brand new for rmaximum lightness and sturdiness, and the tripod has a maximum payload of 10kg.

Available: now
Price: £399.95 (UK)
More information: https://www.manfrotto.co.uk/befree-gt-carbon-fibre-designed-for-cameras-from-sony

New Sony FE 400mm F2.8 supertelephoto is so exclusive you’ll have to get one made

New Sony FE 400mm F2.8 supertelephoto is so exclusive you’ll have to get one made

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Sony has officially announced its long-awaited 400mm f/2.8 G Master lens for its full frame mirrorless A7 and A9 cameras. These cameras offer high continuous shooting speeds and powerful autofocus systems, but until now there haven’t really been the kind of super-telephoto lenses that pro sports and wildlife photographers would need. The FE 400mm f/2.8 should fix that… but at a price.

It will cost over £10,000 in the UK, it will not be available until September 2018 and it will also be made to order – which we take to mean that you won’t simply be able to buy it off the shelf.

It does, however, have a number of interesting features. It costs as much as rival lenses from Canon and Nikon, but weighs a good deal less. It also has less weight at the front of the lens, which should make it easier to turn and ‘pan’ quickly. Sony has also paid great attention to the optical quality and autofocus performance, and is promising great things.

To find out more, read the full story on Digital Camera World.

Price: £10,500
Availability: September 2018
More information: Sony website

What’s the point of the Sony RX100 VI?

What’s the point of the Sony RX100 VI?

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The new Sony RX100 VI looks brilliant in every way, but I can’t think of a single reason why I’d buy one.

On paper, this camera ticks more boxes than we even knew were boxes. It’s a camera small enough to fit in your pocket, yet has a 24-200mm equivalent zoom. It shoots 4K video, it shoots stills at 24 frames per second with a buffer capacity that’s bigger than ever, so what’s to complain about?

Well, here’s just a couple of observations:

  • It’s got a 20-megapixel 1-inch sensor. Make no mistake, that’s good for a pocket-sized compact camera. It is not, however, unique, because Canon and Panasonic make these too.
  • It’s now got a 24-200mm zoom. Well, that’s great, but the Panasonic TZ200 got there first with a bigger zoom in a camera that’s the same size but costs less.
  • It shoots 4K video. Good, well, so do other pocket-sized cameras. And your phone.
  • It can shoot extended stills bursts at 24fps. This is the part I have most trouble with. If I want to shoot something at 24fps it’s probably something important that I’ll want to capture with a bigger-sensor camera and a proper telephoto lens, not a pint-sized superzoom compact.
  • At launch it costs £1,149 in the UK and $1,198 in the US. Whaaaat?

The RX100 series seems to be the darling of reviewers everywhere, but while the early models were probably great (I’ve never really warmed to them), these latest models seem to heading in a weird (and expensive) direction. The longer zoom is good but the high-powered stacked sensor arrangement seems unnecessary and the price has just gone through the roof.

If money is no object this looks a decent enough travel camera, as long as you don’t know about the Panasonic TZ200, but it really hard to see where Sony is going with this.

The problem for camera reviewers, of course, is that if you gave an earlier version a great review and the new camera is demonstrably better still, you don’t have much choice but to give it the same rating or higher, do you?

I might change my mind if I ever spend any time with an RX100 VI, but that doesn’t look likely any time soon.

Sony A6000 review

Sony A6000 review

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Verdict: 3 stars ★★★

It’s one of the cheapest mirrorless cameras on the market, yet it has a 24-megapixel sensor, an electronic viewfinder, 11fps shooting and advanced hybrid autofocus. So what’s the catch?

The A6000 is an APS-C mirrorless camera first launched by Sony in February 2014. It has a rectangular ‘rangefinder’ style shape rather than a DSLR-type design but incorporates an electronic viewfinder, which is an advantage in any mirrorless camera and rare at this price.

Since its launch, the A6000 has been superseded twice; once by the A6300 in early 2016, which brought a more advanced autofocus system, 4K video and touchscreen control, and again by the A6500 in late 2016, which added a better buffer capacity for continuous shooting and in-body image stabilisation.

Through all this, though, the A6000 has remained on sale, getting cheaper and cheaper, until it now undercuts more novice-orientated mirrorless cameras which don’t even have viewfinders.

This isn’t a camera for beginners, though. It does have full auto and scene modes, but the A6000 is aimed at a more advanced users, and the low price is simply a result of it having stayed on the market for so long.

Sony A6000 specifications

• Sensor: APS-C CMOS, 24.3MP
• ISO range: 100-25,600
• Autofocus: 179-point phase detection, 25-point contrast detect
• Continuous shooting speed: 11fps
• Video: 1920 x 1080 at up to 60/50p
• Viewfinder: Electronic, 1,440k dots
• Screen: 3-inch TFT, 921k dots
• Memory: 1x Memory Stick Duo/SD/SDHC/SDXC
• Battery: NP-FW50, 350 shots
• Weight: 344g (body only, with battery and card)
• Dimensions: 120 x 66.9 x 45.1mm

It was launched over four years ago in 2014, but the A6000’s specifications look pretty fresh even now. You don’t get 4K video – it’s limited to full HD – and it doesn’t have a touch-screen interface, but then not everyone is looking for that.

But what it does have is a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor, which is still the highest resolution currently available in this format, an electronic viewfinder (where most entry-level mirrorless cameras don’t), a continuous shooting speed of 11 frames per second and a hybrid phase detection/contrast autofocus system that still looks pretty good today.

That is a lot of camera for the prices currently being asked, but there are some drawbacks. This is a four-year-old sensor design, so the image quality at higher ISOs isn’t quite as good as a more modern camera’s, and the electronic viewfinder’s resolution isn’t as high as most these days. The bigger problems, though, revolve around handling quirks and the question of where Sony is actually going with its APS-C cameras.

Sony A6000

Handling

So first the handling. There are two control dials, which is what enthusiasts will look for since it makes it easier to make manual exposure adjustments, but one of them is part of the four-way navigational controller on the rear, and these are almost always awkward to use because you often end up clicking when you meant to spin.

The rear screen is a bit below par too, partly because it’s easily swamped by glare in bright light and partly because it shows smears really easily. If you’re out shooting in bright sun, you’ll have to keep finding bits of shade so that you can see the screen properly to check your pictures.

That’s not the only thing wrong with this screen. It’s a 3-inch display, which sounds fine on paper, but it has a 16:9 aspect ratio, so it’s fine for video, but when you’re shooting stills, there are black bars on the left and right edges and your pictures look quite small.

And then there’s the kit lens. Sony’s 16-50mm PZ (power zoom) lens is pretty compact, but its image quality is poor even for a kit lens – and that’s saying something. The centre of the image is adequate on our sample, but the edge softness is pretty objectionable. It’s worse than pretty much any other kit lens we’ve used and could really do with being replaced by something better.

But what? There’s not really been a sniff of a new Sony APS-C mirrorless camera since the launch of the A6500 in 2016, and while Sony does release the odd APS-C format lens now and again (like its recent 18-135mm), it seems to be putting almost all of its efforts into its full frame mirrorless cameras. Third party lens makers also support the A6000’s E-mount lens system, but not in any great numbers. This doesn’t feel like a system that’s really going anywhere right now.

Verdict

If you’re looking for a compact, low-cost mirrorless camera, the A6000 is a great deal. It’s capable of great image quality and it has features to satisfy the enthusiast as well as the beginner. But the handling isn’t great, you don’t get 4K video, there’s no touchscreen display and lens development seems to have slowed. It’s a great bargain buy for a cash-strapped enthusiast, but not a great choice for building a future system.

You could forget about the viewfinder and go for something a bit more modern and stylish, like the Fujifilm X-A5, or go for the excellent Panasonic GX80. It has a smaller Micro Four Thirds sensor and 16MP rather than 24MP, but it’s small and neat, it too has a viewfinder and it shoots 4K video. Both are cheaper than the A6000.

Is the new Sony A7 III the full-frame all-rounder we’ve been waiting for?

Is the new Sony A7 III the full-frame all-rounder we’ve been waiting for?

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Sony has launched a new version of its entry-level A7 series full-frame mirrorless camera. The A7 III boasts improved image quality, better autofocus, high-speed continuous shooting and a host of other improvements.

This brings the total number of A7 models to eight. They split into three series. There are three A7R models designed primarily for high resolution, and the latest is the A7R III. There’s also a somewhat neglected 12-megapixel high-sensitivity video-orientated A7S model, still at version II, and there’s this, the all-round bread-and-butter A7 – though there’s nothing basic about this A7 III’s specifications.

The sensor resolution remains the same as the previous A7 II’s, at 24 megapixels, but the sensor has a back-illuminated design for greater sensitivity and is teamed up with a new front-end LSI and uprated BIONZ C processor to double the sensor readout speed and deliver a 1.8x improvement in image processing speed. The practical upshot is a greater sensitivity range, improved image quality and 10fps continuous shooting capability.

The ISO range now goes from 100-51,200, expandable to ISO 50-204,800, and Sony claims the new camera brings a 1.5-stop improvement in image quality – which we take to mean that it offers the same quality at ISO settings 1.5 times higher than on the A7 II.

Sony also claims 15 stops of dynamic range at lower ISO settings which, if it can be achieved by regular photographers outside of Sony’s test conditions, could match the dynamic range of professional medium format cameras.

The autofocus system is considerably more advanced too, and we’re told it’s taken from Sony’s flagship sports/action camera, the Sony A9. It incorporates 693 phase detection AF points covering 93% of the image area and 425 contrast AF points. That’s way higher in terms of AF points and frame coverage than any rival DSLR, though on-sensor AF systems have yet to prove themselves conclusively superior to high-end DSLRs for subject-tracking.

The Sony A7 III will have considerably appeal for fans of sports photography and not just because of its sophisticated AF system. It also offers continuous shooting at 10fps in either mechanical or silent electronic shutter mode, capturing up to 177 JPEGs or 89 compressed RAW files in a burst. This does drop to 8fps if you use the camera’s ‘live view’ mode, which sacrifices 2fps frame rate for a more responsive viewfinder image and smoother and easier subject tracking.

Like other new Sony A7 cameras, the A7 III incorporates Sony’s in-body 5-axis image stabilisation which, the company claims, offers 5 stops of compensation.

Users also get the kind of sophisticated 4K video features we now expect from Sony. The A7 III uses the full width of the frame to capture video, so there are no annoying crop factors to take into account when choosing lenses, and there’s no pixel binning – the camera captures ‘oversampled’ video at a higher resolution then downsamples it to 4K resolution to produce the maximum possible quality.

Pro video shooters can use the camera’s HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) for instant HDR playback on compatible HDR (HLG) compatible TVs, and there are S-Log2 and S-Log3 profiles for those who want to grade their video carefully later. The A7 III can also shoot full HD video at up to 120fps for 4x or 5x slow motion in full HD, with AF tracking while filming.

And Sony fans will be pleased to hear Sony has used its latest NP-FZ100 battery, which delivers 2.2x the life of the NP-FW50 used in the A7 II, and has a CIPA-tested battery life of 710 shots. That’s not much by DSLR standards but a huge step forward for a mirrorless camera.

Designed to cater for all users, from enthusiasts to professionals, the A7 III goes on sale in March 2018 for £2,000/€2,300 body only or £2,200/€2,500 in a kit with the Sony SEL2870 (28-70mm) lens.