Sony A6300 first impression

[havoc315]

I'll let the images speak for themselves:

 

 

Hudson River by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

Seagull watching another by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

DSC00500.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

[pierces]

And my evaluation begins...

[pierces]

Two things right off the bat:

 

"USB Power Supply = On" Allows the use of a USB battery pack to extend battery life almost indefinitely. It allows the camera to operate while charging and with a 15,000 MAH device charger pack connected, it should power the camera for hours.

 

"Release w/o Card = Disable" No more puttering around in the garden snapping random flowers only to find the card was left in the reader when inspiration hit.

 

Dave

[havoc315]

I thought I would compare an old seagull photo, taking with Nikon D750 + 300/4, with the seagulls I took the other day with the A6300 + 70-200. The A6300 suffers a bit from having been shot at jpeg instead of raw... But the comparison is still pretty favorable to the Sony:

 

Nikon:

Seagull by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

Sony:

 

DSC00705.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

Nikon: (ignore my post processing choices):

Seagull in the crowd by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

Sony:

 

DSC00500.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

[pierces]

Adobe just released LR and PS updates that include the A6300.

 

 

Dave

[havoc315]

Yay! Raw support!!

I will need to really put the camera through the paces this weekend.

 

But for now, my kids impatiently let me take a couple low light shots of them.... As before, I did comparison shots with the D750. A6300 with 50/1.8, at 1.8 and 1/80. D750 with 24-70/2.8, at 70mm, 2.8, 1/80. Creating the same depth of field, but the ISO on the D750 was about 1 stop higher.

I was testing a couple of things. First off, how does the high ISO look. The camera auto selected ISO between 2000 and 4000. On the D750, it went 3200 to 6400. In this case, even though the ISO was about 1 stop lower, the A6300 needed slightly more noise reduction. The good news, with just a tad more NR, the file quality was pretty similar. Absolutely, these files look better than jpeg. Even at ISO 4000, I'm satisfied with the results out of the A6300.

The other thing I was testing, was eye-AF with AF-C versus AF-S. AF-S did seem a bit more consistent. In the handful of images I took, every AF-S was perfectly focused. The AF-C got the eye perfect a couple of times, but also missed focus a couple of times. So I suppose for posed portraits, I might still prefer AF-S over AF-C.

Last observation, I hate the AWB of the A6300 in artificial lighting. It is very inconsistent. I didn't correct the white balance in the below photos. The AWB for my son was ok. But for my daughter, it left the scene excessively yellow, and it isn't very easy to correct. The D750 AWB was much more consistent.

 

So the samples:

 

Way too yellow, ISO 4000. But apart from the terrible AWB, the image is pretty good. If I were to correct the AWB. I am definitely happy with this as a low light, ISO 4000 shot.

 

DSC00755.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

My son at ISO 2000:

DSC00762.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

Now from the D750 at ISO 3600:

DSC_6456.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

[havoc315]

More A6300..... High ISO test, in properly exposed light. Shadows would be worse.

These are all at ISO 12800. They all were shot RAW, default color noise reduction in Lightroom. First, I'll post from the D750. Luminance set to 20. First the whole image, and then a crop:

 

DSC_6462.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

DSC_6462.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

I'd say that is an excellent result, with minimal noise reduction applied.

 

I'm happy to report, the A6300 stands up well. I'm using the same photo below, but 3 different luminance settings, 0, 20 and 40.

 

First, the whole image, at Luminance 20:

 

medium NR by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

Now, crop at Luminance 0:

 

no NR by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

Luminance 20:

 

medium NR by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

Luminance 40:

 

High NR by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

 

No, it doesn't equal the D750 (also note that the D750 is pixel peeped a bit more) at the same luminance settings. But, when both are at ISO 12,800, the A6300 only needs a little more luminance reduction. A setting of 40 is not horrible. You can still retain fair detail at 40. I wouldn't be shooting ISO 12,800 portraits on the A6300, or anything of fine detail. I wouldn't want to do extreme pixel peeping at 12,800. But ultimately, when shooting raw, you can get decent images at 12,800 -- More than just web-viewing size images. You can probably still print 8X10's at ISO 12,800. Which really isn't bad at all.

 

It will be interesting to see DXO testing, but at least simply in terms of noise, the A6300 may be less than a full stop behind the full frame D750 (but not much less). Though I'm going mostly from memory, I think the A6300 may have better high ISO capabilities than the full frame A99. Again, I want to see DXO testing, but I definitely feel like there is some noticeable improvement in raw files over the A6000. Usually, you see the biggest upgrades in jpegs from improvements in processing -- I did not think the A6300 jpegs were any better than the A6000. But I feel I am seeing a slight but noticeable noise improvement.

[pierces]

Here I sit looking at my recently arrived Sony A6300. At first glance, it’s nearly indistinguishable from the A6000 sitting next to it. At second glance, the slightly textured finish of the magnesium alloy body and the return of the AF/MF switch just under the mode dial do supply some visual cues. Looking at the top plate seals it since there is a distinct A63000 label. So, if it is virtually the same camera, why did I buy it?

 

Turning it on, spending 20-30 minutes in the menu and playing with autofocus provided at least half of the answer. This is not a technical leap like the A6000 was when it first appeared but it has solid improvements that based on personal needs or preferences, may or may not justify the $400 difference between it and the still-available A6000. The justification depends a lot on how and what you shoot. If you use your camera for video at all, it’s a done deal since the improvements in that department make it one of the most capable video cameras in its price range. If not, your decision may be a bit more difficult. Not because the A6300 is in anyway lame, but because the A6000 is still to be considered a fantastic camera.

 

After a couple of days, I’ve compiled a list of the changes (so far) that justify my choice for getting an A6300 and moving the A6000 to the second body position in my travel kit.

 

1. Focus : Autofocus is incredible. 425 phase-detect focus points on the sensor cover most of the frame and allow for vastly improved focus tracking. Face recognition is fast and accurate. Improved eye-AF tracks focus on a subject’s eyes so the face is always in focus. Huge value for weddings and such. One feature I hadn’t heard mentioned but stumbled across in the menu was “AF In Focus Mag.” It allows you to magnify the focus point while in an AF mode other than DMF as you would in manual focus and a half-press on the shutter activates autofocus while remaining zoomed, allowing for a critical focus check. Another pleasant surprise is that the on-sensor phase-detect is now available to my A-mount 16-50 f/2.8 SSM via the LA-EA3 adapter. Focus speed seems little different, if at all, from native lenses. AF-A is disabled, as is DMF and the specific MF setting but manual focus is always available.

 

2. Viewfinder: The A6300 has nearly double the number of pixels as the one in the A6000 and while the difference is noticeable, it isn’t an oh-my-God difference. What is very noticeable is the 120hz refresh on the viewfinder which eliminates image tearing and lag. I’m also happy to see the return of the electronic level as a viewfinder and LCD overlay. Unlike its predecessors that display the last image shot in a rapid (but lagging) slide show during burst shooting, the A6300 offers a real-time live viewfinder display at 8 frames per second with full auto-exposure and focus tracking that makes action shooting much easier. It really brings EVF tech one step closer to eliminating the need for any optical component to the viewfinder beyond letting light in through the lens.

 

3. Silent Shutter Mode: It is truly silent. Its potential for use in a solemn situations like wedding ceremonies is pretty awesome. I did some research on the tech behind it and found an interesting article related to the A7x series cameras that warn of the time it takes to read out the image once the electronic second shutter is triggered. If panning aggressively or if a subject were to move suddenly an effect similar to the “jell-o legs” in CMOS video may manifest. Concerned, I went out and did some testing and found that though setting the shutter to silent limits burst shooting to “Low”, even aggressive panning didn’t distort vertical lines in any of the situations I tried. My guess is that the electronic second curtain terminates the exposure very quickly and the 1/20 sec. or so for readout and reset for a single frame, while taking a little extra time, is done after the exposure is recorded and the distortion doesn’t come into play as it does in video.

 

4. Build: Not a tank but definitely, at least, an IED-resistant Humvee. Reminiscent of the NEX-7, actually. The magnesium alloy feels solid (but so does the A6000’s polycarbonate) and its pebbled texture is somehow, “comfortable”. The grip now has a slight indentation at the bottom on the lens side right where your middle and ring fingers rest. The indentation on the grip sharpens the ridge a bit and makes it slightly easier for my medium-sized hand to hold (IMHO). The body is 4mm thicker front to back than the A6000 and along with the extra 2 ounces of heft makes the camera feel a little more substantial but unless you have a body in each hand, the additional weight isn’t really noticeable. Except for the aforementioned AF/MF switch, the controls are identical. The added weather sealing just ices the cake.

 

5. Sensor: Another evolutionary rather than revolutionary list of improvements. The shallower photosites made possible by using copper rather than aluminum in the sensor circuitry should improve light gathering a bit (demonstrated + 1 stop-ish) and compatibility with wide-angle lenses (theoretically). Copper wire is a better conductor than aluminum which may explain the much-reduced or even eliminated overheating with video that has been reported. (I suspect something buried in the extra 4mm thickness of the body may play a part in that improvement as well). The big thing is the phase-detect autofocus array and associated image analysis for tracking and overall speed. Of all the improvements, this could be the One Big Thing when looking for a reason to choose the A6300 over its older sibling.

 

That’s it for now. I’ll be doing some shooting this weekend and will post some results.

[havoc315]

Kensico Reservoir by Adam Brown, on Flickr

[gopro63]

nce.waitin to see some cruise shots

[havoc315]

nce.waitin to see some cruise shots

 

Next cruise is in August. Debating what gear to take on the trip. I actually think I won't use the A6300 very much on the cruise ship. I'll bring my D750 for that, particularly for the low light capabilities. I'm more likely to carry the A6300 on excursions, where the low weight is a benefit. (The A6300 with the 10-18, and maybe the 24 and/or 50).

 

It is 5 months away... 7 day cruise, 4 days at Disney World, and I'm struggling to decide what gear to bring! I don't really want to fill more than 1 camera bag, but I may end up with some stuff in a suitcase, and just carry what I need on a day to day basis.

 

I'm not leaning towards:

A6300 + 10-18 + 24/1.8 + 70-200/4 (the 70-200/4 is really just for 1 day at Disney Animal Kingdom) + gorillapod

D750 + 24-70/2.8 + 45/1.8 + speedlight.

Maybes: Regular tripod. Nikon 18-35. Nikon 85/1.8 (also for use on the A6300 with adapter).

[pierces]

A6300 did Disneyland last night. Worst light possible but still had a great time as a few good photos.

 

1/50s - f/5 - ISO100

 

1/160s - f/5 - ISO640

 

1/60s - f/4 - ISO4000

 

1/60s - f/5.6 - ISO2000

 

1/80s - f/5.6 - ISO800

 

1/10s - f/5.6 - ISO6400

 

The autofocus simply rocks!

 

The rest are here: http://galleries.pptphoto.com/disney201603

 

 

Dave

Edited March 19, 2016 by pierces

[havoc315]

Crunchy bread by Adam Brown, on Flickr

[havoc315]

White Plains Starbucks by Adam Brown, on Flickr

[janmcn]

Adam...thanks SO much for this report!!! You are experimenting with the Sony the way I want someone to.

I shoot with Canons (but won't hold that against you or anyone else) but the sheer weight of them makes me want to find a less weighty substitute, especially for traveling. However, I just cannot give up the IQ I am used to with a Canon 5D3 and "L" lenses. (The Canon 7D2 will be sold to fund any new camera.)

 

Love all the various image examples you've given and the tests you've done to put it through its paces.

 

I do a lot of wildlife, so want to be able to use it for that, so your BIF shots helped me see what it can do there.

 

Any suggestions for lenses? I don't think you have the 70-200 G series...which one do you have?

 

Keep your comments (and those of others!) coming...I'm enjoying this thread!

[havoc315]

Adam...thanks SO much for this report!!! You are experimenting with the Sony the way I want someone to.

I shoot with Canons (but won't hold that against you or anyone else) but the sheer weight of them makes me want to find a less weighty substitute, especially for traveling. However, I just cannot give up the IQ I am used to with a Canon 5D3 and "L" lenses. (The Canon 7D2 will be sold to fund any new camera.)

 

Love all the various image examples you've given and the tests you've done to put it through its paces.

 

I do a lot of wildlife, so want to be able to use it for that, so your BIF shots helped me see what it can do there.

 

Any suggestions for lenses? I don't think you have the 70-200 G series...which one do you have?

 

Keep your comments (and those of others!) coming...I'm enjoying this thread!

 

I have the 70-200/4 G. It's quite good for a zoom lens, but I'm spoiled by zooms.

 

Of course the IQ won't match your 5d3, you are comparing aps-c to full frame. But the difference may be smaller than you'd expect.

 

You have some very good fortune shooting Canon-- your lenses should adapt very well on the a6300. In the next week or 2, im going to try adapting some Nikon lenses. But reports suggest Canon lenses adapt far better. Get the Metabones IV adapter and try your Canon telephoto lenses.

You should keep most AF functions. You keep AF-S and AF-c, keep face detect. You lose eye-AF, you lose lock-on tracking, but you can use regular depth tracking. Reports are mixed, depending on the lenses. On the a7rii, reports suggest long telephoto lenses hunt a bit when adapted. Too early to say whether the a6300 will be better or worse.

I suspect native longer telephoto lenses will be released by Sony in the next year. It's the big remaining hole in their lineup.

For now, you're limited to 200mm, or adapting lenses.

[pierces]

I finished fiddling with button customization and settled on Focus Assist for C1 and Silent Shutter for C2. Naturally I started looking for other sources of fun. What I found is that the Drive, ISO and Exposure Compensation access on the four-way nav had redundant entries in the Fn menu. I replaced them with a few items left out in button customization that I would I still have to dig in the main menu to get to. Now Auto ISO Minimum Shutter Speed, Face Smile Detect, Image Quality and Finder Refresh are easily accessed.

 

 

Liking this camera.

 

Dave

[havoc315]

I have the 70-200/4 G. It's quite good for a zoom lens, but I'm spoiled by zooms.

 

Of course the IQ won't match your 5d3, you are comparing aps-c to full frame. But the difference may be smaller than you'd expect.

 

You have some very good fortune shooting Canon-- your lenses should adapt very well on the a6300. In the next week or 2, im going to try adapting some Nikon lenses. But reports suggest Canon lenses adapt far better. Get the Metabones IV adapter and try your Canon telephoto lenses.

You should keep most AF functions. You keep AF-S and AF-c, keep face detect. You lose eye-AF, you lose lock-on tracking, but you can use regular depth tracking. Reports are mixed, depending on the lenses. On the a7rii, reports suggest long telephoto lenses hunt a bit when adapted. Too early to say whether the a6300 will be better or worse.

I suspect native longer telephoto lenses will be released by Sony in the next year. It's the big remaining hole in their lineup.

For now, you're limited to 200mm, or adapting lenses.

 

Long Canon lenses apparently adapt pretty well.

 

http://pmrphoto.blogspot.be/2016/03/sony-a6300-with-canon-ef300mm-f4l-is.html

[pierces]

A6300 - Sony 18-105 f/4

 

1/60s - f/4 - ISO4000

 

Onboard flash bounced straight up off the ceiling

 

Easter Bunnies.

 

 

 

Dave

[zackiedawg]

Adam...thanks SO much for this report!!! You are experimenting with the Sony the way I want someone to.

 

I do a lot of wildlife, so want to be able to use it for that, so your BIF shots helped me see what it can do there.

 

Any suggestions for lenses? I don't think you have the 70-200 G series...which one do you have?

 

Though I don't yet have my hands on the A6300, I do a ton of wildlife and bird shooting, as it's a primary pursuit of mine for many years. I have been using the A6000 along with the FE70-200mm F4 G OSS lens combo, and it is a wonderful combo for birding, especially BIF. Of course, you don't have as much reach - but depending on where you shoot, BIF often is done with closer birds and medium focal lengths, so you may find the 300mm full-frame equivalent is enough (here in Florida, it's no problem as most birds in flight I shoot are within 50 feet). I also shoot with a DSLR combo, but I find the A6000 generally a faster, better, and more reliable bird-in-flight system - light, easy to maneuver, extremely fast initial lock on, and quite tenacious AF-C focusing...plus that nice fast continuous frame rate (I tend to use 6fps most of the time, only occasionally using the 11fps mode).

 

The A6300 should be a touch better overall than the A6000, so if the A6000 is this good, I can only imagine the A6300 will be every bit as good and then better. Still, since it's a similar focus system and sensor, in a very similar body, I thought it might be useful for you to see wildlife and bird examples with the combo - this gallery is strictly shots taken with the FE70-200mm F4 lens - many BIF examples:

http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/sony_fe70200f4

 

I'm looking forward to finding an A6300 back in stock body-only soon - I've got the money burning a hole in my pocket waiting to get one!

[pierces]

I finished fiddling with button customization and settled on Focus Assist for C1 and Silent Shutter for C2. Naturally I started looking for other sources of fun. What I found is that the Drive, ISO and Exposure Compensation access on the four-way nav had redundant entries in the Fn menu. I replaced them with a few items left out in button customization that I would I still have to dig in the main menu to get to. Now Auto ISO Minimum Shutter Speed, Face Smile Detect, Image Quality and Finder Refresh are easily accessed.

 

 

Liking this camera.

 

Dave

 

How I could have overlooked this option on the A6000, I have no idea. Not sure if I should be happy that I was able to modify my A6000 Fn menu or sad that it took me almost 2 years to discover that I could.

 

Dave

[havoc315]

I can vouch for the A6300 AF system for BIF in with a6300. Surprisingly high hit rate. But the lens is short when the birds aren't too close, or smaller birds. And while with a full frame camera and a good lens, I'm comfortable with 100% crops if necessary, I don't love the 100% crops from the A6300 + 70-200/4.

 

Some recent birds, when shooting raw:

 

Seagull in Flight by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

(not heavily cropped.. perfect AF, really nailed it)

 

DSC01337.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

(not heavily cropped, looking pretty good)

 

DSC01077.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

(heavily cropped, ISO 1000, ... results eh)

 

DSC01062.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

[pierces]

In stock, body only at Amazon.

 

3/28/16 - 12:20 PM PDT

 

Pre-order body only at B&H with an expected date of 4/4/16.

 

Dave

Edited March 28, 2016 by pierces

[havoc315]

Sony A6300 + Commlite Nikon AF adapter (kinda works, depending on lens) + Nikon 300mm / f 4.

 

DSC01909.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

DSC01924.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

DSC01922.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

[tommui987]

sony a6300 + nikon af adapter (kinda works, depending on lens) + nikon 300mm / f 4.

 

wow!