Sony A6300 Camera Review

What is that ?

The A6300 is the latest in a long line of APS-crop sensor mirrorless cameras from Sony. The A6300 follows the NEX-5 -> NEX-6 -> A6000 iteration line, and gives way to a high-end model. But for now, the A6300 is Sony's top-of-the-line crop-sensor mirrorless camera.

With a 24MP Exmor sensor, on-sensor phase detection, and a built-in 2.36m OLED EVF that can run at 120fps, there's a lot to like just in the base spec line. Throw in a 921k-dot tilting LCD screen, both a built-in flash and an accessory shoe, plus a few extra user controls, and we've got a pretty well-rounded camera.

Yet we are not finished. Dust and moisture sealing has been placed in a magnesium alloy body (key parts pictured above). We also have built-in Wi-Fi with NFC.

On the video side, the A6300 will do full 4K (UHD) sensor at 24/25 fps, or UHD 30P with sensor cropping. There's a microphone jack, but no headphone monitor jack. Sony has added a ton of video features, including S-Log2 and S-Log3 gamma, timecode, zebra stripes, and more.

Before continuing, let's see what is different between the old A6000 and the new A6300:

Phase-detection autofocus has been expanded from 179 points to 425 points, and further enhancements have been made to the features and performance of the autofocus system.

The EVF went from 1.44m dot to 2.36m dot and got a faster refresh option for shooting continuous action. The new electronic viewfinder has 0.7x magnification (and has diopter correction capability).

4K (UHD) video has been added, and 1080P at 120 fps has also been added.

The new camera size is slightly deeper (0.1" or 4mm) and slightly heavier (2.2 ounces heavier [60g]). Additionally, the housing is weather sealed.

Other than that, things stay pretty much the same between the A6000 and A6300: same tilting LCD, same shutter (1/4000 max), same 1/160 flash sync speed, same battery (although the A6300 fires more shots from it at 400 rounds CIPA). There are a few changes to the menu structure from the A6000 to the A6300, but frankly this didn't fix the menu issues other than being able to switch more easily from an A6300 model to an A7 Mark model II.

Some wonders if the sensor is the same or different. I would say same basic structure and photodiode, slightly different on-board electronics, including the use of copper wiring for data and power lines, which slightly lowered the already low Exmor profile. In other words, don't expect a huge difference in dynamic range and other capture properties; most of the changes seem to relate to the pixel sets for video and focus and the speed at which they can be processed. ISO remains at 100 at 25,600, with an extension to 51,200 in a pinch. The data is saved in raw files in Sony's old "uncompressed format", which is actually compressed ;~). The A6300 lacks the truly uncompressed format that was added to the A7 Mark II series, and so can suffer from edge artifacts in very high contrast areas.

The built-in flash is a very small pop up that won't erase the hoods of many Sony lenses. The built-in flash boasts a GN of 6m at ISO 100, which is somewhere between wimpy and useful. The big downside to using flash on this camera is the 1/160 flash sync speed, which is slow for a high-end camera like this.

In continuous shooting, the A6300 can manage 11 fps down to around 22 frames for raw files, double that for JPEGs. With the new faster EVF mode active, you can get 8 fps with essentially a live feed of what the sensor sees. In other words, no more slideshow effect in continuous shooting. This makes it easier to follow the action, although Sony's handling of this is a bit like those old flickering silent movies in action.

Sony seems to have finally abandoned its Memory Stick aspirations: the A6300 is SD only. But Sony is still continuing with its PlayMemories agglomeration, which includes the ability to control the camera from a smartphone and download and purchase programs that expand the camera's capabilities. Unfortunately, some of the useful apps, like time-lapse, aren't built in, while most of them still aren't particularly useful. Sony really needs to outsource app development to third parties if they want things that really show off that ability.

The general “style” of the A6300 is somewhere between what we call bar of soap and rangefinder. Call it a Rangy bar of soap. The soap bar connotation implies a basic rectangular box which is usually slightly slippery due to the use of plastic or metals as the outer material. Sony manages to overcome this with a reasonably sized grip covered in a rubbery material.

At the top we have two dials (Mode and Command) and a customizable button next to the shutter button. On the back we have the usual directional pad with a control ring, plus five additional buttons, three of which can be customized. As with many small camera models, Sony overloads the directional pad with button functions (which can also be customized). Virtually all buttons and controls are small and hard to find with fat fingers.

The A6300 is made in Thailand and costs $1,000 (body only).

How's it going ? ?

I'll admit up front that drawing a conclusion about the A6300 is going to be a bit tricky. Sony has packed a fairly large APS sensor into a very small package, as they have done since the early NEX models that predate the A#### models. Something has to give in the mix.

To Sony's credit, they put the tripod hot shoe and socket in line with the lens and the tripod mount is away from the battery compartment door, which means our options for the mounting plates on the camera are better than some previous models.

The tilting LCD screen and left-aligned EVF aren't going to elicit any complaints either.

As usual in camera handling, it comes down to controls and menus.

There is good news with orders. We have quite a few of them, and very extensive user customization with many of them. The best thing Sony has done is the position and design of the AF/MF and AEL switch/button. This falls neatly under the right thumb position and becomes a critical control for me. You can customize the button, and the button can have different functions with the switch position. Good.

I programmed AF-On to the AF/MF position and AEL lock is maintained for the AEL position (although Zebra is another very useful feature to put here). One thing about this switch/button though: I noticed that when using the camera on a Blackrapid strap for a period of time, the switch was tending to a random position due to handling: I had to check it every time I took the camera out for the shot.

The power switch is right there at the shutter button, which I think is pretty much every serious photographer's favorite location, because that's where we can find it with our fingers when we put the camera to our face. Also, the Sony version of this switch has clear on/off positions, not the imprecise, soggy switches that Nikon put on the Nikon 1 models.

From there, things go downhill. The control dial on the top plate is in an awkward place (and you're more likely to press the red video record button if you start searching for it by touch). Additionally, it can only be programmed to switch its use to manual exposure mode (either shutter speed or aperture; the other element is controlled by the ring around the directional pad). So we have a command dial that doesn't do much for us.

The main custom buttons are on the upper plate to the right of the trigger and in the lower right corner of the rear of the body. They are hard to find by touch, and even with the lightest gloves they will be impossible to find by touch. Since we have 61 (!) activities that we can program these buttons for, they need to be better placed and easier to find.

Overall, most user controls feel a bit cheap and not fully thought out on the A6300, an issue that has plagued earlier models in the crop sensor line as well. I also like the lens mount release button less and less as I use Sony A-series cameras. It fits snugly in the area between the lens and the grip , and while that protects it from accidental pressing, it seems to me that it's the wrong place. With some mounted targets, the position is also difficult to achieve with large hands.

Although many people are tempted to use the A6300 one-handed while shooting, don't. I'm completely comfortable with attaching the lens with my left hand, and given the left side EVF, what I see in my use and that of others is only one hand l camera introduces shaking during shooting. this SI system to solve this problem, but I strongly believe that SI should be disabled unless necessary (see below).

One thing I still don't like is that most buttons don't "wake up" the camera when it's gone into power saving mode after a shot. Below I describe the beneficial use of the Fn button, but I actually have to press two buttons to access the Fn button functions if the screen is powered Note to Sony: All, or at least most, of the buttons should reactivate the camera. Okay, I know why you don't: you're worried about accidentally pressing buttons while carrying rain battery or setting the camera randomly. Well, here's my take: you're not paralyzing manipulation to solve a different problem.

Sony's menu system is a mess, frankly. It's starting to bother me more and more with each new iteration of the camera, and complex menus like those on the A6300 really benefit from a touchscreen, as I've found with Nikon DSLRs. There are 28 menus on the A6300. Ok, technically the menu pages

, but it's as if they were individual menus, because the up/down steps don't scroll you to the next menu page when you press the end button (they go to tab then return to the menu). Indeed, while the tabs are easily accessible (hint: enable the Tile menu, although that might give you NEX deja vu), I bet you most people never use them. They just flip through the pages until they find what they want to tune.

Also, like the Olympus menus, the Sony menus are starting to have acronyms and names that just don't fully describe the setting, or are just confusingly named, and there's no help system for decipher anything for you. Additionally, we have focus settings on several pages, and each of these pages has other settings. Apparently, someone at Sony HQ is rolling a 54-sided die to decide which item appears on which page of the Camera Settings menu. Also, they think the world prefers side scrolling to vertical scrolling.

This is largely the hangover of the NEX. Sony tried to do something different and innovative with the NEX UI, got slapped for it, and rather than

to fix it completely

, they merged it with another UI which was better received. I don't consider Sony's menu system to be nearly streamlined or optimized. I have to put a lot of time aside every time I get a new Sony camera now to make sure I have everything set up the way I want the camera to shoot, and small menu changes and changes associated with the not always clear naming just makes it a pain. And why the hell are we getting abbreviations when there's plenty of display space for the full, descriptive name?!?! Also, "key" is not the same as "button", Sony.

The sad thing is that the menu systems should be easy to fix and improve when constantly flipping through the cameras. Still, that's not really happening at Sony (or Olympus). When Sony's marketing department really starts talking to customers and wonders why they're getting "camera looks geeky to me" responses, guess where they should be looking?

I said it would be difficult. It's because

once i have configured the A6300 as i want

, I usually don't have much to report when it comes to problem handling. The controls are tiny and some of the buttons I programmed are hard to find by touch. The control wheel doesn't do much. Still, I tend to shoot, shoot, and shoot and the camera tends to disappear, which is exactly what should happen.

The big handling disconnect on the A6300 happens when I want to change something. Luckily, there's the programmable Fn button, which acts as a quick menu for most things you'd want to change if you set it up correctly.

So overall handling is good, once the camera is set up correctly. Not optimal, but good for use. Getting it there is a bit of a pain, however, as it requires diving into the menu system and understanding what you're setting up.

How does it work?

Autofocus< /p>

: The big question that everyone wants answered is whether Sony's claims of DSLR-level autofocus performance are accurate. I would say yes and no.

Admittedly, the A6300 improves on the already very good autofocus performance of the A6000. Indeed, the A6300 definitely improves in the weakest area of ​​the A6000: tracking erratic subject movements. Also, the face detection feature can be weird in many situations, at least with humans.

Single-servo autofocus is fast and reliable. In some ways more reliable than a DSLR, as Sony uses a final 'contrast detection' stage to optimize initial focus. Continuous autofocus is generally fast, but slightly less reliable. I would say that Sony still relies on depth of field rather than phase detection decision correction in continuous autofocus, and this is most evident on very erratic subject movements. Better than before, but still not perfect.

Aside: I already wrote it. Sensor phase detection has poorer discrimination of the actual plane of focus than the mirror system phase detection used by DSLRs. But it has the advantage of being almost instantaneous on exposure and available over a wider area of ​​the frame. Sony seems to let some of that lower discrimination come into play in continuous autofocus, and sometimes skip contrast detection correction. Thus, I see very small gaps in the focus plane in continuous autofocus on fast-moving subjects that I don't see on more static subjects and single-frame shooting. Ironically, DSLRs tend to be about the opposite: they don't correct any phase detection errors on a single shot, but they certainly track movement better and with fewer misfires.

But probably the biggest improvement isn't the focus system itself, but the EVF. The old continuous shooting shortcoming slideshow issue with the A6000 is gone, although it will set you back to 8fps if you set the new advanced viewfinder feature (you should). It's much easier to keep the A6300 glued to your moving subject while looking through the viewfinder than on virtually any other mirrorless camera (the Samsung NX1 is an exception).

Buffer

: 21 or 22 raw files, roughly. Coupled with the 11 fps capability, we're under two seconds. Even at 8 fps with the continuously updated viewfinder, we're barely 2.5 seconds into the action. Those who rely on spray-and-pray type shooting probably won't be happy with this. But I found it more than enough.

JPEG

: there's no perfect way to compare JPEGs between cameras, as each manufacturer seems to set default settings that aren't quite optimal, and the range of things you can change from these default values ​​is different. So I'll give you my observations with the default settings compared to another 24MP APS sensor camera I know quite well (eg Nikon D7200), in addition to adding some deviations from the settings by default.

Sony, like many, tends to tweak its hues slightly. It appears green in yellows, red in magentas. There's nothing wrong with that, although I personally prefer no shade shifting and no twisting. I've long indicated a preference for Nikon's Neutral Picture Control, to which I'll add my own color changes, thanks.

Still, on the whole, Sony doesn't shift as many complications in the color model as Canon and Fujifilm, for example. They also don't add as much contrast and saturation as Olympus. I can live with Sony's standard and neutral creative styles, less so with their Vivid and other choices.

Sony also seems to be pretty high on the 'fix' side. They put more sharpening by default than I'm used to with Nikon, and more noticeable noise reduction. To be fair, however, Nikon puts too little sharpness in its default JPEGs.

At modest ISO values, say up to 1600, Sony's choices are good and produce crisp, well-rendered images. But colors and edges break down faster at higher ISOs, in my opinion. To me Sony's high ISO JPEGs (eg 6400 and above) just have too much processing, and they look a bit plastic and artificial. Color fringing is also starting to be a problem on small details.

Compared to the high-ISO Nikon D7200, the Sony's color integrity seems a little weak, with some colors, like green, darkening faster due to noise build-up. The Sony shows slightly more detail than the Nikon at similar settings, but this comes at the expense of revealing color fringing. The Nikon has uglier edge artifacts when they show up, Sony's ugliest detail. You can't really win this game.

This does not mean that ISO 6400 is not usable on the Sony. He is. But I suggest you pay close attention to the Contrast, Sharpness, and High ISO NR settings and look for a combination that isn't as obvious in how it affects the data, even if it means a bit more noise in the image. 'picture .

Overall I'd put the Sony A6300's JPEGs on par with the Nikon D7200's, assuming you don't just let the camera run on autopilot all the time and find your own mix to minimize lags and artifacts. I will say that shooting JPEGs with a Sony feels more natural to me coming from a Nikon than say a Canon, Fujifilm or Olympus.

Raw

: the Sony A6300 looks a bit like my raw shooting D7200. Unfortunately, if you're using an Adobe converter, you'll see slight differences due to invisible corrections Adobe makes before the sliders are displayed. Yet even with these differences, the A6300 and D7200 are more like twins than siblings.

Indeed I would tend to say that any difference I see could even be a sample discrepancy (they don't share the exact same sensor, but they do share the same sense and sensor structures and much of the same sensor technology).

Noise up to ISO 800 is present, but mainly luminance and with good randomness. At ISO 1600, color noise becomes significant enough that you want to reduce it, but it's still very controllable without destroying your detail. ISO 3200 is about as far as I push my D7200, and I'd say the A6300 is about the same. I think I see a little more color noise at ISO 6400 and higher on the Sony, but again, it could just be something other than the sensor itself. The Sony A6300 tends to heat up more than the D7200 in constant shooting, which will impact noise propagation.

Overall, the A6300's image quality is on par with the best of high-end crop-sensor DSLRs, which is exactly where you'd expect it to be. I wish Sony had brought their truly lossless raw option to the A6300.

Last words

Sony had a winner in the A6000, and they clearly improved it in the A6300. For me, the only significant improvement is the EVF: it looks better and the new fast driving mode helps with continuous filming.

Beyond that, however, I find most marketing proclamations don't show up. quite at the volume at which they were manufactured. Focusing, for example, is a bit better than the already good A6000, but it's no match for DSLRs. As with the A7 Mark II models, what I find in continuous autofocus is that Sony tolerates more "near misses" than I do, and that I get on my pro DSLRs. On the other hand, things like face and eye detection on the A6300 are sometimes useful features that my DSLRs don't have in their focus system.

Overall, I find the A6300 to be very believable. and useful camera, though. I used it as my main camera on a recent trip, which ended with my coverage of the NAB convention in Las Vegas. It's a great little travel camera, and with the right lenses it's still compact but capable.

It will take you a while to customize the settings and controls to your liking—the defaults are a messy hodgepodge—but once I did that, the camera started to fade and I could just focus. on this big and bright EVF.

What will stop a few people is the design. Unlike Fujifilm and Olympus, who are apparently regressing their designs to the movie era, Sony clings to a fancier, overstuffed button structure. The controls look like a high-end compact camera, not a high-end prosumer camera, and a lot of people judge on looks alone, unfortunately.

If they do, they'll be missing out on one of the best mirrorless camera options out there, certainly one of the best at the $1,000 price tag.

Recommended (2016, 2017, 2018)

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