Sony Alpha a6300 Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body Only) by Sony

This camera is usually compared with the Cannon... humm... seriously, can Cannon and Nikon come up with names that actually sound different? They all sound the same I can't tell which is which! D500? D5000? D5? 5D? 50D? or is it 500D? Anyway, honestly I have never owned a DSLR my self, I have used a few and seriously, they suck. The biggest problem I have with DSLRs is there is no live view. Yea, people talk about how OVF is "what you see is what you get", well except it isn't. You don't see exposure, you don't see depth of field, and you don't see shutter speed. With live view, you actually see all of that. So you don't have to take the picture and review it to see if you have blown highlights, it's right there on live view, with zebra! Also you can't review your images in the OVF, you have to cup your hand around the LCD which just looks stupid. The only other serious comparison with this camera I can think of is the Fujifilm.... man why do these manufacturers have to name different products with the exact same letter and number? Is it X-10 or XT-10 or X-pro? Anyway, it's their crop sensor mirrorless. It's really great, and has better kit lenses. Except it's bigger and more expensive, with basically the same image quality. So I don't find that very attractive. I don't know what's with the complaints with battery life. I took this out on a tour from noon to 9 PM and I came home with 50% battery left. Sure I don't take that many pictures, I only took about 200 shots, but still, you can basically take 400 shots on one charge, I've never taken that many photos in one day, ever. If you are really hard core professional and you need to take 1000 shots a day, guess what? Just get one of those battery packs for smartphones and you're good to go. The over heating with 4K video however, is true. I never shoot videos that long but I tested it and it did over heat and shut down, after 26 minutes indoors. Obvious it will depend on the enviroment, if you're in the shade outside on a relatively cool day say 24 degrees with some wind, it should be ok for continuous use. But if you let it sit under the sun on a hot day, it'll probably shut down within 10 minutes. No issues with just taking photos though. There is no touchscreen like others have pointed out. So the only way to select AF points is to move it with the arrow pad which is obviously incredibly slow. What you can do instead is use single AF and center spot, aim at the thing you want to focus, focus, and then recompose to take the shot. Yes the EVF is very difficult to use if you have to hood on it and wear glasses. You end up being too far away to see the whole picture. But I don't usually wear glasses so I'm fine with that. I guess you'll just have to take off your glasses, it has built-in correction for vision problems of course so that won't be an issue. Image quality is great like others have pointed out. However I have to be honest here, It isn't radically better than my 5 year old NEX-5N which has a 14mp sensor. The linear increase in resolution isn't that noticeable, but the larger pixels on the 5N actually makes it slightly brighter and has similar high ISO noise performance. I think if you had a 24MP NEX, this will be a noticeable improvement, but if you had a 14MP NEX camera, raw image quality wise, it'll be more or less the same.

Retiring my DSLR and moving to the Sony mirrorless system has been the most liberating event in my decades of photography since digital and autofocus before that. Same (now better) quality and performance with half the weight. Traveller's dream! I currently shoot with an A6000 with a NEX-3C as a backup/second body in the travel kit. Many comments are based on comparing the A6300 to its older sibling. So. 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 could be a done deal since the improvements in that department make it one of the most capable part-time video cameras in its price range. If not, your decision may be a bit more difficult. Not because the A6300 is in any way lame, but because the A6000 is still to be considered a fantastic camera. After a few 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. Two small 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. The significant things: 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. Did I mention fast? The A6000 and the 55-210 kit lens wan't bad for outdoor action shooting but the A6300 makes me want to pop for the 70-200 f/4 and go find some flying birds or something. 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 DMF mode 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 lenses like 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 feels “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 improve compatibility with wide-angle lenses (theoretically) as well as light gathering. 10x better in low light than the A6000? Sadly, no. However, the changes in the sensor and processor have made about a one-stop improvement IMHO. I can set the auto-ISO to 6400 now with little to fear where the A6000's ISO6400 shots were hit and miss as far as usability. Copper wire is a better conductor than aluminum which may contribute to the significantly faster readout that enables 120fps in 1080p recording. The big thing is the phase-detect autofocus array and associated image analysis for tracking and overall speed. There is still hunting in low-contrast, dim environments but the ability to find and lock focus is much improved. Of all the improvements, this could be the One Big Thing when looking for a reason to choose the A6300 over its older sibling. 6. Customization: The buttons and Fn menu can now be customized to host almost any shooting or playback function. After I finished fiddling with button customization I have settled on Focus Assist for C1 by the shutter release and Silent Shutter for C2 on the back. I then turned to the Fn menu and found that the Drive, ISO and Exposure Compensation access on the four-way nav had redundant entries in the grid as did the top-dial-adjustable Shooting Mode. 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 (another neat new feature), Face/Smile Detect, Image Quality and Finder Refresh Rate are easily accessed. ***Update*** Not sure how I missed the Fn settings feature in the A6000 menu but now I have set my A6000 to match the A6300. Live and learn! (And RTFM!) 7. Video: Except for occasional short clips of no more than 5 minutes, I don't do video. If I did and wanted to shoot important video of a wedding or something, I'd buy an actual video camera that doesn't legally have to legally terminate shooting at 29 minutes and 59 seconds to avoid import taxes. The A6300 is a stills camera with remarkable video capability, not a dedicated video camera. I may play with some of the video features simply because they are there but I bought this camera for the solid still image feature set. I've only had the camera for a week so far but my initial impression pretty much confirms the research I did before ordering it. I have taken it out for a spin at Disneyland and despite the poor light and 16-50 kit lens (jacket pocket camera), I came back with some very nice images. So far, it's a definite keeper for me! I will update if I come across anything new. The 18-105 f/4 G arrived a couple of days ago and I'm eager to see what it can do. ***Update - six months in*** Since the first review I've shot about 10K images and my first good impression has only gotten better. The choice of the 18-105 f/4 G was a good one too. Despite its size, it spends more time on the A6300 than any other lens. The improved live-view and extra stop of clean ISO really came in handy shooting a wedding in June and even though it was about 102° and humid for an outdoor wedding (yeah, I know...), I had no overheating issue for stills or bursts (no video). Eye AF is pretty amazing when trying to keep someone in focus on a dance floor and tracking AF is actually useful now. It doesn't feel any different from the A6000 until I shoot with the A6000. As good as the A6000 is (and that is quite good), the A6300 is an obvious upgrade if you use both alternately. Bottom line: I feel my money was well spent. I don't find myself wishing for the next upgrade or feel the need to jump to full-frame right now. The image quality is excellent and being able to carry two cameras and an assortment of lenses in a day pack makes this photographer smile.

amazing camera! I am using this with a sigma mc-11 and sigma 18-35(EF mount) and I am super impressed! amazing quality and it is a very solid built camera that feels great 10/10 would recommended for all filmmakers!

Just so you know where this review is coming from. I'm not a newbee to photography, I've owned an NEX-5N, NEX-6, RX-100, and a few older sony cybershots. I tried Canon and Nikon. I swear I really wanted to like one of them but I've found Sony a much easier camera to use. I've never been let down. My previous camera being an NEX-6 which I've used for over 2 years and couldn't wait for the next upgrade so I jumped on this one as soon as it came out. My biggest struggle with the NEX-6 was autofocus. It wasn't fast enough for me to keep up with my toddlers. I can't tell you how many pictures I've missed because autofocus wasn't fast enough, so it was well worth it for me to step up and pay the premium for this camera. Had I the chance to do it over, I would've purchased the a6000 2.5 years ago instead of the NEX-6, and probably wouldn't have upgraded to the a6300. I say that because I don't shoot video in 4K. After reading other reviews, that's the biggest upgrade from the a6000 to the a6300. Either way, I'm fine with it. I am getting into video, I just don't feel shooting in 4k is necessary just yet. I don't even own a 4k TV, and from what I hear, editing in 4k is a pain the in butt. Sony makes fantastic cameras. I was recently looking into the newly released Nikon D500 and finally I can say Nikon is making a decent camera. However, It's double the cost of this one, and the only advantage I can see is the touchscreen. That's a lie actually, Nikon has cheaper lenses. I mean, having access to a 16-80mm F2.8-4 is pretty remarkable. I really wish Sony had lenses that were comparable. I recently purchased the 18-105mm F4, and it's a great lens. Very bulky, but it does the job and it helps a ton for video so I'm happy. I just wish there was an affordable f2.8 option. Back to the camera. It kinda hit me like a brick when I saw the a6500 was announced. After all, I had been reading rumors for over a year now talking about how the next "a6100" was going to have 5-axis internal stabilization, and was upset that the a6300 didn't include that but I purchased anyway. I would've waited. But I can't complain. I'm happy Sony is making progress and maybe next year I'll purchase the a6500. I have plenty of lenses with OSS so I should be fine. My camera isn't having any of the over heating issues I've read about. That's probably because I don't record in 4k. The only small issue I've come across with my camera is a memory card error. I forgot what it says exactly, something about not reading correctly, but it does read and write just fine. So no complaints. I'm guessing I may be using a wrong memory card. My main type of shooting include, tracking my kids and catching their moments. I enjoy sports photography, especially Volleyball. Volleyball is tricky because I have to shoot close to 1/2000 shutter speed and preferably at F2.8 or as close to that as possible to get enough light since it's always indoors. Also I do portraits for friends and family. I've gotten amazing results with this camera. I usually do that with my 50mmF1.8. It may only be a $250 lens but it's spectacular and I love that lens. I own the sigma 30mm and it's a great second choice for portraits. My next lens will be the sigma F1.4 that was recently released. I also love to pair this camera with my 20mm pancake lens. The camera fits in my pocket when the 20mm is on. I love it! You seriously can't go wrong with this camera, unless you desperately need touchscreen and internal stabilization, then wait for the a6500. Or save yourself $400, maybe more if they drop the price, and buy this one. It's worth it. Plus, What does Canon or Nikon offer that's comparable, in this price range?

Excellent !