{"id":4837,"date":"2014-02-25T11:42:36","date_gmt":"2014-02-25T11:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alinpopescu.eu\/blog\/?p=4837"},"modified":"2016-06-09T16:43:48","modified_gmt":"2016-06-09T16:43:48","slug":"full-review-focus-tests-sony-a6000-beautiful-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alinpopescu.eu\/blog\/full-review-focus-tests-sony-a6000-beautiful-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Full review and focus tests with SONY a6000 – a beautiful dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

Check my Sony A6300<\/a> impressions!<\/h2>\n
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PlayMemories how to<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
afla cum instalezi<\/a> aplicatiile in noul tau aparat, din tari ne-suportate<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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This is my first review in English due to increased interest from outside Romania. Please pardon my English \ud83d\ude42<\/div><\/div>\n
UPDATE:<\/span><\/strong> the Romanian version is . Pentru versiunea in limba Romana .<\/p>\n
UPDATE 2<\/span><\/strong>: due to high demand again, the SONY A7<\/strong> review was translated to English (thanks Mihai for your time and help). Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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I had a beautiful dream last week. All week long.<\/p>\n
It was like this: the very day SONY announced the new a6000<\/strong>, I don’t know by what miracle made possible by the guys at F64<\/a>, I was the first in the country to get one of the few samples available for test, and took it away with me, wherever I saw fit.<\/p>\n
As we all know, dreams are weird and many times when you wake up, you actually don’t want to believe them. But when you wake up, you realise everything was real.<\/p>\n
So real that I couldn’t help but take a shot of it<\/p>\n
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The heir of NEX6 (and at least until we dream nice again, also of NEX7), SONY a6000<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is the most beautiful and successful NEX camera in the series, which is not a NEX anymore :). SONY completely dropped the NEX nomination for its mirrorless cameras, calling everything it will produce from now on an Alpha (\u03b1)\u00a0camera.<\/p>\n
And to keep the dream even more interesting and to make an older dream of mine come true, SONY also quit using the most stupid and intricate Menus and User Interface (the old NEX ones, which I couldn’t bear), in favour of the beautiful A7<\/strong>\/A7r<\/strong> menus (wrote about this camera here<\/a>\u00a0– UPDATE<\/span><\/strong>, now in English), a good practice started with the RX1<\/strong> (you guessed it, I wrote about this one\u00a0here<\/a>)<\/p>\n
What’s new?<\/h1>\n
Major upgrades from the NEX6 you will find almost everywhere you look on a6000<\/strong>, but there are some which attract us almost immediately<\/p>\n
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  • 24,3<\/strong> Mpx\u00a0\u00a0EXMOR APS HD CMOS coupled with the image processor borrowed from his full frame brothers,\u00a0BIONZ X<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Higher ISO filed of values, up to ISO 25.600 (100-25.600<\/strong>)<\/li>\n
  • Hybrid Focusing System (Contrast Detect + Phase Detect) with not least than\u00a0179 phase detect points\u00a0<\/strong>covering 92% of the sensor surface<\/li>\n
  • 11 fps burst rate with continuous focus<\/li>\n
  • NFC<\/strong> & WiFi<\/strong> for greater connectivity<\/li>\n
  • Magnesium alloy body<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    Nothing of all of the above mean anything but marketing selling points unless tested. “Dreams, my friends, dreams” … was what I thought until I put my hands on the camera and started testing everyone of them.<\/p>\n
    What can and can’t do the new a6000?<\/h1>\n
    I’ll start with what the camera can’t do:<\/p>\n
    It can’t cook (even if it can shoot easily kitchen cooking sessions), and also, it cannot disappoint.<\/p>\n
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    SONY a6000 + Carl Zeiss 16-70 mm F4 + 2 Nikon SBs remotely triggered by a small chinese\u00a0device<\/a>, thanks to its multi-hotshoe compatible with ISO standard<\/em><\/p>\n
    I dreamed about those shrimps being so tasty (mean face now).<\/p>\n
    I thought that at least the price will disappoint a little, but looking at those specs and how the camera performs, thinking back on it, I find it almost a bargain, at 649 \u00a3 on Amazon.co.uk (check price<\/a>, or here<\/a>\u00a0at F64)<\/p>\n
    Design & handling<\/h2>\n
    As soon as you’ll get your hands on the a6000<\/strong>, it will inspire confidence, good build quality and it’s impossible not to be attracted by its straight lines. It’s an era of “retro is fantastic” and a6000<\/strong> screams Retro. Here are some comparisons with its bigger brother, the A7 and below with the older NEX6<\/p>\n
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    image source www.imaging-resource.com<\/em><\/p>\n
    Looking at the EVF, I have to point out a few things. First, its resolution was lowered (1.44 mpx compared to 2.35 of the NEX6) and also its physical size. But what may look like a disadvantage was compensated by the display used: a new and improved Tru-Finder OLED which is so bright and incredible in delivering colours and details.<\/p>\n
    When I’ve tested the A7 I said about its EVF that it was the first one I would use instead of an optical one. The one on a6000 is the second. When reviewing an image shot with the a6000 through its EVF, the feeling is just like watching a 3d image, so great the impression was to me.<\/p>\n
    Another thing to point out about the EVF is that the rubber around it, is incredibly rigid and hurts your eyebrows after some hours of shooting with the camera.<\/p>\n
    Even so, I prefered the EVF to the LCD due to the high reflective surface of the last one even in light not so strong. Not the case when you want to shoot from the water level, in case which, the tilting LCD is invaluable.<\/p>\n
    \"\"<\/a>Carl Zeiss 16-70 F4 | 16 mm | F4 | 1\/60s | ISO 3200 Multi Frame Noise Reduction<\/em><\/p>\n
    Speaking of ease of operation, the camera is very customisable by the user’s needs. The two C1 and C2 custom buttons may become anything you need, but an extra is the Fn button and its functions list, which again is very easy to make it “your own”. Not only this, but almost every button on the a6000<\/strong> can be changed, transforming the camera by your needs.<\/p>\n
    What I did find until now very difficult on SONY cameras, was how difficult was to change the focusing point (except models with touch screen) when you were in Flexible Spot focus area. Not anymore.<\/p>\n
    On a6000\u00a0<\/strong>(could be that I missed this on other models?!) it’s easy to change it, by pressing the button inside the back-wheel and then moving it around with the directional, or even faster using the two wheels available on the body, like in the clip below<\/p>\n