Hands on with Sony’s a6300 and GM lenses
 |
At a press event in New York City, Sony unveiled a new mirrorless camera and three new lenses – but not just any mirrorless camera, and not just any lenses. The Sony a6300 is the much-anticipated followup to the very successful a6000. And for its full-frame range, Sony introduced a new lens class: G Master. The company has placed the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS, FE 85mm F1.4 GM and FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM in a category unto themselves, with an emphasis on resolving power and bokeh. We spent some brief moments with all of the new hardware – take a look.
Sony a6300
 |
Front and center of this morning’s announcements is the a6300. Boasting a newly designed 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor, the camera’s most impressive feature is arguably its 425 phase-detect AF points with ‘Advanced 4D Focus.’
The a6300’s 4K video tech is impressive too. The camera reads the equivalent of 6K’s worth of data from its sensor and downsizes it to 4K/UHD – without pixel binning – which promises a big boost in video quality.
Sony a6300
 |
Sony stuck with a familiar design when shaping the a6300, including these top plate mode and command dials, which will look very familiar to a6000 users.
Sony a6300
 |
It may look like its predecessor on the outside, but the a6300 uses a sturdier magnesium-alloy construction, with weather-sealing.
Sony a6300
 |
The rear panel looks much the same as the a6000 as well, except for the addition of a switch toggling between AEL and AF/MF. The tilting 3″ 921k-dot LCD is still present, and still not a touchscreen, but the viewfinder has been significantly upgraded to a 2.36 million-dot OLED panel.
Sony a6300
 |
A pop-up flash is another welcome carryover from the a6000. With a little pressure, the flash can be tilted backward at a slight angle for a bounce effect.
Sony a6300
 |
The Sony a6300 is expected to ship in March, and will sell for $ 1000 body-only or $ 1150 paired with a 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 power zoom kit lens (not the more expensive 16-70mm F4 seen here).
Sony a6300
 |
Autofocus speed was a strength of the a6000, and the a6300 brings the next evolution of that system with some lofty claims including focus acquisition in as little as 0.05 sec. The a6300 also boasts a minimal blackout period between shots, and can manage to supply a live view feed at up to 8fps – a major breakthrough for mirrorless cameras.
Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM
 |
The first of Sony’s three ultra premium ‘G Master’ lenses is the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM. The focus (no pun intended) of the GM lenses is resolution and bokeh, courtesy of high quality glass and a new XA (extreme aspherical) lens element. All three lenses are weather-sealed.
The 24-70 has 18 elements in 13 groups which include the aforementioned XA element, as well as ED and Super ED elements. A Nano AR coating reduces flare and ghosting. The lens also features nine circular aperture blades.
Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM
 |
The minimum focus distance on the 24-70 is 0.38m/15in. with a max magnification of 0.24x. The lens uses 82mm filters. Control-wise the lens has switches for focus mode and zoom lock as well as a stop focus button.
The 24-70mm F2.8 GM will be available in March for $ 2200.
Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM
 |
Next is the long-awaited fast 85mm prime. This constant F1.4 lens has a whopping 11 circular aperture blades – the most of any Sony lens yet – as well as XD and three ED elements.
The lens’ Super Sonic wave Motor uses a pair of position sensors to ensure accurate focus.
Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM
 |
As you can see, the 85mm F1.4 GM has a manual aperture dial (with switchable click-stops), AF/MF switch, and focus hold button.
You’ll be able to pick up this monster of a lens in March for $ 1800.
Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS
 |
The 70-200mm F2.8 steps into Sony’s FE line as the first fast constant aperture tele-zoom, looking the part of a sports shooter’s lens. Sadly, working samples were not available for press to use at the launch event, and its price is still TBD.
Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS
 |
What we do know is that it will have 23 elements in 18 groups, which includes one XD, four ED and two Super ED elements. Like the 85mm lens, the 70-200 has 11 circular aperture blades. It uses two focus motors to optimize speed and accuracy. The front elements have a ring-type SSM while the rear parts use a double linear motor. The minimum focus distance is just 0.96m/38in.
Controls are as you’d expect from a high-end tele-zoom. There are switches for AF/MF, focus distance limit, image stabilization, and IS mode. There are two IS modes: standard (mode 1) and panning (mode 2). The lens also has a zoom lock and buttons for holding focus.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)