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Sony has announced the a6400, an updated 24.2MP mirrorless camera with a flip-up rear touchscreen and the processor and autofocus system ‘borrowed from the a9’.
In many respects the camera resembles an a6300 with a more powerful processor, enhanced autofocus and a more extensively articulated touchscreen, but launched at a slightly lower cost. It also adds the timelapse function that was lost when Sony moved away from offering in-camera apps.
Like previous models it can shoot at up to 11 fps or 8 fps in silent shutter mode, both with full autofocus and exposure capability, but not live view.
Enhanced AF
Most of the enhancements come in the form of autofocus improvements that have been developed for the a9. These include increased speed along with the enhanced ‘real-time tracking’ and animal Eye AF promised in a firmware update for its a9 pro-level sports camera.
Like recent APS-C Sony models it has 425 phase detection points spread out across its sensor. These, combined with the more powerful processor let Sony claim World’s fastest AF (with all the footnotes such claims usually entail). The most obvious differences are that Sony now says its subject recognition and tracking algorithms now include eye and pattern detection, in addition to the distance, color and face detection information they previously worked with. This should lead to more stable, persistent tracking, the company says.
Movie AF tracking is also improved, Sony says. Like the a6300, oversampled 4K video is taken from the full width of the sensor.
The camera also offers an 8-bit version of the Hybrid Log Gamma standard for simple capture of HDR video, allowing the capture and display of a wider range of tones in a natural manner, on the latest TVs. The company only promises compatibility with its own TVs.
The body-only price will be $ 900 in the US, CAN$ 1250 in Canada and €1050 in Europe. This is noticeably less expensive (by $ 100 and €200) than the a6300, which suggests it will sit a little lower in the lineup. Only time will tell whether this will also see it replace the low-cost a6000 model.
Official sample images:
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Sony Announces its Next-generation ?6400 Mirrorless Camera with Real-time Eye Autofocus, Real-time Tracking and World’s Fastest Autofocus
New APS-C Mirrorless Camera Features Excellent Image Quality, Compact Design and Many Advanced Technologies From Sony’s Full-frame Lineup
- World’s Fastest 0.02 seconds AF acquisition speed plus 425 phase-detection and contrast-detection AF points covering approximately 84% of image area
- Advanced Real-time Eye AF
- New Real-time Tracking for object tracking
- 2MP APS-C Exmor™ CMOS image sensor and latest-generation BIONZ X™ image processor
- 180-degree fully tiltable LCD touch screen for self-recording
- High-speed continuous shooting at up to 11 fps mechanical shutter / 8 fps silent shooting with continuous AF/AE tracking
- High-resolution 4K movie recording with full pixel readout and no pixel binning, plus advanced AF speed and stability
- Interval recording for time-lapse videos
SAN DIEGO — Jan. 15, 2019 — Sony Electronics Inc. today introduced an exciting new addition to its E-mount mirrorless camera lineup – the ?6400 (model ILCE-6400).
The ?6400 brings many of Sony’s most advanced technologies from their acclaimed full-frame lineup to a compact, lightweight APS-C camera. The speedy new camera boasts the world’s fastest1 autofocus (AF) acquisition of 0.02 seconds2, while also introducing the new advanced “Real-time Eye AF” and ”Real-time Tracking” capabilities. Also included are high-speed shooting at up to 11 fps4 with AF/AE tracking, a new-generation BIONZ X image processing engine that produces excellent image quality, 4K6 video recording, a fully 180-degree tiltable LCD touch screen and much more, making it the ultimate tool for all types of creators ranging from professionals to vloggers.
“The ?6400 represents another important step in the growth of Sony’s overall interchangeable lens camera lineup,” said Neal Manowitz, vice president of Imaging Solutions at Sony Electronics. “By bringing so many of our latest and most advanced technologies from full-frame cameras to a brand new APS-C model, we are giving today’s creators more options than ever to realize their vision.”
Speedy Performance that Captures Decisive Moments
The impressive autofocus system on the new ?6400 inherits many technologies from Sony’s newest line-up of full-frame cameras including the ?9, ?7R III and ?7 III models. The new a6400 features 425 phase-detection AF points and 425 contrast-detection AF points that are placed densely over the entire image area, covering approximately 84% of the image area. This high-speed, high-performance tracking AF system is paired with a new-generation BIONZ X image processing engine that together allow the camera to acquire focus in as little as 0.02 seconds2 and maintain subject lock extremely effectively, ensuring even the fastest moving subjects can be tracked and captured with ease.
The ?6400 introduces advanced “Real-time Eye AF,” the latest version of Sony’s acclaimed Eye AF technology. This exciting new capability employs artificial intelligence based object recognition to detect and process eye data in real time, resulting in improved accuracy, speed and tracking performance of Eye AF. In all autofocus modes, the camera now automatically detects the eyes of the subject and activates Eye AF with a half press of the shutter button, and when in AF-C or AF-A mode, the preferred eye (left or right) of your subject can be selected as the focus point. Choices include Auto / Right Eye / Left Eye, and a Switch Right / Left Eye function is able to be assigned to a custom function as well. This exciting new technology completely frees the photographer to focus solely on composition with full trust that focus will be tack sharp on the subject’s eye. Eye AF support for animals will be added in summer 2019 via a system software update, ideal for wildlife photographers.
Also debuting on the ?6400 is Sony’s newly developed “Real-time Tracking.” This mode utilizes Sony’s latest algorithm including artificial intelligence (AI) based object recognition and processes color, subject distance (depth), pattern (brightness) as spatial information to ensure that all subjects can be captured with excellent accuracy. Additionally, when photographing or videographing humans or animals, face and eye position information is recognized by AI and the subject’s eye7 is monitored in real time with extremely high tracking precision. This can be activated by a simple half press of the shutter button, or can be assigned to a custom function as well.
In terms of overall shooting speeds, the new camera can shoot at up to 11 fps4 with full AF/AE tracking while utilizing the mechanical shutter, and up to 8 fps5 with full AF/AE tracking while silent shooting. It can shoot at each of these speeds for up to 116 frames JPEG Standard / 46 frames RAW compressed, greatly increasing the chances of capturing the perfect moment.
All-around Advancements in Image Quality
Sony’s new ?6400 is equipped with a 24.2 MP3 APS-C sized image sensor with that is paired with an upgraded BIONZ X processor to deliver incredible advancements in image quality and color reproduction in all types of shooting conditions. Standard ISO ranges up to ISO 32000 for both still and movie, and is expandable up to ISO 102400 for still images, with excellent noise reduction at medium and high sensitivities.
The camera also inherits many of the image processing algorithms from Sony’s newest full-frame cameras, greatly suppressing noise while preserving resolution and improving texture depiction.
Advanced High-Resolution 4K6 Movie Recording with Fast Hybrid Autofocus
The versatile ?6400 is an exceptional video camera, offering internal 4K (QFHD: 3840 x 2160) movie recording with full pixel readout and no pixel binning to collect about 2.4x the amount of data required for 4K movies, and then oversamples it to produce high quality 4K footage with exceptional detail and depth. Focusing during movie shooting is fast and stable thanks to upgraded Fast Hybrid AF technology, which keeps the subject in constant smooth focus no matter the scene, and even if an object crosses in front of the camera. This advanced AF plus touch focus functionality make it an ideal camera choice for many vloggers and video creators that are regularly creating and uploading content online.
For time-lapse movie creation, the new camera features built-in interval recording that can be set anywhere between 1 and 60 seconds, with a total number of shots from 1 to 9999. AE tracking sensitivity can be adjusted to “High”, “Mid” or “Low” during interval shooting, allowing for reduced changes in exposure over the shooting interval.
Additionally, for the first time in Sony APS-C mirrorless camera, the new model includes an HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) picture profile, which supports an Instant HDR workflow, allowing HDR (HLG) compatible TV’s to playback beautiful, true-to-life 4K HDR imagery. Further, both S-Log2 and S-Log3 are available for increased color grading flexibility, as well as Zebra functionality, Gamma Display assist and proxy recording. The camera can also record Full HD at 120 fps at up to 100 Mbps, allowing footage to be reviewed and eventually edited into 4x or 5x slow-motion video files in Full HD resolution with AF tracking.
Upgraded Build to Maximize Versatility
The new camera is designed to offer a high level of functionality and customization to maximize shooting freedom. New on the ?6400 is a fully 180-degree tiltable, 3.0-type LCD flip screen with 921k-dots of resolution that allows for simple and effective framing of selfie-style shooting for both still and video capture. Utilizing this capability, vloggers will be able to check and monitor composition throughout their entire creative process. The LCD screen is also equipped with touch functionality, with options for Touch Pad, Touch Focus, Touch Shutter and new Touch Tracking which quickly activates “Real-time Tracking” through the touch screen.
The camera features a high quality XGA OLED Tru-finder™ viewfinder, extensive customization with 89 functions that are assignable to 8 custom keys, the new My Dial and My Menu functionality, enhanced overall menu usability, a help screen for menus, star rating for images, and many other features that allow for a seamless shooting experience. It is also built with a tough magnesium alloy design and has an extremely durable shutter that is rated for approximately 200,000 cycles. It also is capable of seamlessly transferring files to a smartphone or tablet when connected to the brand new Imaging Edge Mobile application.
Pricing and Availability
The ?6400 will ship in February 2019 for a suggested retail price of $ 900 USD and $ 1,250 CAD. It will also be offered as a kit with the 16-50mm F3.5 – 5.6 lens for a suggested retail price of $ 1,000 USD and $ 1,350 CAD, or in a kit with the 18-135mm F3.5 – 5.6 lens for a suggested retail price of $ 1,300 USD and $ 1,750 CAD. The camera and kits will be sold at a variety of Sony authorized dealers throughout North America.
A variety of exclusive stories and exciting new content shot with the new camera and other Sony ? products can be found at www.alphauniverse.com, a site built to educate and inspire all fans and customers of the Sony ? brand.
The new content will also be posted directly at the Sony Photo Gallery and the Sony Camera Channel on YouTube. Detailed information pages within Sony.com for the new products can be found at:
(US) – LINK
(CA) – LINK
Footnotes
2 CIPA-compliant, internal measurement method with an E 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens mounted, Pre-AF off and viewfinder in use
3 Approximate effective megapixels
4 In “Hi+” continuous shooting mode. Maximum fps will depend on camera settings
5 Maximum fps will depend on camera settings. Some distortion may occur with fast-moving subjects or if the camera is moved sideways rapidly while shooting
6 A Class 10 or higher SDHC/SDXC card is required for XAVC S format movie recording. UHS speed Class 3 or higher is required for 100Mbps recording
7 Accurate focus may not be achieved with certain subjects in certain situations
8 “Tracking” must be enabled via the menu beforehand
9 The latest version of Imaging Edge “Viewer” and PlayMemories Home desktop applications is required
10 Connect this product to an HDR (HLG) compatible Sony TV via USB cable when displaying HDR (HLG) movies
11 S-Log2 and S-Log3 are premised on processing pictures
12 Pixels to be read are limited to the sensor area that is required for Full HD movies
13 Sony internal tests with electronic front curtain shutter
14 Availability of transfer / playback depends on the performance of the smartphone and tablet
Sony a6400 specifications
| Price | |
|---|---|
| MSRP | $ 900 (body only), $ 1000 (w/16-50mm lens), $ 1300 (w/18-135 lens) |
| Body type | |
| Body type | Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
| Body material | Magnesium alloy |
| Sensor | |
| Max resolution | 6000 x 4000 |
| Image ratio w:h | 1:1, 3:2, 16:9 |
| Effective pixels | 24 megapixels |
| Sensor photo detectors | 25 megapixels |
| Sensor size | APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) |
| Sensor type | CMOS |
| Color space | sRGB, Adobe RGB |
| Color filter array | Primary color filter |
| Image | |
| ISO | Auto, 100-32000 (expands to 102800) |
| Boosted ISO (maximum) | 102800 |
| White balance presets | 10 |
| Custom white balance | Yes |
| Image stabilization | No |
| File format |
|
| Optics & Focus | |
| Autofocus |
|
| Autofocus assist lamp | Yes |
| Manual focus | Yes |
| Number of focus points | 425 |
| Photography features | |
| Minimum shutter speed | 30 sec |
| Maximum shutter speed | 1/4000 sec |
| Built-in flash | Yes |
| Flash range | 6.00 m (at ISO 100) |
| External flash | Yes (via hot shoe) |
| Flash modes | Off, auto, on, slow sync, rear sync, redeye reduction, wireless, hi-speed sync |
| Flash X sync speed | 1/160 sec |
| Exposure compensation | ±5 (at 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps) |
| AE Bracketing | ±5 (3, 5 frames at 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 2/3 EV, 1 EV, 2 EV steps) |
| WB Bracketing | Yes |
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)