This digicam builds upon the already highly effective A6500 with neat enhancements equivalent to an even bigger battery, even faster autofocus, a flip-up LCD show, eye autofocus (AF) for video, and plenty of extra little issues which we’ll get into additional within the assessment. Suffice to say, it’s the perfect cropped-sensor mirrorless digicam Sony has supplied up to now. Together with these new options, additionally comes a barely larger worth of Rs. 1,17,990 for simply the physique. Is the Sony A6600 well worth the premium? It’s time to search out out.
Sony A6600 design
The physique of the A6600 will look very acquainted if you happen to’ve used any of the earlier fashions on this sequence. Nevertheless, there’s one main distinction: the digicam grip is quite a bit larger due to the bigger battery. For the primary time, Sony has used a battery from its full-frame mirrorless fashions within the A6600, which is alleged to supply 800 photographs per cost. It is a large step up from the earlier 350-400 photographs per cost that different A6XXX fashions have been rated for. The bigger grip additionally implies that this digicam is extra snug to carry for a protracted time frame. The physique is constructed from a magnesium alloy and is alleged to be mud and moisture-resistant.
The Sony A6600 has the biggest handgrip within the sequence, due to the larger battery
The buttons are ergonomically laid out on the again, and most of them could be customised, together with the labelled ones. The mode dial on the highest affords the standard capturing modes, together with the devoted S&Q (sluggish and fast) mode, which we noticed on the A6400. Sony has ditched the pop-up flash on this mannequin, however you continue to get a hotshoe for exterior flashes.
The ports on the left aspect of the A6600 now embrace a headphone jack, together with the standard microphone, Micro-USB, and Micro-HDMI ports. We’re a bit dissatisfied that Sony hasn’t moved to the USB Kind-C commonplace but for this sequence.
The rear 3-inch touchscreen has a 921K dot decision and could be flipped upwards 180 levels, making it simple to take selfies or body a shot when vlogging. There’s a three-second timer that’s mechanically enabled for stills when the display is flipped up. It can be tilted downwards, providing you with a good bit of flexibility when it’s good to shoot at odd angles. You additionally get a 0.39-inch OLED digital viewfinder with a 2.35 million dot decision.
Total, the A6600 feels extraordinarily well-built and durable, simply as you’d count on from a premium Sony digicam. The small physique makes it simple to slide into any bag, and at 503g its weight could be very manageable. The proportions clearly enhance when you slap a lens on to the physique. Sony despatched us an 18-135mm zoom lens together with the digicam physique. We’ve discovered it to be pretty versatile for informal capturing, however the aperture vary of f/3.5 to f/5.6 doesn’t make for nice low-light photographs. Nonetheless, as a starter lens, we did handle to get first rate outcomes with it.
The rear LCD show on the Sony A6600 can flip outwards and upwards by 180 levels
Sony A6600 specs and options
The Sony A6600 incorporates a 24.2-megapixel cropped (APS-C) CMOS sensor with a local ISO vary of 100-32,000. This may be expanded to 50-1,02,400 and you’ll set a threshold for the utmost ISO that the digicam can use when capturing. Burst capturing tops out at 11fps (in Hello+ mode) and 8fps within the live-view and silent shutter modes.
The buffer for holding burst photographs isn’t too large, and Sony claims it could maintain solely as much as 115 JPEG frames or 46 RAW information at a time. It is a lot decrease than the 269 JPEGs and 107 RAW information that the A6500 was able to. The digicam makes use of a single SD card, positioned beside the battery, nevertheless it solely helps as much as UHS-I speeds and never UHS-II.
One of many highlights of the A6600 is its AI focus monitoring functionality. The sensor options 425 part detection autofocus (PDAF) factors, and the identical variety of distinction detection AF factors, which is the way it’s in a position to lock focus in simply 0.02 seconds, in accordance with Sony. This isn’t precisely new, since Sony’s personal A6400 which we examined a yr in the past had the identical setup.
Face and eye monitoring are nonetheless very dependable and instantly kick in whenever you half-press the shutter button. There’s real-time eye autofocus for animals too, and this labored decently after we tried it. The digicam additionally has in-body 5-axis stabilisation to assist cut back blur in stills when utilizing a excessive zoom degree.
The Sony A6600 now incorporates a headphone socket too
The A6600 has some fairly nifty video capabilities too. Moreover having the ability to shoot at as much as 4K 30fps, with full pixel readout, the digicam additionally helps superior image profiles equivalent to S-Log2, S-Log3, and HLG, for HDR workflows. That is additionally Sony’s first APS-C digicam to supply eye autofocus when capturing movies.
For smartphone connectivity, the A6600 helps NFC, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Final yr, Sony lastly changed its Play Recollections companion app with the brand new Imaging Edge Cellular, which is simpler to make use of and arrange. You need to use it to wirelessly copy images to your cellphone, both of their authentic measurement or a lowered measurement. You’ll be able to even use your cellphone’s show as a viewfinder for controlling the digicam remotely.
Sony A6600 efficiency and battery life
The A6600 has the identical native most ISO because the A6400, which is 32,000, and the outcomes of our ISO check had been related too. Readability and sharpness had been preserved very effectively from ISO 100 up till about ISO 800, the place we began to see very minor grain. Leaping to ISO 3,200, we observed some delicate distortion alongside the perimeters of the pencils, however nothing too horrible. At ISO 12,800, the perimeters of the pencils started to lose definition, however as soon as once more, this was solely noticeable at a 100% crop. Grain was seen too however no chroma noise but.
Sony A6600 ISO check
On the highest native ISO of 32,000, the picture had very seen artifacting even with no need to zoom in. Utilizing any ISO above this degree doesn’t yield beneficial outcomes, so we’d advise limiting it to about 25,600 for steadiness between a comparatively quick shutter and low grain, when capturing handheld at night time.
When capturing outdoor in daylight, the A6600 hardly ever stumbled and was all the time on level when it got here to specializing in what we needed. We most well-liked to make use of the digicam’s ‘Develop Versatile Spot’ AF mode, however the others had been dependable too. There’s monitoring AF, which labored effectively on individuals and objects alike. Landscapes had excellent particulars, and hues had been richly represented. Dynamic vary was fairly spectacular too. We did discover some delicate vignetting within the corners of body at larger zoom ranges, however contemplating that you’ve 24 megapixels to play with, we discovered it simpler to easily crop photos to the specified body afterward.
Panorama pattern shot with the Sony A6400: ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/840, 75mm (faucet to see resized picture)
Shut-up pattern shot with the Sony A6400: ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/640, 69mm (faucet to see resized picture)
Burst nonetheless pattern shot with the Sony A6600: ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/640, 69mm (faucet to see resized picture)
Shut-up photographs had been dealt with very effectively. Regardless of the marginally slim aperture vary, utilizing a little bit of zoom for our close-ups yielded some very good depth-of-field results. The big variety of autofocus factors additionally made it very simple to seize fast-moving objects equivalent to birds. Even at full zoom, the digicam was fast to trace our topic and keep locked on for the burst period. One factor to notice is that for the reason that buffer isn’t very massive, there’s a good bit of ready earlier than you’ll be able to truly assessment your photographs, which bought a bit annoying generally. The touchscreen could be very responsive and it may be used to shortly change the main focus space and assessment your photos. Nevertheless, it nonetheless can’t be used for navigating the menus.
In low-light eventualities, the A6600 nonetheless focuses shortly and we solely observed a little bit of looking when capturing distant objects or at full zoom. Dynamic vary was fairly good too, and the in-body stabilisation labored very effectively, even when capturing from a transferring automobile. In very low gentle, we observed a little bit of grain in images, however that’s as a result of we had been capturing on the highest native ISO setting. Dropping it down did yield extra beneficial outcomes.
Low gentle panorama pattern shot with the Sony A6400: ISO 125, f/5.6, 1/125, 67mm (faucet to see resized picture)
Low-light pattern shot with the Sony A6400: ISO 32,000, f/5.6, 1/440, 135mm (faucet to see resized picture)
Video efficiency is equally good. We had been primarily capturing at 4K and had been fairly impressed with the element and hues that the A6600 can seize. Focusing was as soon as once more very dependable and a easy faucet on the viewfinder will easily transition the main focus between topics. Faces are mechanically tracked however this may be disabled if wanted. You may also set the pace at which focus and monitoring are modified, relying in your capturing model.
The A6XXX sequence has usually struggled to supply nice battery life, particularly when recording video. All that modifications with the A6600, due to its a lot beefier battery. With the digicam in Airplane mode, we observed about 25 p.c left within the battery after taking greater than a 1,000 photographs. Even capturing 4K video doesn’t make as large a dent within the battery degree as we’ve skilled with older fashions. You’ll be able to cost the digicam (with the battery inside) by an influence financial institution too.
Verdict
The A6600 appears like probably the most full APS-C mirrorless digicam up to now from Sony. It will get the perfect bits of the A6500 and the A6400, together with the bonus of a a lot bigger battery. Plus, issues just like the headphone socket, flip-up LCD, and faster monitoring autofocus make this digicam very effectively suited to vlogging. That’s not saying it’s excellent – we’d nonetheless wish to see Sony improve to a USB Kind-C port and add quick charging; allow us to use the touchscreen within the menus; and perhaps add help for UHS-II pace SD playing cards too.
Coming to the value, the A6600 is a bit costly. The digicam physique and the 18-135mm equipment lens collectively are priced at Rs. 1,51,990, though you could find them promoting for about Rs. 20,000 much less on-line. Needless to say the A6500, with the identical lens, can now be discovered for underneath a Rs. 1,00,000, so except you completely want the larger battery and barely faster focusing, the earlier mannequin continues to be choice.
Total, the Sony A6600 is a superb choice if you happen to’re in search of a do-it-all mirrorless digicam or are merely trying to improve from an entry-level mannequin.
Worth (M.R.P)
- Physique solely: Rs. 1,17,990
- With 18-135mm lens – Rs. 1,51,990