The
Sony Alpha 6000 is the brand's latest Compact System Camera (CSC) and
an upgraded version of the similar Sony Alpha 5000, which was announced
at CES.
The 6000 brings a few new treats to the party, including an Electronic
Viewfinder (EVF) and the brand new Bionz X processor and what it claims
is the world's fastest autofocus - just 0.06 seconds.
While the 5000 replaces the Sony NEX-3N and Sony NEX-5T models, the newer Alpha 6000 will replace the popular Sony NEX-6 and Sony NEX-7 models as the brand continues to drop the NEX name from its interchangeable lens camera range.
While the 5000 replaces the Sony NEX-3N and Sony NEX-5T models, the newer Alpha 6000 will replace the popular Sony NEX-6 and Sony NEX-7 models as the brand continues to drop the NEX name from its interchangeable lens camera range.
Sony Alpha 6000: Size and build
Packing an E-Mount lens system, the camera's design is similar to
that of the NEX models and the Alpha 5000, although unlike the latter,
the new 6000 includes the new OLED Tru finder EVF, which has a wider
viewing angle, higher contrast and higher resolution than Sony's previous viewfinders.
Whether you like the EVF is largely down to personal taste, but in our swift hands-on, Sony's new EVF seemed just as good as those we've seen from other brands. The proximity sensor works pretty fast when you hold the camera up to your face, although the colours looks slighly cold, as with most electronic viewfinders.
Whether you like the EVF is largely down to personal taste, but in our swift hands-on, Sony's new EVF seemed just as good as those we've seen from other brands. The proximity sensor works pretty fast when you hold the camera up to your face, although the colours looks slighly cold, as with most electronic viewfinders.
Sony Alpha 6000: Features
The Alpha 6000 packs a 24.3 megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor, and
there are 7 customisable buttons – including two dedicated custom
buttons – resulting in a whopping 43 assignable functions.
The camera also features Wi-Fi for direct uploading and hooking up to your smartphone or tablet for use as a remote control. On-board NFC also means that you can set up a 'one-touch' connection with compatible products.
You'll also get a 3-inch tiltable LCD screen, built-in flash and multi-interface shoe.
The camera also features Wi-Fi for direct uploading and hooking up to your smartphone or tablet for use as a remote control. On-board NFC also means that you can set up a 'one-touch' connection with compatible products.
You'll also get a 3-inch tiltable LCD screen, built-in flash and multi-interface shoe.
Sony Alpha 6000: Picture quality
Although we reeled off some shots of the riverside view of the Thames
on a very rainy and grey, the units that we were using weren't final
retail products so we can't really make a fair comment on picture
quality yet but that's something we'll be looking at in more detail in
our full review.
Sony Alpha 6000: Verdict
We like the sturdy build of the camera - the controls fell well
placed and it sits comfortably in the hand, unlike some CSCs which can
feel a little unbalanced once a lens in attached. The added Wi-Fi and
NFC, plus the EVF and also neat tweaks and we look forward to taking
the new sensor for a spin as soon as we can get our mitts on a full
review model.
Sony Alpha 6000 release date: Mid-April 2014
Sony Alpha 6000 price: £550 (body only), £670 (with 16-50mm kit lens), £880 (Tele double lens kit), 16-70mm Zeiss lens kit (£1400)
Sony Alpha 6000 release date: Mid-April 2014
Sony Alpha 6000 price: £550 (body only), £670 (with 16-50mm kit lens), £880 (Tele double lens kit), 16-70mm Zeiss lens kit (£1400)
