Hybrid autofocus makes A6400 picture perfect
Sony announced a lot of new cameras this summer, including two new APS-C cameras, the A6100, A 6600 and the full-frame megapixel king, the A7R IV.
The A6400 was released earlier this year and I’ve been testing it for the last few weeks.
It’s a little confusing considering Sony already have three APS-C cameras on the market, but in essence, the A6100 replaces the A6000, the A6400 is an updated A6300, and finally, the A6600 is the updated version of the A6500.
All six cameras feature the same 24.2MP, APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor, with improvements to the front-end LSI and the latest generation of BIONZ X image processor.
The A6400 may use the same sensor as the A6300, but there’s a lot more to a camera than just the sensor.
Top on the list of new features is the incredibly advanced autofocus system that’s borrowed from the unrivalled king of autofocus, the Sony A9, a camera that retails for €3,600.
Other key features include 4K video recording, a tilt screen that can tilt a full 180 degrees to face you, making this a good option for those who want a small and light option for vlogging.
Other improvements over the A6300 include an expanded upper limit of 102,400 with a decent native range of 100-32,000).
There’s also the colour science improvements that provide better skin tones and more accurate colour rendition.
However, just like the A6300, the newer A6400 doesn’t come with IBIS (in-body image stabilisation).
This means that if image stabilisation is important to you, you’ll need to buy lenses that already have OSS (Optical SteadShot).
This won’t be a dealbreaker for some, especially if you intend on using the camera to shoot wildlife or other fast-moving objects, but it does come in really handy situations where the subject isn’t moving and you want to keep the ISO as low as possible to maximise image quality.
This will be a deal-breaker for some, but then you’ll need to look to either the A6500 or A6600 bodies, both of which feature IBIS.
Although the EVF on the A6400 is the same as the A6300, the rear 3-inch screen now supports touch.
However, as with all Sony cameras, you can’t interact with the menus via touch.
The A6400 is no slouch in the video department with 4K video capture at up 100Mbps, S-log3 and S-log2 support, and it also comes with 4K HDR (HLG) recording.
You also get a microphone jack and compatibility with XLR adapters, but no headphone jack.
The A6400 now has a built-in interval recording, which can be set between 1 and 60 seconds, but you have to compile the images in software afterwards since there’s no in-camera option.
You can also set auto exposure tracking sensitivity to low, mid or high during interval shooting.
The resulting time-lapse is generally better this way since you have full control over the final output, but it would have been nice to have a quick way of creating time-lapses.
There’s only one UHS-I, SD card slot and support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity.
The A6400 has a small but decent handgrip and features an identical control layout to the A6300. You only get two Custom buttons, but the menu system and other custom controls provide greatly improved usability.
The new My Menu allows you to put all of your most-used menu items in a single tab for quick and easy access.
This is a major advantage over the A6300 since the Sony menu system makes it difficult to find the option you need when you’re in a hurry.
Additionally, My Dial feature, allows you to use the main command dial and rear scroll when you press or hold a custom button.
You can configure up to three sets, assigning them to separate custom buttons or one that cycles between them.
Where the A6400 really excels over the A6300 and most other cameras in general, is its autofocus system.
It is capable of focusing speeds of just 0.02 seconds, advanced real-time tracking of subjects be they a bird in flight or inanimate objects.
Like all of the more recent Sony Alpha cameras, it also has the most advanced eye autofocus, and can now track many animals eyes too.
This new hybrid autofocus system has 425 phase-detect points and 425 contrast-detect AF points with 84% coverage of the frame. The makes it leaps and bounds ahead over what the A6300 has to offer.
The A6400 is intelligent as it uses AI to recognise objects based on the algorithms used to analyse details from the data collected on the camera sensor.
I used the 100-400GM to track and photograph fast-moving birds in flight and the only limiting factor was my skills as a photographer.
The A6400 never missed a beat and the in-focus hit rate was unbelievable even at the 11fps burst shooting rate.
Eye autofocus is also amazing and one of the best innovations found in modern cameras where it can nail focus on the eyeball every time.
With the A6400, you can even switch between which eye you want in focus using a custom key.
The A6400 uses the older NP-FW50 batteries, which are okay but not as long-lasting as the newer Z-series found in the A6600.
However, you can charge while using the camera with a battery bank which saved me a few times during use.
All in all, the A6400 manages to eke out incredible results from what is now an older sensor and at an affordable price for a camera of this quality.
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