NEX6 Upgrade Advice

[jhalterman]

I'm currently using a NEX6 with the 16-70 f/4 lens.

I about cried tonight when I got home from my daughters cross country meet and I had a beautiful shot of her mid air and in full stride except for one thing.  It was slightly, well noticeably, out of focus.  It seems like I am fighting with this camera to get it to do what I want it to do.  I have learned a lot in the process (both in camera and in post) and while other have praised my photos, I look at them with disappointment.  It is often my hit rate with focus that causes me grief.  Others are set up issues that I have worked through.  Other times the camera's Auto ISO is up past 400 or 800 and the grain is beyond what I can tolerate.  I suspect I am picky but I really want to hone my craft.  Given that my camera is 7 years old it is my immediate suspect.  And when I read about the glories of the new AF and Eye-AF systems in the modern bodies with hit rates above 105% it is easy to think that the solution to all my woes is just one more purchase away and not the nut behind the viewfinder.  Yes, I am confident that I have a lot of growth ahead of me, but I also think I have come a long way already.  

My question is this.  For those of you who have migrated from something like the NEX6 to the a6400 please speak to your experience in terms of AF speed, hit rate and ISO grain.  Beyond this I am toying with an upgrade to FF.  Though it is substantially more money the larger viewfinder of the a7iii is incredibly enticing to my 50 year old eyes.  I have nearly enough saved for the a6400, but I wonder if I will wish I had sold the motorcycle and purchased the a7iii instead.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[MrWong]

I was in the exact same situation when looking to upgrade from my NEX6. I loved and still love that camera, it has been such a work horse for me. But like you say shooting at higher iso's the camera really starts to show its age. The lenses i had for it the sel1018 F4, selp18105 F4, sel35f18, and a sel2028 pancake with the fisheye converter. I did shoot more videos with that camera more than photos and it was a great light weight package. Since I tend to shoot more video than taking stills I landed on the FF A7sii. Battery life is about the same as the nex6, little better auto focus, way better low light performance, but lower res stills @ 12mp but awesome IQ. I'm most impressed with the video profiles and the extra programmable buttons (back button focusing). This switch to full frame made me sell my APS-C glass to fund the new gear. I did try using the 18-105 f4 OSS lens on the FF body, but you can tell the quality difference to the FF glass. And! shooting in crop mode on my A7sii gave me around 5mp photos.... So i sold all my APS-C glass and picked up a tamron 28-75 f2.8 <- awesome! and a sony 50mm f1.8. FE glass is the only way to get that Full Frame look. The setup is indeed heavier but worth the trade offs. If you shoot mostly stills, the A7rii is a great choice and a gently used copy can be picked up fairly cheap, but if you have the cash, you cant go wrong with the a7iii. Just keep in mind that the FE glass can get expensive quick! It was a close call between the a7sii and the 6400 for me, but Full frame, low light performance, and IBIS did it. I can use legacy glass that is still stabilized and I could still use all my NEX6 batteries.

 

Hope this helps you out a bit!