a6400 vs a7ii

[Jonas3]

Hi! My last camera was a Nikon D90. I would like to purchase a mirrorless sony camera. I need opinions on a6400 and a7ii. My only purpose is to take still photos. I am considering the $1,000 budget with lens. Do I go for the newer aspc or full frame a7ii 2014? 

[Pieter]

Really depends on your needs and type of photography.

 

I'd say go for the a6400 if:

 - You shoot a lot of moving subjects (family, pets, birds in flight etc): autofocus on the a6400 is much better than A7II;

 - You want something small and portable;

 - Don't plan on upgrading to fullframe in the foreseeable future.

 

Go for the A7II if:

 - You shoot a lot in dim lighting conditions: high ISO-performance of the A7II is noticeably better than the a6400;

 - You prefer the ergonomics of a larger body;

 - You consider going fullframe at some point.

 

Which lenses are you considering to go with the body?

[Jonas3]

Hi! My main purpose is travel photography. I print them 8x10 as a hobby. Sometimes I shoot at basketball games in an open court but night time. I would prefer an all around kit lens first then add the 50mm.

[Pieter]

I once had the a6000 with the 16-50 kit lens. What I loved about this combo is that it fitted a jacket pocket so I could really take it anywhere. The 16-50 kit lens is not great when it comes to image quality but still I got lots of keepers with it without finding the IQ bothersome. The Fullframe 28-70 kit lens reportedly is very decent (haven't tried it).

One advantage of APS-C is that it is a bit more focussed on convenience than Fullframe. The new 18-135 lens for example combines a nice zoom range in a small and lightweight package at a cheaper price point than anything you'll find for Fullframe, while still producing decent image quality. A more or less comparable Fullframe alternative would be the 24-240 which is more expensive, 2,5× heavier and a lot more bulky. The IQ on the 24-240 is just mediocre.

For basketball games you'll want some zoom range and good autofocus. I think the a6400 will get you more keepers than the A7II there, albeit with a bit more ISO noise. Do factor in though that I'm a biased APS-C lover ?

Edited October 30, 2019 by Pieter

[Jonas3]

between the 2 cameras, IBIS is not the deal breaker rather than the 425 focus points?

 

[Pieter]

It's not just the amount of focus points: the a6400 uses the extraordinary real time tracking / eye AF, making the AF vastly superior to the A7II which uses slower and less reliable AF algorithms.

All kit lenses include OSS so the omission of IBIS is not a big miss for you at first. Once you start buying other lenses it may be something to take into consideration. Especially the Sigma f/1.4 trio is an awesome addition to the APS-C lineup but all lack OSS. Sony's 50mm f/1.8 for APS-C does have OSS though.

[Jonas3]

Thank you sir! I will consider. ?