Sony a6300: Hard Questions

[thedavidshow]

A number of people have made videos and forum posts with their criticisms of the upcoming Sony a6300.  But I didn't find the entire set of questions that I had about the camera. (Which I think is weird given Sony's penchant for nasty, A7RII/RX100IV-style overheating problems and the a6000's own little "Gotcha!"s).

 

So I created my own set of videos.  Hard Questions is the second one in a series and it asks:

 

1. How much 4k will we actually be able to shoot?

2. Wifi remote video (still) doesn't work on the a6000... will it work on the a6300? (And why doesn't it work on the a6000 again?)

3. People have already used this camera: Why has nobody compared the body to the a6000? In terms of feel... weight... etc...

4. Legacy issues: Sony's ancient wifi suite, and menus that haven't changed very much since the NEX5 six years ago. Will there be anything new in that department? Or are we looking at more of the same.

 

So here it goes (video below). My first post on SAR. Hope you enjoy it. Happy to be here.

 

[mangloria]

Nice One, David.

I worry about the committment to APS-C by Sony.

This camera seems a rather half-hearted release after so long a wait.

 

Cheers,

Mangloria.

[Merlin_AZ]

1. Regarding #4/menu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA06s-nRaZ0

[thedavidshow]

Nice One, David.

I worry about the committment to APS-C by Sony.

This camera seems a rather half-hearted release after so long a wait.

 

Cheers,

Mangloria.

 

But now it's got 400 AF points! And the next one will have 900 AF points!

 

I really wonder if the focus will actually be any faster (at least one person who's tried the camera has said that it is not).  I mean you could have a MILLION AF points... but wouldn't they all just confuse each other at some point?

 

The a6000 was already fine in the AF department. What people really wanted from the a6300were things like:

 

1. Touch Screen

2. In-Body lens stabilization

4. More APS-C lenses.

 

They got none of that. (They might not even have gotten wifi remote video record...)

 

Slog would be nice to have on the a6000... but we (eventually) got XAVC-S via a firmware update, I don't see why we couldn't get Slog as well... (at least Slog2...) It's cool that the a6300 will have it... but if they're going to try to continue to get some mileage out of the a6000 why not add a couple things there as well?

[wedge]

What people really wanted from the a6300were things like:

 

1. Touch Screen

2. In-Body lens stabilization

4. More APS-C lenses.

 

 

Those things are "nice to have".  They are not deal breakers.  In spite of the number of people that complain about not having those things.

 

Deal breakers are things like weather sealing.  And being able to see what you're shooting during a burst.  A mic input is a requirement if doing any kind of serious video.  And so on.

 

Rather than fixing the inconsequential things that the vocal majority always complain about, the a6300 fixes all the things that actual serious photographers really need.

 

 

Answers to your questions:

1. 29 minutes.  

2. Don't know that.  Didn't even know it was an issue.

3. They have.  They said it feels exactly the same, only slightly heavier.  Which is possible to tell just by looking at it.  

4. Whats wrong with the wifi?  It works great.  Much better than the Nikons I've tried (as a comparison example).

[thedavidshow]

Sure... More lenses and in-body stabilization... and a touch screen... are nice to have.  So are buttons. And a screen... and a memory card slot... and a camera... But seeing as we're in the middle ages all that will just have to wait half a millennia.

 

And what good is a mic jack... if you don't have a headphone jack to see how what your mic is recording sounds?

 

Those things are "nice to have".  They are not deal breakers.  In spite of the number of people that complain about not having those things.

 

Deal breakers are things like weather sealing.  And being able to see what you're shooting during a burst.  A mic input is a requirement if doing any kind of serious video.  And so on.

 

Rather than fixing the inconsequential things that the vocal majority always complain about, the a6300 fixes all the things that actual serious photographers really need.

 

@thedavidshowresponses to the:

 

Answers to your questions:

1. 29 minutes.

You don't know that. That may be the EU-imposed limit... but you have no idea if it will crap out on you in 5 minutes.

 

2. Don't know that.  Didn't even know it was an issue.

 

It is.  And for me it's a big one.  Especially given the lack of a flipout screen. How the hell am I supposed to know if I'm properly exposed, in position, and in focus if I can't see myself when recording video?

 

3. They have.  They said it feels exactly the same, only slightly heavier.  Which is possible to tell just by looking at it.  

 

You can tell how much something weighs just by looking at it?  You could make a fortune down at the airport...

 

4. Whats wrong with the wifi?  It works great.  Much better than the Nikons I've tried (as a comparison example).

 

Cool. Now I know not to get a Nikon either.  For me at least... the on-camera "Play Memories App" won't connect to an access point... Even if it's connected to an access point. This makes things like direct upload to Flickr and Facebook impossible. (It would make direct upload to Instagram impossible too if there were an app for that... because it wouldn't work either.)

[Phatman]

No one mentioned we now get 14bit stills output (and hopefully cleaner) and better build.

 

[wonderotter]

4k limit is about 29 minutes...I have succesfully recorded 29 minutes of 24p and 30p. The manual states that the camera may overheat...mine did once and then not again through about five succesive 1/2 hour record tests. I imagine it would run all day with an external recorder. BTW the monitor blacks out when HDMI is plugged in and recording starts. But that means you could record internally and externally simultaneously which is great.

 

You can use the Playmemories remote for video...I just did to confirm this with my Nexus 5. But it only seems to work when the dial is set to movie mode, not memory recall.

 

The a6300 body is WAY more solid feeling...the lens mount is tighter. The grip is slightly bigger. Feels much more pro. The buttons and dials are more 'pro' feeling. The AF is much better than the A6000 - faster and accurate. AF in magnifying mode is awesome. The low light AF is really good...much better than the A6000. In fact, it seems better than my Nikon D610 (which is pretty good in the dark). The viewfinder is much better. The built in level is great. The added AF features (expanded flexible spot) are welcome. The high iso performance is improved...subjectively - a lot. The high iso detail is improved...I was working on some 25,600 raw files in LR and they looked very good. The high iso colour looks better...more saturated and truer. The HD video is about the same...the 4k is incredible. Picture profiles are very welcome. The rolling shutter is pretty bad, but horses for courses. Battery life is a little worse than the A6000. The strap is nicer...lol. Any other questions?

 

Wifi works great...my Nexus picks it off every time.

 

Happy to answer any questions...I'm loving this camera...may buy another ; )

 

 

I do hate the menus...I wish they would release an app to allow users to reconfigure the menu structure. I've literally looked through the menu for 2-3 minutes to find a single item. 

[LiveShots]

I do hate the menus...I wish they would release an app to allow users to reconfigure the menu structure. I've literally looked through the menu for 2-3 minutes to find a single item.

I've been playing around with mine and yes,the menu is horrible. I've been using the User Guide at lot (I have it on my iPad) as its easier to search for items and locate them quickly once I know what sub-menu they are on. I do like the extra memory slots for storing my settings.

[Touko]

Those things are "nice to have".  They are not deal breakers.  In spite of the number of people that complain about not having those things.

 

Deal breakers are things like weather sealing.  And being able to see what you're shooting during a burst.  A mic input is a requirement if doing any kind of serious video.

For you personally, you mean.

 

Or have you not grasped that different people care about different things, and that each of their different concerns are equally as valid as yours?

[Touko]

And what good is a mic jack... if you don't have a headphone jack to see how what your mic is recording sounds?

 

The least Sony could have done would be a smartphone style connector, if they were short on space.

 

There is a soggy workaround however - you can use an HDMI to audio adapter from Amazon or eBay...  Clunky, but better than nothing. Better would be connecting a 7" HDMI monitor and plugging your headphones into that. Of course now, you loose any size and weight advantage the A6300 has and might as well just wait to buy an A7S Mark3...

[Haitech]

Is it possible to /use the USB port for external power supply while using the camera?

This would be very nice to have when doing long time-lapses. I do not understand why this is not an option on my Nex-6

[wonderotter]

Yes..it is possible to power the camera with a USB power source...either an AC one or a USB battery pack...I have verified both work. Very handy for long time lapses...just get a big USB battery pack and you're set.