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Sony A6300 First Look Reviews and Sony G Master Lens Insights…

Sony Alpha a6300 Mirrorless Digital Camera
Sony Alpha a6300 Mirrorless Digital Camera

The media storm is officially over and the dust has settled on the latest Sony announcements. I must admit I was a bit hash on the Sony A6300 not being the Nex-7 replacement, but after reading many spirited comments and studying the camera more, it really is a pretty darn impressive upgrade overall. I know it doesn’t have IBIS and that was the biggest issue with most people, but it does fallow a logical upgrade path and offers a significant upgrade in AF technology and video in particular. 

The A6300 doesn’t have everything, but it offers enough to justify many folks upgrading from the A6000 after further digestion on my part..

In my previous article on the matter I said that is was not worth upgrading if photography was your primary purpose, but I fell short in the fact that sports shooters should consider upgrading. The AF system is far superior in a number of ways. The 8fps mode for example allows for live tracking of moving subjects which has plagued the electronic viewfinder since it’s inception. Sony addressed our concerns in this regard and offered a new mode that refreshes fast enough with accurate info to make this no longer an issue.

People from the video world complained big time about not having a mic input and Sony added that as well as Slog-3 Gamma and 4k video w/ assist features like zebra and a contrast assist functions. The contrast assist functions allows for a natural look on screen while still recording in the flat looking profiles like Slog-3 Gamma. This is really powerful and gives the user an pretty accurate live feedback of what is being captured. It’s pretty hard to tell when using the flat looking profiles if you have ever tried. The dynamic range is also a claimed 14-stops which is really amazing for the price point in my opinion and huge for production value on a pro level! That is correct, a pro level…

The new 24mp sensor offers copper wiring which helps with processing speeds and heat dissipation. It also has a shallower stack which allows more light to come in. See the illustration bellow:

Sony also allowed for the camera to use the on sensor focus system in combo with the Sony LAEA3 or LAEA1 lens adapter and A-Mount lenses with full AF control. That is huge and worth highlighting if you were not aware.

Does that mean that Canon EF lenses will work awesome with the Metabones IV adapter as well? I do believe so, but will need to test this of course to confirm.

Like I said, the A6300 is not really a Nex-7 replacement as far as the camera body is concerned with the Tri-Navi controls and all, but other than that, it really is a nice upgrade from the A6000.

Sony-a6300-sensor-stack

Sony A6300 Initial Reviews

I absolutely love the work from TheCameraStore guys Chris and Jordan. Be sure to check out their breakdown of the new Sony A6300 and G Master lens line out if you have not already!

Sony A6300 and G Master Lens Hands-On First Impressions

[quote]We were very intrigued when Sony invited us to New York for a product launch, but for the first time, we had no idea what we would be looking at. Fortunately, we had a chance to get an early look at the new A6300,the replacement for the A6000, still one of our favourite cameras! Alongside that, Sony also launched their new G Masters series of premium lenses, and we were able to test them on the very demanding A7R II! See what we thought after our hands-on time with this exciting new gear.[/quote]

Sony 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 & 85mm f/1.4 Partial Review & Sample Photos: G-Master Lenses!

Tony Northrup does a really good job breaking things down and I really value his opinion on things, because he does the hands-on work and is very honest in my opinion. In this video he breaks down the new G Master lenses like a champ 😉


Jason Lanier loves to talk, and came out with two informative videos on the new Sony A6300 from his perspective….

Sony A6300- is it the Mini A7Rii? This could be the worlds best APSC Camera by Jason Lanier

Sony A6300 vs. A6000- which camera will be better for sports photography..thoughts from an NFL game

BHPhoto also did an interview with Kenta Honjo of Sony, and it’s nice to hear the official announcement from the source I think. They did a very nice job with the A6300 overview.

Sony Alpha a6300: First Look

Closing Remarks

a6300-oled

So what do you guys think now that the dust has settled?
Still wanting the Nex-7 replacement like me? Or is the A6300 good enough for what you desire as hardcore enthusiasts and/or pros? Please let us all know below and clearly the A6300 will meat the needs of most… It really does have almost everything I would want in the real non pro world.

Sony A7000 must haves for me today are:
IBIS, Back-Lit Sensor, 1/8000sec max shutter speed, Tri-Navi Controls, and a fully articulating touch LCD screen. I also want full weather sealing, dual memory cards, lcd screen on top for night mode or illuminated key buttons, head phone jack, and a silent shutter option.

What about you?
I’m working on another article behind the scenes in this regard, so please let me know exactly what you think the A6300 is missing, and what you would like to see in regards to the future A7000 series camera if Sony plans to re-lease it…

They must have it on the drawing board for sure and I started a NEW POLL on the forums where you can vote for the features/ specs you want to see most on the future A7000 (Click Here)

Thanks for checking in and have a great day,
Jay

New Sony Gear Pre-Order Links:

  • Sony A6300 Mirrorless Camera from $998 US @ BHPhoto
  • FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM Lens for $2198 US @ BHPhoto
  • FE 85mm f/1.4 GM Lens for $1798 US @ BHPhoto
  • FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM Lens for No price yet @ BHPhoto
  • Sony FE Teleconverters 2x and 1.4x for No Price Yet @ BHPhoto