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02-12-2014, 07:39 AM   #1
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Sony a6000 promises world's fastest AF and 11 fps subject tracking

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Where the NEX-6 had 99 phase-detect points covering approximately 50% of the sensor, the a6000 has 179, with 92% coverage. This, combined with the new Bionz X processor, allows the camera to shoot continuously at 11 fps with subject tracking, according to Sony. The company also claims that the a6000 has the fastest AF performance on the market, though those statements should always be taken with a grain of salt.
Sony a6000 key features

24.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
Bionz X image processor
Hybrid AF system with 25 contrast-detect and 179 phase-detect points
Built-in flash + Multi-Interface Shoe
11 fps continuous shooting with subject-tracking
3-inch tilting LCD with 921,600 dots
OLED electronic viewfinder with 1.44M dots
Diffraction correction, area-specific noise reduction, and detail reproduction technology
Full HD video recording at 1080/60p and 24p; clean HDMI output
Wi-Fi with NFC capability and downloadable apps

The major changes here are related to the sensor. The new 24 megapixel 'Exmor APS HD' CMOS sensor has on-chip phase detection like its predecessor, but covers a much larger area of the frame. Sony promises better AF tracking, especially when shooting continuously. The a6000 uses Sony's latest image processor - Bionz X - which touts improved detail and smarter noise reduction as improvements.

While the specs of the a6000's movie mode aren't a whole lot different from the NEX-6, users now have access to a zebra pattern, and can output 'clean' video over HDMI. The menus have switched to the new 'Alpha' style found on the a7 and a7R (for better or for worse), and the camera can now be controlled via a Mac or PC over a USB connection. The Wi-Fi feature is about the same as on the NEX-6, with even more apps available for download.
Sony a6000 First Impressions Review: Digital Photography Review
Sony Alpha A6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera, A6000 Body Only
Sony Alpha A6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera ILCE6000L/B B&H Photo



02-12-2014, 08:26 AM - 1 Like   #2
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I've just been reading up on it. Worlds fastest AF of 0,06 seconds, covering an area of 93% of the whole sensor with 179 AF points!

This is the first mirrorless camera to beat pro level DSLR AF speed and quality. But sans the pro level DSLR pricetag. And it can still be improved upon.

In one month time Sony will announce the A77 successor, which will have an AF system that is at least as good as that of this A6000.

Why didn't they put this in the A7R!?!?! Dimwhits...
02-12-2014, 08:41 AM   #3
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I wonder. Seems like at this point auto focus is more lens dependent than camera body dependent. Olympus releases info about how awesome their auto focus is, but it depends very much on which lens you test. I'm sure this is good, but is it really better than a D4?
02-12-2014, 08:47 AM   #4
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Sounds good. Hopefully some of this innovation seeps to Pentax. I would love a K-01 with super focus like that

02-12-2014, 10:19 AM   #5
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Sounds like it might be ideal for those into street photography...

... a modern Nikon S2 or a Leica M3?
02-12-2014, 10:35 AM   #6
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I had once my eyes on the NEX7 and this is now coming.
Interesting.
Nice and small, easy to carry as a second camera.
Viewfinder "view" is smaller than on one previous model I am reading?

One thing though, the choice of lenses: seemingly quite expensive ... I mean, what would be the equivalent of a DA*16-50 in Sony's gear?

JP
02-12-2014, 10:59 AM   #7
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Now we're talking. Finally some excellent focus speed with these cameras.

02-12-2014, 12:14 PM   #8
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Wow, it's a good time to be a camera buyer! Hopefully that will be even more the case in 6-12 months when I look to upgrade one of my K-01 bodies...
02-12-2014, 01:42 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Clavius Quote
I've just been reading up on it. Worlds fastest AF of 0,06 seconds, covering an area of 93% of the whole sensor with 179 AF points!

This is the first mirrorless camera to beat pro level DSLR AF speed and quality. But sans the pro level DSLR pricetag. And it can still be improved upon.

In one month time Sony will announce the A77 successor, which will have an AF system that is at least as good as that of this A6000.

Why didn't they put this in the A7R!?!?! Dimwhits...
I would guess for two reasons.

1) The A7R is probably intended for slower, more deliberate shots vs. quick action shots. You have the luxury of time.

2) Sony had enough challenges to deal with designing the sensor and packing everything into the camera. Leaving some features out accelerated their time to market. Even with the missing features the camera is more than good enough for its intended audience. We may see an update that incorporates additional features such as more focus points and a faster image processing system.
02-12-2014, 02:07 PM - 1 Like   #10
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Just a word of caution in amongst the hype: AF needs to be more than just fast, accuracy is important too. Jury is still out until we get real life experience reports. Buffer size is also important for burst shooting - not sure how the new camera will behave, but previous NEX cameras splutter after 10 frames at 10fps.

One of the reasons Sony did not implement PDAF on the A7r is that they could not get the accuracy they wanted and on a 36Mp sensor that is critical. There are reports the A7 focus can be bit off on occasion compared to A7r.. This is normal for PDAF - various photographers have reported that manual focusing often achieves a better result than AF on the D800(E) and 5D.

I've had issues with focus accuracy on the 1DMkIII and 1DMkIV, I didn't have any on the D800E but all DSLRs require periodic calibration to maintain optimal focus accuracy. Of course, this is not an issue for on-chip PDAF like on the A6000 but even then ...

I've noticed that my NEX6 can be less accurate than the NEX-5n or NEX-F3 (which are CDAF only).

It may well be that Sony has addressed all the above issues and concerns. Let's hope so.

Unfortunately the EVF is lower resolution than the NEX6. Some claim it is higher accuracy (colour and response time) but again I'll like to try one out first before buying it.
02-12-2014, 02:42 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Doundounba Quote
Wow, it's a good time to be a camera buyer! Hopefully that will be even more the case in 6-12 months when I look to upgrade one of my K-01 bodies...
It is a good time for camera buyers. Hopefully, Pentax's next flagship body will bear some major improvements over the k-3.
02-12-2014, 06:54 PM   #12
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I suspect it's really worlds fastest AF, but….

And then a list of qualifiers. As someone in another forum said where fanatics were jumping up and down declaring the dslr dead. If Sony really had something that revolutionary why not put in in a camera at a premium price and profit instead of rolling out the best the world has ever seen in a mid level cam. I mean if there is no point to the 1DX and D4 anymore, they really should tell us.
02-12-2014, 07:21 PM   #13
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I like how the A6000 NFC feature works with smartphones.



02-12-2014, 08:08 PM - 2 Likes   #14
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Everybody likes to beat this drum loud, but every time it ends up that guy had a loud hailer placed beside the drum

Oly did it when they launched EP2 (still slow), then EP3 ("worlds fastest *** " ) then came OMD (again 'FAST *** )
Panny followed suit in which case, they were better than Oly in that in the arena of m4/3 they never started off with a super slow AF m4/3 (like Oly did) , again with ***
Then we had Fuji X- PRO wow! its X and its PRO, well, AF really needed many ***
Then they promised firmware updates, and XE1's in between all this AF speed champ talk, but in the end, all failed to deliver consistently on many real use situations.

Now its just Sony's turn.

To be fair, AF speed is usually improved.
But in reality, they still often have issues in some real use situations.


*** = fine print
02-12-2014, 08:12 PM - 1 Like   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by jpzk Quote
One thing though, the choice of lenses: seemingly quite expensive ... I mean, what would be the equivalent of a DA*16-50 in Sony's gear?
The bigger problem has always been their lenses are too huge/heavy for these small mirrorless bodies.
The m4/3 systems are a lot better balanced...lenses are typically 2/3 the weight of comparable APS-C lenses (excepting Pentax' Ltd primes of course :-)
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