Hey, Vloggers! The Sony a6400 is Tailor-Made for You

By Shawn C. Steiner |

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What's up vloggers? Today we have something awesome to show you: the brand-new Sony a6400! The latest in Sony's line of E-mount mirrorless cameras, this model is something special, with numerous specs to make YouTubers happy. To start, it has an updated 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor for creating the quality imagery we have come to expect from the brand. Reinforcing this is an updated design that incorporates a 180-degree 3.0" 921k-dot LCD touchscreen and an incredible AF system.

After years of attacking the top end of the camera industry, it is nice to see Sony bringing something out for everyday users. The a6400 sits in the middle of the company's current APS-C lineup, delivering great performance while maintaining a compact size and fun-filled feature set. It still is Sony, of course, so you can expect spectacular image quality from the underlying technology at sensitivities up to ISO 32000 or an expanded ISO 102400. A world's-fastest 0.02 second AF acquisition speed is facilitated by 425 phase- and contrast-detect AF points, covering 84% of the image area. It also has Real-time Eye AF and Real-time Tracking.

Video is a major concern for modern creators, and the a6400 delivers UHD 4K internally with full pixel readout at up to 30 fps. The advanced AF tech will ensure subjects remain tack sharp, and the latest Picture Profiles are available. This includes HLG for Instant HDR, S-Log2 and S-Log3. Other video benefits are a Zebra function, Gamma Display Assist, and Full HD at 120 fps. Time lapses can be captured in-camera now, with a built-in interval mode with ample customization.

The build is meant to last, with magnesium-alloy construction and a shutter rated to 200,000 cycles. This is helpful for working with the 11-fps continuous shooting rate. There is still an XGA OLED electronic viewfinder for eye-level composition. And, it will work with the newly revealed Imaging Edge Mobile app. This makes it a great deal easier to transfer images, including a background-transfer function. 4K movies can now be sent to your smart devices, and you have remote-control functionality. Another new mobile app is a Transfer & Tagging add-on for instant delivery via a camera's FTP capabilities. You can also work with voice input for captioning, making it a lot easier to work as a team. Another update is version 1.4 of the Image Edge suite of desktop applications. They will now support time-lapse movie creation, as well as an improved interface, and a few other useful functions.

That isn't all for software—leading the firmware news is the a9, coming in with versions 5.0 and 6.0 on the way. Arriving first, in March 2019, is Real-time Tracking, using AI-based techno to analyze the scene. This will dramatically improve subject tracking. A Tracking On setting can also be custom assigned to a button for fast access, and Touch Tracking uses the touchscreen to initiate. Another addition is Real-time Eye AF, which uses much of the same tech to automatically detect and follow eyes in all AF modes. Version 5.0 brings improved color reproduction and white balance algorithm, as well as an extended phase-detect AF range up to f/16. Version 6.0, scheduled for the summer, 2019, is Eye AF for animals.

Coming, in April 2019, the a7R III and a7 III are getting version 3.0. These also bring Real-time Eye AF performance upgrades and Real-Time Eye AF for animals. An integrated interval function for time lapses will be available for capturing up to 9,999 shots in a row with exposure tracking sensitivity adjustments.

Do you think the a6400 will be a great vlogging camera? What about for everyday use? How about the firmware news for their full-frame models? Sound off in the box below with your thoughts!

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