Sony A6000 camera review – Sony mirrorless camera

Sony A6000 was my first mirrorless camera and my first step in switching from DSLR to the more comfortable carrying and handling photo gear. I am now a proud owner of the Sony A7RII professional camera – which I wrote a review about – but I will never forget my first love, the A6000.

To see what this jewel can do, in my gallery, almost all the photos are taken with a Sony A6000. Click the picture to open the whole page and click ‘i’ at the bottom. If it says camera model “ILCE 6000” on the left side, then it is a Sony A6000 picture.

Sony A6000 review

Product: Sony Alpha ILCE-A6000

My rating: 5 out of 5

Sony A6000 comes with a 24.3 – effective – megapixel APS-C image sensor. This sensor offers high sensitivity in low-light environments and defocuses all or part of an image’s foreground and background. You’ll enjoy the extremely low noise with a sensitivity range of ISO 100 to 25600 and excellent image quality with lifelike color. The most crucial detail and smooth tonal levels reveal all the nuances of your scene.

BIONZ X image processing engine – recreates textures and details as seen by the naked eye.  Visual noise is practically undetectable because of the further advanced area-specific noise reduction.

Full HD movies – the new, improved fast hybrid AF provides fast and accurate autofocusing and tracking while shooting video, with sharpness and lack of noise.With choices  of 60p / 50p, 60i / 50i or 24p / 25p – NTSC/PAL. Thanks to the Clear Image Zoom, you can also use P/A/S/M modes to get maximum control over the general image view and zoom with extra clarity.

The Sony A6000 camera is a powerhouse when it comes to video performance, offering an impressive blend of versatility and quality. With its advanced features and compact design, this mirrorless camera is a favorite among videographers of all levels.

Equipped with a 24.3-megapixel Exmor APS-C sensor and BIONZ X image processor, the A6000 delivers stunning high-definition video. It supports Full HD 1080p video recording at 60fps, ensuring smooth and detailed footage. The camera’s fast hybrid autofocus system with 179 phase-detection points enables quick and accurate subject tracking, crucial for capturing dynamic video scenes.

One standout feature is its ability to shoot in the versatile AVCHD and XAVC S formats, providing flexibility in post-production editing. The A6000 also boasts impressive low-light performance, allowing for clear and vibrant video even in challenging lighting conditions.

Videographers will appreciate the tiltable 3-inch LCD screen, enabling creative framing and easy monitoring while recording. Additionally, the built-in Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity make it seamless to transfer videos to your devices for quick sharing.

Whether you’re a vlogging enthusiast or a professional videographer, the Sony A6000’s exceptional video capabilities make it a reliable and powerful tool, delivering high-quality results in a compact and portable package.

179 AF points – considerably accurate phase-detection AF points that practically cover the entire image area. They allow enhanced subject tracking and capture of fast-moving subjects, along with improved scene detection and subject size exposure.

Eleven fps continuous shooting – with AF tracking ensures you capture the decisive moment accurately chasing your subject anywhere on the screen.

AF mode – having the subject in focus assures super-sharp images. Sony A6000 <- Affiliate Link 🙂 is the first E-mount digital camera that offers AF-A and shows the active AF points the same in the AF-C mode, so you can check if you are focusing on the right subject.

High-resolution OLED Tru-Finder – offers 100% frame coverage. It is a new optical system with four double aspherical lenses, which brings a wide viewing angle of about 33° and clear visibility all over the screen. It lets you preview defocusing, exposure, and other effects and adjust brightness in five stages.

A Tiltable 3″ LCD screen allows you to shoot everything from low to high angle.

What do others have to say about A6000?

Specifications

• Lens compatibility – Sony E-mount lenses
• Sensor type – APS-C type (23.5 x 15.6 mm) Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor
• Effective pixels – Approximative 24.3 megapixels
• Image sensor aspect ratio – 3:2
• Anti-dust system – Charge protection coating on optical filter and ultrasonic vibration mechanism
• Still images format – JPEG and RAW
• Video format – AVCHD 2.0/MP4
• Audio format – Dolby digital (AC-3/2ch) for AVCHD and MPEG-4 (AAC-LC/2ch) for MP4
• Microphone – built-in stereo
• Speaker – built-in, monaural
• Shutter type – Electronically controlled, vertical traverse, focal-plane type
• Shutter speed – for still images, 1/4000 to 30 seconds (bulb); for movies, shutter speed is 1/4000 to 1/4 and up to 1/50 in auto mode.
• Focus type – Fast Hybrid AF
• Focus sensor – Exmor APS HD CMOS
• Focus point – 179 points phase-detection AF/25 points contrast-detection AF
• AF mode   AF-A (Automatic AF); AF-S (single-shot AF); AF-C (continuous AF), and DMF – direct manual focus
• ISO sensitivity – for still images 100-25600 equivalent (1/3 EV step); in auto mode 100-25600 with selectable limits; for movies 100-12800 equivalent (1/3 EV step) / in auto mode ISO speed 100-12800 with selectable limits
• Battery life for still images – Approximative 310 shots through the viewfinder and 360 shots with the LCD monitor
• Battery life for movies – Approximative 60 minutes
• Viewfinder type – 1.0 cm color electronic viewfinder
• Number of dots – 1 440 000 dots
• Monitor type – 7.5 cm wide TFT
• Number of dots – 921 600 dots
• Flash – Built-in flash
• Flash synchronization speed – 1/160 seconds
• Print – Compatible standards
• Dimensions – 120 x 66.9 x 45.1 cm
• Weight – 344 g with battery and media

What’s in the box

• AC adapter
• Body cap
• Eyepiece cup
• Micro USB cable
• Power cord
• Rechargeable battery pack
• Shoulder strap

Pronouncement and Tips

Sony A6000 was my trustful companion in my photography journey for about two years. This is why I can say that I have tested it in many ways, and I can give a rightful pronouncement.

It is easy to carry and handle. The quality of the pictures is excellent for such a compact camera. If you think you don’t need to spend thousands of cash for a professional one plus a full-frame lens, this is my recommendation. You can buy it for about £450 with a kit lens or less – body only.

If you are low on budget, I recommend doing as I did – buy the body only and one lens you can generally use (from macro to zoom, wide for architecture, good for portraits, and wide enough for landscapes)

For example only – this one I used myself – Sony Alpha SEL18200 18-200 mm f/3.5-6.3 Aspherical OSS IS:

This is somewhat tricky … If you want to take portrait shots, the best lens will be some dedicated portraits. If you want macro – the same, some macro lenses will perform better than this one.

The advantages of using only one lens for everything are:

• sensor and lens protection – you will rarely need to disconnect your lens
• cost of equipment – if you want a specific glass for each task, you will need at least four of them (macro, portrait, zoom, and wide)
• Size of your bag – not so easy to carry everywhere

As said before, this is only an example. I used to do this because of the low budget and the upper lens performs in all tasks better than the medium performance lens on the market!!! 

Another tip – when buying a lens for Sony A6000, keep in mind to buy an APS-C lens – not a full-frame. The lens is built for a specific sensor type, which is good to know. I hope that this was helpful.

Please comment below if you have questions or want to add something to this topic. I am always happy to help and ready to learn more. Thanks for reading to the end!