Sony α6400
The Sony α6400 is a digital camera announced on January 15, 2019. It is an APS-C mirrorless interchangeable lens camera designed to be a mid-range mirrorless camera and acts as the successor to the α6300. Intended to target the vlogging community, the α6400 features a flip-up screen and aggressive pricing. It features the same 24 megapixel sensor seen in the α6500. At the time of release, the two most capable cameras in the α6000 series of cameras were the α6400 and the α6500. The α6500 features in-body image stabilization and a larger image buffer, but the α6400 is arguably more advanced as the newer model. This is largely due to its increased processing power, real-time eye AF, and real-time tracking. These features, for example, cannot be added to the α6300 via a firmware update, as it would be too demanding on the processor.
At its announcement, the Sony α6400 is advertised as featuring the "world's fastest autofocus" with lag of 0.02 second and 11 fps continuous shooting with continuous AF and 8 fps with the silent shutter. Its MSRP is $899 for the body and $999 with a 16–50 mm power-zoom kit lens f/3.5-5.6.
Sony's α6400 also saw a much-needed upgrade to the photo sharing apps and the reintroduction of time-lapse videos via the menu system.
For videographers, a welcome change for the α6400 was the removal of the 30-minute record limit. This artificial limit was placed on many cameras possibly to avoid import taxes in the EU, but also to reduce the risk of damage from overheating. The α6400 is also a vast improvement for Sony with regard to overheating. Tests released online showed that in normal ambient temperatures, the battery will be discharged completely or the memory card will reach capacity before reaching abnormally high temperatures.
Firmware 2.0 was released for the α6400 on June 13, 2019, introducing animal-eye AF, the ability to use the wireless remote commander RMT-P1BT, as well as claimed stability improvements.
Sony A6400a and Sony A6100a were announced on January 3, 2025. These models first appeared on the Sony UK page. There were noticeably no differences between the core specifications of the new and old models.
Features
- 24.2-megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor
- 425-point phase detection AF
- Real-time Eye AF; real-time tracking
- Super 35 mm format, 4K movie recording with full pixel readout and no pixel binning
- LCD touchscreen with 180-degree tilt up functionality
- 1.0 cm electronic viewfinder
- 1200-zone evaluative light metering
- Built-in Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth
- LED-auto focus illuminator
- Continuous shooting: Hi+: 11 fps, Hi: 8 fps, Mid: 6 fps, Lo: 3 fps
- My Menu system
- Single memory card slot
- Electronic shutter for silent shooting
- Interval Shooting
- Animal Eye AF
- Compatibility with the wireless remote commander RMT-P1BT
Reception
After its announcement, numerous first impressions were released by popular YouTube vloggers and camera-focused channels. The general consensus is that Sony priced it correctly, but for some, the lack of the new Zbattery and the fact the flip-up screen blocks the hot shoe mount are odd choices.Remote Control and Apps
The camera is controllable remotely via Sony's app. While this app allows for geotagging photos over Bluetooth, it omits altitude data and only latitude/longitude are available.Third-party apps, such as, expand functionality with features for creating focus-stacked images.