Sony's latest mirrorless camera is all about speed and power, which it appears to have in abundance. The newly-announced A6300 not only boasts the world's fastest autofocus in its class, but also offers continuous shooting at 11 fps (frames per second) and 4K movie recording in Super 35 mm format.
The A6300 (or α6300) is a followup to Sony's aging, but still popular, A6000 APS-C mirrorless camera. Though the firm has spent the last couple of years showering its full frame A7 cameras with all the love and technological advancements, it's good to see that its high-end crop sensor cameras aren't being forgotten.
Inside the Sony A6300 is a newly-developed APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) 24.2-megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor which is paired with a BIONZ X image processor. This combo will allow the camera to shoot high-quality images with a wide ISO range of 100 to 51,200. It can also shoot quickly, too, it has a top speed of 11 fps, or 8 fps in continuous live-view mode if you want to be able to frame the action better.
While the A6000 was no slouch in the autofocus department, it looks like the A6300 will be even quicker. It's billed as having the "world's fastest autofocus" though the fine print points out this is relates only to interchangeable lens cameras with an APS-C sized sensor. That said, its Fast Hybrid AF system with 425 phase detection points means it can lock focus on a subject in as little as 0.05 seconds, which is quick. The points also cover almost the whole frame, and make tracking moving subjects easier with the enhanced 4D Focus feature.
Video recording options are another area in which the A6300 appears to excel. It's the first non-full-frame Sony to offer internal 4K movie recording in Super 35 mm format. This means the camera uses full pixel readout without pixel binning and then over-samples the information to produce higher quality footage. The camera can shoot 4K video (3840 x 2160) at up to 30 fps.
Use of the XAVC S codec will give high quality video footage, and the camera is said to focus twice as fast as its predecessor during movie recording. Video shooters will also be pleased to see a microphone line input, and a slow motion option of shooting Full HD 1080p footage at up to 120 fps. There's also an enhanced Zebra function and clean HDMI output.
On the rear of the E-mount camera is an OLED viewfinder with 2.4 million dots. In addition to the previously mentioned ability to use this when shooting at up to 8 fps (many electronic viewfinders stutter when shooting bursts of images), it also has a mode which allows display of images at 120 fps, for a smoother experience when shooting action. There's also a 3-inch 921k dot LCD monitor which can be angled up 90 degrees, or down 45 degrees.
The camera measures 120 x 67 x 49 mm (4.7 x 2.6 x 1.9 in), and weighs 404 g (14.2 oz) with a battery and memory card. It also boasts built-in Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity and will work with Sony's PlayMemories Mobile app for iOS or Android, and the Sony PlayMemories Camera Apps.
In addition to announcing the A6300, Sony has also revealed a new flagship line of G Master premium lenses. Initially this will comprise three full frame E-mount lenses including a 24-70-mm constant F2.8 standard zoom, an 85-mm F1.4 prime and a 70-200-mm constant F2.8 telephoto zoom.
The Sony A6300 will be available from March priced at US$1,000 body-only. As for the new lenses, the 24-70-mm will cost $2,200, and the 85-mm $1,800 when they are released next month. The 70-200-mm will arrive in May, with no pricing yet announced.
You can check out a promo video showing off the autofocus features of the A6300 below.
Product pages: Sony A6300, 24-70-mm GM, 85-mm GM, 70-200-mm GM
