digital camera
A digital camera, also called a digicam, is a camera that captures photographs in Digital data storage, digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film or film stock. Dig ...
announced 12 February 2014. It is a
mirrorless interchangeable lens camera
A mirrorless camera (sometimes referred to as a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera (MILC) or digital single-lens mirrorless (DSLM)) is a digital camera which, in contrast to DSLRs, does not use a mirror in order to ensure that the image ...
(MILC), which has a smaller body form factor than a traditional
DSLR
A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a solid-state image sensor and digitally records the images from the sensor.
The reflex des ...
while retaining the sensor size and features of an
APS-C
Advanced Photo System type-C (APS-C) is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System film negative in its C ("Classic") format, of 25.1×16.7 mm, an aspect ratio of 3:2 and Ø 30.15 mm field d ...
-sized model. It is targeted at professionals, experienced users, and enthusiasts. It replaced the NEX-6 and NEX-7. Review websites note that although the α6000 uses a 24 MP sensor like the Sony NEX-7, the Sony α6000 can also be seen as more of a replacement of the Sony NEX-6. In the Firmware version 1.10, an android subsystem was added. The sub system was used to run Sony's apps.
At the time of its release, the Sony α6000 was advertised featuring the "world's fastest autofocus" with lag of 0.06 second and 11 fps continuous shooting with tracking AF. Its MSRP is $700 with a 16–50 mm power-zoom kit lens f/3.5-5.6.
Despite the announcement of an updated model in February 2016, the α6300, Sony has said they will continue production of the α6000.
Sony Alpha ILCE-6000 APS-C-frame camera with body cap flash extended.jpeg,
Sony Alpha ILCE-6000 APS-C-frame camera rear screen tilted.jpg,
Sony Alpha ILCE-6000 APS-C-frame camera side screen tilted.jpeg,
Sony Alpha ILCE-6000 APS-C-frame camera side screen tilted max.jpeg,
Compared to its predecessor,
Sony NEX-6
The Sony NEX-6 is a digital camera announced on 12 September 2012. It is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera or MILC, and thus has a smaller body form factor than a traditional DSLR, whilst retaining the sensor size and features of an APS ...
The Sony α6000 was released one and a half year later, and has a slightly different shaped body than the NEX-6. The α6000's body silhouette is almost like a perfect rectangle. They use the same
sensor size
In digital photography, the image sensor format is the shape and size of the image sensor.
The image sensor format of a digital camera determines the angle of view of a particular lens when used with a particular sensor. Because the image se ...
, but the α6000 has a 24 megapixel resolution, which is a 50% higher resolution, than the 16 MP NEX-6. The alpha model has an extra physical control dial, compared to the NEX model. The newer model has a slightly faster burst rate (11 fps vs 10 fps) and has almost twice as many
autofocus
An autofocus (AF) optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus on an automatically or manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system h ...
points (179 vs 99), which makes it a lot more capable of sports photography. The α6000 also offers
Near-field communication
Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used for the boots ...
and smartphone remote control over
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
, which the NEX cannot do. The
SD card
Secure Digital (SD) is a proprietary, non-volatile, flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA). Owing to their compact size, SD cards have been widely adopted in a variety of portable consumer electronics, including dig ...
slot supports UHS-I in the α6000 whereas the NEX-6 doesn't support any UHS standards. But there is one aspect which is a bit indistinctive and better in the older model: The NEX-6 has a 63% higher resolution electronic
viewfinder
In photography, a viewfinder is a device on a camera that a photographer uses to determine exactly where the camera is pointed, and approximately how much of that view will be photographed. A viewfinder can be mechanical (indicating only direct ...
than the α6000 (2,359,000 dots vs 1,440,000 dots).
Compared to its other predecessor,
Sony NEX-7
The Sony α NEX-7 is a digital camera announced 24 August 2011 by Sony. It is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera and as such inherits a smaller body form factor than a traditional digital single-lens reflex camera, while still retaining the ...
The NEX-7 was introduced in 2011 and has a more rounded body, than the 3 years newer α6000. They use the same, 24 MP
image sensor An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to form an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they refraction, pass through or reflection (physics), reflect off objects) into s ...
, but the noise performance is better in the newer model, thanks to the better processor. It also offers a higher maximum sensitivity (25,600 vs 16,600). The biggest difference is the
autofocus
An autofocus (AF) optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus on an automatically or manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system h ...
: The NEX-7 only has 25 focus points, the α6000 has 179, so it's a lot more accurate and also faster. The burst rate is the same as the NEX-6 in the NEX-7, (10 fps), the α6000 can shoot a tiny bit faster continuously (11 fps). Similarly to the NEX-6, there is no NFC,
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
remote control or UHS
memory card
A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices, such as digital cameras as well as in many early games conso ...
support in the NEX-7, but the α6000 has these features. The Alpha model is 56g lighter than the NEX. However, there is also one aspect, which the NEX-7 is clearly better, than its successor, and this is the fact, it has a microphone jack input, which is present in the NEX, but the α6000 lacks it for some reason. In terms of buttons, they have a different layout, but there are the same dials and buttons on the two cameras.
Popularity
The Sony α6000 proved to be an extremely popular camera. By early 2016, it was reported to be the best-selling interchangeable-lens camera in the over-US$600 price range as well as the best-selling mirrorless camera of all time.
Firmware updates
Firmware version 1.10, released on 30 October 2014, added faster start up time and support for the "Smart Remote Control" Play Memories application.
Firmware version 1.20, released on 26 March 2015, improved images captured on new lenses and added a few minor enhancements.
Firmware version 1.21, released on 6 April 2015, fixed an error in version 1.20 and improved lens performance.
Firmware version 2.00, released on 16 June 2015, enabled video capture with the XAVC S codec to support high Bit Rates.
Firmware version 3.10, released on 17 March 2016, optimized lens performance (applied to the lenses releasing after 2016 March).
Firmware version 3.20, released on 26 July 2016, optimized lens performance (SEL-70200GM).
Firmware version 3.21, released on 19 March 2019, improved stability of the AF operation.
Mobile phone application update 2019
There is an application (Image Edge Mobile) which allows a user to control the Sony A6000-A6500 camera. The application also allows a user to transfer photos over wireless to the user's mobile phone.
Sony α7
The Sony α7, α7R, α7S and α7C (the α is sometimes spelled out as Alpha) are four closely related families of full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras. The first two were announced in October 2013,α6000
Live-preview digital camerasCameras introduced in 2014