Sony Alpha A6300 Review

The Sony Alpha A6300 updates the A6000, which will remain on the market, and adds a number of improvements, including a new 24.2 megapixel sensor for improved low light performance, 4K video and faster readout speed to enable improved shooting performance. The camera body has been updated to be weather-sealed when used with weather-sealed lenses. The Sony Alpha A6300 is available now for around £989 body only.

Sony Alpha A6300 Features

The Sony Alpha A6300 (ILCE-6300) has a new 24.2mp APS-C CMOS sensor with an ISO range of ISO100 to ISO51200. The sensor uses copper wiring which means it has larger photodiodes, and better sensitivity. There is a thinner wiring layer, and the copper wiring enables a faster readout - this enables 4K video readout, as well as a faster readout for a quicker viewfinder. The smaller wiring section means there is a larger photodiode dimension for enhanced light collection, and ISO12800 is improved with results visibly better than the A6000. This can be seen in the diagram shown below:

Sony APS-C Copper Wiring Sensor

Sony claim the World's fastest AF speed with the A6300, (0.05s) have tested this with the Sony 16-50mm PZ kit lens. The A6300 has 425 AF points, with 425 phase-detection AF points, and 169 contrast-detection points. This works with all A-mount lenses when used with the Sony LA-EA3 mount adapter. 

The camera offers 11fps continuous shooting (44-55 JPEG frames depending on compression, 21 raw frames), with continuous AF. Sony calls their AF tracking system "4D Focus", and with 425 focus points, this covers a wide area of the sensor, as well as offering "High-density tracking AF".

There are two high-speed continuous shooting drive modes selectable:

• Hi+ shoots at 11fps with continuous AF
• Hi shoots at 8fps, with minimal viewfinder lag, so that you can continue to keep your eye on the subject while shooting. (Live view continuous shooting)

Autofocus has been improved for video as well with 2x faster AF in movie mode compared to A6000 so that the camera can track fast-moving subjects, and an example shown was a flying bird.

The camera records 4K video at 3840x2160 pixels 30p, 25p, 24p, as well as high-speed FullHD video at up to 120/100fps, and we go into more detail on the video features of the A6300 later.

The A6300 features an XGA OLED viewfinder with 100fps refresh mode which has been developed in response to customer's common concerns regarding electronic viewfinders, which includes (poor) resolution, slow time lag, and blackout. Sony believes they have resolved these issues, with a 2.36m dot resolution viewfinder with a high refresh rate, and reduced time lag and blackout when using the 8fps continuous shooting mode.

Sony Alpha A6300 Magnesium Alloy Construction 

The A6300 has a magnesium alloy body, that is dust and moisture resistant (with FE lenses such as the FE 85mm f/1.4 GM and FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM). The camera also offers button customisation, a tiltable 3inch LCD screen. An enhanced grip and shutter release button compared to the A6000. There's a robust lens mount, built to the same standard as the Sony Alpha A7 Mark II series. The A6300 can be powered via the MicroUSB socket, which is also used for charging, and another new addition is a microphone socket on the side of the camera. These developments have been made following feedback from customers and journalists.

Sony Alpha A6300 Key Features

• 24.2mp APS-C CMOS Sensor (Copper wiring)
• 425 phase-detection AF points
• 3inch tilting screen, 921k dots
• 2.4 million dot EVF with 120fps refresh rate
• 11fps continuous shooting with AF/AE 
• 8fps continuous live-view mode
• 14-bit RAW output
• ISO100 to ISO51200
• Wi-Fi, NFC, QR Code connectivity
• Sony PlayMemories App
• Power supply via USB
• Weather sealed magnesium alloy body*

* Weather sealing is only applicable when using FE lenses.

Sony Alpha A6300 Video Features

Oversampling - The A6300 uses 20 megapixels for oversampling (without pixel binning) to make a 4K image giving high-resolution video output - and in comparison, this uses a higher resolution than the A7R II which uses 15 megapixels for oversampling. The camera uses a Super35 equivalent area of the sensor for 4K video, meaning there is very little cropped. The camera needs a UHS-I class 3 SD card for internal recording, and also supports clean HDMI to record to an external device.

Super35 Equivalent 4K Video 

Sony Alpha A6300 Video Features

• 4K video recording, full pixel readout (3840x2160 pixels 30p, 25p, 24p)
• XAVC S, 100MBps (MP4 wrapper)
• FullHD video at 120/100fps 
• S-log3 gamma, S-log2 gamma, S-gamut3
• Picture profile
• Timecode / User bit
• Gamma display assist
• Enhanced Zebra display
• Clean HDMI output (QFHD 3840x2160)
• ISO100-25600 available
• Microphone socket

Sony Alpha A6300 Handling

The Sony Alpha A6300 has a very similar button layout to the A6000, and a familiar set of controls and buttons, including the Fn button on the back which gives quick access to some of the most popular settings. The options that appear on the function screen can be customised, so that you can setup the camera to give you access to your favourite settings. This means you could set it to show the same options as another Sony camera you might have, which will make the camera easier and quicker in use. 

When using the high-speed continuous shooting mode at 11fps, you can shoot between 44 and 55 JPEG shots depending on the compression used, or 21 raw images. We've recorded a quick video showing the camera shooting at 11fps below:

The Sony Alpha A6300 menus will be familiar to anyone who has used a recent Sony camera, as the menu system has been standardised across all Sony cameras, whether you are using a Sony Alpha camera or a Sony Cyber-shot model. We've recorded a video showing the menu options below:

The camera has an improved battery life of 400 shots when using the LCD screen, or 350 shots using the EVF, which is an improvement over the A6000. Focus works down to -1EV and up to 20EV, with exposure metering working down to -2EV and up to 20EV.