Pondering an a6600? Pros and Cons?
Printed From: Dyxum.com
Category: Equipment forums
Forum Name: E-mount APS-C
Forum Description: For discussion of all e-mount APS-C cameras
URL: https://www.dyxum.com/dforum/forum_posts.asp?TID=140696
Printed Date: 19 May 2025 at 00:43
Topic: Pondering an a6600? Pros and Cons?
Posted By: Wētāpunga
Subject: Pondering an a6600? Pros and Cons?
Date Posted: 29 January 2022 at 23:45
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So after my sessions with Takapu (gannets) at Muriwai, I'm not that happy with the performance of the a7Riii as a wildlife camera. Of course, that's not why I got one and it was more its utility as a landscape camera that could be a general purpose camera if needed, that motivated that decision. Now, I know the a9, a9II or A1 would be superb for wildlife, but that becomes quite expensive for a genre I don't photograph frequently. The a7iv is also tempting but still, its not a cheap option. (Albeit I do like its versatility, especially for video). So now I'm pondering the a6600. One of the big pros is of course the price. The AF system is much better than the a7Riii. I gather it's almost as good as the a9. Even the APS-C format isn't really a con for wildlife or birds, and more of an advantage. Major cons seem to be it does not have bird-eye detection (any realistic chance that'd be added in a firmware update?), the SD-card slot is still UHS-I, not UHS-II and that the buffer-size is limited. But each of those cons can only be fixed by spending a lot more money. Which for something that isn't my primary interest is hard to justify. And I also like the idea of having a B-camera for events and as backup. So is it going to be enough of an improvement over my a7Riii to deliver the shots I want, or is realistically, the best way forward saying up the cash and getting something more advanced? ------------- α1, α7cii- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 & 100-400/4.5-5.6; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Sony 135/2.8 STF |
Replies:
Posted By: QuietOC
Date Posted: 30 January 2022 at 00:40
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I would not expect the A6600 to have as good of AF as the A7 models. It has a much slower mechanical shutter and the sensor read is still slow too. You might try the APS-C mode on your A7RIII. That may improve its AF performance. One issue with the A7RIII is the phase-detect is limited to f/8. ------------- Sony A7RIV LA-EA5 Pentax Q7 5-15 15-45/2.8 8.5/1.9 11.5/9 |
Posted By: 2manycamera
Date Posted: 30 January 2022 at 01:06
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I have used my a6600 in combo with the Sigma 100-400 for the eagles that often nest near us, and float in the thermals above the hill where we live. The AF performance has been the best of any camera I use (a99, a7Rii) and results are improving as I take advantage whenever they decide to visit. Buffer can be an issue, so I try to limit my bursts rather than have the camera decide to slow down. Mostly, My technique needs improving as BIF is new for me. I'm sure there might be better choices, but I have really enjoyed my results an the a6600. ------------- 7D a68 a99 a6600 a7Rii 16/2.8 24/2.8 28/2 35/2 50/1.4 100/2 200/2.8 24-70CZ 1.8/135 80-200/2.8 24-105 28-135 300/4 16-50DT 70-300G Tam 90/2.8, E55-210 E2/12 Sig E1.4/16,30 & 56, FE15/4.5V |
Posted By: Wētāpunga
Date Posted: 30 January 2022 at 02:32
You may have to elaborate there for me. The a6600 has the real-time tracking focus rated at 0.02s, more AF points than the a7Riii and can shoot at up to 11fps. While I would expect say, the a7iv to be better, on most of the specs it looks to be better than the a7Riii foe action. I also don't understand why switching the a7Riii to APS-C mode would make it faster. ------------- α1, α7cii- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 & 100-400/4.5-5.6; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Sony 135/2.8 STF |
QuietOC wrote:Posted By: Wētāpunga
Date Posted: 30 January 2022 at 02:37
Thanks- that is encouraging. I would like to get something with bird-eye detect of course. So I also appreciate that there are better cameras than the a6600. But the a6600 only has to be markedly better at birds/wildlife than the a7Riii, not equivalent to the say a9ii. ------------- α1, α7cii- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 & 100-400/4.5-5.6; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Sony 135/2.8 STF |
Posted By: addy landzaat
Date Posted: 30 January 2022 at 08:43
I own the A6400 that is basically an A6600 without IBIS. The AF is really good. But the A7 iv will have better AF. The sensor is aging, but still fine imho. If you use the full sensor of a recent full frame camera you will have better IQ - but I think the IQ is more then fine. If bird-eye AF would've come to the A6600 it already would have been there. I do not expect it anymore. UHS-I or UHS-II is irrelevant as long as the speed is quick enough (a.k.a. is the buffer deep enough). But like you said, the buffer size might be a thing, but then, like 2manycamera says, you should not take long bursts, only short ones. Some things you did not mention. Being left-eye dominant, I LOVE the side EVF. But not everybody likes it. If you look over the lens before you bring it to you eye, it might take some time to get used to. The camera is light, that is both a pro and a con. You decide. It only has one proper control wheel and the wheel on the back - both thumb operated. Could be frustrating if you use manual settings. I do not really do birds. I do some occasional birding with my A6400 and the 70-350G. I love to take that combination on hikes. It is small and convenient. I bring my A6400 with the 10-18/4 or the 16-70/4 for outings with family or friends. Really nice combination. I only bring my A7r4 for "serious photography". Three other remarks: if you can stretch it, take another look at the A7 iv - it is two years newer. Also look at a used A9. There is talk of a new "pro" APS-C camera next year - but there is talk about this every year. I love my A6400, especially as a small, take everywhere, general purpose camera that can do everything. Including birding. ------------- Why not follow me on Instagram? @Addy_101 |
Posted By: Stuart1701
Date Posted: 30 January 2022 at 10:52
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The A6600 is a good camera and the focus tracking is better than the A7R3 in my opinion, although not as good as the A9. Having said that, there are a couple of points you need to be aware of: 1- Animal eye autofocus cannot be enabled when using focus tracking. Human eye-af works, but animal eye doesn't. This might be an issue for you shooting wildlife. 2- There is no bird eye-af, this only came in with the A1. ------------- Stuart M. |
Posted By: Wētāpunga
Date Posted: 30 January 2022 at 20:44
Thanks Addy, that was all very helpful. I would say that the a7iv is probably my first choice but there is a big price difference between that and the a6600, hence my pondering. For bird-eye detection in the a9 series, I'd still have to jump to the a9ii and so far, neither used a9 or a9ii are common. Haven't seen either for sale for quite a while. Waiting to see if 2022 brings in a new APS-C camera may not be a bad idea. The a6600 was released in 2019 and plans for the next model must have progressed far by now with Sony. ------------- α1, α7cii- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 & 100-400/4.5-5.6; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Sony 135/2.8 STF |
Posted By: addy landzaat
Date Posted: 30 January 2022 at 21:17
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It is of no use to you, but Dutch store Kamera-Express has four A9's for about €2500,- (US$2750,-/AU$4000,-) and one A9m2 for €3500,- (US$3900,-/AU$5500,-). Be aware that with the chip shortages they might not introduce a new APS-C camera, even of they have one ready.... ------------- Why not follow me on Instagram? @Addy_101 |
Posted By: Hezu
Date Posted: 30 January 2022 at 21:49
------------- http://hezu.1g.fi/ - Galerie Hezu |
Posted By: Wētāpunga
Date Posted: 31 January 2022 at 01:34
Even if I did try importing a used camera, I'd still have shipping costs and tax on import. Plus quite lengthy delivery delays as NZ isn't a priority destination in this time of supply chain delays. Plus most of the stores I use in NZ are out of stock of the a6600. I don't think I'll be making a decision soon. ------------- α1, α7cii- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 & 100-400/4.5-5.6; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Sony 135/2.8 STF |
Posted By: Coast
Date Posted: 31 January 2022 at 06:10
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Interesting because I only see cons if you are moving from full frame. This presumes you have much full frame equipment. If you get the 6600 I assume you will be using the full frame FE and other lenses you all ready have. Now this makes no sense having a compact light weight camera and the putting heavy, large lenses on it, most likely used w an adapter. In my world light weight, compact cameras are best used w light weight compact lenses and no adapters necessary One point addy brought up that has never occurred to me; is the side view finder. "I LOVE the side EVF. But not everybody likes it. If you look over the lens before you bring it to you eye, it might take some time to get used to" I also LOVE that. Its so natural and your nose doesn't get in the way ha ha  I still use my trusty old friend the a6000 all the time, when I go shooting I take both of my cameras, have one of my 3 lenses attached to them, depending what I'll be doing. Love my a6500, got it mostly for the IBIS, I do a lot of night shooting. Its built much more like the full frame cameras and it does 11 fps which is more than plenty for me and has a silent mode. They both have 24 mp which is also plenty and neither cost $5000 Basically what I'm saying, it makes no sense having a crop camera and using FE lenses and adapters ------------- |
Posted By: Wētāpunga
Date Posted: 31 January 2022 at 08:02
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Hi @Coast, I was thinking of this as more of a B-camera for wildlife/birds, probably in combination with the Tamron 150-500. A crop camera would make that a reach equivalent of up to 750mm. Albeit I'm a little concerned about attaching a lens about 1.9kg to a camera as small as the a6600 for balance. I'm happy with the a7Riii for most of my photography. My lens list is in my signature fwiw, and a good number of my lenses (like the Loxias) are on the small side. ------------- α1, α7cii- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 & 100-400/4.5-5.6; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Sony 135/2.8 STF |
Posted By: addy landzaat
Date Posted: 31 January 2022 at 08:26
 Chip shortages may mean the A6600 might never be on sale again.... ------------- Why not follow me on Instagram? @Addy_101 |
Posted By: onsplekkie
Date Posted: 31 January 2022 at 09:11
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I would keep away from investing in APS-C bodies. I do not like the handling, it is just not the same as the newer A7 bodies. AF wise; A9 of A7IV bodies seem the way forward. Maybe give it another year for prices to come down...... |
Posted By: addy landzaat
Date Posted: 31 January 2022 at 17:06
But, the bodies are different from A7 cameras - so, yes, make sure that you like it. ------------- Why not follow me on Instagram? @Addy_101 |
Posted By: Miranda F
Date Posted: 31 January 2022 at 17:47
I'd put it the other way. Even if you have only APS-C lenses the A7Rii to iv make sense, because they're fine cameras which work well on APS-C. For example, if you like wide and UW and don't want to carry several lenses with you, the Sony 10-18mm f4 is a superbly compact solution - there isn't anything in FF with that range that isn't at least twice the weight and twice the volume. And at the long end, to improve on the resolution of the better APS-C zooms you need a very big and expensive FE lens. Sure, it will have a wider aperture, but you pay for that in multiple ways. ------------- Miranda F & Sensorex, Sony A7Rii, A58, Nex-6, Dynax 4, 5, 60, 500si/600si/700si/800si, various Sony & Minolta lenses, several Tamrons, lots of MF primes and *far* too many old film cameras ... |
Posted By: Wētāpunga
Date Posted: 07 February 2022 at 07:04
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Well, after not seeing any used A9 for sales here in months, 4 turn up in 10 days! Long story short, I’ve won an auction for a used a9 with a battery grip, about 2000 (mechanical) actuations. All the firmware issued for the A9 seems to have produced a lot of improvements that offset its older design. I know it doesn’t have bird eye detection but from what I can see, that hasn’t stopped a lot of wildlife photographers getting a lot of great flying bird shots ------------- α1, α7cii- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 & 100-400/4.5-5.6; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Sony 135/2.8 STF |
Posted By: Coast
Date Posted: 07 February 2022 at 07:17
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Posted By: Phil Wood
Date Posted: 07 February 2022 at 10:38
Perhaps worth noting that the A7Riv is the highest resolution APS-C camera Sony make. |
Posted By: Hezu
Date Posted: 07 February 2022 at 11:07
------------- http://hezu.1g.fi/ - Galerie Hezu |
Posted By: addy landzaat
Date Posted: 07 February 2022 at 12:37
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What a lousy camera that A9, without bird-eye-AF. Sony is the worst. The A1 doesn't even have car dedicated AF. No wonder Dpreview rates it worst among the current flagship cameras. Sony s*cks. You must be stupid to get a Sony camera. Oh, wait, this is not SAR. Sorry. People photographed birds in flight with manual focus lenses - usually with trap focus I think. It is much easier now, the A9 AF will be an improvement over the A7r3 - though with less cropping capabilities. Enjoy it! ------------- Why not follow me on Instagram? @Addy_101 |
Posted By: pegelli
Date Posted: 07 February 2022 at 13:14
, you're absolutely right Phil, the APS-C crop of the A7iv is ~28 MP, better than any A6xxx APS-C body.I even use my A7Rii that way with APS-C lenses, the APS-C crop of that one is ~18 MP, which is better than my NEX6 and way beyond my A700, which already had more pixels than I usually needed. ------------- You can see the April Foolishness 2023 exhibition https://www.dyxum.com/dforum/april-foolishness-2023-the-exhibition_topic142439.html - here Another great show of the talent we have on Dyxum |
Posted By: Fivepin
Date Posted: 07 February 2022 at 13:33
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Ok, I'm late to the party here, but I own and use both the a7r3 as my main camera and have been running the a6600 for 2 years now as my apsc long lens companion when in the field. I don't change lenses. The a7r3 for wide or detail shots...the a6600 for long lens or macro work. So I did not read all of the other posts here because I want to give you facts only. 1. Yes the Autofocus is in fact much faster and locks on better than the a7r3. Even though I do not find the A7r3 to be any slouch. 2. The a6600 with sony lenses has a keeper rate of birds in flight over 95%...my experience only. With proper settings and 20 years experience I can very easily get the shot with this camera. I would say the A7r3 is probably closer to 90%...but is still excellent. 3. The low light performance is still very good, the pixel count is very good and so is detail. The a6600 sensor captures more detail than both my a77ii and my original a99. Hence in macro work it is killer sharp and detailed. 4. If you own any good old Minolta glass the la ea5 works with the a6600. Something to think about. Also TC's will AF with this camera as well as the a7r3 much better than both my old a77, a77ii and a99 5. The a6600 has in body stabilization. It works in conjunction with your in lens stabilization. It is great for photos...nothing special for video. I was actually disappointed in the in body stabilization for video... 6.Things I don't like about the a6600...LCD resolution...looking at it you would think your photos are going to be rubbish...they are fine...its the low resolution on the lcd. No popup flash. In body stabilization is poo poo for video. 7. Great things summary. PRICE, image quality, AF Capability, small light weight as a second camera, laea5 compatibility (if you own any classic minolta lenses they work great). Pet eye AF, 4K video, Weather sealing that is pretty good, lots of customization of buttons and I own the 200, 70 - 200's (sigma hsm) APSC field of view 1.4x crop factor for birds and other wildlife... Hope this helps. I really have weighed all the other options and just couldn't justify dropping $5000 Canadian on an a9 or a9ii. The megapixel count on the a7r4 was just too much...in the end this for me was the best solution. ------------- G.R. |
Posted By: addy landzaat
Date Posted: 07 February 2022 at 15:34
Well, you basically describe my experience with the A6400, Gary  I would add the EVF on the negative side: passable but noticeably less good then my A7r4.My A7r4 (and A7r2) feel bulky compared to my A6x00 cameras. That is why I use my One-Mount system basically as a Two-Mount system ------------- Why not follow me on Instagram? @Addy_101 |
Posted By: Wētāpunga
Date Posted: 07 February 2022 at 18:24
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@Fivepin Many thanks for that summary. One of the challenges is that there is no stock of the a6600 in many NZ camera stores at the moment. It's ability to use the LA-EA5 is a good selling point also. Not that in my case, it would be relevant. The only A-mount lens I own now, is the 135mm STF  . Good to know it does do much better at autofocus than the a7Riii. The A9 camera plus grip I did end up buying was $NZ3000, which is about $US2000, and only $NZ350 more than a new a6600. It looked to be in near perfect condition with not even the slight-cosmetic wear often seen on used A9s. ------------- α1, α7cii- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 & 100-400/4.5-5.6; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Sony 135/2.8 STF |
Posted By: 4paul
Date Posted: 09 February 2022 at 18:12
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Congrats on the a9! I genuinely need new gear, but haven't spent money yet, which is silly because my demands and expectations are unreasonable for the market, even though I think I am completely reasonable. I am enraged that Sony took TEN YEARS to make a full-frame nex7. I have read others here on dyxum say the wheel layout and rangefinder styling of the nex7 was the best, and I agree, certainly for manual lenses. With electronic control I can only change one item at a time; with manual lenses on the nex7 I could roll focus with my left index finger, spin the aperture with my left middle finger, and with my right thumb spin one wheel for shutter speed or ISO, so I could change two legs of the exposure triangle simultaneously, and I had instant control of all three legs. With electronic control the camera will not respond simultaneously to wheels (so front-aperture and rear-shutter control is independent but not simultaneous), and a button press is an extra step which locks out other controls, including focus assist, and pressing the shutter half way to focus cancels the current operation, requiring another button press and spinning. Addy has said the a6000 sold more units than any other Sony interchangeable lens camera, and the form factor, I think, is almost ideal. Fivepin's analysis seems very good. I am also enraged at Sony's lack of firmware updates for the EA5, so the a6600 with full EA5 screw-drive support is very attractive to me. I haven't gotten a Monster Adapter EA4r because I have a a7ii, which there have been reports of the a7ii main board shorting out when someone changes lenses with the camera powered on. I THINK I am disciplined enough not to change lenses with the camera on, but the penalty for a mistake is so severe I haven't modified my EA4 yet ... Which means I am using the a55 focus module (the EA2 used the a55 focus module, I hope the EA4 uses a later focus module, but my a68 has much better focus than EA4 on a7ii, so I suspect the EA4 PDAF array is very old), so the EA4r/EA5 would be a spectacular improvement. From what I have read the Sony Animal Bird Eye AF is almost as good as Canon, and like Fivepin said is >90% bang on, which is unbelievably amazing. I have tried the silver 70-400 with EA2/4 and nex5n (LOL) and as long as I am disciplined in supporting entirely with my left hand it actually works hand-held, so while sports/wildlife cameras are supposed to be big (Olympus made the EM1x as huge as a FF camera) I don't mind the form factor. In fact, as long as there are C1/C2/C3 buttons, I change settings LESS when shooting action than landscape / "general photography" ... it cracks me up that people think landscape shooting is "slow", I work a lot harder changing settings for landscape than I do action, as long as I have custom buttons I can save the "motion blur" panning settings or "bird under a dark bush" setting, action for me is "set and forget". So I don't really miss all the buttons on a smaller body like a65/6600. Although I am also enraged at Sony's tilt screen ... a twist-out screen is the perfect "workflow", if the screen is out then I'm using the screen and the viewfinder is off, and if I have the screen turned in to the body then I am using the VF and it is on. At least the a68 has a dedicated "FINDER/MONITOR" button on the VF hump, but even that is stupid compared to the twist-to-stow design. I will probably get a rx10iv since I have taken more pictures with a Panasonic FZ1000 (or rx100ii before I got it) than with the traditional styled cameras, though the screen and button layouts enrage me. I have been waiting for Panasonic or Olympus to update the FZ2500 or make something new to compete with the rx10, but I've waited so long it appears the rx10iv is the only Bridge Superzoom left. That's rx10iv instead of the a7c, so ironically after waiting for so long for the FF nex7 I'll probably keep using the nex5n (with the external top viewfinder) as my tiny camera. If the a7c had two right-side thumbwheels like the nex7 I probably would have run to the store the day it arrived, since it has a twist-out screen. But I can't have everything LOL. ------------- There is a difference between a shaky or out-of-focus photograph and a snapshot of clouds and fog banks. - Schrödinger |
Posted By: Wētāpunga
Date Posted: 09 February 2022 at 23:20
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@4paul Ah yes, there's always tradeoffs and sometimes they can be unacceptable. I'm a big fan of customising the camera for you own shooting styles too, and the C1 through C4 buttons are perfect for that. As well as being able to reassign functions to the AEL button etc. Because I do a lot of manual focus with landscapes/seascapes and macro, I've got the C1 button permanently set for focus magnification. It's great for checking the focus plane. Albeit to date, the longest part of my landscape and seascape photos is figuring out where to stand... The Memory Recall is also good- I use it to switch to my preferred video settings and back on the fly. I think the a9 is a better fit than the a6600 for me (especially at the price). By all accounts it still focuses much faster on moving subjects, and I like the larger size to balance the heavier Tamron lens. Just a shame I can't hit 20fps with it. ------------- α1, α7cii- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 & 100-400/4.5-5.6; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Sony 135/2.8 STF |
Posted By: Miranda F
Date Posted: 09 February 2022 at 23:46
Yes, agreed. A bit less than my A58's 20Mp but better than the A390 I had before. ------------- Miranda F & Sensorex, Sony A7Rii, A58, Nex-6, Dynax 4, 5, 60, 500si/600si/700si/800si, various Sony & Minolta lenses, several Tamrons, lots of MF primes and *far* too many old film cameras ... |
Posted By: nandbytes
Date Posted: 10 February 2022 at 07:50
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If we are talking pixel pitch A7RIV is certainly Sony's highest but not the highest. Canon's 32mp APS-C is the highest which is on the same level as 20MP M43 sensors. Followed by A7RIV and Fuji GFX100(s) or Fuji 26mp APS-C bodies. I'm hoping to see a higher res APS-C from Sony one day... Or may be higher res M43 body. But both alludes the market. (All this ignoring 1" sensors and smaller ones) ------------- https://agclicks.com/ - AG Photography A7RV, 20-70G, 70-200GII, Viltrox16mm/1.8, 35/1.4GM, Sammy85/1.4II, 500DN |
Posted By: addy landzaat
Date Posted: 10 February 2022 at 08:22
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the difference between 24mp, 26mp or 28mp is minimal. If I am correct, the pixel pitch of the 20mp m4/3 sensor is even smaller then of the A7r4. Comparable to a 75/80mp full frame sensor. Indeed comparable to the Canon 32mp sensor. ------------- Why not follow me on Instagram? @Addy_101 |