Your opinion on the A6x00 bodies?

If I must to make a choice today ... I would keep the a6500 and Sonnar 24/1,8 - the best combo I ever had. This can be even the only camera and lens combo for years.

To anyone who has used the A-mount DSLT range and the a6500 or a6600, how do you find the grip? Much has been made of the larger grip on the 6600 model. Does this equate to something closer to that which you'd see on something like an a77? For someone who's used to a larger body and grip, could be an important consideration for purchase of the a6600.

Personally with my limited experience on the a6400, I could be willing to save for the a6600. It seems to offer the best features of both the 6400 and 6500. Could do with a bit of overtime then. 🤔 Christmas present sorted for me then...   

balacau wrote: To anyone who has used the A-mount DSLT range and the a6500 or a6600, how do you find the grip?

The only advice I can give you is try to handle it in a shop and test yourself. What others think, feel or find about the grip and grip size is totally irrelevant imho. I have an A6000, I have big hands, grip wise I don't care if I hold my A6000, A7, A7ii or A700. They're all fine for me, but then people with smaller hands sometimes want a bigger grip and don't like the A6000. It's very personal and the only person that matters in this case is you.

Thanks for the quick replies. Yes indeed the grip is a personal choice and while I did not have any issues with it on the a6400 (with the 16-50mm OSS zoom lens), that was only a short duration and perhaps it wouldn't be so great for a prolonged photoshoot? Certainly something to consider.

The fact that the a6400 doesn't feature IBIS is something which is on my mind really. Since I'll be using adapted a-mount lenses that don't feature this, I have now removed the a6400 off my list. I'm not doubting that its a high performance camera for the price, but lack of IBIS is just something that I may end up regretting later on. Even if I don't use it, its a feature I'd rather have if/when needed.

Sadly I do not think I will be able to get hands-on experience with the a6600. Its still an "order in" camera so far anyway. I don't doubt that it won't take long to arrive but once you order, its to purchase, not just to look at it.

So my list has shrank from 4 possible camera body purchases, to just two. a6500 or a6600! Maybe by this time next year I'll finally have chosen one or the other...

Sadly I'm quite a distance from Sheffield but its also good to know the a6600 are finally hitting the shelves in the UK. I dare say some of the branches of London Camera Exchange will stock them too. Perhaps not my local one but I'll drop by next time and ask to see if they have one to have a look at and see what the grip is like. Heck as long as its better than the a6400 (which I didn't have a problem with anyway), then it should be great.

I may have seen an a3000 going back a few years now but I didn't pay much attention as the a-mount was in full flow at the time. Was the NEX-series out at the same time as the a3000 I wonder?

addy landzaat wrote: I do not know how North of N-E England you are, but Harrison Cameras in Sheffield has the A6600 in stock. I am sure they will let you try it for size The A6x00 bodies are really different then the SLT cameras and I tend to use them differently. But that is just me. re. the A3000 - never used one, but they seem cramped to me with that EVF in the middle. As a left eye shooter the corner viewfinder is wonderful (after you turn off touch control...)

balacau wrote: Thanks for the quick replies. Yes indeed the grip is a personal choice and while I did not have any issues with it on the a6400 (with the 16-50mm OSS zoom lens), that was only a short duration and perhaps it wouldn't be so great for a prolonged photoshoot? Certainly something to consider. -snip--

Discussions about grip seem to divide people in 2 groups:

• Those that start from a small camera with standard light lens (may be not even removable like a RX100) and want to hold a camera by its two ears
• Those that come from an SLR with 135mm or more that hold the camera by the lens with their left hand to support the combo in balance and only the right ear to point and shoot

I typically am the second group of people. My most used walk around lenses are the minolta AF 28-135 on my A350 and the G 18-105 on my NEX6. I rarely use wide angle compared to longer tele. My wife typically is in the first group. When she wants to shoot, she is most happy with my A350 and the minolta 35-105 mounted. Yet my hands are bigger than hers.
I think people who complain about the size of the grip typically belong to the first group, and I believe their pictures are on average taken with shorter focal lengths, compared to the second group.
No judgement meant, just my observation.

Sadly as far as I am aware, I don't have a local outlet that has an a6500 to try and see how I find it. At one time that would have been pretty easy to do with 4 retailers but now I only have the one. In all fairness to them however, I've had a look at an a6000, a6300, a6400 and a7-III. So I really can't complain.

It's nice to hear that at least one a3000 is still being used. Thanks for filling in the history details in for me. I was not sure where it would fit in the grand scheme of things.