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SONY A6400 ON TRIAL
ISO 100
ISO 400
ISO 1600
ISO 6400
ISO 25600
ISO 102400
ISO 200
ISO 800
ISO 3200
ISO 12800
ISO 51200
The A6400’s native sensitivity
range is from ISO 100 to 25,600
with expansions to ISO 51,000 and
102,400. Essentially, the whole native
ISO range is useable, but definition
and detailing starts to progressively
diminish after ISO 3200, although
everything still looks pretty good
at ISO 6400. All these images are
JPEG/large/superfine files taken
in the aperture-priority auto mode
with the aperture set to f11 so the
exposure time varies to compensate
for the ISO adjustments.
S Sony packs a lot into its
compact A6000 series mirrorless
cameras. The A6400 retains a
magnesium alloy bodyshell with
sealing for splash-proofing.
The menu system employs the
standard Sony ILC layout with
tabbed chapters and numbered
pages. The arrangement is
via function (i.e. ‘Exposure1’,
‘Exposure2’, ‘AF1’, etc.) and
each chapter is colour-coded. It’s
extensive, but everything is pretty
well where you’d expect to find
it. Touchscreen control doesn’t
extend to the menus which is a bit
of a pity and, in fact, it’s actually
limited to autofocusing functions,
namely the selection (or moving)
of a focusing point with the ‘Touch
Pad’ option mentioned earlier. Mind
you, the ‘Touch Pad’ is definitely a
plus and the monitor screen can
be configured for the operational
area, orientation and either ‘Relative
Position’ or ‘Absolute Position’
tapping. In playback, a double tap
will magnify the image at that point,
providing a quick way to check the
focus. Both the EVF and monitor
displays can be configured with a
guide grid (selected from a choice
of three), a dual-axis level display or
a real-time histogram (though not
at the same time for the latter two)
and zebra patterns (with adjustable
levels set between 70 and 100+) to
indicate areas of overexposure. The
100+ setting is the minimum level
setting and primarily only shows
areas likely to cause some flare,
and the threshold for blown-out
highlights is steadily decreased at
the lower settings. The viewfinder
displays cover the exposure settings,
battery level (including a percentage
remaining read-out) and the basic
file settings (size and aspect ratio).
The monitor’s read-out
display includes a much more
comprehensive set of status
indicators or, alternatively, just
the image alone. The monitor
can also display the ‘Quick Navi’
control screen which provides
speedy access to a large selection
of capture functions, using the
navigator controls, with adjustments
made via one or other of the input
wheels. In addition to the read-
outs and status indicators, the
‘Quick Navi’ screen also provides
a real-time histogram, a dual-axis
level indicator and an exposure
compensation scale.
As on the latest A7/9 series
cameras, the EVF is fully disabled
once the monitor is tilted so there’s
no danger of it being accidentally
activated – and hence the monitor
de-activated – should the proximity
sensor in the eyepiece be
inadvertently covered.
The image playback modes
include thumbnail pages of 12 or 30
images, zooming at up to 16.7x with
JPEG/large files (based on either the
focusing point or the centre of the
image) and a slide show function
for auto playback with adjustable
display times. The image review
screens include a thumbnail with
both highlight and shadow warnings,
a full set of RGB and brightness
histograms, and all the key capture
info, including the ‘Creative Style’
preset and the DRO/HDR settings.
SPEED AND
PERFORMANCE
Loaded with our reference 128 GB
Lexar Professional SDXC UHS-