After today’s earlier leak Sony has now officially announced two new APS-C cameras and lenses.
The new cameras are the A6100 and the A6600. The lenses include an E 16-55mm F2.8 G and E 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS lens.
Sony also announced that the Sony a9 will finally receive the version 6 firmware update in September to add Animal Eye AF and the intervalometer.
Sony a6600
The a6600 is Sony’s new flagship APS-C camera and effectively the replacement for the Sony a6500.
It includes in-body image stabilization (IBIS), Sony’s Real-time Tracking autofocus, eye tracking in movies, a headphone socket and the Sony NP-FZ100 battery that can be found in the a7III, a7R III, IV and a9 which provides 2.2x the battery life over the older NP-FW50 battery.
The a6600 now also has touch focus, touch shutter and touch tracking functionality. The camera now weighs in at 503g (the a6400 is 100g lighter at 403g) and the grip is slightly larger to accommodate the new battery. However it does lose the on-board flash.
Features that have not changed from the a6400 or the a6400 include the 24MP APS-C sensor, 11fps burst shooting with autofocus and auto exposure, 4K/30p video recording and a 2.36M-dot OLED viewfinder.
The Sony a6600 will be available this November in the US at a price of $1400 body-only, and $1800 with the 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens.
In Europe it will be available this October priced at approximately £1450 and €1600 body only or as a kit with the SEL18135 lens for £1800 and €2000.
You can download the Sony a6600 brochure here. Or find full details and sample images on Sony’s website.
Sony a6100
Sony has also introduced a low-priced a6100 APS-C E-Mount camera which they say will slot in-between the a6000 and the a6400. The a6100 is basically the a6400 with a lower resolution EVF (1.44M rather than 2.36M dots), smaller ISO range (ISO 51200 vs 102400) and no Picture Profiles.
It still includes Sony’s 24MP APS-C sensor, a 425-pt PDAF system with Real-time Tracking, 11 fps burst shooting, 3″ flip-up touchscreen LCD and oversampled 4K video capture, there’s also a microphone socket.
In the US the a6100 will be available this October priced at $750 body-only, $850 with a SEL1650 lens, and $1100 with the SEL1650 and SEL55210 lens.
In Europe it will also be available in October and priced at approximately £830 and €900 body only, as a kit with the SEL1650 lens for £900 and €1000 or as a kit with the SEL1650 and SEL55210 priced at approximately £1150 and €1250.
You can download the Sony a6100 brochure here. Or find full details and sample images on Sony’s website.
Sony a6100 vs a6400 vs a6600
Here’s a look at the basic specs of the new cameras and how they stack up against the very popular Sony a6400.
If you already own the a6400 then you’ll see that the new a6600 basically adds IBIS, Real-Time Eye AF for movies, a headphone jack, the new Z battery and it weights 100g more. However, the a6600 for some reason no longer includes the on-board flash.
E 16-55mm F2.8 G (SEL1655G) Lens
The 16-55mm F2.8 G is a compact lens that weighs only 17.5oz / 494g and measures 100mm in length. It provides a minimum focus distance of 0.33m / 1ft and is also dust and moisture sealed.
For the first time ever in the APS-C line-up is uses the super fast XD linear motors which can be found in more expensive lenses like the FE 600mm F4 GM and the FE 400mm F2.8 GM.
In the US the 16-55mm will go on sale in October for $1400. In Europe it will also be available in October and cost £1200 / €1300.
Full product details can be found on Sony’s website here.
E 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS (SEL70350G) Lens
The E 70-350mm F4.5-5.6 has optical stabilization built in, measures 142mm and weighs in at only 22oz / 625g. It’s also dust and moisture sealed and uses the super fast XD linear motors.
In the US it will be available in November for $1000. In Europe it will be available a little earlier in October and priced at £830 and €900 respectively.
Full product details can be found on Sony’s website here.
Personally the a6600 doesn’t really excite me very much but I’m definitely very interested in the new E 70-350mm lens. I think this will make a great lightweight combo together with my a6400.
Will you be purchasing any of these new products announced today? Or are you content with what’s already in your gear bag? Let me know in the comments below.
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