Some things that I like about the Sony A6600

First of all - I love my A6400 and plan to keep shooting with it in tandem with the new A6600 which has just arrived. I will often photograph over a hundred dogs a year for Maltese Rescue California and the Animal Eye-AF of both these cameras is nothing short of outstanding. The small form factor of each of these cameras combined with Animal Eye-AF makes it easier to shoot one handed while I am offering the dog treats with the other hand. The full time Eye-AF makes it a snap to photograph people with the eyes in focus...

I bought the A6600 when it went on sale at Adorama for $1,200 U.S. Dollars with a decent kit of accessories including a good (Godox/Flashpoint TT350) flash and a very decent SD card among other things...

Here are a few parameters of the A6600 which I really love. I have numbered them in their importance to me personally in my style of shooting. Other photographers would certainly list them in a different order and may leave some out or add others...

1. LARGER GRIP... The grip of the A6600 is significantly larger than any other A6xxx series camera in order to fit the Z battery. The larger grip is a lot more comfortable to hold than the smaller grips of the previous A6xxx cameras. This is especially beneficial when shooting one handed (see #1 above) and/or when shooting with a slightly larger lens such as the Tamron 28-75mm f.2.8 or the Sony 70-350mm f/4.5-5.6. The grip of previous A6xxx cameras cam be modified with wood additions to make the hand hold easier.

2. ISO 50... This has not been addressed by any reviewer that I have noticed. I really like the ISO 50 capability of the A6600. The top shutter speed of any A6xxx camera is 1/4000 second which sometimes is too slow when I want to shoot wide open with a very fast lens in bright conditions using ISO 100 which is the lowest ISO of previous A6xxx cameras.. I have often wished that I had the advantage of 1/8000 second shutter speed. However, the ISO 50 capability should often allow decent exposure wide open at 1/4000 second. This ISO also makes using a very slow shutter speed sometimes feasible without an ND filter.

3. EASIER REMOVAL REPLACEMENT OF SD CARD... The larger Z battery allows space for positioning the SD card slot in a location that makes it easier to remove and replace the card.

4. IBIS... Since I don't shoot video, the lack of IBIS in the A6400 is not a deal breaker for me. However, it is nice to have when I am shooting with non-OSS lenses or when I am shooting hand-held with the 70-350mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS lens. I have not yet ascertained just how slow I can shoot using the IBIS/OSS combination but, in early trials it seems that I can effectively hand hold at slower shutter speeds than with the OSS lens and a non-IBIS A6400.

5. GREATER BATTERY CAPACITY... Again, I am not a video shooter so the relatively low capacity of the FW50 batteries of the previous A6xxx series cameras has not impacted on my shooting to any great degree. I always carry extra batteries and my Meike battery grip for the A6400 will provide just about equal battery capacity...

6. TWO ADDITIONAL CUSTOM BUTTONS... The C3 and C4 custom buttons allow even more customization of the A6600

I also love the A6400 but, the only thing about it that I like better than the A6600 is the lower price which has been somewhat mitigated by the recent $200 reduction of the A6600 selling price...

We just upgraded the wife's Canon 60D to the Sony a7M3. I am also considering an upgrade but can't decide between the a6600 , the a7M3 ,or a7RM4. Price being a factor vs convenience. Been waiting for a flurry of a6600 pics to help in the decision making, but hasn't happened as of yet.....

I have all three: A6400 - A6600 - A7ii and like every one of them. I had been shooting in tandem with the A6500 and A6400 for travel and walk around photography and the A7iii for studio photography. I am replacing the A6500 with the A6600 since that camera was recently reduced by $200 for the Holiday Season.

The A6600 and the A6400 are virtually identical in image quality and that I.Q. is simply great! However, the A6600 has some extra bells and whistles which I mentioned above.

With the A6600 and A6400, I have Animal Eye-AF on both cameras as well as full time Eye-AF. The A6500 has neither...

One thing that I just learned but, is that the A6600 has a Touch Shutter and Touch Tracking capability which I don't think either the A7iii or A6400 are capable of (at least I cannot find out how to implement these parameters on the A7iii or A6400).

I did not think that the extra capabilities of the A6600 were worth the increase cost over the A6400 at the original A6600 price tag. However, with the $200 reduction, that has changed.

How would you compare the A7iii to the A6600 in terms of focus and IQ?

I have an A7ii and am considering the upgrade to the iii, but the A6600 is also intriguing as it can be had for $750 CAD less and also allows full use of some of the smaller crop lenses like the 20mm pancake and 10-18 wa zoom; as well as the bang for the buck Sigma 1.4 glass.

Most of my shooting is family oriented, so the compact size tempts. But, I know with either combo I’d require a bag, so maybe sticking with FF is better long term. I also have all FE glass, with the exception of the aforementioned 10-18 lens.

I can say that my A6400 and A6600 both have excellent image quality and super auto focus... I just had a 20x24 inch metal photo print done of an image shot with the A6400 and it looks great.

The A7iii is smaller than most Canon full frame cameras but, the A6xxx APSC bodies weigh a fraction of what my Canon 7D Mark-ii weighed...Although I like my A7iii quite a bit, I a pretty sure that I could be happy with just the APSC cameras for most of my shooting.

If I need to do a lot of walking around, I will most likely choose an APSC camera or two). In situations like studio work, I most often pick the A7iii... It's nice to have that flexibility...

Possibly, if I were shooting for pay again, I might opt for the full frame camera but, in actuality, the A6400 and A6600 do everything I really need.

Thanks for the good information. I'm considering the A6600 and 200-600 for air shows. The AF performance and larger battery on the A6600 is a plus.
I'm not sure about the balance of a small camera on a larger lens, but should be workable.

These items are on my Christmas list. Let's see what Santa brings.

I shot with the A6500 plus Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS ii lens adapted with a Sigma MC-11 and the combination was workable.

When I bought the A6400, I also purchased a Meike Battery Grip for about $60. The battery grip allows a better hand grip and increased battery life with the A6400 camera. The bit of extra weight also helped balance the camera/lens combination a little better. That is one accessory that I would consider if I wanted to use the A6400 with bigger lenses...

I have not found a battery grip for the A6600 nor would I need one. If I need a larger grip. an Arca Compatible L Bracket would help. I have one of these coming from eBay...

https://www.ebay.com …ksid=p2060353.m​1438.l2649

I have an L bracket for each of my cameras...

RPCrowe wrote in post #18980269
I can say that my A6400 and A6600 both have excellent image quality and super auto focus... I just had a 20x24 inch metal photo print done of an image shot with the A6400 and it looks great.

The A7iii is smaller than most Canon full frame cameras but, the A6xxx APSC bodies weigh a fraction of what my Canon 7D Mark-ii weighed...Although I like my A7iii quite a bit, I a pretty sure that I could be happy with just the APSC cameras for most of my shooting.

If I need to do a lot of walking around, I will most likely choose an APSC camera or two). In situations like studio work, I most often pick the A7iii... It's nice to have that flexibility...

Possibly, if I were shooting for pay again, I might opt for the full frame camera but, in actuality, the A6400 and A6600 do everything I really need.

Thanks for your input and comparison.

Really tempted by the APS-C cameras for their tech in an compact size, but when I look at my FF images I’m always wow’d. But, that comes with the bigger sensor, glass, and body.

Regarding AF, how does the A6400/A6600 compare to the A7iii? I believe it’s better? That’s crazy, because I tested out the A7iii w/ 35mm 1.8 at the photo store the other day and the continuous eye-AF was amazing. Either way, both will be a huge upgrade from my A7ii.

The two APSC Sony bodies (especially the A6600) are a bit better in AF than the A7iii but the A7iii is certainly no slouch in that department with recent firmware upgrades...