Sony A6300 review (rolling) - Striking image but nagging issues

[Digitgio]

I'm seriously thinking to buy it but not to work, to use it on my spare time and I think it will be enough. For real work I think at least an A7SII or FS5 is necessary . At that price (A6300) I don't ask more. I want to really know about the overheating... that issue bother me. 

[DayRaven]

Just now, Geoff CB said:

Are you a shill for them? Because your post is nothing but dismissing and downplaying issues other people have with the camera. The overheating issue is a huge one, I'm not telling the talent "sorry we have to wait a couple minutes while the camera cools down to do the next take/ask the next question/start your song"  or "sorry can you do that take again the camera shut off in the middle of it". The NX1 (which came out two years ago) has the same size sensor, never overheats, has better RS, a better 1080p mode, and a headphone out for monitoring audio, and can be had for about the same price. Operationally it is a far superior camera. 

Don't make excuses, the only reason this is a 4K camera is because someone in marketing demanded it. 

To be fair, he did say that it's not a professional tool and if you're employing talent, I don't think the two of you disagree that you would be correct to use something else.

I don't think that one of the best 4k's the world has yet seen was a marketing accident, there are very few accidents when it comes to Sony - doubtlessly, accountants had their hand in keeping the small form factor - it's so close to the NEX 7 and a6000, even down to minute details that its probably down to cost of retooling and getting the most out of the tooling they created for the NEX line, long before they knew they were making video cameras and it's that form factor which has a major hand in the overheating. I expect, somewhere in Japan, there is a prototype in a bigger box with a bigger processor with that same image, no overheating and acceptable rolling shutter

[majoraxis]

Here's what I like about the a6300 image and AF performance vs the NX1.  My apologies if this has been posted before.

 

 

If Sony or a third party solution can solve the over heating, then I'm sold, as I already know, which image I would rather have at the end of the shoot.

Is it just me or does it feel like Sony is holding  back on releasing a sensor stabilized version of this sensor, until they suck up all the pent up demand at this price point and then are they are going drop the camera I really want for a hundered more.  It's bound to happen (who knows when) as there is definitely market demand for a slightly improved version of this with IBS and headphone jack etc.

Come on Sony - take my money - stop holding out on us to maximize corporate profits.  That said, Sony: great job on finally nailing the codec and AF - it's hard to ignore where this headed.

 

[Amro Othman]

Do you think they could improve the RS with a firmware update that will push the hardware a little har...

Ah who am I kidding. Guess I will stick to my a6000 till they fix the RS with an update/ another camera... lol

[Hanriverprod]

5 hours ago, majoraxis said:

Here's what I like about the a6300 image and AF performance vs the NX1.  My apologies if this has been posted before.

 

 

If Sony or a third party solution can solve the over heating, then I'm sold, as I already know, which image I would rather have at the end of the shoot.

Is it just me or does it feel like Sony is holding  back on releasing a sensor stabilized version of this sensor, until they suck up all the pent up demand at this price point and then are they are going drop the camera I really want for a hundered more.  It's bound to happen (who knows when) as there is definitely market demand for a slightly improved version of this with IBS and headphone jack etc.

Come on Sony - take my money - stop holding out on us to maximize corporate profits.  That said, Sony: great job on finally nailing the codec and AF - it's hard to ignore where this headed.

 

Is it the grading on Sony that's popular these days, but why does everybody look like zombies on Sony footage? As someone who shoots people primarily I just can't get over how lifeless people look on some of sony's prosumer cameras.

[DayRaven]

2 hours ago, Hanriverprod said:

Is it the grading on Sony that's popular these days, but why does everybody look like zombies on Sony footage? As someone who shoots people primarily I just can't get over how lifeless people look on some of sony's prosumer cameras.

It's a combination of things -

1. Sony cameras don't handle difficult white balance situations with any grace

2. Sony offer a huge degree of options that control the sensor

3. Sony give you profiles that require grading - and I mean, proper, years of experience as a colourist grading, not just drop on a lut or tweak sat and curves

Combine this with low prices and any tom, dick or harry can grab one, stick it in pp9, wave it around a baby with leds, sunlight and an incandescent bulb and wonder what happened to the skin

They aren't cameras for everyone, thats for sure, you can mitigate many of the issues, but they are cameras that demand, in certain modes, a very high degree of cameramanship and skill.

1. Desaturating the higher luminence can work wonders to help take the green and yellow gills away.

2. Stick to pp0, and your fave creative style, if that's too limiting, stick to cine 4, s.gamut.cine. If that's ever too limiting, then you are going to have to start reading technical documentation to understand what the options do and how they do it.

3. Just look at the size of s.gamut 3, and think what is going to happen when you cram all of that into the comparitively tiny space of 709 and understand why colourists can charge what they do. Then never, ever use it.

Or just grab a camera you can get decent results with because clever engineers did all that for you and plenty more besides

[Andrew Reid]

Good post Day, I agree with every word

[gelaxstudio]

The Dual pixel AF on the 80D is way slower than the 4D focus on the A6300,not to mention DPAF only cover 80% of the frame,WHY????

 

[Andrew Reid]

1 hour ago, gelaxstudio said:

The Dual pixel AF on the 80D is way slower than the 4D focus on the A6300,not to mention DPAF only cover 80% of the frame,WHY????

Didn't seem slower then I tried it at BVE in London, was quite impressed with how robust it was too.

DPAF doesn't cover the whole frame, that's true. But every pixel is a phase detect point. On the A6300 the pixels are normal with a few hundred of them swapped out for focus pixels. I suspect DPAF doesn't go to the edge of the frame because of light ray angles or lens vignetting which would reduce the performance of it, or make it more expensive, or some technical issue with the design of micro lenses. I'm guessing.

[Chris Mabey]

So how does the 120 fps on the a6300 compare with the RX10 II and RX 100 IV?

[hmcindie]

Shot this little action scene with the A6300, 5d mark III raw and one shot is from the RX10 ii. Guess which is which. Uploaded in 4k.

 

 

[fuzzynormal]

20 minutes ago, hmcindie said:

Shot this little action scene

That's a mighty fine deconstruction of a Greengrass fight scene.  You might wanna reconsider that sound design tho'.  It takes the viewer out of the action rather than bringing them into it.  As for the shot particulars:  if there's anyway to tell what did what, I certainly can't.

[hmcindie]

24 minutes ago, fuzzynormal said:

That's a mighty fine deconstruction of a Greengrass fight scene. 

More of a Doug Liman style. Greengrass is even more crazy with the use of handheld and editing, not that much into continuity. Liman is way more restrained though he only did one Bourne.

[Flaaandeeers]

Color look way better in the closer shots, so I guess that's the 5D Raw, and the A6300 has been used for the wider static shots. 

[hmcindie]

7 hours ago, Flaaandeeers said:

Color look way better in the closer shots, so I guess that's the 5D Raw, and the A6300 has been used for the wider static shots. 

Correct answer!

[dahlfors]

@Andrew Reid Gonna be interesting to see what you think about and shoot in the HFR modes.

Just saw this video on vimeo today:

 

This slow motion looks really good for a camera on A6300's price level! 

[gatopardo]

Are those people martians? Seems like they have green blood.

[Andrew Reid]

@gatopardo

Martians.

[themartist]

 

Am I correct to assume that those with A7s's are not selling them and holding off on the a6300?

 

Its that time of the year (every few years actually) that I upgrade my camera. Considering either used a7s, a6300 or a7sii - a7sii ticks all the boxes but the price is just a bit too much. So I suppose a useful time to have a few options...

 

[aslanua]

Just returned my sony a6300 because over overheating  issues, yesterday was the final straw, shooting in the sun in Aust summer is a no go for this camera, if you don't want to miss a shot (which means the camera must be on when you want it on) I missed two great candid shots which cannot be repeated, projecting this forward shows me with simple maths that this situation will continue and will be so frustrating and stressful and embarrassing as a professional. 

 

I tried the open battery door while filming this morning in case it miraculously fixed things, but still overheated, but definitely to a lesser degree. Still to unreliable for me.