Surprise! Sony Alpha A6000 video mode huge improvement

[Liszon]

Andrew, if you have some time when you do the full review, could you try the camera with an external recorder via HDMI? You have one if I'm not mistaken. I'm just thinking if there is any noticeable improvement in image quality.
Thank you.

[crinklechip]

Hi, this is interesting! I bought the Sony a65 (virtually the same as the a77) for its 50p recording, but I've always been disappointed with the video quality. (it's fantastic for stills though).

 

The colour is far from vibrant and the sharpness is awful. I eventually bought a GH3 and the image quality is so much better. I'm very interested in whether the quality of the a6000 is comparable to the GH3.. especially as Sony's upcoming cameras are supposed to include a 4K model (maybe the a77 successor).

 

Oh and the link to the sample footage doesn't work for me either.

 

Thanks for posting this!

[MatthewP]

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Sony_Alpha_A6000/

 

look at these samples... the detail is decent, but still no where near even the GH2. There's even moire on those beach front shop shutters...

[maxotics]

Seems a lot of people here have the same thoughts, including me.  I've owned both the Nex7 and G5, both of which I liked, and miss, for different reasons. My 2-cents.  

 

o. Mic input.  If I have time to mic somebody I'm going to have time to sync external audio which I would do no matter what in those situations.  Really, only crucial if I'm going to lock the camera down in a studio, which I'm not. So NEUTRAL

 

o. Larger sensor.  If I shot still photography and had to choose only one camera it would be A6000.  However, I have other cameras so this is neutral for me.

 

o. Off center focused, as mentioned above, I could never get this right with the Nex7.  I doubt they've improved this.  I don't have any hard evidence, but felt the g5 kept focus better. (partially due to smaller sensor).

 

o. Video.  Now that I have a BMPCC I see most H.264 cameras as the same in image quality, but different in ease-of-use.  Shooting video with the g5 was EFFORTLESS.  Shooting with the d600, a super PITA.  The Nex 7, easy enough, but just never felt comfortable.

 

o. Low light.  That's the $20,000 question.  From the guitar shop scenes in Gordon's videos it looks like the A6000 uses some form of pixel binning like the RX10.  If so, would give the low light video edge to A6000  (Andrew, would be great if you had some moire producing patterns in your test scene).  Anyway, that would be my only misgiving with the g6, that I would get better low light with A6000.

 

When Andrew first wrote about the A6000, which I've been watching, I wanted one.  Now I'm back to getting a g6 when the price is good.  If I want IQ or film-like low light, nothing beats the BMPCC.  BTW, I predict the infatuation with 4K will die down when people realize the image lacks the good skin tones you can get with RAW.  Not saying 4K isn't beautiful, but only in sharpness.  It still looks like video-face color.  Will have to see.

 

The a6000 vs 53000?  A6000 if video greater than photo.  If photo greater than video, 5300.

 

The a6000 at $650 may sound cheap to some, but what you can get with $350 more (BMPCC).  Still worlds apart if you like the film-look.  But if you're not going to go that way, why spend $350 more for an a6000, over the g5/6 when they go discount?  I'd rather have more money in glass and a camera that loves to shoot video.  I try out tons of cameras.  Again, I liked the Nex 7, but I miss the g5.

 

I'm going to press the "Post" button now so I can change my mind ;)

[AndrewM]

I'm really hoping this camera does turn out to be good. I'm looking at shooting sports, and when you start at the lens end of the equation I need something with a fair zoom range, decent brightness, and stabilization. A servo zoom would be really nice. The Sony SELP 18105 18-105 f4 looks like the best option for people who can't afford fujinon cabrios, but I've been looking for a camera to attach it to! If the autofocus lives up to the hype and the encoding doesn't suck then the a6000 could be it...

[William Koehler]

Cons

* 1080p is getting a bit old - 4K is the future

 

Be honest Andrew.  You were definitely NOT expecting 4K at this price point and form factor!

[Andrew Reid]

Cons

* 1080p is getting a bit old - 4K is the future

 

Be honest Andrew.  You were definitely NOT expecting 4K at this price point and form factor!

 

No but we do have it for £1299. I think it is worth the extra.

[William Koehler]

@quobetah

"For audio, that Sony hotshoe is magic.  You can attach this awesome accessory and you'll get dual XLR inputs"

 

True, but you may have noticed the small point that your audio adapter costs more than the camera.

 

Note to Admin:  For me Cut-n-paste (Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V) does not work, neither does the Quote button.

[skiphunt]

Well, the focus-peaking and zebras would be nice, but without seeing actual images/video in lowlight etc. I think as also an avid stills shooter, I'd still take the D5300. 

 

Also, the mic input on the D5300 is a big plus. I didn't think it'd be very useful since it's just a stereo mini imput and no way to monitor the signal... however, I had a spur of the moment shoot and because it was on the street and it wasn't going to be possible to manage a dual recording system... just ran a Sennheiser ME66 phantom powered shotgun via balance transformer to 1/8th directly into the D5300. I set the audio levels to auto, and figured it'd get all confused, clip, not readjust properly, etc.

 

However, I was really surprised at how good it sounded, especially after just a little EQ in FCPX. The D5300's auto level did a surprisingly good job dealing with rapidly changing situations and never clipped at all.

 

Tough call, if I was just doing video... might lean toward the Sony for a couple of the features... but for stills, and being able to run an external mic directly in, would likely stick with the D5300 for my needs. 

 

That being said, will likely be adding a GH4 and keep the D5300 for stills use after GH4 production models are out in the field and there aren't any surprise gotchas hiding in the wings.

[kadajawi]

So I guess that ugly "video-look" of the a57 is gone? Sounds interesting.

[theSUBVERSIVE]

another pro that the @admin seems to have missed is the option to choose the autofocus transition speed, you can make the af transitions slow like the canon 70d, or really fast and snappy for sports.  It´s a really good feature to have in video.

 

I would really want to see more about that as other E-Mount focus hunting and transition AF during video is simply unusable.

[TAPTAP]

How can there be this many posts with people complaining about the camera not having this or that? 

 

Isn't the fact that Sony apparently put out a consumer camera that shoots video with "image quality [ ] closer to the FS700 in 1080p than to a NEX 7 or A50"  enough to justify a pause and a little congratulations Sony's way?

 

If this review is true, I'm pretty stunned.  To give some perspective of where I'm coming from, I own a bunch of Sony stuff- the a65, RX100, FS-100, FDR-AX100 and some others that put Sony's video quality in perspective: like the D800, BMPCC-- so to me this is really crazy news.  I can't comment on the FS-700, but the FS-100 is similar, and it is an amazing camera.  It's the only Sony I've used that produces video worth grading (IMHO).

 

To the poster above who plays down the a6000's significance because the BMPCC is "only $350 more," come on, you should know as well as anyone that another $2,000 is sucked up by the BMPCC before you're satisfied to take it on a shoot.  :)  The video we were watching was with the a6000 and its kit lens.

 

Anyway, maybe many of you aren't familiar with the years of garbage vide out of Sony's consumer products, but this is a big deal to me. I'm also now glad I didn't pick up one of the a7 cameras-- as tempting as there were/are.

[maxotics]

How can there be this many posts with people complaining about the camera not having this or that? 

 

To the poster above who plays down the a6000's significance because the BMPCC is "only $350 more," come on, you should know as well as anyone that another $2,000 is sucked up by the BMPCC before you're satisfied to take it on a shoot.  :)  The video we were watching was with the a6000 and its kit lens.

 

"Complaining?" So we're a bunch of old ladies   :)

 

I use the BMPCC with a used 14-45mm I found for $170.  I also have Nikon glass with adapter.  It isn't the money, that is a problem with the BMPCC (assuming you already have a fast computer) it's the time and lack of idiot features (which I'm not too proud to use).  If I were you, and I didn't have to have full-frame (a7) then I'd be very excited too.  As many have speculated, if the a6000 has pixel binning like the RX10, then it should remove the drawback of having an APS-C sized sensor (more line skipping compared to MFT) gaining better low-light and DR.  

 

You are very right, Sony and Panasonic and really pushing the envelop.  And that is to be cheered!!!!  Canon and Nikon, for video, not seeing much.

[gethin]

 

 

AVCHD clip uploaded https://copy.com/edilC2jd0kbi

 

 

 

Where's that clip gone?   :)

[mastroiani]

ISO 640 I seem to remember.

 

Hi Andrew,  would you say the video quality is better than GM1/GX7? 

 

Thanks!

[Andrew Reid]

Where's that clip gone?   :)

 

Should be back now. Copy was having problems. Please try and again and let me know if it's still broken.

 

https://www.copy.com/s/edilC2jd0kbi

[Policar]

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Sony_Alpha_A6000/

 

look at these samples... the detail is decent, but still no where near even the GH2. There's even moire on those beach front shop shutters...

 

 

Looks pretty horrible here. Maybe (extra) line skipping at 50p? No better than average dSLR footage here I agree... but the samples all seem to be 50p, no 24/25/30p... 

 

Sample video from here looks very good however. Cheapest "good enough" option maybe for hobbyists? APS-C chip... good image full 1080p looks like... no moire not bad skew... ok codec.

 

How is footage outdoors focused at infinity? This is where Canon dSLRS fall apart.

 

Cheapest good enough option for professionals of course is whatever clients will tolerate? Refurb t2i? (Loved that camera fwiw.)

[Massimo Fanucci]

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Sony_Alpha_A6000/

 

look at these samples... the detail is decent, but still no where near even the GH2. There's even moire on those beach front shop shutters...

Great. So you've compared footage shot with both the A6000 and GH2 in the same conditions.  Can you please post links.

[elgabogomez]

Hi Andrew, thanks for keep writing about "non 4k" cameras, at risk of being fan boyish, i'm interested in the a6000 cause i use sony cameras (5n and a3000). I've watched your sample video and the first thing that i notice different from early nexes is less rolling shutter issues.

Believe it or not i'm about to shoot an indie/no budget film with the a3000 and the 5n and we are in talks with a production company that might loan us/ rent us for peanuts an fs700... So the prospect of the a6000 instead is tempting.

 

Q1: Would you say the a6000 has less rolling shutter issues?

Q2: How would you compare the a6000 vs the fs100? 

[Marc Morris]

Of course it has an internal mic, yes :)

 

AVCHD clip uploaded https://copy.com/edilC2jd0kbi

 

Investigate what you can put in the hotshoe in terms of audio support. I am researching this for final review but it will be a week or so away yet.

Hey Andrew, I'm on the DI field team for Sony out in the Rocky Mtns... we were told that the XLR-K1M adapter unit would be compatible with the A6000. The MI shoe on the camera also supports the XYST1M stereo mic, the ECM-W1M bluetooth wireless mic system, and the ECM-GZ1M Mono Gun/Zoom mic. I'll get word on the XLR compatibility shortly. If it is, then the sound options open up considerably for the A6000 user for sure.