Sony A6400 Comparison Review

The Sony Alpha A6400 is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was officially introduced in January 2019 and is equipped with an APS-C sensor. It offers a resolution of 24 megapixel.

Is the Sony A6400 a good camera? The A6400 has a Camera Elo of 2686. This rating puts the A6400 among the top 40 percent of all mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (APS cameras), the A6400 ranks among the top 20 percent. Based on its within category standings, the camera earns a 4-star performance rating.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The side-by-side display below illustrates the physical size of the Sony A6400 vis-à-vis a credit card. Three consecutive perspectives from the front, the top, and the back are presented. All size dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Sony A6400 alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Sony A6400	120 mm	67 mm	50 mm	403 g	410	Y	Jan 2019	899	amazon.com
2.		Canon 2000D	129 mm	101 mm	78 mm	475 g	500	n	Feb 2018	449	amazon.com
3.		Canon M50	116 mm	88 mm	59 mm	390 g	235	n	Feb 2018	779	ebay.com
4.		Canon M5	116 mm	89 mm	61 mm	427 g	295	n	Sep 2016	979	ebay.com
5.		Leica C-LUX	113 mm	67 mm	46 mm	340 g	370	n	Jun 2018	1,049	ebay.com
6.		Sony A6100	120 mm	67 mm	59 mm	396 g	420	n	Aug 2019	749	ebay.com
7.		Sony A6300	120 mm	67 mm	49 mm	404 g	400	Y	Feb 2016	999	ebay.com
8.		Sony A6000	120 mm	67 mm	45 mm	344 g	360	n	Feb 2014	599	ebay.com
9.		Sony A3000	128 mm	91 mm	85 mm	411 g	470	n	Aug 2013	329	ebay.com
10.		Sony NEX-6	120 mm	67 mm	43 mm	345 g	360	n	Sep 2012	999	ebay.com
11.		Sony NEX-7	120 mm	67 mm	43 mm	400 g	430	n	Aug 2011	1,349	ebay.com
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Sony A6400 was launched in the US market at a price of $899. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Check A6400 price at
amazon.com

Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The imaging sensor is at the core of digital cameras and its size is one of the main determining factors of image quality. A large sensor will tend to have larger individual pixels that provide better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixel-units in a sensor of the same technological generation. Further, a large sensor camera will give the photographer additional creative options when using shallow depth-of-field to isolate a subject from its background. On the downside, larger sensors are more costly to manufacture and tent to lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

The Sony A6400 features an APS-C sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.5. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Sony A6400 among the medium-sized sensor cameras that aim to strike a balance between image quality and portability.

Since 2007, DXO Mark has published sensor performance measurements that have been derived using a consistent methodology. This service assesses and scores the color depth ("DXO Portrait"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports") of camera sensors, and also publishes an overall camera score. The table below summarizes the physical sensor characteristics and sensor quality findings and compares them across a set of similar cameras.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Sony A6400	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.0	13.6	1431	83
2.		Canon 2000D	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/30p	22.6	11.9	1009	71
3.		Canon M50	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	4K/24p	23.8	13.3	1684	81
4.		Canon M5	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	23.4	12.4	1262	77
5.		Leica C-LUX	1-inch	20.0	5472	3648	4K/30p	22.1	12.3	481	64
6.		Sony A6100	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.1	13.6	1947	84
7.		Sony A6300	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	24.4	13.7	1437	85
8.		Sony A6000	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.1	13.1	1347	82
9.		Sony A3000	APS-C	19.8	5456	3632	1080/60i	23.7	12.8	1068	78
10.		Sony NEX-6	APS-C	16.0	4912	3264	1080/60i	23.7	13.1	1018	78
11.		Sony NEX-7	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60i	24.1	13.4	1016	81
Note: DXO values in italics represent estimates based on sensor size and age.

Many modern cameras are not only capable of taking still images, but can also record movies. The A6400 indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the A6400 can use is 4K/30p.

Feature comparison

Apart from body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the A6400 has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 2359k dots. The viewfinder offers a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.70x. The following tables report on some other key feature differences and similarities of the Sony A6400 and comparable cameras.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Sony A6400	2359	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	Y	1/4000s	11.0/s	Y	n
2.		Canon 2000D	optical	n	3.0 / 920	fixed	n	1/4000s	3.0/s	Y	n
3.		Canon M50	2360	n	3.0 / 1040	swivel	Y	1/4000s	10.0/s	Y	n
4.		Canon M5	2360	n	3.2 / 1620	tilting	Y	1/4000s	9.0/s	Y	n
5.		Leica C-LUX	2330	n	3.0 / 1240	fixed	Y	1/2000s	10.0/s	Y	Y
6.		Sony A6100	1440	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	Y	1/4000s	11.0/s	Y	n
7.		Sony A6300	2359	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	n	1/4000s	11.0/s	Y	n
8.		Sony A6000	1440	n	3.0 / 922	tilting	n	1/4000s	11.0/s	Y	n
9.		Sony A3000	202	n	3.0 / 230	fixed	n	1/4000s	2.5/s	Y	n
10.		Sony NEX-6	2359	n	3.0 / 921	tilting	n	1/4000s	10.0/s	Y	n
11.		Sony NEX-7	2359	n	3.0 / 921	tilting	n	1/4000s	10.0/s	Y	n
Notes: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

The LCD screen on the Sony Alpha A6400 is flexibly attached to the body. In particular, the LCD can be tilted vertically to facilitate odd-angle shots in landscape orientation. This tilting design is often preferred, for example, by street photographers to a fully articulated, swivel type of LCD attachment, as it is more unobtrusive during shooting than a screen that flips out to the side.

One convenient feature of the A6400 is the presence of an on-board flash. While this built-in flash is not very powerful, it can at times be useful as a fill-in light to brighten deep shadow areas.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Sony Alpha A6400 and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Sony A6400	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	Y
2.		Canon 2000D	Y	mono / mono	-	-	mini	2.0	Y	Y	-
3.		Canon M50	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	Y
4.		Canon M5	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	Y	Y	Y
5.		Leica C-LUX	-	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
6.		Sony A6100	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	Y
7.		Sony A6300	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
8.		Sony A6000	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	Y	-
9.		Sony A3000	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
10.		Sony NEX-6	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	mini	2.0	Y	-	-
11.		Sony NEX-7	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-

It is notable that the A6400 has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Further information on the features and operation of the A6400 can be found in the free online Sony A6400 Manual or on the Sony support site.

Expert reviews

While the comparison of the spec-sheets of cameras can offer a general idea of their imaging potential, it remains partial and cannot reveal, for example, the handling experience and imaging performance when actually working with the A6400. User reviews, such as those found at amazon, can sometimes inform about these issues, but such feedback is often incomplete, inconsistent, and biased. This is why hands-on reviews by experts are important. The adjacent table relays the overall verdicts of several of the most popular camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Sony A6400	4/5	+	4/5	85/100	4.5/5	4/5	Jan 2019	899	amazon.com
2.		Canon 2000D	3/5	o	3.5/5	..	3.5/5	3.5/5	Feb 2018	449	amazon.com
3.		Canon M50	..	+	4/5	79/100	..	3.5/5	Feb 2018	779	ebay.com
4.		Canon M5	4/5	+	4/5	82/100	4/5	4/5	Sep 2016	979	ebay.com
5.		Leica C-LUX	..	..	3.5/5	..	4.5/5	4/5	Jun 2018	1,049	ebay.com
6.		Sony A6100	..	..	4/5	82/100	4/5	5/5	Aug 2019	749	ebay.com
7.		Sony A6300	4.5/5	+	..	85/100	5/5	5/5	Feb 2016	999	ebay.com
8.		Sony A6000	5/5	+	4.5/5	80/100	4.5/5	5/5	Feb 2014	599	ebay.com
9.		Sony A3000	3/5	+	..	..	4/5	4/5	Aug 2013	329	ebay.com
10.		Sony NEX-6	5/5	+ +	..	78/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2012	999	ebay.com
11.		Sony NEX-7	5/5	+ +	..	81/100	4.5/5	5/5	Aug 2011	1,349	ebay.com
Notes: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The review scores listed above should be treated with care, though. The ratings were established in reference to similarly priced cameras that were available in the market at the time of the review. Hence, a score should always be seen in the context of the camera's market launch date and its price, and rating-comparisons among cameras that span long time periods or concern very differently equipped models make little sense. Also, kindly note that some of the listed sites have over time developped their review approaches and their reporting style.

Check A6400 price at
amazon.com

Camera to camera comparisons

In case you would like to check on the differences and similarities with other camera models, just make a corresponding selection in the search boxes below. There is also a set of direct links to comparison reviews that other users of the CAM-parator app explored.

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