Sony A6700 - Worth upgrading?

[pierces]

Looks like the new Sony A6700 APS-C camera will be officially announced on July 12. 

 

Rumored features:

• New 26MP sensor with faster readout (Faster readout means faster burst rate?)

• Second control wheel on front of grip like the A7 models.

• Improved 7-stop stabilization.

• Deeper, more ergonomic grip and slightly taller body. Sounds to me like it might be similar to the A7C. (Still very small.)

• Two card slots. Supports SDXC and CF Type A.

• Better viewfinder.

• Improved AF and tracking (already excellent).

 

Hmmmm.... Selling my A7III and A6700 would probably come fairly close to covering the expected $1,800 - $2,000 price tag. 🤔

 

More to come...probably next Wednesday.

 

Dave

[kbnovak]

Looking forward to the official announcement as well.  Faster burst rate, tracking improvements, and second control wheel are most intriguing to me.  Or maybe I'm just feeling lonely because my A6600 is in the camera hospital.  😁

[pierces]

The A6700 announcement is tomorrow, but if you are looking to upgrade that A6xxx body you have now, it looks like the A6600 body is $400 off at $998 at B&H, Amazon and Adorama. 

 

Dave

 

[pierces]

A good upgrade for any A6xxx owner below the A6600. IMHO upgrading from an A6600 would be a harder decision based on specific features that might be important to the individual. This is not a dismissal of the feature set offered on the A6700 but praise for the A6600.

 

From DPReview:

 

• 26MP BSI CMOS APS-C sensor
• Bionz X processor and dedicated 'AI Processing Engine'
• AF tracking with subject recognition, 759 AF points with 93% coverage
• 11 fps shooting with mech or electronic shutter
• Lossless Raw compression option
• HEIF and HLG Still Image modes
• 4K up to 60p from 6K capture
• 4K/120 from 1.58x crop
• 10-bit video with 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 color
• S-Cinetone, S-Log3 and HLG profiles
• Uploadable LUTs
• USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) output 
• 2x2 MIMO Wi-Fi
• UVC/UAC streaming up to 4K/30

The Sony a6700 will be available from the end of July 2023 with a list price of $1399, body only, $1499 with the 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS power zoom or $1799 with the 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS.

 

Two excellent improvements are the front dial addition and relocation of the Record start/stop button.

 

Better articulation of the LCD screen. Important for vloggers and people with a penchant for taking selfies. The A6600 does allow for 90° up or down for overhead or low angle shooting, which is ok for a stills-centric shooter.

 

Like the A6600, the A6700 uses the NP-FZ100 battery from the later A7x models, giving it the same exceptional battery life. The rumor of a redesigned body with two card slots didn't materialize, but the UHS-II SD support is pretty fast and with the buffer supporting up to 1000 JPEGs and 59 RAW images, it's not a deal-breaker. 4K video can now be recorded at 60 and 120 FPS for slow-mo and the sensor readout is almost 3x as fast which should significantly reduce rolling shutter in videos.

 

Will I buy one? A big "maybe". The improvements are notable but all of them fall into the nice-to-have category since I already have an A6600. 

 

If was still shooting with the A6300, it would be a different story. 

 

Dave

 

 

 

[kbnovak]

Not enough advancements that I need to upgrade from a6600.  However, if I were just getting into Sony...

[pierces]

3 hours ago, kbnovak said:

Not enough advancements that I need to upgrade from a6600.  However, if I were just getting into Sony...

Yup.

A6600 is a heckuva machine.

 

Other than those, anybody looking to enter the world of mirrorless needs to seriously consider the A6700.

 

Dave

Edited July 13, 2023 by pierces

[tommui987]

Having reached the write old age of 90 and not seeing any foreseeable trips, and the anticipated price around $2,000, I wasn’t dinnertoo enthusiastic about upgrading my Sonys’.

 

But with its articulated screen and more “reasonable price”, I’m sorely tempted!

 

[tommui987]

Damn spelling corrections!

 

”ripe” and no “dinner” for me!

[markeb]

It’s a tempting upgrade to my A6500. The upgraded battery alone would be a great enhancement. Hmmm…

[pierces]

33 minutes ago, markeb said:

It’s a tempting upgrade to my A6500. The upgraded battery alone would be a great enhancement. Hmmm…

The FP-100Z battery is a fantastic upgrade all by itself.

 

Dave

[kbnovak]

16 hours ago, pierces said:

The FP-100Z battery is a fantastic upgrade all by itself.

 

Dave

I concur.  I also like that the a6600 takes the same battery as my Alpha 1.