Sony’s crop-sensor APS-C format mirrorless cameras have all the time had solely a restricted variety of fashions, and that quantity is now lowering.
Final 12 months, Sony eliminated the Alpha A6300 mannequin from its web site, which ultimately led to retailers eradicating it from cabinets. It is now the flip of the Sony A6500 to comply with swimsuit, with the digicam not listed on Sony’s on-line market and a few retailers labeling it as “not obtainable” or eradicating any point out of the mannequin solely.
That leaves simply the Sony A6000, A6100, A6400 and the A6600 within the firm’s APS-C format our bodies – no less than in some markets. In Australia, solely three of these fashions can be found on Sony’s on-line storefront – the A6000 from 2014, and the 2019-released A6400 and A6600. Does this imply the A6100 is doomed as properly?
Are we saying farewell to the Sony A6100?
The discontinuation of the A6300 and the A6500 does make sense – they’re getting older kits that launched in March 2016 and October 2016 respectively – however the A6100 was solely introduced in 2019 and was the successor to the A6000, bringing some important upgrades over the older mannequin.
Whereas the efficient sensor decision was roughly the identical, the A6100 included a front-end LSI chip that bumped up the digicam’s efficiency, alongside a more recent BionZ X processor. Native ISO vary on the A6100 was additionally barely higher, taking it to ISO 32000 from the A6000’s higher restrict of ISO 25,600 (even for video). And it was able to 14-bit RAW and 16-bit picture processing, which the older digicam can’t deal with.
After which let’s not neglect the advances in autofocus – Sony mirrorless cameras have come leaps and bounds in AF efficiency since they first launched, and the A6100 introduced real-time Eye AF and monitoring for each people and animals.
The A6100 was additionally able to 4K video recording at as much as 30fps, whereas the A6000 is simply able to Full HD 1080p at as much as 60fps.
There are another variations, like small design tweaks to make the A6100 extra user-friendly and including extra trendy options just like the addition of an intervalometer for timelapse movies and Bluetooth connectivity.
That mentioned, the A6000 was a massively widespread beginner-friendly digicam, and given it has endured since 2014 is a big feat for Sony. So it does make sense to carry on to a bestseller. And the A6100 appears to have been discontinued solely in sure markets (the place it is nonetheless obtainable via just a few retailers flogging present inventory), however continues to be offered within the US and UK. Whether or not the A6100 will quickly go the way in which of the A6300 and A6500 worldwide stays to be seen.
Enter the Sony A6900?
With only some APS-C fashions presently listed by Sony (down from a complete of six at one level), it feels just like the electronics big is perhaps seeking to part out the crop-sensor format altogether. Nonetheless, latest studies recommend in any other case.
In keeping with digicam rumors web site Sony Alpha Rumors, the Japanese firm might need a high-end APS-C physique within the works that we’d truly see within the flesh very quickly.
Not a lot is thought about this new digicam, but when any of the rumors are true, it could be a alternative for the A6600 flagship, bringing extra “vlogger” options from the Sony ZV-1 and A7C cameras. It is anticipated to be introduced in the direction of the tip of Could.
We have to needless to say that is nonetheless a rumor and needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. However given the rumored launch timeframe, we’ll discover out for certain quickly sufficient.