Mikey Likes It

I got a Sony A6600 last night. Furnished by LensRentals for review. It arrived via FedEx late in the day.

We're in that time of the year when the lawn is trying hard to get out of control. With all the rain, the grass grows vigorously and I can't cut it because it's wet. I like to mow one section at a time to break up the chore, and it's like a race of sorts...will there be enough dry days to keep it all in check? Will I win or will the grass win? I last was on the lawnmower about four days ago, and I cut grass for an hour in a persistent light sprinkle. It never got going but it never stopped "spitting."

So last night I did what I always do when I get in a camera for review...wandered around the neighborhood for twenty minutes snapping pictures of anything and everything to give myself something to look at. It was dark and wet, but oh well.

And it makes perfect sense in a TOPpish way that I'd be trying out the A6600 now, since it's just about to be replaced. A new Sony top-o'-the-line APS-C camera is due by the end of this month, according to SonyAlphaRumors. This has happened at least once before, that I've tried a camera at the end of its lifecycle. Trust TOP to be in there last with the hot reviews!

I'm just avoiding the rush, is all. Stepping out of the rat race and finding a nice spot under a shady tree to sit and rest and think. No pell-mell hustle-and-bustle here at TOP Rustic World Headquarters. Not even naps are mandatory.

The A6600 is a good seller, though, so the closeout discounts are modest. B&H Photo, Amazon. I don't think you should be in any rush to buy, though—might as well wait and see the new one.

Obligatory lake shot with orange accent

ƒ/1.4 mystery fleur

Rustic HQ in all its frumpy glory. The neighbors use the
field opposite as a parking lot. I work on the porch.

Fallen tulip petals. Look closely, you can see raindrops.

Puddle

...That woeful genre of c. 2000 ff.: "test shots."

It's funny, but I seldom enjoy shooting more than on these little jaunts. It's no-pressure, the opposite of an assignment. I don't even care what the pictures are of...they can be of nothing but a puddle and it doesn't matter. (I like the puddle, though.) I'm just trying to get a feel for the camera, work out how to hold it, listen to the sounds it makes, see how fast it focuses, start to learn the controls...mostly, see if it fits, and see if I like it or not. The purpose is to give myself some stuff to look at on the computer...see how much headroom there is, take a look at focus accuracy, check out the noise and enjoy the sharpness, compare the raws to the JPEG engine. You know, just get a feel for things.

I plan to use the review camera to compare two lenses that are totally un-alike. I also got some reader-donated Nikon stuff in recently, and...well, more about that another time. Suffice it to say I've been shooting a lot.

It's not like the A6xxx series is unfamiliar. I have a NEX-6 from way back and a reader-donated A6000, and I reviewed the A6500 a while ago. To be honest, the reason I wanted to try this one was because it was rumored that Sony had improved what are sometimes called the "haptics," the feel of the controls. I just wanted to see what was up with that.

That, and I wanted to get my own mitt on the larger grip, which houses a larger battery.

If I'm honest, I also wanted to get a "grip" on the A6600 so I can be up to speed when the new one comes out.

Brutalism
At first my impression was somewhat negative. I know it's a snowflake thing to say, but the thing is actually a little...heavy! Seventeen and a half ounces on the kitchen scale, which doesn't sound like much until you compare it to the A6000 at 11.5 oz. Add a substantial lens, and we're a long way from the old NEX-5n, that's for sure, that tiny camera which, with the other early NEX cameras, was the now-distant ancestor of this form-factor. The new grip is very nice and beefy, but it creates a little dissonance because it's still, well, short. Really short! It's about exactly the height of my index, middle, and ring fingers. There's no place for the pinky to go, except to sort of curl around underneath the grip. Which felt all right sitting at my desk, but...?

The A6xxx form-factor is a bit polarizing. I like it, but dare I say that it might be time for a rethink? Sony's "brutalist" style (the term comes from architecture) has kept its designers from doing some obvious practical things that would improve the ergonomics pretty substantially. Like, just put the PASM dial on the top of the camera, fer Pete's sake. Yes, it's nice and design-y that it's set flush into the top plate, but we have work to do and we just want the thing to work well. As it is you have to roll it with your thumb which doesn't make the most sense for a clickstopped dial. And, as the whole internet says in unison, "ADD A FRONT DIAL SONY" so the four-way switch on the back doesn't also have to be a dial. Nobody ever liked that; it was just something we accepted because the cameras were tiny. When they used to be tiny.

And I don't even like front dials. But sometimes they just make sense. As it is, in A(perture) Priority I get to have either the +/– or the aperture on the control dial, but I have to choose.

I haven't held a Z camera yet, but I'm looking forward to it. It looks like Nikon put some real effort into just what I'm talking about. If it makes the cameras look a little odd, like they wouldn't satisfy the teacher in an advanced industrial design class, that's fine with photographers as long as it makes the cameras more satisfying to hold and the controls easier to manage.

The proof's in the puddle...er, pudding
Once I got outside and settled into the flow of shooting, though, my concerns evaporated. It's a lovely camera to hold and work. My homeless pinky complained not, and the weight was nothing. Actually, regarding that, this camera is 17 and a half ounces and the "perfect weight" for a camera body (i.e., ideal per my own tastes) that I arrived at way back in the '90s was 18 ounces. In use the A6600 just reinforces that old determination.

The menus are a bit of a Br'er Rabbit thicket, of course, but I have a week with the camera. Another race to the finish, that will be.

The other camera I've been shooting with is a Nikon D800E, and it's not going to be a great big mystery to longtime readers which of the two Mikey likes. Oh, and those controls? Yes, they do feel more substantial, smoother, more deluxe. They've lost the lightweight and hence somewhat flimsy feel of the A6000's dials 'n' buttons. The A6600 is one well-built brick, really a solid machine, sophisticated and deluxe. And a pleasure to use. I'm sure familiarity played a part, but I'm impressed. Hey Mikey!

Mike

P.S. A moment of silence please: I also learned on SonyAlphaRumors that the a99 II, the a77 II, and the a68 have all been discontinued, which means that's the end of Sony's original Alpha SLRs and "SLTs." And, by extension, the end of the lineage of the old Konica-Minolta DSLRs.

Book of Interest this week:

How Photography Became Contemporary Art: Inside an Artistic Revolution from Pop to the Digital Age, by Andy Grundberg, Yale University Press, 296 pages. A longtime critic and observer attempts a synthesis. Good reading. Also available from The Book Depository with free shipping worldwide.

Original contents copyright 2021 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Antonis R: "The Sony mystery: how can they miss obvious design issues with their bodies' ergonomics over so many iterations? Are they from some other country that just invented cameras? Imagine if they got the ergonomics (and menus) right like...Nikon, Canon, Fuji, (ex-) Olympus, Panasonic et al. (leaving film brands aside). They'd be hard to beat given their electronic prowess. My own experience is only with their a7R III but it proved the reviews right. The baby Sonys are no exception. Argh!"

Mike replies: It's said by some that the new camera will have the same design as the A7C. Although I would have said the A7C has the same design as the A6xxx series, there are some differences. And there could be more differences when the design is adapted back to a top-of-the-line APS-C. We'll see, but I'm interested in seeing what they'll come up with.

Comments

[Kenneth Tanaka]

Good for you, Mike! Nice remarks and observations. I have been an enthusiastic fan, and owner, of Sony's NEX-style cameras almost since they appeared. There is something wonderfully liberating and casual about them, yet they can capture some murderously good images seemingly by themselves.

Hey, anybody and everybody does "leading edge" product reviews. Manufacturers send them review products and sometimes fly them to exotic places to attend launch love fests. Pfft. No biggie.

But how many bloggers/vloggers do "Adieu Reviews"? Maybe you should try to hitch-up with KEH or MPB?

[Rob L.]

Old Sonys never die, they just go downmarket - so a review of the about to be replaced(superseded, really) model before a new one launches is really helpful - it's good to see how a contemporary reviewer rates the camera vs. it's launch.

[Chris H]

The A6600 is one of just a couple of the Sony APS-C bodies with IBIS, right? That makes it of interest if there are at least some end-of-life discounts to be had. I've been interested in it in the past, as I still have some of the NEX lenses kicking around and would like to have that baseline of resolution and stabilization in a small crop sensor camera. However, the price along with the menus and general apparent apathy from Sony to the APS-C side of things has kept me from buying another body. Make it cheaper though and I just might give it a try again.

[JoeB]

MJ receives a camera for review - let it rain. Seems to be the pattern.

[robert e]

"Trust TOP to be in there last with the hot reviews!"

Au contraire! Intentionally or not, TOP does a great service by reviewing the newest entry in the discontinued/closeout/used bargain market, which, as has been pointed out more than once in these pages, is nothing to sneeze at these days. It's helpful to have a review in contemporary context, as opposed to the many that came out when the camera was introduced.

[robert e]

I should have read Rob L's comment before posting mine! (We're not related, just think alike, apparently.)

Your comments about the body design reflects my past experience with NEX-type bodies. They look somehow arbitrary and not right for a camera, but in use they work well and get out of the way. As a friend of mine would say, "I don't want to like it, but..."

[David Bateman]

I thought you had a GFX for review?
Are your thoughts still to come on it or did I miss that post?
David

[Grant]

Back in 2010 I was at a skateboard park while a now well known vlogger filmed our sons skating. He was reviewing a new video camera from a rapidly ascending camera manufacturer. There was a companion still camera which he handed to me to have some fun with while he shot video.
The camera was too small to hold comfortably, had no viewfinder, or controls that I could comprehend and the LCD screen was impossible to see in the late afternoon sun. After I pushed the shutter a couple of times I put the camera down and realized how much I liked my DSLR. I had been shooting film and digital for 40 years and I could tell that this was a camera that was going nowhere.
I think the front of the camera was marked NEX-3 or something. Duh?

[John]

Some time ago I believe you pondered just using a phone and a FF or MF system, nothing in between. I've been thinking about it. Two months ago I concluded that given the current quality of phone imaging and low prices of FF digital, this was the most sensible path for me - I upgraded to an iPhone 12, sold all my gear and bought into Sony FF with a couple of unusual lenses.

Before doing so, I had to admit first that most of the photos I had taken since I started this hobby could have been snapped on a phone and I'd have been none the sadder, such is the mediocrity of my photographic talent. Once I was past that I knew that a dedicated camera should really allow me to do things I can't casually do with a phone. For instance, the things an F1.2 lens can do on a FF body.

https://www.exibartstreet.com/news/cosina-announces-a-se-version-of-the-nokton-40mm-f-1-2-aspherical-se-prime-lens-for-sony-e-mount-cameras/

So, no more processing of thousands of RAW vacation snaps for little to no payoff.

Pleasantly surprised at how small the A7R II feels in reality, only four ounces heavier than the A6600. Not a major factor, though. If Fujifilm ever gets their GFX bodies under $2,500, there's my upgrade path.

[Michael L Shwarts]

I have the A6000 and A6400. Seems like the A6600 addresses my three complaints about earlier models. Bigger battery. Mine go through batteries quickly even if I follow all the online tips for conserving power. Second is the grip. I have small hands and earlier grips feel like I am holding on with the tips of my fingers. Finally the A6600 has in body image stabilization. I like to use my old Olympus OM lenses on various modern cameras. From experience with an Oly E-M10, IBIS makes a huge difference at slower shutter speeds.

[Stephen S.]

One thing I appreciate about Sigma - they don't write things in bright white lettering on the front retaining rings. They are either blank, or engraved with lens info that is left black, not filled with paint. This prevents the text reflecting back into the lens, ruining your image, when you're using a filter.

[Ernest Zarate]

I really like that puddle photo. It was a terrific coda after a string of pleasant, undemanding snaps of your walk.

[Ilkka]

Yes, where’s that GFX? I am waiting to buy and have a few choices, the GFX is one of them. An old Sony is not. I want to hear your opinion before I choose.

[Tex Andrews]

Yes, a moment of silence, please. No surprise---maybe the only surprise was that Sony waited so long.

The A850 was my first FF digital camera, coming to it from the Oly E-3 (another abandoned form). It was a good transition between the 2, they had a lot in common in terms of ergonomics and build quality. I used the A850 a bit longer than the E-3, for 4 years. The files were indeed far better, though, and I can still use them today w/o much PP fuss, less so the older Oly files (although with new software advances, new life can be breathed into those files, a good thing!).

In some ways I miss those more innocent and hopeful days of digital. Traded in the A850 for a 645Z, and haven't looked back---a truly great camera, and my backup camera, a K1mkII, is also superior.---but I still feel a pang now and then.

So, here's a toast for auld lang syne.

[I'll raise a glass with you, Tex (although make mine Perrier). I still feel an occasional pang for my Konica-Minolta 7D. Was that camera ever an eye-opener. It had the best digital color of any digital camera I've ever used, and making the leap from a small-sensor digital was possibly the biggest leap in quality I've ever experienced in digital, too. Despite the low pixel count, the files still look good. My camera basically broke, and I'll always wonder how long I'd have used it if it hadn't. --Mike]

[Chris Fuller]

I had the A6000 and 24 1.8 Zeiss for a time. It produced perfectly fine photos. The colors were especially nice. However, I admit that I am one for whom the experience of photography is also important (a clear sign of my amateur status, BTW). To that end, the brutalist design was an impediment to any personal pleasure that I might experience using the camera. It was too much function over form, and I knew that I could get equally pleasing image output and more pleasing tactility elsewhere, so I moved on.

[Pak-Ming Wan]

I too just bought a camera about to be replaced (a Panasonic GH5). About 3 years after initial release, the performance is good enough for me -- but more importantly, the ecosystem (i.e. online training from passionate users) is mature.

I'm going to be tinkering with video, something I know not a lot about -- so this was an important consideration. Not everything needs to be bleeding edge.

Enjoy the Sony!

Cheers, Pak