Sony A6600: Is the Price Premium Worth It?

First, I know I joke about how it rains every time I get a camera to review, but it's a little freaky and I really don't like it. I have the A6600 here for a week, and the last three days have been more or less constant rain. I left my tea mug outside yesterday morning and this morning there's an inch of rainwater in it. I've still been shooting every day, but dang, cut it out.

Sony is just about to replace its high-end APS-C camera. According to various rumors, none confirmed, the new camera will resemble the A7C in design and have a higher-resolution sensor. Can we assume it will sport the latest Bionz XR processor, and therefore inherit the overhauled menu system that debuted on the A7S III? Don't ask me; there's nobody in here but us chickens. But that would certainly be a sound move, as the current menu system is of the HM type. (HM: hot mess). My guess on price: $1,598. Just a guess.

The A7C has a PASM dial on top of the top plate, which makes more sense than an inset one, and it has a secondary control wheel tucked into the back which allows the main control dial to be dedicated to exposure compensation.

In the not even two years since its introduction, however (it was announced in August of 2019), the A6600 has commanded a hefty price differential above and beyond its lesser siblings. The series has several tiers: the A6000 has been a price leader for years and is still available in kits; the new base model, the A6100, is currently $750 at B&H Photo, while the intermediate A6400 is $900, or combined with a kit lens for $100 more. The A6600, meanwhile, is back up to its regular price of $1,400 from the recent sale price of $1,200, although the price might differ on Amazon.

I'm here to tell you that in my opinion the A6600 is absolutely worth the price disparity. It's not a perfect camera (despite a myriad of attempts over 182 years, that hasn't been accomplished yet), but the build quality is special. Everything about it exudes quality and care in construction. In fact, the "gestalt" of the camera reminds me of nothing so much as the day I unwrapped my much-awaited Leica M6 in the parking lot of a Post Office many years ago—it has that same super-solid, overbuilt, quality-foremost, carved-from-a-single-block feeling. The grip is wonderful, I really like the card slot position (which on the A6000 is fiddley for my large fingers) and the knobs 'n' dials 'n' buttons are smooth, tactile, and pleasing.

These kinds of things matter on a camera, to me. The A6600 is similar to the other A6xxx-series camera, present and past, but it's really a different camera, because of the build quality.

Now as to the new one just being loaded into the starting gate: it will no doubt have some changes I would like, and it will get some things wrong. I ran into a fellow on a forum who was just ranting and railing about the fact that Sony would launch a new APS-C camera when what he is waiting for the A7 IV (I think...I get them mixed up). He was very bitter and couldn't stop perseverating on his disappointment. I really felt like giving him a paternalistic lecture, but then I realized we each have to learn our own lessons. If there's one thing I've learned about the camera marketplace over the years, it's this: never put your faith in vaporware. Any new camera that comes out is never going to be exactly what you think it should be. I'm sure a few of the things I like about the A6600 will be missing in action, or (needlessly, in my opinion) changed, on the new one. That's just the way it always is.

In fact, it's almost like it's a law: every new camera introduction will have some feature or other that you are convinced the manufacturer got wrong, or some conspicuous (to you!) weakness. (That's the "If only it had..." rule.) Just like every old retro camera will have at least one feature that would have to be modernized to make it fully usable now. It's always something.

The best thing about the A6600, though, imperfect as it may or may not be for any given user, is its absolutely deluxe feel and build. I love it. It's up to you whether that would be worth paying for, but it's a perfectly good reason for it to cost more.

Mike

Book of Interest this week:

The Education of a Photographer, Edited by Charles H. Traub, Steven Heller, and Adam B. Bell, Allworth Press, 2006, 256 pages. A small but rich gold mine of short essays and interviews by and about photographers. 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:

JOHN B. GILLOOLY: "I've been using the A6600 alongside the A9/A9II since it was released. I like to have the two form factors as they have different strengths and expand my lens versatility. The A6600 operates and performs parallel to the A9II—you don't feel like you are going to a 'lesser' body when you use it—just a different body."

Dan Khong: "Mike, I think you will eventually evolve into a test driver of weather-proofed cameras and lenses. Just sayin'."

Mike replies: There ya go. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right? Anyway the sun is shining now.

Eric Rose: "Exceptional build quality seems like such a waste these days since digi cameras generally don't stay in the hands of the first owner for more than five years. Unless the owner is shooting professionally the average digi owner can get away with something that's less elegant and not built to withstand a nuclear attack. So IMHO the price differential is a waste of money and does not increase the likelihood the user will take any better photos than a cheaper model."

Mike replies: A fair point, but to me build quality is about more than longevity. It increases my pleasure when I'm using the camera.

Huw Morgan: "I had an A6600 for a year before succumbing to GAS and buying an A7c. The A6600 was a gem. You've mentioned the build quality, but the battery life and the autofocus were also superb. My only complaint was that Sony dropped the useful built-in flash."

Comments

[John]

The A7C is limited to EFCS, which destroys the bokeh at higher shutter speeds, or electronic shutter, which can create warping and captures less data/dynamic range (at least it used to with Sony, not sure if that's still the case.) So A7C is a no-go for me and I hope Sony doesn't copy this shutter choice with the A6600 successor. Nikon figured it out, btw -- the Z5, for example, uses EFCS at 1/500 or slower and automatically switches to full shutter for anything higher.

[dasar]

Well …. You are not mentioning the sensor stabilization …

[John Krumm]

I have not held a 6600, but I believe your assessment. I've tried one of the lower level Sony 6xxx series in a box store and quickly set it back down. I'm happy that they are making quality versions. To me, my X-T4 feels that way. The shutter in particular seems a cut above most other cameras I have used (except the X-H1). I have never regretted paying for better build quality. Sometimes that also comes with a weight penalty that's a couple ounces over my preferencce, but that's another topic. Time to bring back the titanium camera?

[William A Lewis]

Heh. I'm not the one to ask. I just bid on a Leica M type 240 because I love that rangefinder gig. And that's the key with the Sony - if it does exactly what you want and need, is it really too expensive? Is it a Veblen product if you spend months looking for the cheapest one you can find because you want to WORK with it?

[Peter Croft]

I've been daydreaming about changing my system for the past couple of years and mulled over the new Canon RF and Nikon Z systems, but couldn't really justify them.

Then that Chinese company came out with the adapter to mount Contax G lenses on Sony bodies. I've got the Zeiss 28mm, 35mm and 90mm Gs and they sit forlorn, unused. Here, finally, I might be able to put them back into service with better AF than their native mode.

At first I thought the Sony A7C full frame might be the one, but the reviews are a bit lukewarm. I suspect a mark 2 would come out as soon as I bought it.

The other point is full frame vs APS-C. I used to think full frame was the sine qua non, especially for these lenses, but I've come around to the idea that with the improvement in sensor resolution and quality these days, APS-C is 'good enough' now. Plus, you gain with telephoto reach. These Zeiss G lenses will become 42mm, 52mm and 135mm, not a bad range.

So your praise of the 6600 comes at the right time. And it has IBIS, essential for me.

OTOH, I have the Pentax K-5 which I like very much, and five zoom lenses for it. I like the new K-3 mk3 too. Decisions, decisions.

[Stan B.]

Have you considered an X-E3/E4 with a compact 27mm 2.8?

[Huw Morgan]

I had an a6600 for a year before succumbing to GAS and buying an a7c. The a6600 was a gem. You've mentioned the build quality, but the battery life and the autofocus were also superb. My only complaint was that Sony dropped the useful built-in flash.