Sony a6300 and G Masters Reviewed

This morning, shared more photos on our Flickr and Instagram from the Sony media event in Miami in partnership with Digital Photo Pro. We’re there shooting with the new a6300 and G Master lenses. During short breaks from the event, jotted down initial thoughts like

a6300

The a6300 camera is a very capable shooter. It’s fast to start up, fast to focus and fast to clear the buffer. It’s important to understand the AF

settings to get the best results, as it’s easy to shoot with AF that’s not optimal for the subject if you don’t know what you’re doing.

That’s true of the focus features on the RX1R II and the Alpha Series cameras, like Eye AF. I shared a story about using Eye AF on Medium from the a6300 launch last month.

G Masters

Considering the merging of motion and stills in one body, it’s interesting to note how the “super” bokeh of Sony’s own brand of lenses, made special for their cameras, looks like what you see in film production. Ever notice in a movie how smooth the background blurs when the cinema photographer pulls focus from one subject to another? Sony hasn’t specifically said that they wanted to emulate cinema lenses for their digital cameras, it’s just something I noticed in the G Master images. Having just shot with the a7s II and Rokinon lens on an assignment (that’s Sony’s cinema set up before the releases of the a6300), my take on that is probably more about the artistic aesthetics of  the camera’s intent is, than the specs and tech inside the body.

Upgrade?

At the launch in January, overheard a Sony staffer explain

 I date my cameras and marry my lenses

meaning: cameras are disposable products, replaced by new tech, and the lenses are what you wanna keep.

 

Sony is on a relentless 6-month upgrade cycle and they just released incredibly high-rez, mirrorless-specific lenses, so that’s like their internal-team mantra. Cameras are just like computers or for me, bicycles. You can work with what you got or get on the upgrade cycle for the latest and greatest. For fans of tech, Sony’s releases are great, but they do bottom out the resale market. If you try to flip cameras to pay for the latest new one, you won’t get a premium price, but those that are buying them used sure will.

So, yes the a6300 is worth the upgrade for the speed-of-light focus and image quality, but the a6000 is also the best selling digital camera and those lenses are really where you’ll want to spend to invest. If you just bought an a6000, keep it for another upgrade cycle. If you’ve had yours for more than a year and into camera tech, yep…order now.

Alpha Series Lineup

The a6300 lines up with the other Alpha Series camera as the model with autofocus speed as the primary feature and with amazing video quality—records in 6K at 4K resolution in Super 35MM format. That’s the reason it’s APS-C instead of a full frame sensor, so Sony can fit the new fast AF and image quality technology into a compact body.

Buying

A6300 Available March 10, 2016

The a6300 will ship on March 10th from Amazon and for free with Prime. Pricing is $998.00 for the body and $1148.00 with a 16-50MM lens.

G Master Lenses Available March 31, 2016

The Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM lens price is $1798.00 and the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM lens is $2198.00. Both will ship for free with Prime from Amazon on March 31 2016.

B&H also has availability on the a6300 and G Master lenses for the same price and with free standard shipping.

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My daily shooter is Sony A1 with a vertical grip and various Sony lenses attached like the FE 20mm F1.8. Find more gear recommendations in our shop. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.