It's Jason Vong,

and in this video we'll be doing a comparison

between the upcoming Sony A6400,

versus it's predecessor the Sony A6500,

versus the OG flippy screen, the Sony A5100.

Well, actually the 6500 wouldn't be it's predecessor,

because the number 6500 comes before 6400,

but the fact that the A6500 came out before the 6400

makes this it's predecessor, right?

I am so confused.

Now, before we get this video started,

I do wanna clarify that the Sony A6400s

that we got to play with are pre-released units.

However, Sony did mention

that they are final production units.

So they should perform very similar to the ones

that are coming out in the next couple of weeks.

Regardless, I wasn't able to do every single test

that I personally wanted to do.

But I did do the most important ones

that should help you figure out

if this camera is right for you.

With that said, let's go ahead and get this video started.

Alright, let's first talk about ergonomics.

Both the A6400 and the A5100 have a flip up screen.

Perfect for those selfie style vlogging.

Whereas the A6500 only has a tiltable screen.

Both the A64 and the A6500 has a mic jack on the side,

and the hot shoe on top.

So can mount an external microphone for better audio.

The A5100 has neither of these.

If you're concerned about the mic

blocking your screen on the A6400,

here's a cheap solution that's $13,

that's gonna allow you to mount the mic to the side.

Now, more information about this setup

at the end of the video.

But the link to it is in the description box below.

Let's get back to the comparison.

While both the A64 and A6500 have similar body type,

the A6500 offers a little more customization

in terms of physical buttons.

The A6500 has three custom buttons,

while the A6400 only has two.

And because this is important to some creators,

the shutter can now start movie recording on the A6400,

while the A6500 cannot.

The A5100 is the smallest camera of the three,

but also the most basic camera of them all.

It is the least customizable due to the lack of buttons.

Now, beginners may not feel like something's missing,

but for seasoned creators,

they will find it frustrating

having to access most features through the menu.

Moving on to the video recording limit.

Both the A6500 and the A5100

are capped at 29 minutes and 59 seconds.

The A6400 does not have this limit,

due to the fact that it is being released

after the tariff have been lifted this year.

Basically, photo cameras and video cameras

were being taxed differently,

that's why these mirrorless cameras

were marketed as photo cameras.

If it recorded longer than 30 minutes,

it's considered a video camera.

If you are interested in more about this topic,

I will link an article in the description box below

for you to check out.

Anyway, with no recording limit,

the A6400 was able to record one hour and 27 minutes of 4K.

It basically filled up a 64 gigabyte SD card

with 13% battery to spare.

The heat warning icon never came on for A6400.

Whereas, it came on for the A6500 around 20 minutes in.

By the way, I did set the auto power temperature

on both cameras on high.

Having the heat icon appearing

is not considered overheating by the way.

It's just a temperature warning.

But despite the heat warning icon,

the A6500 was able to record 1 hour and 7 minutes of 4K

before the battery exhausted.

At the end of recording,

the A6500 was warmer than the A6400.

The A6400 was just mildly warm at the end.

This is due to the new processor

implemented in the new camera,

allowing it to use less power, and use it more efficiently.

As for the A5100,

the heat icon came on around 12 minutes and 30 seconds.

It went on to record about 23 minutes of 1080p

before it shut off.

I immediately turned it back on,

and it was able to record for another five minutes

before shutting off again.

The A6400 and A6500 are capable of shooting in 4K,

while the A5100 is capable of shooting 1080p.

By the way, yes there's still a slight crop

when shooting 4K at 30p on both cameras.

To be honest,

because the A6400 uses the same sensor as the A63 and A6500,

the image quality are almost identical.

I'm not seeing too much of a difference in 4K and 1080p.

Speaking of 4K, again because of the new processor,

the A6400 can now shoot 4K videos

without dimming it's screen.

In fact, you can set the monitor brightness higher,

allowing for more visibility in bright environments.

Comparing 1080p from the three cameras,

the A5100 looks the softest, but not by much.

Though in low light the A5100 falls apart really quickly.

Not to mention the unwelcome skin smoothening.

When comparing 60p and a 120p,

again I'm not seeing too much of a difference.

(gentle music)

Sony introduced several new updates

to their auto focus system.

Real-time eye autofocus, animal eye autofocus,

and an improved realtime object tracking feature.

The A65 and the A5100 will not be getting these updates,

due to the fact that they're using an older processor.

While I didn't get a chance to do a side-by-side comparison,

the realtime eye autofocus on the A6400

does perform excellently and accurately.

It is able to detect the subject's eye

without triggering the assigned eye autofocus button,

unlike it's predecessors.

Also, the ability to change which eye

the camera should focus on is indeed helpful,

whereas the A6500 you won't have any control.

An example how this could be beneficial

is when you're shooting with a model

with the thinnest strand of hair

obstructing one of the eyes.

Sometimes the A6500 would focus on the eye

with the most obstruction.

But with the A6400 you can choose the other eye.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to try out

animal eye autofocus,

because the update for this will be available

later this year.

Both the A64 and A6500 have

425 phase-detection autofocus points,

whereas the A5100 only has 179.

What this means is that the A64 and A6500

can keep focus almost across the entire screen,

whereas the A5100 will do the best

in the middle part of the screen.

Next up is video autofocus.

We'll only focus on the A64 and A6500,

as they have the better autofocus systems.

Both cameras autofocus settings

are set to normal and responsive.

We will first start off with face detection autofocus first.

Looking it back in slow motion,

the A6400 did a slightly better job.

It held the focus longer and more accurately.

It is also able to detect a face

much further away than the A6500.

This next part we tested

the realtime object tracking feature on the A6400,

against the outdated center lock-on autofocus on the A6500.

The A6400 obviously did the better job.

This will be very helpful isolating a certain subject

on a screen that you wanna focus on.

Especially in sports with a dozen players

or a wedding with too many faces on the screen.

Let's quickly talk about the colors.

I may need to retest this again,

but it seems like the A6400 has improved colors.

The skin tones are slightly warmer,

whereas the A6500 has a greenish tint to it.

Both the A64 and A6500 have the same picture profiles,

but the A5100 does not have any.

The A6400 also features the new hybrid log gamma profile.

In terms of low light,

again the A5100 was the worst of the three.

The A6400 performed slightly better than the A6500

between ISO 1600 to 6400.

But beyond that,

at 12800 and 25600 the 6500 looked to be slightly sharper,

and having less noise reduction.

Aside from that,

the A6400 is capable of shooting up to 32000 ISO,

due to the fact that it has the wider ISO range.

Now, in a real world situation,

the noise tolerance level will vary between users to users.

Some wouldn't go past ISO 6400,

and some wouldn't mind shooting up to 32000 ISO.

It just depends on your personal preference.

Moving on to the most controversial topic.

In-body image stabilization.

Both the A5100 and the A6400 lack IBIS,

whereas the A6500 has it.

But, does it really matter?

It depends, if you're shooting with a tighter focal length

with no optical steady shot,

the footage is visibly jerky.

The A6500 would be advantageous in handheld situations.

However, for vlogging,

since most vloggers would use a wide angle lens,

it would be really hard to tell.

This is me standing still and vlogging with the A6500

with IBIS turned on,

and using the Sigma 16mm with no optical steady shot.

And this is me vlogging with the A6400 with no IBIS,

and using the same lens.

At first glance they look pretty similar,

but when set side-by-side

you can tell the A6500 is slightly steadier.

Here I am walking and vlogging at the same time.

Again at first glance they look similar,

but side-by-side the IBIS on the A6500 does help out a bit.

However, in a real world scenario,

it would be very hard to tell.

Next up let's take a look at when we vlog with a lens

that have optical steady shot.

When I'm standing still they both look pretty good,

but again I'll have to give the A6500 the slight edge.

Having IBIS plus optical steady shot

shows slightly more stability.

When I'm walking the difference is visibly apparent.

Though again, if we were to only look at one

of the footage in real life,

it would be extremely hard to tell.

Let me know what you think,

would not having IBIS hinder you as a vlogger?

Personally, I don't think so.

But as someone who not only vlogs,

but shoot videos behind a camera,

especially with the longer focal ranges,

not having IBIS is a deal breaker for me.

If this was gonna be my main camera.

But as a secondary B or C camera,

the Sony A6400 is actually very appealing.

Longer record time, no heat issues,

and a better autofocusing system?

I can really see myself using this as a wide angle camera

at long ceremonies during weddings,

or simply having it on the gimbal the entire time

to take advantage of the amazing autofocusing features.

Let's talk dollar dollar bills.

For $900 the Sony A6400 aint bad at all.

Again, you're getting the improved autofocus system,

better colors, longer record time,

no screen dimming when shooting in 4K,

and longer heat tolerance.

If you're vlogging with a wide angle lens

that has optical steady shot,

not having IBIS shouldn't effect you too much.

If you're in need of a secondary camera,

this would be an excellent choice for the price,

and for the latest features.

On the other hand, if you're in need of a main camera,