Sony NEX 6 Review

The Sony Alpha NEX-6 is the latest addition to the NEX range of mirrorless compact system cameras. Announced in September 2012 alongside the more consumer-orientated NEX-5R, the NEX-6 sits just below the Flagship NEX-7 in the product line-up and shares the same body shape and styling as well as many of the flagship model's features, though not its 24 Megapixel sensor. The NEX-6, like the NEX-5R has a 16.1 Megapixel sensor with on-board phase-detection pixels providing a hybrid AF system similar to that used by Fujifilm, Nikon and Canon.

The NEX-6 has a conventional mode dial - a first for an NEX model, two control wheels, and a dedicated programmable function button. The NEX-7's proprietary hotshoe is replaced with an ISO standard one which can also accommodate Sony accessories and the pop-up flash is also retained.

The NEX-6 features the same 2.3 million pixel OLED electronic viewfinder as found on the NEX-7 as well as its 921k pixel flip-up LCD screen. The screen lacks the NEX-5R's ability to face forward though and it's not touch-sensitive either. This is something of a drawback given the NEX-6's connectivity features. Like the NEX-5R it has built-in Wi-Fi, opening up a range of network features including smartphone remote control, image sharing and direct uploading to social networks. With the NEX-5R and NEX-6 Sony also introduces downloadable apps, a new and more flexible way to manage optional features and updates than the more conventional firmware update.

Design and Controls

 

Superficially at least, the NEX-6 body closely resembles the NEX-7 in terms of its physical appearance. Both cameras share the same dimensions: 120 x 67 x 43mm and are within a few grams in terms of weight; the NEX-6 weighs 346g including card and battery. The body shape is identical, but the construction of the NEX-6 is metal and polycarbonate, compared with the all metal construction of the NEX-7; despite that the NEX-6 feels solid and the rubberised grip which extends round the back to the moulded thumb rest provides a secure and comfortable grip.

And then there's the respective lenses. Adding the older 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 manual kit zoom to an NEX body had the effect of transforming it from a sylph-like thing into, well, something not wholly deserving of the term 'compact'. Only the 16mm f2.8 pancake lens truly complemented the sleek NEX form. But alongside the NEX-6 and NEX-5R Sony has introduced a compact 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 powered zoom. This is undoubtedly a direct response to Panasonic's 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 power zoom which provided most Micro Four Thirds bodies with a size and weight advantage the NEX range just couldn't match. The new Sony power zoom is only three millimetres longer than the Panasonic 14-42 lens and 21 grams heavier.
 

In most other respects, viewed from the top, the NEX-6 is pretty near identical to the NEX-7. The top of the grip is home to the, now silver, rather than black shutter release button surrounded by the on/off switch and next to it a button, now labelled Fn which has a similar role, but improved design, to the NEX-7's Navigation button. Moving left across the top is the built-in flash then the hotshoe. Sony has finally given up on its proprietary hotshoe connector and opted for what it calls a 'Multi Interface shoe' Effectively this is an ISO standard hotshoe with a proprietary connector strip under the lip at the front for Sony accessories.

Lens and Stabilisation

 

The NEX-6 is available as a kit with the new E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS power zoom lens. This is one of the most exciting additions to the E-mount range since its launch with the NEX-3 and NEX-5 back in the Summer of 2010. And the cause of all the excitement is, mainly, its diminutive size. The lens weighs 116 grams and measures 65mm in diameter and 30mm in length when retracted. That makes it marginally bigger and heavier than Panasonic's equivalent Lumix G X Vario PZ 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Power O.I.S lens which is 61 x 27mm and weighs 95 grams.

Though Sony's lens both looks and feels a little larger than Panasonic's it's not a big difference and, in any case, that's not really the point. Until now, the NEX system, despite the miraculously small size of the camera bodies, has been unable to really compete with Micro Four Thirds and other mirrorless compact system cameras on size and weight because of its comparatively large heavy lenses. The new power zoom changes all that and means that you can comfortable slip the NEX-6 with a zoom lens attached into your coat pocket. 

The 16-50mm power zoom is of plastic construction, it look and feels well constructed but lacks the reassuring heft of a metal-bodied lens. Looked at another way, it is comparitively light. When you turn on the camera the lens extends quietly to 52 mm in length which, with the NEX-6's trademark protruding mount adds up to 61mm from the front of the camera.

There are two zoom controls - a sliding switch on the left side of the lens barrel marked w_t is pushed upward to zoom in and down to zoom back out at a single speed. There's also a zoom ring at the front of the lens which provides variable speed control via an electronic linkage and can also be configured for manual focus.

The 16-50mm zoom provides a 3x range equivalent to 24-75mm. That's a very useful range for a 'standard' zoom, including a super wide angle perfect for landscapes and interiors and extending to just about encompass a portrait focal length. However, with the f5.6 maximum aperture at the longer end of the range, shallow depth of field isn't one of its strengths, for that you'd be better of with the 35mm f1.8. But as a 'standard' all-purpose zoom, the 16-50mm's main advantages are its compactness, light weight and suitability for video.


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