Sony A6000 vs Nikon D3400

Introduction

The Sony Alpha 6000 is a powerful, midrange mirrorless camera that is among the fastest cameras on the market, and you’ve probably seen its name popping up numerous times as a highly-rated camera from hundreds of customers of market which definitely has to mean something.

On the other hand, we have the Nikon D3400, a strong-performing DSLR camera that even though it is known as an entry-level camera, this unit does not look or even perform in such way thanks to the inclusion of multiple useful features that will surely enhance your user experience!

Even though, both of them are quality enough to satisfy the needs of hundreds of photographers, we have to decide which one would match your preferences the most, and in order to achieve this goal, we will have to review both of them and briefly describe their features, pros and cons, so that you will have the opportunity to have the last word and decide by your own.

That’s why, let’s get started right away and keep in mind that the battle is going to be intense mainly because of the fact that these cameras have many common things but at the same time, they are different and you will have to concentrate during this review.

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Head To Head Comparison

Sony A6000

To begin with, the Sony Alpha 6000 which is also known as Sony A6000, boasts an attractive, glossy black construction that is made of composite materials, and if you’ve had an opportunity to shoot with Sony NEX-6, you will notice some similarities.

This model measures 2.6 x 4.7 x 1.8″(HWD), weighs approximately 12.1 ounces without a lens, and if we take a closer look at these dimensions, without a doubt, I can say that we are talking about a truly lightweight camera.

In addition, aside from its lightweight construction, the Sony A6000 also has a larger grip that comes handy especially for photographers with big hands, and to be honest, I prefer larger grips because once you have the camera in your hands, it will perfectly fit in your hands and be comfortable enough to allow you have long shooting sessions!

The control layout is pretty well-made if we take into consideration the compactness of this camera. Namely, there are numerous buttons spread across the camera’s body, including two dials, nine buttons, one wheel, as well as two dedicated user-assignable buttons and other controls that can be customized according to the photographer’s needs, and so far, I’m very satisfied with the design of this camera.

On the rear, positioned on top-corner, you can find a 1,440k-dot OLED electronic viewfinder which by default means that will offer a higher level of contract and will provide you a clear slight to your eyes, while below, on the center, there is a 3″ tilting LCD screen with 921k dots that will help you achieve great results if you’re recording videos thanks to its 16:9 aspect ratio, but for photography, well, it is still good but not as good if you compare it to video recording.

Moreover, the connection options an HDMI port, USB 2.0 port, a single memory card slot that supports SD/SDHC/SDXC memory, a hot shoe for mounting an external flash, and the most important part, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth which offer huge advantages when it comes to transferring your photos and videos!

Performance-wise, the Sony A6000 packs a 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor, hybrid AF that comes with 179-point focal plane phase-detection and up to 25 contrast-detect points, Bionz X processor, an ISO range of 100-25,600 that is expandable up to 512,00 and a continuous shooting rate of 11 fps, which is unbelievably good for its price tag!

The image equality is truly fascinating, especially in good light due to the fact that the color representation is accurate and will definitely grab your attention. On the other side, the A6000 won’t disappoint you under low light setting if you shoot through ISO 1600, as well as through ISO 1250, although you will notice some noise which is still ok. But, what’s also cool is that you shouldn’t restrict your self to shoot only through this ISO ranges, because you can freely reach ISO 12,800 because the picture will be well-handled.

For your information, you can use this camera for capturing portraits, landscapes and even sports photography if you pair it with good lenses, thanks to its specs including its continuous shooting rate of 11 fps!

Last but not least, the Sony A6000 records videos in the AVCHD format at 1980 x 1080 videos at 60/30/24p, and to be honest, according to my taste, I really like the video quality. However, keep in mind that this camera offers better results when you record horizontally than vertically. Also, you can achieve great results when recording videos under low-light because its autofocus does an excellent job in locking onto moving subjects, while in bright-light conditions, the a6000 does not produce “jellocam” or similar wobbling effects like most of the cameras.

Sony A6000 Sample Footage:

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Nikon D3400

Aesthetically speaking, the Nikon D3400 features a polycarbonate construction that is small, and lightweight in a similar fashion like the Sony A6000, and measures 3.9 x 4.9 x 3.0″ without a lens, and weighs around 13.9 ounces, so, as you can see, both, the Sony A6000 and Nikon D3400 are compact enough to offer the photographers a comfortable hold.

Furthermore, this Nikon has incorporated a soft rubber around the grip which is something that I particularly favor, due to the fact that you will never face any difficulties in terms of rotation on one side, while on the other, this camera will remain comfortably in your hands and prevent you from feeling fatigued after shooting for a long period of time.

The control layout is good as the Sony A6000, because Nikon has managed to integrate many controls despite its small size, and most of them are basic and intuitive enough to provide the user a convenient experience without putting much effort in order to understand their meaning.

On the rear, you can find a 3″ 920k-dot LCD panel which is fixed, unfortunately, and in comparison to Sony A6000 who has an articulating screen, I think that the A6000 would satisfy its users more. Regardless, D3400’s screen is still good because it outputs a high-resolution and a quite good angle to the photographer.

Above the screen, there is an optical viewfinder that shows up to 95% of the scene, and what’s also cool is that your view will be exceptionally clear as well as its focus is very consistent since it takes approximately 0.4 seconds to manage a shot under normal conditions.

In terms of the connection options, Nikon comes with micro USB port, micro-HDMI port, has a card slot that supports SD/SDHC/SDXC memory,and it is only Bluetooth-enabled. Yet again, Sony A6000 receives more points here because it is Wi-Fi enabled, whereas, the D3400 isn’t.

Speaking of the performance, the Nikon D3400 comes armed with an EXPEED 4 image processor, 24.2MP DX-Format CMOS sensor, an ISO range that stretches from 100-25,600, continuous shooting rate of 5 fps and an 11-point AF, and since there isn’t an optical low-pass filter on its sensor, you will be able to capture outstandingly rich images!

For instance, if you prefer shooting JPGs, keep in mind that details will be extremely well-handled up to ISO 12,800 because the noise isn’t revealed in a negative manner, but of course, it exists. Once you reach the ISO 12,800 and 25,600 levels, only then you can notice blurriness and some of the fine details will be lost.

In addition, the color representation is crip and very rich especially if you shoot in bright light, however, in order to get the best possible outcome of this camera in terms of image quality, if you’re a beginner, I’d advise you take a look at the manual camera settings which will help you create your exposure.

Moreover, if we compare Sony A6000 and Nikon D3400 performance-wise, I think that Sony A6000 will output better overall results because its internal components along with its continuous shooting rate is better than Nikon D3400. But hey, if you’re a beginner D3400 would be a great start for sure!

For your information, Nikon D3400 records 1080p videos at 24,25,30,59 and 60 fps, 720p videos at 50 or 60fps and there are two quality levels of which you can choose from such as the Normal and High, but, as was the case with Sony A6000, the D3400 also lacks 4K video capture.

To be honest, for the price you pay, I think that the Nikon D3400 can still output great results when it comes to video recording.

Nikon D3400 Sample Footage:

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Sony A6000 vs Nikon D3400 Feature Comparison

	Sony A6000	Nikon D3400
Camera Type	Mirrorless	DSLR
Megapixels	24.2	24.0
ISO Range	100-25,600;Expandable to 51,200	100-25,600
Flip-Out Screen	Yes	No
AF Points	179 AF Points	11 AF Points
Viewfinder	Yes	Yes
Touchscreen	No	No
Video Recording	Yes	Yes
Sensor Size	APS-C CMOS	APS-C CMOS

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Conclusion

First of all, I have to admit that both cameras are performing pretty good and each of them is good enough to satisfy the needs of various users.

For instance, beginners would really benefit by having Nikon D3400 as their primary choice mainly because of the fact that it is affordable, and for its price tag, the performance is satisfying.

On the contrary, the Sony A6000 has a higher price tag which is quite normal, mainly because of the fact that the included components and the overall performance is significantly bigger, and if you have at least a little experience in photography, I would suggest you get this camera.

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