Which one to buy

Either one is a good value for the price. Of course the a6000 is half the price of the a6400, and although being a 5 years old camera, is still a good one.

It doesn't have 4k, only 1080p, and no slow motion video at 120fps.

From my point of view, the a6400 is more beginner friendly. Although there are several things to setup to get the camera to work the way you like, you can learn with time the changes you want to make. There are a few videos in youtube that are very helpful.

The a6400 AF system is very user friendly. You just have to point at what you want in focus and the camera will track (if a person it will use face/eye-AF when detected).

The a6000 Af is quite good, but it only has eye-Af in single focus (will not track the eye, it find focus and if the person moves, it gets out of focus).

You can of course get a used a6000, get some lenses and when you know you want to keep shooting with a camera, re-sell the a6000 and get the a6400 (a lot of people buy a camera and then simply leaves it at home because the phone fits in the pocket).

All of these are cameras with old generation matrix. I don't see any reason to buy it new instead of Galaxy S10+ or Huavei P30 Pro. Only BSI matrix can beat stacking photo in smartphones.

What kind of photography will you be focusing on? Stills or video?

From a stills perspective, the 6000 is best if you don't know whether or not Photography will be a permanent hobby. It's a demanding art, and many people decide that the effort of exposure and post-processing isn't worth the incremental improvement over phones. You can snag a used A6000 for quite a cheap price, making the sting less if you move on to another pursuit. On the other hand, the A6000 could be really frustrating coming from a smartphone where you tap-to-focus (no touchscreen). The A6000 is pretty ancient from a video features perspective.

A6400 has a touchscreen and amazing autofocus. It can also record 4K video without overheating, setting it apart from all the other A6XXX cameras. There are other benefits to build quality, features, and handling. But you'll pay a bit more for the newer tech.

The M50 is cheaper than the A6400 and more modern than the A6000. It'd be a good compromise for hybrid stills and video shooting. It also has a more modern interface that would be easier to learn. Unfortunately, Canon EF-M has fewer good lenses than the Sony E APSC line. But you can adapt Canon DSLR lenses and this camera is quite cheap compared to equivalent Sony tech.

If you go with either Sony, I would not buy a kit with the 16-50 or 55-210 lenses, as they aren't very good. you should look at the 18-105mm or 35mm lenses for hybrid still/video usage or the 18-135mm for stills only.

Best of luck!

lavjr said:

Hello,
Please need your advice;

Like to buy a camera for my wife, both of us are beginners, we have Note 9, Iphone XS and a Go Pro 7 Black.
I like to buy a camera for her, I saw three options:

Sony A6400, Sony A6000 and Canon M50.
We will use this camera for daily, travel and family pictures most of the time.
I really like the A6400, because of the newer technology, and the ability to take selfie pictures, better af, weather sealed body.
But the A6000 looks like a good beginner camera and the price difference is huge.
The Canon is a good camera but does not offer real 4k (Cropped) and does not have the variety of lens like Sony.

And what kind of lens should I buy? Kit will be enough to start?
Need some help in choosing the right one.

Thanks
lavjr

Click to expand...

Neither the Sony 6000 or 6400 have ibis so be sure to select a lens that has OIS in it. A camera that you have not listed but should seriously consider is the Fujifilm X-T30 with the excellent 18-55 F2.8-4 zoom: https://www.dpreview.com/products/fujifilm/slrs/fujifilm_xt30

Yeah, the X-T30 is a bit better in video than the A6400 for the same price. It also has a better native lens selection. The downsides of the X-T30 include more expense lenses and a less advanced autofocus system.

lavjr said:

Hello,
Please need your advice;

Like to buy a camera for my wife, both of us are beginners, we have Note 9, Iphone XS and a Go Pro 7 Black.
I like to buy a camera for her, I saw three options:

Sony A6400, Sony A6000 and Canon M50.
We will use this camera for daily, travel and family pictures most of the time.
I really like the A6400, because of the newer technology, and the ability to take selfie pictures, better af, weather sealed body.
But the A6000 looks like a good beginner camera and the price difference is huge.
The Canon is a good camera but does not offer real 4k (Cropped) and does not have the variety of lens like Sony.

And what kind of lens should I buy? Kit will be enough to start?
Need some help in choosing the right one.

Thanks
lavjr

Click to expand...

1. What do you want from a new camera that your iPhone will not do?

2. What will you do with photos? (print, FB, send to family, online gallery?)

3. Spending money on an expensive camera will not necessarily get you better photos than your iPhone. That will require studying and learning about photography, post-processing, and lots of experience to grow into a more serious endeavor.

BrentSchumer said:

What kind of photography will you be focusing on? Stills or video?

From a stills perspective, the 6000 is best if you don't know whether or not Photography will be a permanent hobby. It's a demanding art, and many people decide that the effort of exposure and post-processing isn't worth the incremental improvement over phones. You can snag a used A6000 for quite a cheap price, making the sting less if you move on to another pursuit. On the other hand, the A6000 could be really frustrating coming from a smartphone where you tap-to-focus (no touchscreen). The A6000 is pretty ancient from a video features perspective.

A6400 has a touchscreen and amazing autofocus. It can also record 4K video without overheating, setting it apart from all the other A6XXX cameras. There are other benefits to build quality, features, and handling. But you'll pay a bit more for the newer tech.

The M50 is cheaper than the A6400 and more modern than the A6000. It'd be a good compromise for hybrid stills and video shooting. It also has a more modern interface that would be easier to learn. Unfortunately, Canon EF-M has fewer good lenses than the Sony E APSC line. But you can adapt Canon DSLR lenses and this camera is quite cheap compared to equivalent Sony tech.

If you go with either Sony, I would not buy a kit with the 16-50 or 55-210 lenses, as they aren't very good. you should look at the 18-105mm or 35mm lenses for hybrid still/video usage or the 18-135mm for stills only.

Best of luck!

Click to expand...

I agree with this advice. For family and travel, I think the a6400 and 18-135 is a fantastic kit. The eye AF tracking on the a6400 is great for everyone, including beginners. And while that kit is very compact compared to most DSLR kits, you can always add a small prime for darker conditions and when you'd like to go really small. The prime would depend on your budget and primary uses. The Sigma 30mm f/2.8 is quite cheap and very good; it stays glued on my old NEX 6. A 35mm f/1.8 would be better for really low light.

Thank you for all the replies.

I decided going with the A6400 because we want to keep for a long time.

And coming from the iPhone world, touch screen, flip screen and auto focus will be very important. For now bought with the lens kit but later will acquire Sony 35mm or Sigma 30mm.

Again thanks for all your help.

lavjr

lavjr said:

Thank you for all the replies.

I decided going with the A6400 because we want to keep for a long time.

And coming from the iPhone world, touch screen, flip screen and auto focus will be very important. For now bought with the lens kit but later will acquire Sony 35mm or Sigma 30mm.

Again thanks for all your help.

lavjr

Click to expand...

A good choice, though touch screen implementation on a6400 is nothing like a phone. You’ll need to learn menus, configure buttons, etc. Get a good 3rd-party book about the a6400 if out yet. You’ll also need to learn photography basics.

lavjr said:

Thank you for all the replies.

I decided going with the A6400 because we want to keep for a long time.

And coming from the iPhone world, touch screen, flip screen and auto focus will be very important. For now bought with the lens kit but later will acquire Sony 35mm or Sigma 30mm.

Again thanks for all your help.

lavjr

Click to expand...

The camera is superb, and you are guaranteed to enjoy it. I added the Sigma 16mm 1.4 as my second lens (18-135 my basic zoom) and it is amazing and should be considered over the 30 or 35 because those lenses on a cropped frame sensor are more like a 50mm. lens and are covered by your zoom. The advantage of the 1.4 aperture is obvious. All good equipment, of course.