Sony Alpha NEX-6 Pro Reviews

The Sony NEX-6 is exactly what a compact system camera should be. It offers excellent picture quality combined with good usability and lots of features. On top of the usual interchangeable lens system it includes Wi-Fi to beam out its pictures, an adjustable screen and integrated digital viewfinder. You get a lot for your money here.

The Sony NEX-6 is a great little camera and, one of my personal favorites. Other than its sometimes confusing menu system, the NEX-6 is well designed for comfortable and efficient shooting for enthusiasts and those just stepping up from compact cameras. To round out the mix, the camera offers good performance, above average image quality and an excellent feature set - including Wi-Fi. While the Sony NEX-6 hasn't revolutionized the mirrorless camera industry, it's a very strong contender in this increasingly competitive category.

When adding up the pros and cons to the Sony NEX-6, it's pretty clear that there's not much to dislike about this compact system camera. The NEX-6 truly carves out its own space in Sony's CSC lineup, and even though its resolution has been scaled down to 16 megapixels (compared to the NEX-7's 24 megapixels), it still delivers image quality that rivals other APS-C cameras at a very affordable price. (Just go back and check out the comparison crops above if you want certain proof.) The NEX-6 delivers sharp, detailed photos in most shooting situations, with a strong balance of noise and detail up to ISO 1,600 and good handling of color, contrast and exposure. Print quality proved to be stellar, as well, with ISO 100 images looking great at sizes up to 24 x 36 inches. And what's more, the NEX-6 makes a high-performing, lightweight CSC even more approachable for consumers. While it's no dumbed-down or crippled model, the NEX-6 features revamped controls and menu system that make it easier to use while also providing a raft of advanced photographic features, including a real Mode dial (with PASM!), focus peaking and more. The camera's built-in flash and Multi Interface Shoe gives it added flexibility, as does the new, compact 16-50mm kit lens which almost makes the camera pocketable.

On the one hand the NEX-6 epitomises what compact system cameras are all about: it's small, light, easier to use than any other NEX model, well built, comes complete with a viewfinder, is fairly nippy when it needs to be and snaps cracking images too. But on the other it's shy of its potential greatness: the battery life gets sucked away all too quickly due to all the tech on board, there aren't the more advanced features such as a touchscreen that feature in "lesser" NEX models and the whole Wi-Fi and PlayMemories setup just doesn't gel as well as we'd like. A lot of competitors also give it a serious run for its money, but it's still our favourite NEX model so far. Tweak this bad boy with a beefier battery, pep up the autofocus system and squeeze in some even more advanced tech and this would be one of the kings of the compact system camera world - for now it's a prince in waiting.

The NEX-6 offers a highly attractive combination of excellent image quality, courtesy of Sony's proven 16MP sensor, enthusiast-friendly ergonomics (including a mode dial - a first for the NEX-series), a 'real' hot shoe, an OLED electronic viewfinder, and useful features like Sweep Panorama and Auto HDR. That said, the NEX's user interface isn't for everyone, having to download (and sometimes pay for) apps can be frustrating, and for best results you'll need to shoot RAW.

Unless you find the 24-megapixel sensor, standard microphone jack and Tri-Navi user interface of the more expensive NEX-7 – or the touchscreen-based functionality and lower price of the NEX-5R – more appealing, the NEX-6 is probably the best Sony compact system camera you can buy at the moment. As far as the competition goes, the latest crop of Micro Four Thirds cameras – particularly the Olympus OM-D E-M5, Panasonic Lumix G5 and Lumix GH3 – tend to boast faster auto focus systems, quieter shutters and a wider selection of lenses but the ultra high-resolution EVF, highly customisable user interface and larger sensor of the Sony NEX-6 definitely make it worth considering.

The Sony NEX-6 is a pretty remarkable camera. Though it isn't the flagship NEX model, I can quickly see it overtaking the NEX-7 in popularity at the top end of the NEX range. There are those for whom anything less than 24 Megapixels just won't do and who love the control that three-dial operation provides, but, beyond a tougher body, mic input and a few other refinements there's little else to justify the higher cost of the NEX-7. Give up those headline features and, for less money, you not only get the benefit of improvements including hybrid AF, a standard hotshoe that also accepts Sony accessories, a wider ISO range and improved handling, but the promise of future feature additions and enhancements via downloadable apps, not forgetting the other benefits of a networked camera like remote operation and picture sharing. Of the currently available apps some, like Multi Frame Noise reduction, Timelapse and Cimematic photo truly extend the camera's capabilities. Others like Direct Upload and Smart Remote are little more than proof-of-concept apps, but the potential is there to provide much more. Having kicked things off with, effectively, the first app store for a serious camera, the question is can Sony keep ahead of the game as other manufacturers follow suit? For now at least, though, the Sony NEX-6 is the best connected compact system camera on the market and the only one with open-ended potential to develop and improve beyond what you initially paid for. That's a very attractive prospect and one which, in addition to Cameralabs' Highly Recommended award will, I'm certain, gain the NEX-6 a huge following.

The Sony NEX-6 is a superior Compact System Camera we highly recommend. It delivers high-quality stills and videos. Like every digicam on the planet, it’s not perfect, but if you’re cognizant of its few limitations and can deal with them, you’ll be a happy photographer/videographer.

The pricey-but-well-rounded Sony Alpha NEX-6 is an excellent camera for mirrorless enthusiasts, but it doesn't quite edge out the entry-level NEX-F3 as our Editors' Choice.

It's a relatively expensive kit, but the NEX-6 is considerably smaller than a comparable dSLR, with competitive performance and photo quality, plus better video autofocus. The sacrifices you make opting for a mirrorless ILC are loss of an optical viewfinder and reduced battery life, which will make some people pause and others just shrug. But for now, at least, it's my favorite ILC option for less than $1,000.

In 2012, we've seen an abundance of fantastic mirrorless cameras. We were blown away by several offerings in 2011, it's true, but this year's lineup has really upped our enthusiasm for the category. Sony's just one of the manufacturers driving that momentum, but the company really hit a home run with its NEX series -- each model is priced competitively, and each offers even more power than the last. The most impressive, no doubt, is the NEX-6, with its efficient design, speedy autofocus, dedicated mode dial, built-in OLED EVF, articulating display, pop-up flash, full-size hot shoe, new collapsable zoom lens -- even WiFi functionality and apps, to help reel in some otherwise unswayed consumers. There's a lot here, and we expect almost any buyer to walk away happy. It's a pricey tool, no doubt about it, but if you're serious about photography, the NEX-6 really should be your next camera.

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The pricey-but-well-rounded Sony Alpha NEX-6 is an excellent camera for mirrorless enthusiasts, but it doesn't quite edge out the entry-level NEX-F3 as our Editors' Choice.

This new addition to the NEX range offers a wide range of features such as its APS-C sensor, tiltable screen, high-speed shooting, full HD video recording and you can purchase from a large number of NEX lenses. Picture quality is excellent, with good colour reproduction and noise performance up to and including ISO 3200. There wasn't much we could find to be critical about, it's a little more expensive than some of the competition and the going through the menu system can become long and drawn out. With the positives far outweighing the negatives, we are happy to recommend the Sony NEX-6.