Sony NEX-6 review – Features
At a first glance, the NEX-6 is very similar to the NEX-7, and many of its features are identical, too. However, the single most important feature that separates the two cameras is the sensor. The NEX-6 uses a tried-and-tested 16.1-million-pixel unit, while the NEX-7 features a class-leading 24.3-million-pixel sensor.
With each generation of its NEX cameras, Sony has introduced its latest Bionz processor, which is faster and more powerful than the previous version. Sony does not sequentially name its processors, and all are called a Bionz processor. However, the NEX-6 uses the same high-end processor as the company’s full-frame Alpha 99, providing a range of ISO 100-25,600.
Unlike Sony’s Alpha cameras, the NEX-6 does not include on-sensor image stabilisation. Instead, stabilisation is provided through the lens. Most E-mount lenses have OIS, including the new power-zoom 16-50mm kit lens. Thankfully, there is a sensor-clean function, given that the camera does not have a mirror in front of its sensor so it is exposed when changing lenses.
The drive-mode menu contains a number of options. As well as timer, there is timer bracket, exposure bracketing, remote, continuous high and a speed-priority continuous mode that provides a 10fps burst. Speed-priority continuous gives up to a ten-frame raw & JPEG burst, or a 16-frame JPEG-only burst.
Wi-Fi connectivity has been all the rage in digital cameras this year, and the NEX-6 offers this function built in. Like Samsung, Sony has its own phone/tablet app in the Android store, called PlayMemories. Benefits of this connectivity include wireless control of the camera’s shutter, while images can be sent to a mobile device as well as loaded online directly from the camera. Also, extra apps can be imported to the NEX-6, with 90.5MB of in-camera memory available in which to store them. Apps can add to the picture effects and shooting modes on offer, and are accessed through the dedicated applications menu.
