Sony A6000 Review

Google Users Rating:4.6/5.0

The Sony a6000 is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was released in 2014 to replace Sony’s NEX line of cameras. Initially, it retailed with the 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 power-zoom kit lens ($650 for the body only). Sony marketed its new offering towards entry-level consumers and photography enthusiasts, and it sold so well that by 2016 it was considered the best-selling mirrorless camera of all time.

Sleek and quick, the Sony a6000 is a versatile APS-C mirrorless camera offering a well-balanced combination of apt stills performance and Full HD video capabilities, along with fast AF performance and intuitive handling.

With its 24-megapixel sensor, rapid autofocus system and high-speed continuous shooting, the a6000 can generally keep pace with fast-moving subjects. If photographing kids at play in the yard or the local soccer game is your thing, the a6000 may be a perfect fit. More important, the a6000 is a solid general-use camera that delivers on many fronts, making it one of the best mirrorless cameras you can buy, especially for beginners. And, despite its age, it's one of the best cameras, period.

Sony a6000 Key Specs

• Announcement Date: 2014-04-23

• 24MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor

• ISO 100 - 25600 ( expands to 51200)

• Sony E Mount

• 3.00" Tilting Screen

• 1440k dot Electronic viewfinder

• 11.0fps continuous shooting

• Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution

• Built-in Wireless

• Replaced Sony Alpha NEX-6 

Basic Specifications

Advantages and Disadvantages

Where to Buy Sony α6000 Cheapest?

• B&H Photo Video:from $648 (up to 1.5% cashback)

• Best Buy:$649.99(up to 0.5% cashback)

What's in the Box?

• Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body

• Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Alpha E-mount Retractable Zoom Lens (SELP1650)

• NP-FW50 Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Battery

• AC Adapter AC-UB10

• Micro USB Cable

• Shoulder Strap

• Body Cap

• Eyepiece Cup

• Sony 1 Year Warranty

Is the Sony α6000 Worth it?

The Sony a6000 is still an incredible capable camera and is absolutely still worth buying. Even in 2024, it's great for both beginners and professionals.

Despite being over 5 years old, it’s still a great camera. It’s also excellent value for money, and loved by many professional photographers as well as beginners and amateurs too.

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Canon EOS M50 Review

Google Users Rating:4.5/5.0

The EOS M50 is a compact interchangeable lens camera for aspiring photographers looking for an easy way to boost the quality of their photos and videos. With clear, high-resolution 4K UHD 24p video, you can capture the incredible details and cinematic moments of your life at home or wherever your adventures take you. Snap vibrant, eye-catching photos with a 24.1 Megapixel (APS-C) CMOS Sensor using the built-in Electronic Viewfinder or Vari-angle Touchscreen LCD. Thanks to the fast and improved Dual Pixel CMOS Autofocus system, you can quickly lock focus on your subject to make sure you don’t miss the action.

Nevertheless, this was a big step in the right direction for Canon’s EOS M series.The EOS M50 borrows many styling cues from the older EOS M5, primarily the central positioning of the electronic viewfinder (EVF). There’s also a small built-in flash tucked away in the raised hump where the EVF sits.It's been superseded now by the EOS M50 Mark II, but the changes are small and the original EOS M50 is still a good buy if the price is right.

While the M5 was focused more towards the enthusiast photographer, with a host of body-mounted controls, both the EOS M50 and EOS M6 Mark II are a little more sparse in this respect.

Canon M50 Key Features

• Announcement Date: 2018-02-26

• 24.1-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor

• Native ISO range of 100-25,600

• First Canon camera with new DIGIC 8 image processor

• Up to 10 frames per second continuous shooting

• Improved Dual Pixel CMOS AF

• 3-inch vari-angle touchscreen

• 0.39-inch OLED electronic viewfinder

• 4K UHD video recording

• Built-in Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth

Basic Specifications

Advantages and Disadvantages

Where to Buy Canon M50 Cheapest?

• Amazon:$595 (No Cashback)

• Bestbuy:$649.99 (up to 0.5% cashback)

What's in the Box?

• Battery (LP-E12)

• Battery charger (LC-E12)

• Canon EOS M50 Mirrorless Camera

• EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM zoom lens

• Owner's manual

Is the Canon M50 Worth it?

The Canon M50 is definitely worth buying today.

Funnily enough, even if you’re a beginner in the photography/YouTube world, you’ll feel like a pro using it. 

With its advanced features, the photos and video footage that you will be shooting will look like a masterpiece from someone who has been in the photo industry for years.

Nikon D3500 Review

Google Users Rating:4.7/5.0

The Nikon D3500 was launched at the end of 2018 as a modest update to the evergreen Nikon D3400, a starter DSLR we've been championing for years. It's a basic-looking camera with a fixed rear screen and no 4K video, but it has all the manual controls that photography newbies will need and its image quality is really very good. 

The Nikon D3500 might be well over 4 years old, but it remains our number one pick for the title of best beginner DSLR, and even faces up well against stiff competition for the best DSLR camera overall. Why so? While this is partly down to the lack of new competition – most manufacturers have now stopped making new DSLRs – it's also because the D3500 nails the basics in a way that few other cameras have managed. 

The D3500 isn’t just Nikon’s cheapest and simplest DSLR, it’s also its lightest, weighing just 415g, body only, and that’s with the battery and a memory card. It will usually come with a lightweight 18-55mm AF-P kit lens which has a retracting mechanism to make it more portable when it’s not switched on. It’s not quite as small as a mirrorless camera, but the battery life alone makes a good case for the classic DSLR design, and the D3500 but is light, fast enough and cheap enough to make a great travel camera.

Nikon D3500 Key Specs

• Announcement Date: 2018-08-29

• 24MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor

• No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter

• ISO 100 - 25600

• Nikon F Mount

• 3.00" Fixed Type Screen

• Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder

• 5.0fps continuous shooting

• Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution

• Replaced Nikon D3400

Basic Specifications

Advantages and Disadvantages

Where to Buy Nikon D3500 Cheapest?

• B&H Photo Video:from $649.95 (up to 1.5% cashback)

• Walmart:$699(up to 4% cashback)

What's in the Box?

• Nikon D3500 DSLR Camera

• Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

• Nikon EN-EL14a Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery

• Nikon MH-24 Quick ChargerNikon AN-DC3 Camera Strap Black

• Nikon's BF-1B Body Cap

• 1 Year Seller Supplied Warranty

Is the Nikon D3500 Worth it?

Yes,the Nikon D3500 is the ideal camera for newbie photographers. Whether you’re only starting your journey in the world of manual photography or you simply want to elevate your skills from merely just pointing at something and pressing the shutter, this camera is made for you. 

It’s not just that it has the right price point for beginners, setting you back much less than you spent on that smartphone you just upgraded to – and that’s including the lens kit. It’s also because of its design, feature set, and user-friendliness.

Sony A6000 vs. Canon M50 vs. Nikon D3500:What are the Differences? 

1.Key Features

Sony a6000

• 24.3MP APS-C Exmor APS HD CMOS Sensor

• Built-In Wi-Fi Connectivity with NFC

• Fast Hybrid AF & 179 Phase-Detect Points

The A6000 is equipped with a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor, which was state of the art when this camera was launched back in 2014 and only a couple of APS-C cameras improve on this even now. The image sensor has 179 phase-detection autofocus points, and there are also 25 contrast-detection points for the hybrid AF system. 

Canon M50

• Was the first Canon camera to get the DIGIC 8 processor

• 4K video capture, albeit with a 1.6x crop

• Dual Pixel CMOS AF system

Unlike Canon's mirrorless EOS R series, which have full-frame sensors, the EOS M50 has a smaller APS-C sensor. This isn't a bad thing – it's the same size as the ones you'll find in many of its DSLRs like the Canon EOS Rebel SL3 / EOS 250D and allows the camera to be small while retaining good image quality. 

Nikon D3500

• Newer sensor than D3400, but effective resolution stays the same

• No touchscreen or 4K video

• Bluetooth connectivity

The D3500 retains the same effective 24.2MP pixel count as the old Nikon D3400, but uses a newer sensor, and closer inspection of the specs shows that the total count on the D3500's sensor stands at 24.78MP, compared to 24.72MP on the D3400. 

2.Build and Handling

Sony a6000

• 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens

• Excellent touchscreen

• More substantial grip

The grip of the A6000 is ever so slightly pronounced, making it quite easy to hold, though with a larger lens like the Sony 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 it starts to feel slightly front-heavy. There’s also a nice texture covering the camera. On top of the camera are two dials: one for controlling the shooting mode (such as automatic, semi-automatic or manual), and another for altering the shutter speed or aperture, depending on the mode you’re shooting in.

Canon M50

• Limited body-mounted controls

• Excellent touchscreen

• Refined user interface

The EOS M50 borrows many styling cues from the older EOS M5, primarily the central positioning of the electronic viewfinder (EVF). There’s also a small built-in flash tucked away in the raised hump where the EVF sits.

Nikon D3500

• Design quite a change from the D3400

• More substantial grip

• Streamlined controls

The top of the D3500 has also been refined over the D3400, and again is now more in line with D5600. There's a fairly streamlined array of controls, with the mode dial now featuring a switch to activate Live View (enabling you to shoot using the rear display rather than the viewfinder) around its collar. 

3.Autofocus

Sony a6000

• Fast Hybrid AF System

• Full HD Video Recording

• Compact, Speedy, and Versatile

The a6000 features both the slow contrast-detection autofocus of earlier mirrorless cameras but augmented with fast phase-detection sensors like those used in DSLRs. The a6000 has an impressive 179 phase-detection points that cover about 92 percent of the image sensor, resulting in above-average autofocus performance.

Canon M50

• Brisk AF performance

• Improved focusing coverage

• Touch and drag AF works well

The uprated Dual Pixel CMOS AF system in the EOS M50 performs very well indeed. Focusing is brisk, while there's also the option to touch and drag the AF point with your thumb on the rear display while you have the camera raised to your eye; this makes quick AF area selection straightforward, while you don't have to use the entire screen real estate either.

Nikon D3500

• Focusing fine for static subjects

• Can struggle when tracking a subject

• Touchscreen absence highlighted when using Live View

This sees the same 11-point Multi CAM 1000 AF system that covers a decent amount of the viewfinder in a diamond formation, with the system featuring a couple more AF points than Canon's closest rival, EOS Rebel T7 (known as the EOS 2000D outside the US).

4.Performance

Sony a6000

• Up to 11 fps Shooting and ISO 25600

• Tru-Finder 1.44m-Dot OLED EVF

• Incredible battery life

Even by current standards, the A6000 is a great performer. Its images are very sharp, with beautifully saturated colours. You can experiment with how JPEGs look straight from the camera by adjusting Creative Styles – a number of which are available as pre-stored settings.

Canon M50

• Decent burst shooting speeds

• Large and bright EVF

• Battery life could be better

Thanks to its DIGIC 8 image processor, the EOS M50 can shoot at up to 10fps in Single AF mode, and should you want to track your subject using Continuous AF this drops to a still very strong 7.4fps.

Nikon D3500

• 5fps burst shooting speed

• Solid metering

• Incredible battery life

With a burst shooting speed of just 5fps, the Nikon D3500 isn't really a camera for those who want to shoot a lot of action. It's better than the EOS Rebel T7 / 2000D's sluggish 3fps, but some comparable mirrorless cameras like the Fujifilm X-T30 can shoot quicker if that's a key priority. Sports and other fast-moving action aside, though, it should be satisfactory for most shooting situations, including speeding pets.

5.Image Quality

Sony a6000

• BIONZ X Image Processor

• Noise performance is very good

• Versatile dynamic range

The a6000 is built around a 24-megapixel APS-C-size CMOS sensor (like those in most DSLRs) and Sony's Bionz X processor, a combination that usually delivered top-notch image quality. 

Canon M50

• Images display very good detail

• Noise nicely controlled

• Good dynamic range enables recovery of detail

The M50 uses 24.1-MP APS-C-sized image sensor to capture photos and video. Overall, my test shots and real-world sample images were sharp, with crisp details and strong, accurate, vibrant colors.

Nikon D3500

• Sensor is capable of producing excellent detail

• Noise performance is very good

• Versatile dynamic range

Like the D3400, the D3500 has the same resolution — 24MP —  but has an updated sensor and EXPEED image processor. There's no word about what those updates entail, though, since most of the specifications between the D3400 and D3500 remain the same (an increased battery life is the main exception). 

6.Video Quality

Sony a6000

With a CIPA rating of 310 shots (using the viewfinder) and 360 shots (using the LCD monitor), the a6000's battery life looks decent on paper. 

Canon M50

While the EOS M50 has been available on other mirrorless cameras for a while, it is the first from Canon that offers 4K video.

Nikon D3500

Likewise, video clips exhibited accurate colors and exposure. The camera was able to retain good details in shadows and highlights even under relatively high contrast lighting.

7.Battery Life

Sony a6000

Sony a6000 battery life is rated for 310 shots per charge when using the EVF, which is a bit low, especially when compared to DSLRs with optical viewfinders. 

Battery life when using the LCD is slightly above average for a mirrorless camera, though, at 360 shots.

Canon M50

Canon claims the EOS M50 shoots about 235 shots (using either the LCD or the EVF) in normal mode (according to the CIPA standard). 

Nikon D3500

Nikon D3500 battery life has been improved by about 350 shots per charge to 1,550 on the D3500 — even though both the D3400 and the D3500 use the same battery, the EN-EL14a. 

Sony A6000 vs. Canon M50 vs. Nikon D3500 Comparison Chart

Conclusion: Which is Better?

Sony A6000 - It’s true that the A6000’s specs now look distinctly old hat compared to what’s come along since, but only in a couple of key areas. Newer cameras have 4K video, which won’t bother you if you don’t shoot video, and more advanced AF systems – but for most of us, the A6000’s AF is plenty good enough. It was advanced for its time and still holds up now.

Canon EOS M50 - Despite its age and the arrival of both the newer Canon  EOS M6 Mark II and the M50's direct successor, the M50 II, the EOS M50 remains a good value option for beginners who want a small, approachable mirrorless camera that can shoot great stills - and since it's been replaced, you can pick it up at great prices. 

Nikon D3500 - The Nikon D3500 is by no means a perfect camera, but that's to be expected at this price. It is, though, still a great choice for beginner photographers who prefer the traditional strengths of DSLRs to mirrorless cameras.

Summarize:As for their prices, they are all at a similar price range, so you can’t go wrong whatever you decide on buying. We mostly recommend the M50 for semi-professionals, for still photography, or portrait photography. On the other side, the Sony A6000 is perfect for vlogging, and due to its compact size, it makes for a perfect camera for travelers. And  Nikon D3500 is Still the best DSLR for beginners,and it's one of the best cheap cameras you can buy.

Read More:

Canon vs. Nikon vs. Sony vs. Fujifilm: Which Brand Wins the Camera Showdown?

Sony A6000 vs. A6100 vs. A6400 vs. A6600: Ultimate Comparison & Verdict 2024

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