(Sony Alpha 6100)

It's been five years since Sony refreshed its entry-level a6000 mirrorless camera. It's finally adding 4K, Real Time Tracking focus, and a touch screen to one of its most popular consumer cameras, in the form of the a6100.

At the same time, it's refreshing the a6500, in the form of the a6600, adding its latest autofocus system—the one we saw earlier this year in the a6400. The a6600 also gets the high-capacity Z battery from Sony's full-frame family.

The New Entry-Level: a6100

Sony has done a good job keeping the cost of the a6000 down, lowering it a bit since launch, and packed more features into the 2014 model than we had any reason to expect at the time. It wasn't completely future proof, and shows its age versus more recent entries, especially when it comes to video.

But some of its functions—notably the lack of 4K and a touch screen—are telltale signs of its age. The a6100 addresses them, adding 100Mbps XAVC S 4K at 24 or 30fps, with Real Time Tracking focus available, and a touch interface so you can tap to identify subjects.

Its autofocus for stills is similar, though not quite as capable, as the a6400 and a6600. Its focus system covers 84 percent of the sensor width and most of its height, a big differentiator from similarly priced SLRs and their very small focus coverage area.

The camera also does things SLRs cannot. Portrait photographers will be happy about the eye detection, available when photographing both people and pets. Likewise, you get the same user experience when using the camera for still as you do for video.

The 24.2MP image sensor doesn't offer any big resolution advantage over the older model, but is a newer design, matching the one in the a6400. Likewise, the built-in EVF is still a 1,440k-dot design, not on the same level as you get on the company's pricier models, and the camera uses the same W battery as previous entries.

It looks like the a6000 is going to stay on the market for a bit—it's currently selling for around $450 as a body only. The a6100 comes in at a higher asking price, $750 as a body only. There are also kit options, one with the E 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 retractable zoom lens for $850, and a second with both the 16-50mm and E 55-210mm telephoto zoom for $1,100. It's set to go on sale in October.

Flagship APS-C: a6600

Serious photographers looking for a more capable body for action photography. The a6600 shares a lot of tech with the a6100 and a6400, but goes a couple steps further. The big features that set it apart from the midrange a6400 are a high-capacity Z series battery with more than twice the juice than the older W design, as well as in-body image stabilization.

The image sensor is the same as in the a6100, a 24.2MP APS-C chip, but it's mounted on a five-axis stabilizer and is backed by a more powerful Bionz image processor. The faster processor adds support for eye-detection tracking when recording video, which is missing from lesser priced models.

(Sony Alpha 6600)

Likewise, the EVF is more premium; a 2,359k-dot design, the body has seals to protect from dust and splashes, and there's now a headphone jack, a plus for videographers who need to monitor audio in real time, a deeper shooting buffer, and more advanced video recording options, including Log profiles.

It's priced aggressively, at a very reasonable $1,400 as a body only, and will ship in November. Sony will also offer it in a kit, along with the E 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 lens, for $1,800.

New Lenses

In addition to the bodies, Sony is delivering two new APS-C lenses. The E 16-5mm F2.8 G is a premium standard zoom, with dust and splash protection, fluorine coating, a 1:5 macro capability, and a speedy XD focus motor. It's priced at $1,400 and will ship in October.

It's joined by a premium telezoom, one that promises to deliver much better optical performance and build quality than the E 55-210mm. The E 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS is light at 1.4 pounds, and is built to the same quality standard as the 16-55mm. At $1,000, it's more affordable and will come to store shelves in November.

We're currently working with both new bodies and lenses, and will follow up soon with more detailed hands-on coverage.