Sony A6400 Performance

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Sony A6400 Performance

Timing and Performance

Improved AF speeds and buffer depths compared to the A6300, though buffer clearing is still slow.

Startup and Play to Record
Power on to first shot	~1.8 seconds	Time it takes to turn on and capture a shot.
Play to Record, first shot	~1.0 second	Time until first shot is captured.

The Sony A6400's startup time (power on to first shot) of 1.8 seconds was a bit slower than average for a mirrorless, and oddly tested slower than the A6300's 1.4 seconds in our tests. Switching from Play to Record mode and taking a shot was also slightly slower at 1.0 versus 0.7 second.

Shutter Response (Lag Time)
Full Autofocus, Center AF area AF-S mode	0.115 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting.
Full Autofocus, Center AF area AF-S mode Auto Flash Enabled	0.171 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting, TTL Auto flash enabled.
Manual Focus	0.111 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".
Prefocused	0.021 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

The Sony A6400's full-autofocus shutter lag (with the subject at a fixed distance) was very fast, measuring only 0.115 second in Single-area (Center) AF mode with the FE 35mm f/2.8 lens. That's a significant improvement over the A6300's already fast 0.160 second.

Enabling the flash added a slight delay for preflash metering, increasing lag to about 0.171 second, but that's much improved over the 0.437 second we measured for the A6300.

When manually focused, the Sony A6400's shutter lag was 0.111 second, just slightly slower than the A6300's 0.107 second. The A6400's prefocused shutter lag was incredibly fast at only 0.021 second, very similar to the A6300's 0.020 second result.

Note that our tests were performned using the default Electronic First Curtain Shutter (EFCS) mode. Mechanical and electronic shutter modes were slower but still pretty fast.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Cycle Time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large/ Extra Fine JPEG	0.41 second	Time per shot, averaged over a few frames (we no longer test for buffer depths in single-shot mode).
Single Shot mode RAW + LEF JPEG	0.42 second	Time per shot, averaged over a few frames (we no longer test for buffer depths in single-shot mode).
Early shutter penalty?	No	Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous Hi+ Large/Extra Fine JPEG	0.09 second (11.0 fps); 87 frames total; 56 seconds to clear*	Average time per shot; slowed to an average of about 0.67s or 1.49 fps when buffer was full.
Continuous Hi+ RAW	0.09 second (11.1 fps); 42 frames total; 26 seconds to clear*	Average time per shot; slowed to an average of about 0.59s or 1.69 fps when buffer was full.
Continuous Hi+ RAW + LEF JPEG	0.09 second (11.1 fps); 42 frames total; 48 seconds to clear*	Average time per shot; slowed to an average of about 1.11s or 0.90 fps when buffer was full.
Continuous Hi Large/Extra Fine JPEG	0.12 second (8.1 fps); 98 frames total; 56 seconds to clear*	Average time per shot; slowed to an average of about 0.62s or 1.62 fps when buffer was full.
Continuous Hi RAW	0.12 second (8.1 fps); 42 frames total; 26 seconds to clear*	Average time per shot; slowed to an average of about 0.54s or 1.84 fps when buffer was full.
Continuous Hi RAW + LEF JPEG	0.12 second (8.30 fps); 42 frames total; 47 seconds to clear*	Average time per shot; slowed to an average of about 1.07s or 0.94 fps when buffer was full.
Flash Recycling	2.3 seconds	Flash at maximum output.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a 64GB Lexar Pro 2000x UHS-II SDXC memory card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and noise reduction settings can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Single-shot cycle times were very good, at about 0.4 second for Large/Extra Fine JPEGs and RAW + Large/Extra Fine JPEG frames, a little faster than the A6300. (Note that we no longer test single-shot mode with just RAW files, as the results are usually somewhere in between JPEG and RAW+JPEG modes.)

The Sony A6400's fastest Continuous Hi+ mode was very fast at about 11 frames per second no matter the file type, and very closely matching the A6300's top speed. Note that continuous AF is supported in this mode, but unlike the A6400's other continuous modes, Hi+ mode displays the previously captured image which can make tracking a moving object difficult during a burst.

Continuous Hi burst mode performance also closely mirrored the A6300 at just over 8 frames per second There are also Continuous Mid (6 fps) and Continuous Lo (3 fps) settings, however we did not test those options in the lab. With these modes, tracking a moving subject is easier than Hi+ mode since the real-time preview is updated between captured frames.

Buffer depths were almost double what the A6300 managed. When shooting best quality JPEGs, buffer depth ranged from 87 frames in Hi+ mode to 98 frames in Hi mode, compared to 44 and 46 for the A6300. Of course, when shooting RAW or RAW+JPEG files, buffer depths are lower at 42 frames for RAW or RAW+LEF JPEGs, compared to between 21 and 24 frames for the A6300 depending on the file type. Also be aware that the A6400 can shoot Extra Fine JPEGs along with RAW files, while the A6300 dropped JPEG quality down to Fine when shooting RAW+JPEG pairs.

Buffer clearing after max-length bursts was quite slow with a fast card (the A6400 is UHS-I compliant, but our Lexar Pro UHS-II SDXC card's UHS-I mode is fast), ranging between 26 seconds after a max-length burst of RAW files, to 56 seconds after a max-length burst of Large / Extra Fine JPEGs. This is even slower than the A6300, but that's because the buffer is much deeper. Unlike the A6300, though, the A6400 lets you adjust settings or view just-shot photos while the buffer is clearing, however it's still a shame Sony didn't add faster UHS-II support.

The built-in flash was able to recycle from a full discharge in 2.3 seconds, which is good.

Bottom line, the Sony A6400's performance is generally excellent for its class, with improved autofocus speed and almost double the buffer depth compared to the A6300, but buffer clearing is still very slow after long bursts. At least the A6400's UI doesn't freeze up while the buffer is clearing, though.

Battery

Battery Life
Good battery life for a mirrorless camera.

Operating Mode	Battery Life
Still Capture, (EVF, CIPA standard)	360 shots
Still Capture, (LCD Monitor CIPA standard)	410 shots

The Sony A6400 uses a custom NP-FW50 rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power and ships with a single battery, AC/USB adapter, and a Micro USB cable for in-camera charging. A dedicated battery charger is optional. While CIPA-rated battery life is good for a mirrorless camera, it's well below most DSLRs, especially when using the electronic viewfinder. We strongly recommend purchasing an additional battery or two for extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))