While high-end cameras are amazing, you don’t need them to learn and be a better photographer or build a skill because the more affordable options like Sony Alpha a6000 Vs Nikon D5600 are already very promising. These cameras are ideal for beginners or enthusiasts who want to learn using cameras manually but don’t want to invest so much yet. If this sounds like what you are aiming for, let’s see what these cameras are capable of below.
In this comparison, we are going to talk about:
- Between Budget and Expensive Cameras
- What are Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600
- How are the Unit of Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600
- How are the Specs of Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600
- How are the Image Quality of Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600
- How are the Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600 for Video Recording
- Sony Alpha a6000 Vs Nikon D5600
Budget and Expensive Cameras
After the digitalization of almost everything, it probably makes more sense to spend on a flagship phone rather than buying a dedicated camera. It is what most people are doing with their money but not everyone’s the same and for those who are more interested in expanding their skills or knowledge on photography itself will prefer to invest their hard earned money on a good camera and collection of lenses. When it comes to budget and an expensive professional system, it is always worth considering your plan.
Just like everything, when you ask how much to spend on photography as a hobby, people will recommend the lower model first. This is seen as a safer solution since we still don’t know where the interest will take you next time and getting a decent camera is much better than spending on something expensive that you may don’t use again next year or selling it for a fraction of the price. Budget cameras are always great to start with and many cameras are actually very reliable.
The difference between a more affordable and expensive, professional model can be everything the device is made of starting from the material that builds the main body to the component and firmware they planted inside. Considering the camera is coming with the same sensor size for example APS-C like Sony Alpha a6000 Vs a6100, the difference can be about handling and how the processor inside is working on the information collected by the sensor. Despite the same size, manufacturers can improve their sensor, such as to increase the low-light performance.
Cameras with larger sensor or more pixel count usually will be priced differently and not everyone needs a full-frame for photography unless you have style to follow while pixel count will mostly affect the print size and resizing. The system of the camera itself can set what an affordable and expensive camera can offer such as better and easy to understand menu, touch screen, or even an articulating display that improves the versatility.
From the experience side, expensive cameras are usually fast, more reliable in rolling shutter, or have an amazing and accurate autofocus that tracks and sticks to your subject. The difference is probably more noticeable on the recording part because the highest consumer based camera today can already record in 8K to futureproof the product. They can have a higher frame rate as well to capture action smoothly and some models come with in-body image stabilization or even built together with a gimbal such as the Ronin from DJI.
| Sony Alpha a6000 | Nikon D5600 | |
|---|---|---|
  |   |
|
| Product Dimensions | 4.72 x 1.77 x 2.64 inches | 4.9 x 3.8 x 2.8 inches |
| Shipping Weight | 12.2 ounces | 17.6 ounces |
| Best offer | Check price | Check price |
About Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600
On the image quality itself a photographer will have much more of a role than the camera while the lens of your choice is going to affect the style of the photography. It is not always an expensive camera and lenses but you can start from anywhere. Budget cameras can have their own advantage as well outside of the cost such as shape and weight or control system that is usually simpler to use and understand for people who are more familiar with automatic mode.
There are plenty to choose from and almost all brands that released cameras will have at least several entry models to consider and marketed for enthusiast or beginner photographers. Do consider how much you want to spend including the lenses and what’s most important for your type of application such as whether it is only for still photography or you will also record video with the device. Sony and Nikon for example are perfect choices for almost everyone looking for a good camera.
Depending on the camera you have picked however, their abilities may vary. For those who are shopping around $500, the Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600 are two attractive choices to consider around the cost. The two are mid-range in general for enthusiasts and beginners without being questionably cheap. The main reason why you want to have one of them is because they are taking good photos and should be adequate for most people in order to learn or build their skill before spending on higher models.
The main difference between these cameras will be the system itself because D5600 is an SLR, coming with this typically chunky housing while on the other hand a6000 is a mirrorless type. The debate about DSLR and mirrorless may still happen to this day but manufacturers seem to be more interested in expanding their mirrorless compared to the SLR and even both Sony and Nikon current best cameras for consumers like Z6 II and Alpha 1 are all mirrorless.
Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600 Unit
While the form factor and weight difference is not stellar between Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600, you can already guess that D5600 is slightly bulkier than a6000. The a6000 without its grip is almost looking like any digital camera with a fixed lens. There is this simplicity behind the a6000 that makes Sony fond of the design based on how the next iteration is made until now and yes, it is a pocket friendly camera for traveling and point-and-shoot when paired with a smaller lens.
On the other hand D5600 is classic to SLR styling with its chunky shape and the familiar OVF instead of EVF on a6000. The rear screen is probably what makes the whole difference because we never like the tilting screen on any camera. It may not be a huge deal but having them at least folding up will be much better. On this side D5600 is already fully articulating for the versatile shooting experience, moreover it is touch-sensitive too.
Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600 Specs
Next we want to talk about the hard specs of Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600 since they are pretty much similar to each other. The a6000 is a cropped sensor or APS-C to be exact, while D5600 is using DX format which is the same. The effective pixel is also the same as 24MP and they are capable of recording at 1080p at maximum 60 frames per second. The ISO range is up to 25,600 and they should work well under decent lighting.
Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600 Image Quality
As for the image quality, you can expect much from them because APS-C 24MP is a very common combination and is well-known to produce great results. You can definitely rely on them for daily use or for social media related works. What’s surprising is that when you look closer into details, the D5600 is not as sharp and capable as a6000 at preserving the small texture such as hairs or the fine lines on people’s face; the color also looks warmer.
On the speed the two are also decent but the a6000 is noticeably faster at 11 fps while the D5600 can only manage half of it at 5fps for the burst mode. In comparison you can shoot more frames with the same amount of time before the camera buffer is full yet after the buffer is full they seem to shoot at about the same speed of 2.3 fps. The low light performance is good too, but at the same stop D5600 does produce more noise or that annoying red and green spots and patches.
Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600 for Video Recording
Lastly we want to talk about recording video with Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600. As it has been mentioned above they are similarly 1080p and the reason why some may want to avoid them for long recording is because they can only record up to 30 minutes so it is a certain drawback over the good image quality. There is also no image stabilization built-in to the camera meaning handheld operation is a bit inconvenient.
Another issue especially for the D5600 is the autofocus because it is not very reliable in this type of application even though we love the rotating screen. The autofocus seems to jump often to other areas moreover if you have a complex background or moving from the spot resulting in footage with different focus points and quite annoying to watch. The camera does have face detection but only a6000 featured eye detection.
Sony Alpha a6000 Vs Nikon D5600
The Sony Alpha a6000 and Nikon D5600 are good cameras for beginners and they are absolutely amazing for the price point. The difference we notice is that a6000 often took sharper images and retained the finer details bett er especially on things like human hair while ISO is somehow more similar with D5600 producing more noise at the same ISO stop. The video recording function is actually more supported by the D5600 rear screen but the autofocus is not the best to rely on.
Conclusion
The decision is all yours because not everyone will have the same preference and personally, we recommend a6000 for the better experience, moreover it is also smaller if you plan on traveling a lot with the device.