I loved shooting with the Sony A6400, but for this one genre, I really wished I had the Sony A6700 instead

(Image credit: Gareth Bevan / Digital Camera World)

As someone who writes about cameras for a living, my inbox is often filled with friends asking for advice on what camera to buy. My answer always depends on what features the budding photographer is looking for. But when it comes to beginner-friendly mirrorless cameras packed inside a travel-friendly body, the Sony A6000 series, which includes options like the Sony A6700 and A6400, immediately comes to mind.

Earlier this year, I was reminded of why I’ve always loved Sony’s A6000-series cameras: the rangefinder-inspired design keeps the cameras compact, and Sony’s long history lends to a plethora of lens options. But the last time that I shot with the Sony A6400, I found myself wishing for the Sony A6700 instead for one key reason: animal detection autofocus.

As someone who writes about cameras for a living, I’m often spoiled with the ability to test out the latest camera tech. But earlier this year, I wanted to challenge myself to a different question: Can cheap cameras still tackle the toughest genres like wildlife photography?

To answer that question, I called in three loaner cameras from Canon, Nikon, and Sony that were all under $1,000 / £1,000 / AU$1,500, and I took them to my favorite local spot for wildlife photography. (Tariffs have since pushed the price of all three of those cameras above the $1,000 mark in the US).

I was surprised at how far budget cameras have come in the tech that makes genres like wildlife photography far easier. But, as I shot with the Sony A6400, I did end up wishing I had the A6700 instead, even though the list price didn’t quite meet my definition of a “cheap” mirrorless camera.

On paper, the Sony A6400 and A6700 have several features in common, including the same 11fps burst speed. But the A6400 was introduced in 2019, and the A6700 in 2023. One of the key improvements Sony has made in that time frame is in subject-detection autofocus.

The subject detection autofocus on the Sony A6400 works on animals, but I had to zoom in pretty close for it to kick in, and often had to supplement the autofocus with manually moving the autofocus point.

The Sony A6700, meanwhile, was able to lock focus and follow a fox around even in near darkness in DCW’s tests. That’s due in part to the fact that the A6700 uses an AI chip mixed with the Bionz XR processor, which lends to a significant improvement in autofocus performance.

Subject detection autofocus is a key feature for wildlife photography, particularly for beginners. Even for experienced photographers, subject detection can often move the focus point faster than manually adjusting the focus area, which can sometimes mean the difference between getting the shot or not.

There are some other differences between the A6400 and the A6700, another key one being that the A6700 has in-body stabilization, a perk when using those longer telephoto lenses for wildlife, as well as in more general low-light photography.

While the A6400 didn’t end up being my favorite budget camera for wildlife photography, the Sony 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS did end up being my favorite lens of the three that I tried. It’s impressively sharp, and it’s also weather-sealed.

Pairing the Sony A6700 with the Sony 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS isn’t going to be the cheapest possible wildlife combo, but the mix of subject detection autofocus and that sharp, weather-sealed lens is going to make a fantastic system for photographers who don’t have the budget for a full-frame wildlife setup.

Understanding the differences between the options in the Sony A6000 series can be confusing – after all, they all look rather the same with a rangefinder-inspired design, and several list an 11 fps burst speed. But for wildlife photography, I wouldn’t hesitate to pay a bit more for the A6700 over the A6400. The animal detection autofocus smarts are worth the extra cost if you’ll be spending a lot of time photographing wildlife (or pets, for that matter).

The Sony A6700 isn’t the only APS-C camera that offers wildlife-capable speeds at a price under full-frame cameras – the Nikon Z50 II, Canon EOS R10, and Canon EOS R7 are also worth considering. But if you’ve already narrowed it down to Sony for that compact body style orr the selection of different lenses, I think the A6700 is worth the upgrade price for photographers who will be spending a lot of time photographing wildlife.

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