Why am I using the Sony A6400 camera for my project?

Well, the truth is that this was the camera that I was able to rent out for the entire semester as this camera is not used as frequently by other students in the Communications Department. However, I’ve come to learn that this camera has made it so much simpler and convenient for me to complete my project. When I was first introduced to photography, I used a traditional DSLR camera, which is totally appropriate for complete beginners to photography. I still consider myself to be a novice photographer, but now that I have all the basic camera functions and photography concepts down, I’m able to experiment a bit with a new camera model and go with a mirrorless camera. This camera has many different affordances and features that a traditional DSLR lacks, which I will explain in a bit. 

How is the Sony A6400 camera social?

Cameras, in general, allow people to convey a myriad of ideas with others and there’s so many different types of photographs one can take about different types of interests or a photograph can open up discussion about a certain social issue. The Sony A6400, in particular, is social because it can capture photographs digitally in a more efficient manner. I’ve found that I can take photos a lot quicker with this camera, and because of this, I’m able to pump out more shots and get my ideas out to my audience a lot quicker than the previous camera I used. This camera is also very portable and compact. For my project specifically, it allows me to carry it around the gym and set it up with ease. This allows for greater sociability because I’m able to take the camera to places I might not be able to go with a bigger and clunkier traditional camera. I can capture more powerful photos and I’m not restrained due to its small size. 

settings menu in Sony a6400

How does the Sony A6400 camera reflect cultural values?

The Sony A6400 was released to the public in 2019, so this camera is fairly new to the photography industry and is very compatible with current technologies. The camera was built around the idea that people will be using it for either vlogging purposes or to capture photographs for Instagram. As I said before, this is a very small and compact camera, and it’s pretty clear that Sony designed it to cater towards the needs of the modern content creator and Youtube vlogger. Especially in my realm of fitness, vlogging for Youtube and capturing quality fitness based photographs for Instagram is a huge part of the industry. I’d imagine other content creators in my realm have used this very camera or similar models to vlog or shoot photographs and it clearly reflects the cultural values of my community.

How will the Sony A6400 afford my actions when using it for the project?

One of my favorite parts of the Sony A6400 is its compatibility with smartphone connectivity. The camera contains an H1 chip with a corresponding app called Shutter. If I have the Shutter app open on my phone, and if I tap the top of my phone to the side of the camera, it automatically connects the camera to my iPhone. Here, I’m able to do all the basic functions that I can do on my camera right on my phone. I can change the f-stop, shutter speed, ISO, set the self timer to as long as I want, choose a still photo, continuous photo, and more. This function is so convenient for me and my project because I am taking a lot of self portraits. Having my phone in hand and being able to control the camera functions with my phone allows me to stand in front of the frame, adjust the settings of the camera, and get the shot I want with relative ease, without having to go back and forth between the camera and the frame of the shot. 

self-portrait shot with Sony A6400 and edited in Adobe Lightroom

How will the Sony A6400 constrain my actions when using it for the project?

Since this is a camera that I have never used before, especially it being a more recent release than the Nikon D3000 I used in my introductory photography course, there has been a bit of a learning curve for me to learn the functionality of this camera. While I am still learning as I go, as the days go by and I start to play around more and more with it, I’m gradually becoming more comfortable with this camera. 

In addition, the Shutter app is good, but nowhere near perfect. I often have to reconnect my phone to the camera after each shot I take, and there’s a lot of lag between the camera and the phone. It can still be quite a tedious process, as self portraiture usually is, but this function does make it a lot easier for me to execute the self portrait aspect of my project.