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Sony A6400 vs Sony S980

Portability
83
Imaging
69
Features
88
Overall
76
Sony Alpha a6400 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S980 front
Portability
94
Imaging
34
Features
17
Overall
27

Sony A6400 vs Sony S980 Key Specs

Sony A6400
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 32000 (Push to 102400)
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 403g - 120 x 67 x 50mm
  • Announced January 2019
Sony S980
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 33-132mm (F3.3-5.2) lens
  • 167g - 93 x 56 x 24mm
  • Revealed February 2009
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Sony A6400 vs Sony S980 Overview

Below is a comprehensive review of the Sony A6400 versus Sony S980, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both are manufactured by Sony. There is a large difference between the sensor resolutions of the A6400 (24MP) and S980 (12MP) and the A6400 (APS-C) and S980 (1/2.3") offer different sensor measurements.

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The A6400 was introduced 10 years later than the S980 and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Sony A6400 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony S980 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a thorough comparison, here is a quick introduction of how the A6400 grades vs the S980 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Sony A6400 over the Sony S980

 A6400 S980 
RevealedJanuary 2019February 2009More recent by 121 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen size3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution922k230kClearer screen (+692k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony S980 over the Sony A6400

 S980 A6400 

Common features in the Sony A6400 and Sony S980

 A6400 S980 
Manual focus More accurate focus

Sony A6400 vs Sony S980 Physical Comparison

When you are aiming to lug around your camera often, you will need to think about its weight and measurements. The Sony A6400 has outside dimensions of 120mm x 67mm x 50mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.0") accompanied by a weight of 403 grams (0.89 lbs) whilst the Sony S980 has proportions of 93mm x 56mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

Take a look at the Sony A6400 versus Sony S980 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are utilising at the time. Below is a front view measurements comparison of the A6400 compared to the S980.

Sony A6400 vs Sony S980 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the A6400 and S980 is 83 and 94 respectively.

Sony A6400 vs Sony S980 top view buttons comparison

Sony A6400 vs Sony S980 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it is very difficult to imagine the contrast between sensor measurements only by reading specifications. The visual underneath will give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the A6400 and S980.

Plainly, each of the cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The A6400 using its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Sony A6400 will deliver extra detail using its extra 12MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The newer A6400 provides an advantage with regard to sensor technology.

Sony A6400 vs Sony S980 sensor size comparison

Sony A6400 vs Sony S980 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A6400 vs Sony S980 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A6400 Portrait photography highlights
Sony S980 Portrait photography highlights
81
focusing manually
decent megapixels (24MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
provides face detect autofocus
supports RAW formats
27
manual focus
manual mode not available
cannot use external flash
low MP (12MP)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Sony A6400
Street photography with Sony S980
81
screen tilts up and down
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
supports touch to focus
environment proof
good high ISO (32,000)
lack of image stabilization
47
no moving screen
lack of image stabilization
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Sony A6400 Sports photography highlights
Sony S980 Sports photography highlights
76
decent megapixels (24MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
provides tracking focus
environment proof
supports phase detect autofocus
lack of image stabilization
17
low frames per second (1.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
lack of image stabilization
low MP (12 megapixels)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Sony A6400 Travel photography features
Sony S980 Travel photography features
87
environment proof
connects via bluetooth
supports touch to focus
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
flash built-in
screen is selfie friendly
51
has built in flash
no Timelapse function
low MP (12MP)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
wide angle not great (33mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A6400 Landscape photography advice
Sony S980 Landscape photography advice
80
focusing manually
change lenses (Sony E mount)
screen size is decent (3 inches)
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
good high ISO (32,000)
supports RAW formats
environment proof
lack of image stabilization
27
manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not great (33mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
tiny screen (2.7 inch)
manual mode not available
lack of image stabilization
low MP (12MP)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
no Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A6400 as a Vlogging camera
Sony S980 as a Vlogging camera
80
screen is selfie friendly
touchscreen functionality
provides face detect autofocus
high quality video (3840 x 2160 resolution)
comes with microphone jack
lack of image stabilization
22
wide angle not great (33mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
lack of image stabilization
video quality not great (1280 x 720 resolution)
no external microphone support
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Sony A6400 vs Sony S980 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A6400 and Sony S980
 Sony Alpha a6400Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S980
General Information
Make Sony Sony
Model Sony Alpha a6400 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S980
Class Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2019-01-15 2009-02-17
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Bionz X -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size APS-C 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 23.5 x 15.6mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 366.6mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 24MP 12MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 6000 x 4000 4000 x 3000
Highest native ISO 32000 3200
Highest boosted ISO 102400 -
Lowest native ISO 100 80
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points 425 9
Lens
Lens mount Sony E fixed lens
Lens focal range - 33-132mm (4.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/3.3-5.2
Macro focus range - 10cm
Amount of lenses 121 -
Focal length multiplier 1.5 5.8
Screen
Type of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inch 2.7 inch
Screen resolution 922 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 2,359 thousand dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.7x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30 secs 2 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/1600 secs
Continuous shooting rate 11.0 frames/s 1.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 6.00 m (at ISO 100) 3.50 m
Flash settings Off, auto, on, slow sync, rear sync, redeye reduction, wireless, hi-speed sync Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1280 x 720 (30 fps) 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 3840x2160 1280x720
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264, XAVC-S Motion JPEG
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 403 gr (0.89 lb) 167 gr (0.37 lb)
Physical dimensions 120 x 67 x 50mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.0") 93 x 56 x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 83 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 24.0 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 13.6 not tested
DXO Low light score 1431 not tested
Other
Battery life 410 shots -
Style of battery Battery Pack -
Battery model NP-FW50 -
Self timer Yes Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick DUO (UHS-I compliant) Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, Internal
Card slots 1 1
Launch cost $898 $300