Canon EOS Rebel XSi vs Sony Alpha 6400

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS Rebel XSi and the Sony Alpha 6400, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Canon EOS Rebel XSi was introduced in May 2008 and Sony Alpha 6400 was introduced in January 2019. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS Rebel XSi over Sony Alpha 6400.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 6400 over Canon EOS Rebel XSi.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Canon EOS Rebel XSi and Sony Alpha 6400 have 3.0" screens with 230k dot and 922k dot resolutions respectively. Canon EOS Rebel XSi has a Fixed screen Sony Alpha 6400 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Sony Alpha 6400 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Sony Alpha 6400) allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Canon EOS Rebel XSi has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinderSony Alpha 6400 has a built-in 0.39" Electronic viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution. Canon EOS Rebel XSi has 95% coverage with 0.87x (0.54x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Sony Alpha 6400 has 100% coverage with 1.07x (0.71x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Canon EOS Rebel XSi features a 12.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 22.2 x 14.8 mm and a total area of 328.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 1,600. Sony Alpha 6400 features a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 243.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 32,000 and expands to 100 - 102,400 in boosted mode.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Canon EOS Rebel XSi can take pictures up to 4272 x 2848 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3088 x 2056, 2256 x 1504 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Sony Alpha 6400 is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS Rebel XSi has Canon EF/EF-S lens mount and Sony Alpha 6400 has Sony E lens mount. They both have APS-C sensor but because of a small size difference their crop factors (also called lens multiplier) differ from each other. Canon EOS Rebel XSi has the crop factor of 1.6x which means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.6. Sony Alpha 6400 has the crop factor of 1.5x which means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

No Image Stabilization

The cameras do not have image stabilization. On Canon EOS Rebel XSi it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Sony Alpha 6400 nothing can be done. On Sony Alpha 6400 it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Canon EOS Rebel XSi nothing can be done.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Sony Alpha 6400

Sony Alpha 6400 has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Sony Alpha 6400

Sony Alpha 6400 has a built-in Bluetooth which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

NFC on Sony Alpha 6400

Sony Alpha 6400 has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 6400 comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 410 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS Rebel XSi has a single SD/SDHC/MMC card slot. Sony Alpha 6400 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Canon EOS Rebel XSi has Electronically-controlled Focal-plane shutter. Sony Alpha 6400 has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Canon EOS Rebel XSi, and up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha 6400. Canon EOS Rebel XSi can shoot continuously up to 3.5 fps. Sony Alpha 6400 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS Rebel XSi has Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 9 focusing points and Sony Alpha 6400 has 425 focusing points. Sony Alpha 6400 has detection range from -2 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS Rebel XSi and Sony Alpha 6400 range from +1 to +20 EV and -2 to +20 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±2 EV range on Canon EOS Rebel XSi and ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 6400. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS Rebel XSi and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 6400.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 13.00 m at ISO 100 on Canon EOS Rebel XSi and 6.00 m at ISO 100 on Sony Alpha 6400. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Intelligent Hot Shoe or Wireless connection to Sony Alpha 6400. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Canon EOS Rebel XSi and 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha 6400.

Canon EOS Rebel XSi body has dimensions of 129 x 98 x 62 mm (5.08 x 3.86 x 2.44") and Sony Alpha 6400 body has dimensions of 120 x 67 x 60 mm (4.72 x 2.64 x 2.36"). Canon EOS Rebel XSi weighs 524 g (1.16 lb / 18.48 oz) and Sony Alpha 6400 weighs 403 g (0.89 lb / 14.22 oz).

Canon EOS Rebel XSi

Sony Alpha 6400

129 mm

98 mm

120 mm

67 mm

98 mm

67 mm

62 mm

60 mm