Sony Alpha 6400 vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 6400 and the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS, 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.

Sony Alpha 6400 was introduced in January 2019 and Olympus SZ-31MR iHS was introduced in February 2012. 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 Sony Alpha 6400 over Olympus SZ-31MR iHS.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus SZ-31MR iHS over Sony Alpha 6400.

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

Sony Alpha 6400 and Olympus SZ-31MR iHS have 3.0" screens with 922k dot and 920k dot resolutions respectively. Sony Alpha 6400 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Olympus SZ-31MR iHS has a Fixed screen Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality 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.

Electronic Viewfinder on Sony Alpha 6400

Sony Alpha 6400 has a built-in 0.39" Electronic viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 1.07x (0.71x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Olympus SZ-31MR iHS.

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 366.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 32,000 and expands to 100 - 102,400 in boosted mode. Olympus SZ-31MR iHS features a 16 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 80 - 6,400.

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Sony Alpha 6400 is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. Olympus SZ-31MR iHS is equipped with Dual TruePic V processor and can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3264 x 2448, 2560 x 1920, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480 with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS has an image stabilization.

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. Sony Alpha 6400 has a Micro HDMI and Olympus SZ-31MR iHS has a Type D HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 6400 comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 410 shots and Olympus SZ-31MR iHS comes with LI-50B battery pack with battery life of 200 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 6400 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot. Olympus SZ-31MR iHS has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 6400 has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha 6400, and up to 1/1700 sec on Olympus SZ-31MR iHS. Sony Alpha 6400 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps. Olympus SZ-31MR iHS can shoot continuously up to 7.0 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 6400 has 425 focusing points and Olympus SZ-31MR iHS has . Sony Alpha 6400 has detection range from -2 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 6400 ranges from -2 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 6400 and ±2 range on Olympus SZ-31MR iHS. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 6400 and exposure bracketing on Olympus SZ-31MR iHS.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 6.00 m at ISO 100 on Sony Alpha 6400 and 9.30 m on Olympus SZ-31MR iHS. Sony Alpha 6400 also accepts external flash which can be connected via Intelligent Hot Shoe or Wireless connection. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha 6400.

Sony Alpha 6400 body has dimensions of 120 x 67 x 60 mm (4.72 x 2.64 x 2.36") and Olympus SZ-31MR iHS body has dimensions of 106 x 69 x 40 mm (4.17 x 2.72 x 1.57"). Sony Alpha 6400 weighs 403 g (0.89 lb / 14.22 oz) and Olympus SZ-31MR iHS weighs 226 g (0.50 lb / 7.97 oz).

Sony Alpha 6400

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS

120 mm

67 mm

106 mm

69 mm

67 mm

69 mm

60 mm

40 mm