Sony A6400 Accessories: What Actually Belongs

A grip, a cage or a second furry windscreen for the mic sound like gear. On this camera they are the purchase you postpone. Audio is worth it once the spare battery is in the bag and a card is in the slot.

In practice: a genuine NP-FW50, then a SanDisk Extreme PRO 128 GB V30. An ECM-W2BT if you step away from the camera and talk. The GP-VPT2BT only if the screen flips up and you film with one hand. The lens that changes more than any of these is in the A6400 lens guide.

Four pieces

Battery, SD card, microphone and grip for the A6400

The same four pieces, as cards you can click through. I would add the battery almost every time. You buy the rest when the day actually needs it. The prices are on Amazon.

Vergleich	Sony Sony NP-FW50	SanDisk SanDisk Extreme PRO 128 GB V30	Sony Sony ECM-W2BT	Sony Sony GP-VPT2BT
Bild
Empfehlung	Buy first	V30 is enough	If you talk	Optional
Sensor	A6400, not the A6700	V30	accessory shoe, no cable	Bluetooth
ISO-Bereich	NP-FW50, genuine	128 GB	the A6400 has no jack	kit 16–50 only
Autofokus	one battery. The second is missing	stills and 4K30	the shoe gets in the way	light lenses only
Detail
Stärken	+The day does not end when the first battery does +Genuine, so the camera recognizes it without fuss	+Fast enough for what the camera actually writes +128 GB without the video-card premium	+Sound from the collar, not from the camera body +You can step to the side	+One hand free when the screen points up +Stands on a table without a big tripod
Schwächen	−The NP-FW50 stays small, even as a spare −Does not fit the A6700 or ZV-E10 II	−One card, one slot. Backup stays your job	−No monitoring. The A6400 has no headphone jack −In the shoe it blocks the flipped-up screen	−Unnecessary for viewfinder stills −The heavy 17–70mm tips it forward
Geeignet für	Any A6400 day that runs longer than a relaxed afternoon.	A normal photo day and short 4K clips.	Speech, when the camera sits on a table and you are not watching yourself on the selfie screen.	Short clips with the kit lens, not as day-one kit.
Wo kaufen	Amazon→	Amazon→	Amazon→	Amazon→

Money that goes into a grip before the second battery is missing exactly when the viewfinder goes dark at midday. The graphic is the order I would finish a used A6400 in.

There is one battery in the box. It is enough for a relaxed afternoon. Once you look through the viewfinder, review pictures and shoot a clip in between, it is empty before the evening light. That is not a fault. That is the size of the NP-FW50. A second, genuine battery belongs with the camera. It is not an “eventually” item.

The larger battery in newer Sonys, the NP-FZ100, does not fit. The A6700 and the ZV-E10 II take that one. If you own both cameras, you cannot swap the packs. Off-brand is cheaper. The remaining time on the screen is often wrong, and at some point the camera switches off while two bars are still showing. The price difference is not worth that.

Buy first

Sony

Sony NP-FW50

The second battery, before the afternoon is over

The A6400 takes the NP-FW50. That is the smaller Sony battery, not the NP-FZ100 from the A6700 or the ZV-E10 II. With the viewfinder, reviewing, and a bit of video, one battery on a travel day is often gone before the light is. A genuine second battery is the first spend you notice every time. Off-brand packs are cheaper and sometimes fussy in the menu. The remaining-time display then lies. I would stay with the original. The price is on the Amazon page.

Was überzeugt

• +The day does not end when the first battery does
• +Genuine, so the camera recognizes it without fuss

Was Du wissen solltest

• −The NP-FW50 stays small, even as a spare
• −Does not fit the A6700 or ZV-E10 II

Editor's Statement

“First, even before the next lens”

Verfügbar bei

Amazon→

The A6400 has one slot. Stills and 4K at 30 frames per second sit at a data rate V30 is meant for. V60 and V90 are classes for cameras that write much faster. On the A6400 you pay for a label the camera never asks for. 128 GB is the practical middle: a day of family or city without changing cards at 4 p.m.

How the classes fit together in general is in the SD card for a camera guide. The short version for this camera: Extreme PRO, 128 GB, V30, write-protect not flipped by accident.

V30 is enough

SanDisk

SanDisk Extreme PRO 128 GB V30

A card that carries stills and the A6400’s 4K

The A6400 writes stills and 4K at 30 frames per second. V30 is the class for that. V60 or V90 is money spent on a label this camera does not use. 128 GB is the point where a normal day does not force a card change in the middle of the light, and the files still fit on the computer in the evening. The card has a write-protect switch. Leave it on the side that lets the camera write. The price is on the Amazon page.

Was überzeugt

• +Fast enough for what the camera actually writes
• +128 GB without the video-card premium

Was Du wissen solltest

• −One card, one slot. Backup stays your job

Editor's Statement

“The card that is enough for photo days”

Verfügbar bei

Amazon→

The internal microphone is enough for a voice memo. For a sentence someone will listen to later, it sounds like a camera and a room. The A6400 has a 3.5 mm jack. If you stand behind the camera and talk, a small cabled mic is the calmer spend. A wireless set pays off when you step aside and the cable would otherwise cross the frame.

Two limits, before the ECM-W2BT is in the cart. The A6400 has no headphone jack. You do not hear live whether the collar is rustling. And the screen flips up, straight into the accessory shoe. With the receiver in the shoe you see yourself poorly on the selfie screen. For “I am filming myself,” the jack on the camera is more practical than the shoe on top.

If you talk

Sony

Sony ECM-W2BT

A wireless mic, once you step away from the camera

The receiver sits in the A6400’s accessory shoe. The transmitter clips to a collar. Between them is radio, not a cable crossing the frame. That pays off when you talk and you are not standing at the camera. If you stay behind it, a simple mic in the 3.5 mm jack is often the more honest spend. The A6400 has no headphone jack, so you cannot monitor live. And the screen flips up, straight into the shoe. With the receiver mounted, you see yourself poorly on the flipped-up display. The price is on the Amazon page.

Was überzeugt

• +Sound from the collar, not from the camera body
• +You can step to the side

Was Du wissen solltest

• −No monitoring. The A6400 has no headphone jack
• −In the shoe it blocks the flipped-up screen

Editor's Statement

“Only once you actually talk”

Verfügbar bei

Amazon→

At the viewfinder you hold the camera with two hands. A grip with a Bluetooth shutter does not change that. It becomes useful when the screen points up and you film with one hand, or when the camera should stand on a table without you unpacking a tripod.

The rocker on the grip only zooms if the lens has a motor and moves in and out by itself. On the A6400 that is the small 16–50. You turn a Tamron or a Sigma by hand, and the rocker does nothing. As a mini tripod the grip holds light lenses. The 17–70mm is heavier than the camera and tips forward. Then the pair does not stand, however firmly you twist the legs.

Optional

Sony

Sony GP-VPT2BT

A grip for filming, not a must for stills

A small grip with a Bluetooth shutter that also folds out as a mini tripod. On the A6400 you normally shoot through the viewfinder. You do not need the grip for that. It becomes useful when you flip the screen up and film with one hand. The rocker only zooms the kit 16–50, because that lens has a motor. You turn a Tamron or a Sigma by hand. As a tripod it holds light lenses. The 17–70mm tips it forward. The price is on the Amazon page.

Was überzeugt

• +One hand free when the screen points up
• +Stands on a table without a big tripod

Was Du wissen solltest

• −Unnecessary for viewfinder stills
• −The heavy 17–70mm tips it forward

Editor's Statement

“Only if video is more than a side job”

Verfügbar bei

Amazon→

One battery, a charger or USB charging depending on the kit, the body cap, often the strap. On a used body the second cap or the charger is sometimes missing. That is a price argument, not a reason to buy a cage.

You do not buy a viewfinder. It is built in. That is why many people take the A6400 instead of a ZV-E10. You do not need a second furry windscreen as long as you barely film. And you certainly do not need an NP-FZ100: it does not fit the compartment.