billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

It does not matter. Buy either but take some courses in basic knowledge of photography. Both camera's can deliver in the right hands. Go on u-tube and view how to use the camera you buy. Or go on U-tube and investigate both BEFORE you purchase. There is a TON of info out there. Again, the camera does not make the photographer.

aflundi Loc: Albuquerque, NM

I love my Nikon DSLRs, but if you can't justify mid-range (Nikon D7000 or Canon 70D) or better, I'd recommend mirrorless. The entry level DSLRs just have too many compromises. The biggest single buggaboo with entry level DSRLs for me is that they don't have focus fine tune, and I've seen too many disappointing photos from them where the focus is off just enough to spoil it. That's not a problem with mirrorless.

Joecosentino Loc: Whitesboro, New York

Rent both and see what one fits your hand the best, see what menu options you like. I rent from. Lensprotogo.com But there are many companies out there

je13quincy

I bought the Sony a6300 on the advise of a professional photographer when I asked her the same question, I absolutely love my Sony, very happy with my decision. I understand that you can get a really good buy on the Sony a6000 now that it's gone to a6300 and a6500. Gook luck.

manpho789

I think mirrorless are the future. The reason is that technology advances rapidly. And eliminating clunky wear-prone mechanical parts is in the interest of both the customer and the manufacturer. If the ergonomics of mirrorless are bad from being too small, that is easily remedied by just making the body a little larger. Manufacturers will sort that out, based on customer response. Since mirrorless is a new technology, it may not be quite mature yet. In time I predict cameras will be both mirrorless and have electronic shutters. Mechanical shutters are another mechanical part that is failure prone, and is expensive to manufacture. The technology already exists for electronic shutters too, and it is only a matter of time before it is ready for prime time.
I realize this doesn't answer your immediate question, but it might help your long term thinking about cameras.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I use Olympus mirrorless cameras and my APS camera is the Nikon D7000. What I have is just slightly different from what you have in mind but for the type of photography that you plan to do both, the a6000 and the Nikon D3300 will do the job.

You want to know the opinion of others regarding one camera against the other and I am sure you will have lots of information from the forum members. Mirrorless are usually smaller, more compact, lighter, more technologically advanced than dSLR cameras. Quality wise they are very good and in the case of the a6000 it has a sensor similar in size to the one you have in your dSLR. The D3300 is pretty small and although not 100% certain I believe the AF is superior to the one in the Sony model specially for action and wildlife photography.

When traveling both cameras should do well since both are small although I cannot say the same about the lenses. dSLR lenses tend to be bigger and bulkier.
When it comes to technology I am sure that the a6000 blows the D3300 out of the water. If you need all that technology is another story.

lamontcranston

I have both cameras and am very well pleased with both of them. The Nikon D3300 is physically bigger and heavier than the A6000 and if that is important to you, I would get the A6000. I enjoy the D3300 when I'm shooting close to home. When traveling or doing street photography I will take the A6000 100% of the time. It is much more compact and less noticeable in the hand. The D3300 is older technology. The A6000 is newer technology and mirrorless is the wave of the future. You can buy a brand new D3300 with the 18-55 kit lens from B&H for $446. You can get the A6000 with the 16-50 kit lens for $648. from B&H. Both are EXCELLENT bargains. I doubt if you could tell the difference in photos from both cameras, but with the advanced technology and the smaller, more convenient size of the A6000, that would be my 1st choice, hands down. You really can't go wrong with either camera. It all boils down to what you are looking for in a camera. Photo quality from both are equally excellent.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1023353-REG/nikon_1532_d3300_dslr_camera_with.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1029860-REG/sony_ilce6000l_b_alpha_a6000_mirrorless_digital.html

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

As if Nikon did not have an absolutely weird hot shoe for years. Not that I'm a Sony fan.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

OP's "interests lay in general family photography, landscape, and macro" Don't know how much ISO 6400 is going to affect these needs.

Tommy II Loc: Northern Illinois

Nice. “Clunky old entry level DSLR”. Not everyone is capable of buying expensive cameras. The person asks a legitimate question, and of course, someone has to make fun of it. Jackass.

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

I have the D3300 (my first DSLR - just upgraded to the D7200) and I can tell you it is a great camera especially for a "beginner" model - has some features in common with the higher end models.

I handled the A6000 series and can tell you that it is a great camera too especially if you are looking to get into the mirrorless arena.

Take both for a "test drive" in the store and see which one fits your needs better. It will really come down to OVF vs. EVF as your preference. The A6000 will be a bit quieter too. I think great kit deals are available for both.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

All of the Sony a6xxx series cameras have an Fn button that gives fast access to the 12 most important menu items. But you can reassign any of the 12 sub buttons, after you realize what the factory default assignments are one is not likely to reassign

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

My best advice to you is to check out Tony Northrup's videos on these cameras.

https://northrup.photo/reviews/cameras/sony/a6000/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ1-lTg6AoQ&vl=en

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9TH1aKAl0U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmWBW8aZSS0&t=12s

Beyond that, I'll mention that my wife uses a D3300 kit with two zooms and case at work. She records videos, photographs products, covers corporate events, and documents processes with it. It works fine, but it is a dSLR, with all those SLR/dSLR annoyances I have hated about the Nikons and Canons I've used since 1968. The viewfinder is dark and mediocre, and the audio monitoring features are, well, non-existent. (I'm not knocking it very hard, here... It makes very nice images and very nice video recordings.) If I were going to buy a Nikon at this price point, I would buy the D3300 instead of the D3400, because the D3300 has a sensor cleaning feature built-in.

The a6000 is a very different camera, a mirrorless. That's a whole different bag of advantages and disadvantages. If I were going to buy a Sony, I would save my coins and get the a6300. It has a lot more refinements.

You should probably check out the very thorough reviews at:

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-d3300
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-alpha-a6000

Personally, if I were to spend under $1000 on a camera and kit lens, I'd buy the Panasonic Lumix G85/G80 with 12-60mm kit lens:

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-g85-g80
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr0uPSOF0jE

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Pretty much what I was going to say. Rent, then you can compare. These choices are usually rather individual.

CatMarley Loc: North Carolina

Before you decide on either one of those two, check out the Fuji XT-20. Handle it, see what it does and how you can change all the variables without menus.