Sony Alpha A6500 Detailed Review

In additional Alpha A6500 was introduced by Sony in October 2016. It belongs to the Mirrorless Cameras category.

Sony is well-known and shouldn’t require further introduction, please see our manufacturer’s page for more digital cameras by Sony.

Also Alpha A6500 has a APS-C CMOS sensor with size of 24 x 16 mm² (0.93″ x 0.61″).

Picture of Alpha A6500’s sensor compared to popular format.

The 1-Euro coin has a diameter of 23.25mm.

Note: APS-C sensors made by Sony are slightly larger than those from other manufacturers.

The Alpha A6500’s sensor has resolution of 24 megapixel.

The Sony supports taking images in RAW. RAW images are stored as they come from the sensor, without any in-camera processing or sharpening. Converting to JPEG or other formats takes place on the computer, using software like Adobe Lightroom or Sony’s RAW converter. This involves one extra processing step but almost always results in superior image quality. Some filters, like converting to monochrome (black and white) will only yield decent results when used with RAW images.

The Alpha A6500 features a mechanism for automatic sensor cleaning.

The Alpha A6500 uses an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 2.36 megapixel, an excellent value for a viewfinder like this which makes the camera a joy to use.

The magnifcation is c. 0.70x, an above average value for an electronic viewfinder.

The Alpha A6500’s shutter speed varies from 1/4000s to 30s.

The Alpha A6500’s sensitivity goes from 100 ISO und 25600 ISO, a very useful and practical range.

The Alpha A6500 supports all general exposure modes.

The Sony allows spot exposure for the difficult occasion.

The Alpha A6500’s auto focus processor uses 425 AF points (or sensors). A basic rule of thumb says that the more AF points you have, the better. More AF points mean a better chance to have a point at the location of interest in a scene, a big plus in challenging situations (e.g. when panning the camera).

Manual focus is also possible with the Sony, a plus in tricky situations or for some creative freedom.

The Alpha A6500 has a built-in flash with a diapason of up to 6m (20 ft.). That range will fit for almost all occasion.

The Alpha A6500 display has a diagonal of 75.00mm (3.0 inches.) and a resolution 0.92 megapixel.

The camera display is intended for selfies or other occasion.

Display parameters:

Alpha A6500 video supported the resolution with 3840 x 2160 pixel.

Also the camera is equipped with an external microphone.

Sony Alpha A6500 Video parameters:

The Alpha A6500 has Wifi connectivity already built-in. Use Wifi to transfer images to a smartphone or computer and to remote control the camera. With NFC, camera and smartphone can be paired without the need for passwords.

For photo transferring users may use Bluetooth option.

Eventually, if the wifi connection is disabled the wired connection may be used.

Typical for Sony, the camera supports device specific apps that can enhance the functionality of the camera and that can be downloaded from the internet..

Connect the Sony to a monitor or TV set over HDMI.

The Sony supports USB 2.0.

Connection parameters:

The camera will accept all common SD HC and SD XC cards. Sony MemorySticks can be used, too.

Memory cards characteristics:

The Sony Alpha A6500 has a NP-FW50 LiIon battery. The battery provides a shooting life of 350 shots. It`s enough for one day or more.

The battery can be charged over USB while in camera. Very useful, especially on vacation when most people bring a USB charger for their smartphone anyway.

The Alpha A6500’s battery battery parameters:

The Sony Alpha A6500’s size is 120 x 66.9 x 53.3mm³. (4.7″ x 2.6″ x 2.1″). That dimensions are without lens. The weight of camera is 4.7″ x 2.6″ x 2.1″ grams (453 oz.) without lens weight.

Here is front and top view of the Alpha A6500:

To put the size of the camera in context, here it is next to a typical ID card (c. 86mm x 55mm, about the size of a credit card).

The Alpha A6500 is not much bigger: