Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Nikon D500 - Camera Comparison

Comparison of the Sony Alpha a6500 and the Nikon D500

Sony Alpha a6500
79 points
Nikon D500
87 points
Sony Alpha a6500
Sony Alpha a6500 ✭ Camspex.com
67 mm
120 mm
BODY
Nikon D500
Nikon D500 ✭ Camspex.com
115 mm
147 mm
2016
YEARYear of announcement
2016
Magnesium alloy
BODY MATERIAL
Carbon fiber reinforced plastic with magnesium alloy chassis
Weather
sealed
WEATHER SEALING
Weather
sealed
Sony E
LENS MOUNT
Nikon F
200 000 cycles
SHUTTER LIFEThe shutter durability as rated by the manufacturer.
200 000 cycles
453 g
1 lb
120 x 67 x 53 mm
4.7 x 2.6 x 2.1 in.
DIMENSIONS
& WEIGHTLength x Height x Width and the Weight incl. batteries and memory card
DIMENS.
& WEIGHTLength x Height x Width and the Weight incl. batteries and memory card
147 x 115 x 81 mm
5.8 x 4.5 x 3.2 in.
860 g
1.9 lb
Sony Alpha a6500
Nikon D500
24.2 MP
Sony IMX284 Exmor CMOS APS-C Sensor
SENSOR The number of effective megapixels (MP). Sensor manufacturer (if known) and sensor type.
SENSOR Sensor manufacturer (if known) and sensor type.
20.9 MP
Sony IMX321 Exmor CMOS APS-C Sensor
24.2 MP
EFFECTIVE MEGAPIX The number of effective megapixels (MP).
20.9 MP
23.5 x 15.6 mm
SENSOR SIZE
23.5 x 15.7 mm
6000 x 4000 pixels
MAX. RESOLUTIONMaximum still image resolution
MAX. RESOLUT.Maximum still image resolution
5568 x 3712 pixels
1.5x
CROP FACTORA 50mm lens on a camera with a crop factor of 1.5x would behave like a 75mm lens on a full-frame camera with a crop factor of 1x (50mm x 1.5 = 75mm)
1.5x
Bayer array
COLOR FILTER
Bayer array
3.91 μm
PIXEL PITCHThe center-to-center distance between two pixels (photosites) on a sensor. The larger the photosites, the more light they can capture and the lower is the level of visible "noise" in captured images.
4.2 μm
Fixed
LOW-PASS FILTERA low-pass filter blurs fine details of an image to eliminate the moiré and the color artifacts of finely patterned structures. Without a low-pass filter images will appear sharper, but there is also a risk of moiré occurring in certain scenes.
None
3:2
NATIVE
ASPECT RATIOThe width to height ratio of the "straight out of the camera" images. However, most modern digital cameras are capable of producing images in various aspect ratios.
ASPECT RATIOThe width to height ratio of the "straight out of the camera" images. However, most modern digital cameras are capable of producing images in various aspect ratios.
3:2
Sony Alpha a6500
DXOMARK
SENSOR
SCOREAnalysis of the camera image quality by dxomark.com
Nikon D500
85
OVERALL SCOREDXOMARK Sensor Overall Score shows a camera's sensor quality in terms of noise, ability to render high contrast, formation of colored noise, ability to shoot in low light.
84
24.5
COLOR DEPTHThe color depth performance (DXOMARK Portrait Score) in bits
24.1
13.7
DYNAMIC RANGEThe maximum dynamic range performance (DXOMARK Landscape Score) in exposure value (EV)
14
1405
LOW-LIGHT ISOThe low-light sensitivity performance (DXOMARK Sports Score) in ISO sensitivity value
1324
Sony Alpha a6500
Nikon D500
COVERAGE:
100 %
REAL SIZE:
0.70
VIEW­FINDERThe viewfinder frame COVERAGE in percent and the real viewfinder SIZE (VF magnification corrected by the crop factor of a camera — this way cameras with different sensor sizes can be compared).
COVERAGE:
100 %
REAL SIZE:
0.67
Electronic (2 359 296 dot OLED)
VF TYPE
Optical (pentaprism)
Articulated
 921 600 dot LCD
REAR SCREEN
Articulated 
2 359 296 dot LCD
3 inch
SCREEN SIZE
3.2 inch
LIVE VIEW & TOUCH SCREEN
No top LCD panel
TOP LCD PANELLCD panel on top of the camera which provides information about the current camera settings.
camspex.com — Top plate LCD — Nikon D500
Sony Alpha a6500
Nikon D500
Hybrid detection
AUTOFOCUS SYSTEM
AF SYSTEM
Phase detection, Contrast detection in Live View mode
AUTOFOCUS MODULE
AF MODULE
Multi-CAM 20K
425 (phase)  
169 (contrast)
425
 (phase)  
169
 (contrast)
FOCUS POINTSAutofocus points
as shown in the figures below:

° linear sensors
° cross-type sensors
° dual cross-type sensors
contrast autofocus areas
153
153
0
CROSS-TYPE FOCUS POINTS
CROSS-TYPE FP
99
camspex.com — Autofocus system — Sony Alpha a6500
-1
EV

100

The minimum exposure value of the AF working range (at 23°C and ISO 100). The smaller this value, the less light is needed for normal autofocus operation.
-4
camspex.com — Autofocus system — Nikon D500
81 %
AF COVERAGEFrame coverage by AF sensors in percent.
49 %
None
IN-BODY
AF MOTORAn in-body AF motor gives the ability to auto-focus with older lenses which don't have their own motors.
Yes
5-axis sensor shift
IN-BODY IMAGE STABILIZATION
IMAGE STABILIZ.
No
Sony Alpha a6500
Nikon D500
BIONZ X CXD4236
IMAGE
PROCESSOR
EXPEED 5
14 bit RAW, JPEG
OUTPUT FORMATS
12 or 14 bit RAW, TIFF, JPEG
Auto, 100 - 25600
(can be extended to ISO 51200)
ISO SEN­SITIVITY
Auto, 100 - 51200
(can be extended to ISO 50, 1640000)
11
fps
CONTINUOUS DRIVEMaximum frames per second (fps) in continuous drive mode when using the mechanical shutter.
CONT. DRIVEMaximum frames per second (fps) in continuous drive mode when using the mechanical shutter.
10
fps
233 JPEG shots
107 RAW shots
MAX. BURSTMaximum number of shots in high-speed continuous drive mode until the buffer is full.
200 JPEG shots
79 RAW shots
2160p @ 30 fps (4K)
MAX. VIDEO RESOLUTION
VIDEO
2160p @ 30 fps (4K)
-5/+5 EV  (in 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps)
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
EXPOSURE COMPENS.
-5/+5 EV  (in 1, 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps)
Bulb,
 
30 sec → 1/4000 sec
SHUTTER SPEED Maximum and minimum possible exposure time in seconds.
Bulb, 
30 sec → 1/8000 sec
Sony Alpha a6500
Nikon D500

X-SYNC:
1/160
GUIDE
NUMBER:

GN:
6
BUILT-IN FLASH
No
built-in
flash

No
flash

X-SYNC:
1/250
Yes
HOT SHOE
Yes
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB
USB 3.0 (5 Gbit/sec)
Microphone port, HDMI
CONNECTIONS
CONNECT.
Microphone port, Headphone port, HDMI
BUILT-IN
DEVICES
SD, SDHC, SDXC (UHS-I compatible), Sony Memory Sticks
STORAGE TYPES
SD, SDHC, SDXC (UHS-II compatible), XQD
1
CARD SLOTS
2
310
shots
BATTERY LIFEMaximum number of images that can be shot per single battery charge (according to CIPA).
1240
shots

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