Impressions from Sony a6500. Review of the premium Sony α6500 system mirrorless camera with APS-C sensor and in-camera stabilization Sony 6500 photos taken by the camera

Sony ILCE-6500 replaced its successful predecessor so quickly that many users did not even have time to appreciate the advantages of the previous model and began to be indignant: the manufacturer did not think about them who bought the Sony ILCE-6300! Those who are dissatisfied can be understood: the new product (one year old at the time of publication of this material) was only 8 months younger than its older (only in age) sister. But on the other hand, these negative emotions were caused by ordinary envy: after all, the Sony ILCE-6500 received the most desired thing that its “big sister” lacked - in-camera image stabilization.

Introduction

The manufacturer unites all mirrorless camera models with interchangeable lenses into the ILCE line (Interchangeable Lens Camera with E mount, that is, “camera with interchangeable lenses of E mount”). The adjective “mirrorless,” according to marketers, hints at a lack, inferiority, since the prefix “without” itself declares the absence of something. In our opinion, this far-fetchedness was simply transferred without any national adaptation from the English-speaking world, in which it is probably mirrorless and “does not sound proud.”

In our country, it seems, this does not cause any unwanted associations. Nobody calls these cameras “system”; the term “mirrorless” continues to be used - obviously because the first term sounds ambitious, like a slogan, and does not reflect the essence of the main classification feature - the actual lack of mirror.

The data presented in the table above makes it possible to conclude that the Sony α6500 has a modern sensor, extensive capabilities for controlling photo and video shooting and irreplaceable qualities: hybrid phase and contrast autofocus, as well as in-camera image stabilization.

Technologies, design, construction, menu

The manufacturer calls our product a “premium camera” and, it should be noted, has every reason for this.

Sensor

The Exmor image sensor has 24.2 million effective pixels. This is the maximum that mirrorless cameras with APS-C matrices offer today.

A traditional type sensor is used with a layer of conductors placed on top of photodetectors (front “backlight”). However, the conductors themselves are located more compactly within the layer.

Thanks to this structure, the conductors “cut off” light to a lesser extent on its way to the photocathode layer, and more of it enters the light-receiving cells than with conventional matrices. This makes it possible to increase the light sensitivity of the Sony α6500.

The dynamic range of the sensor is 13.7 exposure stops - this is a very impressive figure, especially for APS-C matrices - and operating ISO values, according to the same source, reach 1400.

Five-axis stabilization

The Sony α6500 differs from its predecessor and most other full-frame “mirrorless” cameras from other manufacturers in that it has an in-camera five-axis image stabilization system based on sensor movement.

It serves to compensate for vertical and horizontal shifts that occur when hands shake, as well as rotations and deviations of the camera relative to the main optical axis. The efficiency declared by the manufacturer is 5 exposure levels, which is slightly ahead of promises optical stabilization in the best modern lenses and allows the Sony α6500 to compensate for shake when working with unstabilized optics, created not only for this camera, but also for any other mirrorless, DSLR, rangefinder and medium format systems, including those compatible with the Sony E mount only using adapters.

Hybrid autofocus

Previously, mirrorless systems used contrast autofocus, which has no alternative in the world of smartphones. Contrast detection is the only thing that can be implemented without the need to place special sensors of another kind on the sensor itself or even install a separate AF matrix. Our ward has implemented a much more effective combined system.

Hybrid autofocus should be fast and accurate, performing well in low-light conditions and when shooting high-contrast scenes.

Device and control

	Front view. The most noticeable detail is the polished flange of the Sony E mount. At 4.5 o'clock to the left of it, the lens release button protrudes from the housing. The handle for holding the camera is large, with a good profile for the fingers. The shutter button, power lever and front control wheel are in the usual places, your fingers immediately fall where they need to be.
	Back view. The most noticeable parts are, naturally, the display and viewfinder. Above the screen on the right are buttons for ejecting the built-in flash, calling up the menu and a combined button for exposure memory and switching the focus mode from automatic to manual. The ends of the main shooting mode selector and the control wheel are visible from above. The remaining controls surround a four-way joystick combined with a selector dial and central select button.
	View from above. Closer to the center there is a hot shoe, which has full functionality, and a built-in flash. To the right of them you can see the main shooting mode selector and control wheel, programmable buttons C1, C2 and C3, as well as the most important thing - the shutter button and the rim of the camera shutdown lever that hugs it.
	View from below. Here, as expected with a classic layout, there is the minimum necessary: ​​a standard tripod mount with a ¾ thread and a compartment cover for the battery and memory card. The tripod's removable contact pad does not block access to this compartment and allows you to replace the power source and memory card without removing the camera from the tripod.
	View from the left (in relation to the display). There is a hatch for access to the wire connectors, covered with a plug.
	If you open the compartment cover on the left, under it you will find Micro-USB 2.0, Micro-HDMI (Type D) connectors and a jack for connecting an external microphone.

The vertical-motion curtain-slot shutter allows you to work out automatic shutter speeds from 30 to 1/4000 s. We do not have direct indications of the guaranteed number of its operations.

We thank Sony for providing the camera and lenses for testing.

Advantages

Comfortable and durable body
Integrated Image Stabilizer
Excellent picture quality
Ultra HD video recording mode
Clear viewfinder and flip-out display
Fast autofocus
Fast and long continuous shooting

Flaws

Slow SD card slot

• Price-quality ratio
  Fine
• Place in the overall ranking
  8 out of 70

• Price/quality ratio: 74
• Image quality (40%): 92.8
• Equipment and management (35%): 86.7
• Performance (10%): 90.8
• Video quality (15%): 90.2

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Sony Alpha 6500: test of a powerful DSLM camera with an APS-C format matrix

Not everyone will be happy about the appearance of the Sony Alpha 6500: only about six months have passed since the previous model was introduced to the market, and now the title of the manufacturer’s top DSLM model passes to its successor.

First of all, this may anger those buyers who just bought a device that suddenly ceased to be top-end.

But are there really serious reasons to reason in this way? In the end, the innovations here can be listed on the fingers of one hand, and they relate, first of all, to equipment and speed.

But the premium for the new Sony Alpha 6500, which is 20,000 rubles (the price of the camera without a lens is 120,000 rubles), attracts attention much more. Pointing out that for this amount you will get a new model of the 6000 series does not necessarily make the device significantly better. Consequently, some stakeholders may be wondering: Is it worth it, generally speaking? Absolutely right! But not for everyone.

Sony Alpha 6500: finally with stabilization

Undoubtedly, the main innovation is the presence of an image stabilizer. To put it in more detail: the integrated 5-axis stabilizer compensates for micro-shake of the camera even when used with lenses without the Optical SteadyShot system. In practice, this means being able to use 4.5 stops higher exposure when shooting handheld. During the test, the Alpha 6500 with a 50mm lens continued to produce sharp images even at a shutter speed of 1/20 second. Test photos in full resolution can be found in the photo gallery at the end of the material.

Sony Alpha 6500: suitable for camera operators

Videographers should also warmly welcome the appearance of image stabilizer. Finally, clear and detailed Ultra HD recordings at 30 frames per second will look "quiet."

This will also be facilitated by the ability to get rid of camera shake when the user presses buttons. The Sony Alpha 6500 is the manufacturer's first DSLM camera to feature a flip-out 3-inch high-resolution touchscreen display. This makes it much easier to achieve soft focus transitions during continuous video recording.

However, Sony still has some room for improvement here. Apart from the ability to switch between 399 focal points, the touch display does not have any other comfort functions. Viewing a photo gallery using swipes, enlarging photos, or even just navigating the menu using familiar gestures is not about the Alpha 6500. An update is required software! And it's a little surprising. After all, the Alpha 6500 is the second camera after the Alpha 99 II to which Sony has implanted a revised and visually better structured menu.

The coprocessor, christened with the name "LSI", first of all, increases the speed of work. On the one hand, its presence is evident in the short start-up time (1.1 s) and extremely fast autofocus with its maximum 0.3 s. On the other hand, it has a significant impact on burst shooting: while the fast pace with its approximately 11 frames per second is quite consistent with the 6000 series, the duration of the “burst” here is quite serious. Only after at least 240 JPEGs or a good 110 compressed RAWs will the Sony Alpha 6500 camera ask for a break. These characteristics are already quite close to those of a DSLR “sport machine gun”.

Sony Alpha 6500: Temperature-reducing SD card

Where Nikon's competitor is clearly superior to the Sony Alpha 6500 concerns, first of all, the capabilities of the built-in SD memory card slot. On the one hand, its location in the same compartment with the battery deserves criticism, on the other hand, the data transfer speed.

Anyone who uses the maximum possible burst length will be forced to wait more than a minute before the entire “queue” is saved on the card. However, there is a small consolation - the ability to view the footage before saving it to the gallery.

However: as in the case of the Alpha 99 II, the recording speed is incomparably slow with the overall high speed of the device. In short, the time has come for support for UHS-II cards, because despite meeting all standards, the Sony Alpha 6500 requires a UHS-I Class 3 SD card when recording 4K video at 100Mbps data transfer rates.

Sony Alpha 6500: First-class picture quality

Still, enough grumbling, as the Alpha 6500 is one of the best models the APS-C market currently has to offer. Much of the credit for this goes to the image quality. 24 megapixels at minimum ISO provide clear and mesmerizingly detailed “full-format” level images.

Structures high resolution, extremely sharp lines, low-noise surfaces: images look amazingly good. We measured the clarity of contours at a level of 1885 linear pairs per frame height, confirming this visual impression.

Also pleasing is the detail, which remains high up to ISO 3200 - it is even slightly better than the previous model. Of course, there are questions about the occasional slight blurring of the image, as a result of which noise in the image becomes noticeable at 100% zoom, starting at ISO 3200. Still, overall this is a very good result!

The equipment makes an equally convincing impression. It all starts with high quality and weather resistant weather conditions The body is made of magnesium alloy, which, with its 453 grams of weight, is pleasantly light and at the same time comfortable. WLAN, NFC and, for the first time, Bluetooth for receiving GPS data from a smartphone have found their place on board, as well as a jack for an external microphone and two wheels for adjusting aperture and shutter speed.

Particularly good is the electronic viewfinder with a high-resolution OLED panel and 0.7x magnification, which boasts not only a pleasantly large size, but also a surprisingly smooth image thanks to a refresh rate of 100 frames per second. The only negative is that the high performance of the viewfinder vigorously drains the battery. The battery can last from 230 to 480 shots, being in this regard - in contrast to the maximum 110 minutes of video recording - rather a weak average.

It can be better. And cheaper. Approximately 120,000 rubles (for a camera without a lens) is already serious. However, with the Alpha 6500, buyers will get a best-in-class DSLM camera. However, those who can refuse the touch display and image stabilization system can choose a much cheaper, also first-class model.

Sony Alpha 6500: alternative

For those who are looking for a camera based primarily on their budget, we recommend paying attention to the leader in price-quality ratio in the DSLM and DSLR camera categories. Right here we will show you the leaders for this characteristic. All DSLM and DSLR cameras we have tested, sorted by price-quality ratio, will show.

1.

Image quality (40%)

: 88.1

: 98.3

: 82.3

: 15.8 megapixels

: 17.3 x 13 mm

Overall rating: 87.9

Price/quality ratio: 100

2.

Image quality (40%)

: 84.1

: 92.5

: 83.3

: 15.8 megapixels

: 17.3 x 13 mm

Overall rating: 85.2

Price/quality ratio: 95

3.

Image quality (40%)

: 89.8

: 74.5

: 70.8

: 24.0 megapixels

: 23.5 x 15.6 mm

Overall rating: 80.1

Price/quality ratio: 89

Sony Alpha 6500 test results

Characteristics and test results of Sony Alpha 6500

In a family without SLR cameras Sony Alpha with E-mount mount replenishment - the α6500 camera has been announced, which is an improved version of the α6300 model, which was released in February of this year. Externally, compared to the α6300, the new product has practically not changed, most of the characteristics also remain the same. The most noticeable improvements are in the built-in stabilizer and camera controls.

The Sony α6500 is based on a 24.2-megapixel APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor with copper interconnects and 4D Focus hybrid autofocus, using 425 phase detection points and locking on the subject in 0.05 seconds. The BIONZ X processor and an auxiliary LSI chip are responsible for image processing, one of the tasks of which is to reduce noise at high ISO values. By the way, the sensitivity range of the matrix is ​​ISO 100-51200.

The continuous shooting speed is 11 frames per second (or 8 frames per second with refocusing and exposure metering for each frame), and thanks to the use of a larger buffer, the camera can take over three hundred shots per burst. The manufacturer's guaranteed time between failures of the shutter mechanism is 200,000 operations. The minimum shutter speed is 1/4000 s.

One of the most important features of the Sony α6500 is a five-axis matrix shift stabilization system with an efficiency of up to 5 exposure levels. Another innovation is that the model’s display is now touch-sensitive, and with its help, in particular, you can select the focus point. Moreover, its diagonal is 3 inches, resolution is 921,600 pixels, and the rotating design allows you to tilt the screen up by 90° or down by 45°.

Other specifications of the Sony α6500 include support for 4K video recording using the XAVC S codec at up to 25 frames per second, Super 35 mode, OLED XGA Tru-Finder electronic viewfinder, S-Log3 and S-Log2 profiles, and the presence of built-in wireless transmission adapters Wi-Fi and NFC data.

Sales of the Sony α6500 will start in November, the retail price of the new product will be $1400.

Detailed descriptions technical characteristics Sony a6500 is available on the official websites Sony.ru, Sony.ua, Sony.com, on which the camera is positioned from ‘The palm-sized all-around all-star’ to ‘Pocket professional camera’.

Main differences from the a6300 model:

1. The a6500 is a newer model, introduced in November 2016, while it was introduced 8 months earlier (in February 2016)
2. The a6500 received a proprietary stabilization system built into the camera. The a6500 can compensate for 5 types of camera movements. It is stated that the effectiveness of the stabilizer reaches 5 levels! The a6500 stabilizer works wonderfully. An indication of the focal length for manual lenses is provided. Thus, with the a6500 you can use the stabilizer with any lens.
3. the a6500 now has Bluetooth
4. The a6500 has a touch display, using it you can, for example, set a focus point or focus area. At the same time, you cannot navigate through the menu using touches and other usual actions.
5. The a6500 has slightly redesigned controls (another programmable button has been added) and a redesigned menu.
6. the a6500 has increased by about 5 times! Can be removed approx. 100 frames in one series in RAW format!
7. The a6500 uses the same sensor as the , but with an additional LSI chip that helps produce better images at high ISOs, a larger buffer, and better video quality. I did not notice any significant increase in noise reduction.
8. The a6500 has the ability to shoot Full HD at a frame rate of 120 fps, which makes the effect of slow motion (Slow Motion) possible.
9. The a6500 uses a new shutter rated at 200,000 clicks (that's only 5 hours of continuous operation at 11 fps). It's a pity that the minimum shutter speed was left at 1/4000.
10. other little things have been changed or added, for example, overheating control, additional settings, the ability to save 8 MP images from 4K video, etc.

Sample photos

Examples of photographs from this camera can be viewed (and/or downloaded their sources) in lens reviews and.

My experience

Overall, the Sony a6500 is good camera/video camera with huge potential. Overall I'm delighted with modern technologies. Only the focusing system and some lags in the controls left a residue.

The '4D Focus' technology that it uses has shown itself very well with the kit lens. The same technology is used in the Sony a6500 camera, but when used with lenses, no miracles happened. Focusing speed depends on the capabilities of the motors and the operating logic of the lenses; in the general case, there is no need to talk about high speed. All these ‘‘ are just dreams of marketers. Worst of all, focusing tenacity is on par with ancient SLR cameras.

Usually with SLR cameras everything is simple - in the vast majority of SLR cameras, except for some renegades like Canon D30 / D60, the central phase focusing point is cross-shaped. In difficult shooting conditions, such a point is a kind of panacea - turn it on and get accurate and fast focus. With the Sony a6500 this “trick” does not work. In any focusing mode and with any focus areas/points, getting the camera to focus where I want is not always possible.

The Sony a6500 often clings to the background (the background), ignoring the subject being photographed. In general, working with a central focusing point on something is much more convenient and comfortable for me because of the more confident focus tenacity and unambiguous focusing on the object at which the camera was pointed. Why 11 fps and a 300 frame buffer if everything is out of focus? Why 425 phase focusing points if with three points the focus is much more tenacious? Perhaps I had some negative experience with the camera and the specified lenses, many other reviews praise the focusing of the Sony a6500.

Still, there are positive aspects of focusing - its accuracy.

Prices

Real prices for the Sony a6500 camera can be found in the online catalog or.
In comments Can I ask you a question on the topic and to you they will definitely answer, and you can also express your opinion or describe your experience. To select photographic equipment, I recommend large catalogs, for example E-katalog. A lot of little things for photos can be found on Aliexpress.

All Sony E mirrorless cameras with APS-C sensor

• NEX-3, NEX-C3, NEX-F3,
• , NEX-5N , NEX-5R , NEX-5T
• NEX-6, NEX-7
• a3000, a3500
• a5000, a5100
• a6000, a6100, a6400, a6600

All Sony E lenses for APS-C

1. 20mm f/2.8 (black/silver)
2. 50mm f/1.8 OSS (black/silver)
3. (black/silver)