Raw clip 4k sony a6500 review

The Sony a6500 is a faster and more stable version of the Sony A6300 with probably the best image quality and features of any camera in the world. But sometimes a camera needs more than just an awesome spec list so let's take a look at the Sony Alpha A6500 Mirrorless Camera Review

Purchase the Sony A6500: B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon Download the full resolution RAW + JPEG files: Sony A6500 Review Files

Quality/Features With 4k video, IBIS in body image stabilization, 11fps RAW bursts, great low light performance, log video, and a host of other options, it's easy to see why the A6500 is one of the best cameras around beating both mirrorless cameras and the best DSLR cameras from Canon & Nikon. The image quality is probably the best of any APS-C camera currently available and there is nothing else that even comes close for video quality. On the feature side, the A6500 is so packed that the most difficult thing is navigating the menus (which thankfully have improved) and setting up the endless customizable options. The focus system is snappy and accurate with tons of flexibility and control. Unfortunately, the touch AF is not as snappy and I found it extremely unreliable. Focusing in video is also amount the best around but the lock on AF feature I use the most which locks on your subject and follows them around the frame does not work while shooting 4k video. Another amazing part of the A6500 is the shooting speed. With 11fps shooting, I picked off over 200 RAW shots before thing started to slow down. You can even view your images when righting to the card! The result is a camera that felt at home no matter what I was shooting.

Hardware

The small size is great for portability and saving space and the grip is nice enough to support most larger lenses. We do have quite a few dials & custom buttons but many other cameras like the Panasonic G85 also have on screen buttons which the A6500 doesn’t use. Unfortunately, we are missing a front dial and the back scroll wheel just doesn’t have the tactile feel of a higher end camera. The screen while it does have up/down articulation, it is almost useless on a tripod, doesn’t flip to the front for self-shooting, and unfortunately is very dim while shooting 4k video. It is now touch enabled for focusing (no scrolling through playback or navigating menus though) but I find it extremely laggy and it often does not respond to my touches. The camera seems built well though but it just never quite feels tough. We are still missing a headphone jack which may be forgivable but the battery life is still dreadful with no battery grip option to extend it. Thankfully, it can be charged over USB.

Overall

I still have a love/hate relationship with the Sony A6500. When it comes to features and quality, the camera is simply second to none. It offers the ultimate performance for the price and I am confident that it will remain the leader for years to come. Unfortunately, there are some extremely frustrating aspects to this camera when it comes to ergonomics, the touch interface, overheating with long 4k video recordings, lack of F2.8 zoom lenses, some missing AF options for video shooting, and deplorable battery life. While none of these issues are by themselves non-starters (except possibly overheating), they do take some of the wind out of Sony’s Sails and as someone who has used a variety of different camera systems, it leaves me torn. The A6500 is not my favorite camera to use and is not particularly fun to shoot with compared to other systems. But if quality, performance, and portability are high on your list, the Sony A6500 is still the camera to beat.

You may also like: Fujifilm X-T2 Review | Sony A6300 Review | Panasonic G85 Review

Check prices on the Sony Alpha a6500 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama, or Wex. Alternatively get yourself a copy of my In Camera book or treat me to a coffee! Thanks!

Sony Alpha A6500 review

• 30th November 2016
• Written by

In depth

• In depth
• Quality
• Samples
• Verdict

The Sony Alpha A6500 is an upper mid-range mirrorless camera with a 24 Megapixel APSC sensor, built-in stabilisation, touchscreen, 4k video and a powerful AF system that’s perfect for action shooters. Announced in October 2016, it comes only eight months after the A6300, but doesn’t replace it. The A6300, and indeed the A6000, remain on sale, but the A6500 becomes the new flagship APS-C e-mount body.

Externally the A6500 shares almost the same flat-topped weather-proof body as the A6300, but deepens the grip, enlarges the shutter release and adds a third Custom button. Like the A6300 you can compose with an XGA OLED electronic viewfinder or a 3in / 920k dot screen that can tilt up or down. Sadly the screen still can’t angle forwards to face the subject – so useful for vlogging as well as selfies – but in an important upgrade, the A6500 screen finally becomes touch-sensitive, allowing you to tap to reposition the AF area or pull-focus while filming.

Another major upgrade is built-in five-axis sensor-shift stabilisation which Sony claims is good for five stops of compensation. Like the A6300, the A6500 sports 425 embedded phase-detect AF points and 11fps continuous shooting (or 8 with live feedback), but thanks to a new front-side LSI, you can shoot longer bursts of over 20 seconds. There’s also 4k video up to 30p and 1080 up to 120p. Meanwhile the built-in Wifi / NFC is now complemented by Bluetooth to maintain a low-power link with a smartphone to embed GPS positions as you shoot. It’s the most capable APS-C body from Sony to date, but is it right for you? Find out in my in-depth review where I’ve compared it against key rivals from Olympus, Fujifilm and Sony itself!

Sony Alpha A6500 video review / podcast

In the video below, Doug Kaye and I discuss everything you need to know about the Sony Alpha A6500! I also have an audio podcast of this discussion below, or you can subscribe to the Cameralabs Podcast at iTunes.

Check prices on the Sony Alpha a6500 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama, or Wex. Alternatively get yourself a copy of my In Camera book or treat me to a coffee! Thanks!

Sony Alpha A6500 design and controls

Externally the Sony A6500 looks a great deal like its predecessor, the A6300, sharing the same flat-topped body shape and essentially the same control layout. Sony has made a number of worthwhile physical upgrades though: the grip is now noticeably deeper and features a slightly indented inner area for your finger-tips, making it more comfortable to hold; there’s also a new LCS-EBG body case which deepens the grip further, while making the body slightly taller, which should prevent your little finger from dangling. Meanwhile the addition of a new Custom button on the top surface as well as a wider diameter shutter release are both welcome, but it’s the touch-screen which really makes the biggest difference for day-to-day shooting – and I’ll come to that in a moment.

Like the A6300 before it, the A6500 enjoys sealing against dust and moisture. I didn’t get a chance to use the A6500 in bad weather, but I have shot with the A6300 in drizzle and had it splashed with no issue. Sony describes both as enjoying similar sealing to the A7 series.

Ergonomically the deeper grip certainly improves the comfort over the earlier A6300 and A6000, and it’s easy to hold comfortably and securely even with a hefty full-frame lens on the front. For the record, the body measures 120x67x53mm and weighs 453g with battery, making it shorter than most cameras which feature a built-in viewfinder, although like its predecessor this has necessitated the use of a shorter 16:9-shaped screen, more of which later.

I personally prefer the style of cameras with central viewfinder humps, like Sony’s full-frame A7 series, and I also prefer their ability to deploy 3:2 or 4:3 shaped screens, but there’s no denying these bodies are taller as a consequence. It’s also worth mentioning the A6500 is only barely thicker than its predecessor and just 50g heavier despite now including built-in sensor-shift stabilisation – an impressive achievement.

The A6500’s controls are identical to the A6300 other than a wider shutter release button, a third Custom button on the top of the body and of course the touchscreen. As such the A6500 inherits the twin control dial system of the A6300, both operated by thumb: one in the upper right corner and the other a small flat wheel on the rear which also tilts to provide four-way navigation.

Controls are always a personal thing, but I’m not particularly fond of those on the A6000 series. The one at the top is too stiff and the one on the rear surface too small, more suited to a compact camera. In my view these bodies would really benefit from having twin dials on the top surface, one operated by your finger and the other by your thumb, and ideally I’d want them to be larger and more tactile too: clicking with positive feedback. Companies like Olympus, Fujifilm, Canon and Nikon do this best in my opinion and adopting a similar approach would transform the day-to-day operation of the A6500.

In better news, there’s plenty of customization available: you can configure any of the three C custom function buttons with no fewer than 67 options, along with changing the default function of the Centre, Left, Right and Down buttons, in addition to the Focus Hold and switchable AEL / AF-MF control.

Better still, the screen is now touch-sensitive, an upgrade I’ve been requesting for years. It’s so nice to finally be able to tap to reposition a single AF area, or to pull-focus while filming movies – much faster than tapping the rocker control. Here’s an example video I filmed with the FE 85mm f1.4 with its aperture wide-open, tapping to pull-focus between the near and distant subjects. The depth of field here is very shallow which, coupled with the close distances, makes for a big challenge for the AF system, but as you’ll see, the A6500 does a great job. For me, the combination of a confident focal-plane phase-detect AF system with a touch-screen is one of the joys of modern photography and videography.

Download the original file (Registered members of Vimeo only). Sample movie filmed with a final production Sony Alpha A6500 in 4k / 24p using the Standard Creative Style and with Picture Profiles Off; I filmed with the Sony Zeiss 24mm f1.8 in Manual exposure mode at f5.6 and 6400 ISO.

Does Sony A6500 shoot RAW?

RAW & JPEG:This is suitable when you need 2 image files, a JPEG for viewing, and a RAW for editing.

Is Sony A6500 good for filmmaking?

While the Sony a6500 is by no means a perfect camera, it does have some fantastic features. At its center is a 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor. Additionally, it has in-body stabilization, shoots 11fps (frames per second), and captures 4K video up to 30p.

Does the Sony A6500 shoot 4K video?

The A6500 can record UHD 4K video at 24, 25 and 30fps, and full HD or 1080P at up to 120fps. And this is really impressive for a small, mirrorless camera.

Does Sony A6500 crop 4K?

Sony A6500 review – Video4K video is shot at a crop of 1.23x, while Full HD movies shot at 120p and 100p employ a 1.14x crop. All other video modes use the entire width of the sensor.