Video: Sony a6500 First Look

For some users they will never get it right.

What excactly is wrong with the A6500?

Nothing to complain about. ;)

Don't worry.

In about 8 months, the A6700 will tell us.

M Jesper: So new models means that there is something wrong with the previous? Guess what! I don't have the latest model, but my camera still serves me well. And I find it just great that there are even more capable models available when I evenually will upgrade. :-)

"It can't select an AF point AND take a picture at the same time" I don't think it is true. I have the A5100, and it has brilliant touch-to-shoot, touch-to-magnify (even during video recording), touch to (smooth or fast) pull focus features. I simply cannot believe that the A6500 wouldn't have the excellent touch functions of the A5100. Honestly, I don't care touch-menus. The A5100 touch-screen is brilliant, BUT, no GPS, no 4K, no USB3, ...

Samsung Galaxy Camera is what You need))

Come on dude just because you do something different doesn't mean everyone will like it :P

Sounds like a Leica T.
Not as advanced otherwise though.

I have seen this a lot lately, maybe the same person with different handles I don't know. But the NEX interface had big icons with a touch screen - It was AWFUL and everyone was happy when they moved away from it. Icons are not all that exists in a smartphone UI either, for setting within the OS or Apps there is almost always a menu, unless the App is very very simple and designed to essentially do one thing. Is that what you want form a camera? Funny how professional software applications still use pull down menus, kiddy toy 'apps' are the only ones that don't. It's a design paradigm that's only been around since the first GUI's, but hey, smartphonesss are way better!

Icons aren't as space efficient as menus. Once you know where things are, icons also become cumbersome. But hey, if you want icons, you want icons.

he's not serious, he's just kidding.

The efficiency of icons is that I have just the 'right set of icons' for me on the 1st two pages of my phone. And so do you. I don't care what you think is the right set, and you don't care what I think is the right set. We get to have it, 'our own way.' And yes, it should also have the ability be menu driven if you want it that way. However, what is in the menus should be controlled completely by each user. Let each of us customize the interface to our liking.

@abort:
At no space-time in this universe did I suggest doing 'AWFUL'. But since you missed it I'll be explicit: Sony: Make an icon-based interface for your cameras by copying every nuance that is applicable from the touch interface of iPhone and Samsung phones. Use that as the base. Following that base, build it out to be as good for cameras as iOS and Android are for phones.
NEW Ground: Open the app store to all developers. Let the camera become app friendly. Let developers show us what these cameras can really do. Name this new OS, SonyCameraOperatingSystem, SCOS.

Worst idea ever.

@abort:
OK. I understand. I respect your opposition to my ideas. No problem.
But I would also appreciate your laying out a comprehensive solution for the way forward from your point of view.

@NoMirror99- you forgot to add, "document it in a written report on my desk by 8am tomorrow morning."

Eastern time: lol

Yes. You can enter playback and instantly check focus at 100% on whatever the last shot that was written to your card when you hit 'magnify' (or 'playback') was.

This is a huge improvement over what you might experience with, say, the a7R II.

But the card write speeds still aren't as fast as what you'll get with, say, a Nikon D5 or Canon 1D X II, so you likely won't be checking focus on your last shot of a burst instantaneously :)

So the LSI is having no effect on read speed?

Complaining about price has nothing to do with been poor. It's funny, you think you're rich because you can buy a $1400 camera. We're not talking about Lamborghini. Pretty much anyone with a little saving can buy this. People complain because they wish it had more options for the money. My case, full touch screen control that sony refuses to implement.

If you are used to your phone, I guess it is a real handicap.

No. I'm used to normal advancement. I don't take pictures with my phone, but no touch screen was the reason I sold my Rx10 II and a6000, it is also the reason i bought as GX85 despite lower picture resolution. I'm not a professional but I just don't get why sony refuses to put something on a camera that it is so easy to turn off, just like I can on my gx85, but never do.

I also think it is a great camera, one of the best in the aps-c market.... but lately sony has added wonderful features in their latest FF and mirrowless cameras, then i would like to see a a77 mark3 with the lastest features, 4k, keep the 12fps and an improved AF system, and more sony lenses for this model.

35/1.8 and 50/1.8 aren't really cheap...

Hi Hippo84, no I don't know how much these menus have actually improved. I think the jury is still out. EOSHD was sceptical, but maybe it has improved to an acceptable level.
Those two primes are not exactly cheap, nor are they compact. An even greater problem is getting zooms that are compact, fair-priced AND deliver an appropriate IQ for the sensors. What is the use of these excellent sensors when you mount such a mediocre zoom?
I am not comparing with the EOS-M series, and I do not know a lot about them, but I am comparing Sony's offering with M43 and Fuji. In both systems you don't run into the same flaws. Their ecosystem is simply much, much better. I would hope Sony will understand the need to address these issues. A lot of Sony buyers, who started with initial enthousiasm, later on felt let down by these limitations.

@Lucas1964... when you said "What is the use of these excellent sensors when you mount such a mediocre zoom?", I completely agree with you. I originally bought into the NEX system (5T), now have the a6300 and I'm still waiting for upgrades to my two kit lenses. But, I am not willing to buy the extremely expensive, heavy, huge GM or FE FF lenses Sony is offering for increased IQ. Sony needs to offer new or improved native zoom lenses to it's customers who bought into their APS-C E-mount system. As much as I like my new camera, I am very disappointed in the support (new or improved lenses) it deserves :(

This camera is meant for Sony FF users looking for a lightweight backup. Sony doesn't give a rip about APSC as far as the entire system goes. All their investment is going into full frame.

"Those two primes are not exactly cheap, nor are they compact."

What are you talking about? Cheap compared to what? Peanuts? Yes, they are expensive compared to peanuts. They are pretty cheap compared to the rest of the mirrorless market, certainly at a 'normal' level.

And as far as size...

http://camerasize.com/compact/#629.411,691.410,679.596,ha,t

http://camerasize.com/compact/#691.87,629.93,679.457,ha,t

There is definitely something wrong in enumerating flaws without any explanation. What problems does Sony have with color science? Do you honestly believe they are hesitant in this field while at the same time they make excellent sensors everybody else uses? And the rant about menus is very subjective. They are just some menus with options, they don't prevent you taking good pictures. You could say the same about Olympus or Canon, it's a matter of preference, and they work fine in all cases.

I saw videos with A99-2 menu(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-botz4mFVI). It has to be similar with A6500 menu.

pacnwhobbyist, I am afraid that you may be right, and that's a shame. Many photographers do not need a FF for everyday shooting. I like to take a camera with me when I walk in nature, or when I visit a city etc. Under normal light conditions, FF is not necessary for me and the bulk and weight is a real obstacle for me. That's why APS-C (and M43) really matters to me (and many others). Strange that Sony doesn't take that market seriously. Using FF lenses on the A6500 seems ridiculous to me because of the huge crop, the terrible bulk, and the spilling of IQ that was heavily paid for...

@dccdp: You are right in saying that colour-science is hihgly subjective, but are you yourself content with Sony colours? Most owners I have spoken to say that they consider the JPG's unusable, and that they have to work hard on the RAWs to get natural colours. Those who are heavily into video seem to have an even harder job in getting natural results. Is your experience different?

@lucas1964 - My experience IS different. I find the later Sony colours (probably from A7S onwards) to not only be very natural, but to actually be far more natural than 'famous' colours on Canon and Fuji, especially Fuji. They are more muted, so I think people find other brands colours more 'pleasing' with their extra wow and 'pop' depending on what palette they happen to prefer. I find the Sony colours to be quite cinematic, which are normally more muted than the bright and shiny of stills and in the past have had to turn down the saturation on many brands of camera. I found my later Fujis (past the X100 which had lovely colour) to produce awful colours under artificial light especially. But maybe their users attribute 'colour science' to 'film simulations', I don't know. My Canon's can be quite lovely with skin tones but often makes everything look muddy IMO without a lot of tweaking. I think some people find them so natural to be 'boring'.

"non-nonsensical", now I'm perplexed. I was going to use the word "irregardless" but felt my sarcasm would be lost on those same trolls. If someone can't enjoy the camera they own and have to troll this site to get satisfaction that's their problem. There is no "DPR Most Strongly Opinionated Award".
I'm excited by the prospect of getting a discounted A6000, either on Amazon( now -$50 in checkout) or ebay. The rest is background noise.

And I'm excited for IBIS on APS-C with the A6500. The A7Rii is phenomenal with it.

For full frame, the A7 Mark 3 is going to be a speed demon when announced imo. No FF mirrored camera will be able to compete with the LSI tech and not having to move that mirror in each shot.

I taste a little throw up in my mouth every time I read the words "Deal Breaker" in the comments section.

You've never read YouTube comments? Idiots on parade is the scorge of anonymity.

Paid trolls are a thing now. Fuji is leading the pack.

Really perplexing Rishi? What is perplexing is hyping new camera models that haven't been tested yet in DPR pre-views by just repeating marketing information of the manufacturer, combined with unsubstantiated positive assumptions and hyperventilating superlatives. It not only makes it hard to take DPR seriously, but DPR is actually encouraging and triggering these flame wars by doing so. Where did objectivity and factual information go?

Perhaps you're mistaking my smiling on camera with 'hyping'? We don't repeat marketing information (well, except in press releases). We provide our perspective on what's new based on our previous testing and first impressions having briefly used the new products. Consider that because we spend every day testing pretty much every camera, we have a pretty good idea about how to quickly assess certain aspects of camera performance. That's why, for example, we were excited over Dual Pixel AF's promise on the 5D IV, yet not enthused about its iTR performance, stating that it underperformed relative to the camera's own DPAF and competitors.

The 'hyping' was well-controlled and reserved for features that actually performed, & we're as equally critical about things that don't impress; e.g. in the recent Sony coverage, we criticized: lack of 'My Menu', lack of proper subject tracking (Lock-on) in video, excessive rolling shutter at 4K/24p...

Did you actually read our content?

DME is not being unreasonable. The APS-C lens-lineup is still lacking on Sony's end. However, the same could of course be said of Canon and the EOS M5, with its incredibly lackluster lens lineup.

Canon's saving grace there might be its EOS EF-M adapter - which appears to work quite well with Dual-Pixel AF on the M5 - however, even then your APS-C lens lineup is incredibly limited, in general, with Canon.

It's almost an industry-wide thing: do you make a maybe somewhat smaller APS-C prime, or just have it cover full-frame? Especially when there are diminishing returns in reducing size/weight at the cost of image circle at certain focal lengths... so many manufacturers just end up making the FF lens.

Save for Fujifilm, of course, because they've got nothing to lose: they have no FF format. Hence, you have a wonderful APS-C lineup with Fujifilm.

Vscd: Sure! Many demand so much from their cameras, and so little from themselves! Being able to make great photograhs on demand takes quite some talent and a lot of training - and also knowing the gear more than just having a certain brand. ;-)

@vscd:
Night time shots. High ISO performance, or the ability to handheld at slow shutter speeds thanks to IBIS.

"And which photo can only be made with an A6500 which can't be made with a 10 year old Canon 5D"

My $500 two year old Sony A6000 outperformed my 10 year old $3,200 Canon 5D in every way! And it sounds like the A6500 is even better. Anything over ISO 1,200 on the 5D was very noisy, with poor shadow and highlight detail and long shutter lag.

But there are also pictures you could never take with the A6000 but with a 5D and 85L for example ;) Newer gear helps of course, but I think quite few people should not only jump from spec to spec but just use more books and go into the field. By the way, the noise from the 5D is on par with the A6000 up to ISO1600, and only because then the Canon ends there. Check DXO for that.

Why? Because it's true. I just picked an example where the fullframe would excel, regardless of the age. Sorry for interrupting you with facts. I'm not saying it's the overall better cam, but there are many aspect where the usecase is on the 5D or any other old Fullframe. And a good photographer could do more with a 5$ exposable filmcam than a bad one could do with a Sony A6500. That's nothing new. So, what's you point here? I think we both know that.

@vscd
My old Nikon D700 (which I bought for something like £2000) had no IBIS, no video, weighed a brick, had all sort of focus mis-alignment issues when shooting with fast lenses. Also at 12mpx there was very little crop-ability if I needed it (not that most Nikon lenses have much more resolution anyway). Also the weight and size (along with large lenses) meant I couldn't take it all the places I needed to and ended up having to carry a 2nd compact. I think you're looking back with rose tinted glasses if you can't see the advances that have taken place over the years.

I suppose it depends on how you feel about the camera.
.
"What Am I Gonna Do with You"

OR

"Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up"

OR

"You're the First, the Last, My Everything"

The unhappy people are those who recently bought the A6300, and is past the return time to get their full money back.

Actually they seem to be mostly Canon users. There isn't a single post by an A6300 user who wants his money back. Why would there be? The A6300 is a brilliant camera.

BBQue, the a6300 was kind of "BBQ" due to overheating and other issues.
Sony will keep making new camera like they make new television sets, they are a consumer electronic company NOT a camera company.

A6300 was delayed due to lack of competition. Like A6300 the currently announced A6500 is just a respond to Fuji and Oly newcomers, and Sony just had to decide if to response now or still wait. Sony currently has 3 APS-C bodies that range in price and functions - all we have is to chose from.

c45: "Sony will keep making new camera like they make new television sets, they are a consumer electronic company NOT a camera company."

That's total BS and does not become truer through repetition. Buy a dinosaur with a flapping mirror then from a "real camera company", hahaha....

"they are a consumer electronic company"
Canon is a printer, monitor, calculator company, so what?
Don't You know, that there are several independent divisions at Sony?

ZeevK, " A6300 was delayed due to lack of competition .... "
Wow, this one is a candidate for Nobel price.

Really? When I was a Canon shooter the forums were full of people complaining about their slow updates and product cycle times. Sony speed it up and people like you complain because they bring innovation to market quickly.

This many not apply to you c45, but many stupid people on these posts have not woken up to the fact that our camera market is in very rapid decline. We are being eaten alive by phones. the only solution is rapid innovation within the enthusiast segment. Pros don't want new cameras every few months.

Sorry, but so many ill informed or worst still ill motivated posts on here.
Rob

CaPi: "We don't need this".

CORRECTION: You don't need this. Go buy something else then.

@Interestingness

You absolutely doesn't understand how AF systems of mirrorless cameras work. No cross-type? Please name one, just one mirrorless camera with cross-type focus points. How many of them does Canon EOS M5 have?

Hippo, The E-M1 Mark II has 121 cross-type focus points. And that's a camera in the same price range as this A6500.

@Thor:
The EM1 MkII is a Vaporlogical camera. If it materializes, then we can check the specs.

Lol, both making up excuses.

@Hippo84 - "It's a camera with 1.5-times smaller sensor"

Can't argue with sensor size, sensor size is sensor size BUT it's also a camera with some amazing lenses to offset that. Fast AFFORDABLE 1.4 and 1.8 primes and 2.8 zooms are par for the course in m4/3's land. Here is Canada, the Oly 25 and 45/1.8's are $399.- regularly on sale and you can get the Pana 35-100/2.8 and the Oly 12-40 for around $1000.- or just a little over that if you look hard enough. I rarely see Sony's offerings on sale here.

Lets see, if I want e35mm in 1.8 I could get a Oly 17 for ~$550.- or the Sony at 24mm at $1400.- !!! If you want to play equivalency police we're talking 3.6 vs 2.7 - is that worth $900.- to you? At e35mm, is 2/3's a stop going to make or break your photo's on a consistent basis? If it is, maybe FF is the way to go for you.

I'd run out of space coming up with all the better m4/3's lenses but I will say this - a system is more than a sensor - without glass you're holding it back.

Buy a Leica T then - now that is ONE BEAUTIFUL CAMERA. Sony takes better pictures of course, but who cares :)

Silly post anonymous 'person' - the a6000 was one of the biggest selling ILCs of all time and this is essentially the same.

New processor can potentially reduce heat. We will see.

It's funny how it overheats for unknown posters with no posting history on forums but when professional testers like Richard Butler or the Cinema5D guys test it it doesn't. I wonder why that is.

@Jun2 - Good point...but I will wait and see...
@ RubberDials; Wait a sec. I thought both Richard and the Cinema 5D guys both recognized the potential for the A6300 to overheat. I believe Richard is in Seattle and the Cinema 5D review is based on interview recordings...neither setting was really challenging the camera in terms of ambient temperatures...Yet, both reviews mention the potential for overheating and need for further testing...something you may have missed...somehow...

It overheats or it has the potential to overheat - which is it? Richard shot and edited a movie for his local craft brewery (good choice :)) with it and didn't overheat. You can read about it here https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-a6300/7

That's the standard - can you make a video with it using the video function, not screwing it to the Mercury rover and shooting back to back 29 minute clips. You know that you can make standalone video-cameras overheat, right?

I've had my old 1ds mk2 overheat shooting stills, mind it was 42.c in Sri lanka at the time.... we get the 5dmk3 heating up something fearce on long shoots.... yesterday I did a job using our a6300 shooting car to car with several 20 minute shots almost one after the other... at 120fps... and i never even felt it getting warm.

I don't buy into this overheating malarkey... just sayin.

Hey snapa try to look at the price difference between the M5 and A6500 and stop being glued to dxo. Try to take some real photos!!

160th and 1/4000th shutterspeed.

Thats poor for a 1400 dollar camera.

Hippo84

I hope you are aware that the term 1/32000 electronic shutter speed is a marketing term for actually saying.

1/32000th readout time per line.

The actual shutter speed of the electronic shutter is NOT 1/32000th of a second but 4000 x 0,00003125 => 0,125 second.

So 1/32000th is actually 0.125 shutterspeed.
Hence the image artifacts that occur and rolling shutter effect that is clearly visibly when using the electronic shutter.

The electronic shutterspeeds mentioned (by all brands by all means) are a pure lie until we get a global shutter.

Don't let yourself fooled by marketing.

Yes, you can easily take thousands of images in burst mode even on p&s cameras with tiny batteries. A6300 can do thousands, so A6500 would at least do the same.

@joe_leads
Yes, and if *you* understand how mirrorless cams work you can drain the batterie while looking through the viewfinder without taking *any* picture at all. Just wait 4 hours for the bird to arrive. Mirrorless *IS* essentially worse with batterylife by design. It not their strength (other features are...)

@ vscd:
Two things come to mind: 1. Would you consider turning the camera off while waiting for the birds? 2. If you must have the camera on, use one of the many external batteries available dirt cheap.

@NoMirror99 (Fanboyname?)
1.) No I wouldn't turn of the cam, because I wouldn't see anything
2.) ...and then the weightadvantage was how big? Ah, I see.

I own mirrorless cams and like them but I also own DSLRs and know where to use which specific cam on which specific job. Please STOP the "mirrorless is better" nonsense. A sportscar is not better than a truck, it's just another approach for doing a different job.

3. use a dslr and look through the viewfinder for an unlimited amount of team without using any power.

@vscd:
At no time did I say or suggest that 'mirrorless is better.'

But I will suggest that you lighten up.

@PV,
STOP sugar coating it! lol

sony also has to improve the "look".

i don´t know why and it´s sure a personal opinion but the RAW files out of my canon cameras look more pleasing to me.

that´s one of my main concerns with sony at the moment.

the a6000 i use sure has a nice sensor.
but when i do landscapes i like the look of my canon cameras better.

sure you can try to tweak the colors .. but why should i have too?
with canon i barely have to do work on the individual colors. exposure, highlights, shadows yes. but i barely have to touch the individual colors.

it´s hard to explain. but for example when i photograph a forest the greens from the canon look more pleasing.
nothing i would complain about when i only see the sony image...but when i compare images i notice it.

@BBQue

The price point of the A6500 puts it in immediate competition of the A77/A7II and even the original A7R.

And Sony wants you to buy overpriced full frame lenses to use on APS-C anyway so you're going to pay out the wazoo for lenses anyway.

The now dead Samsung?

>>> "The now dead Samsung?"

No.

https://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Sony-A6300-versus-Samsung-NX1-versus-Sony-A6000___1072_976_942

SONY and Nikon are as good as you can get.

It's not waterproof, not even splash proof. It just has dust and mositure resistance according to Sony.com:
"This camera is designed for optimal dust and moisture resistance, but is not waterproof or splashproof. For FE lens only."

Have fun with your warranty claim and Sony's world famous customer support in case it dies taking photos in the rain...

yeah sony support sucks.