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Sony A6500 vs Sony A7 III

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Sony A6500

24 MP | APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) CMOS Sensor

Sony A6500
$1,298.00
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Sony A7 III

24 MP | Full frame (35.8 x 23.8 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor

Sony A7 III
$1,998.00
Sony A6500 vs Sony A7 III Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two Mirrorless cameras by Sony. Both cameras have 24.0MP sensors but Sony A6500's sensor is APS-C sized whereas Sony A7 III has a Full frame sensor. This will be an interesting match up as even though these two cameras doesn't have the exact same body type, they are both ranked amongst Top 10 cameras in their classes. Sony A6500 is ranked #7 out of 38 Semi-Pro Mirrorless cameras with an overall score of 81 whereas Sony A7 III is ranked #0 out of 30 Pro Mirrorless cameras with an overall score of 92.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Sony A6500 and Sony A7 III before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Sony A6500 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2016-10-06
  • 24MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 25600 ( expands to 51200)
  • Sony E Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3″ Tilting Screen
  • 2359k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 11.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 453g. 120 x 67 x 53 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Sony Alpha a6300 Compare

Sony A7 III Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2018-02-27
  • 24MP - Full frame BSI-CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 51200 ( expands to 50-204800)
  • Sony E Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3″ Tilting Screen
  • 2359k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 10.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • 120 fps High-Speed Video
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 650g. 127 x 96 x 74 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Sony Alpha 7 II Compare
Reasons to choose Sony Alpha a6500 over Sony Alpha A7 III
Built-in Flash Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Continuous Shooting 11.0fps vs 10.0fps 1 fps faster
Weight 453 g vs 650 g 197 g lighter
Price $1,298 vs $1,998 $700 cheaper
Reasons to choose Sony Alpha A7 III over Sony Alpha a6500
Max ISO 51.200 vs 25.600 100% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points 693 vs 425 268 more focus points
Max Shutter Speed 1/8000s vs 1/4000s faster shutter speed
Battery Life 610 shots vs 350 shots 260 more frames with a single charge
Headphone Port Yes vs No better video control
Viewfinder Resolution 2359.296k dot vs 2359k dot 0% higher resolution
Color Depth 25.0 vs 24.5 higher color depth
Dynamic Range 14.7 vs 13.7 higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO 3730 vs 1405 better High ISO performance
Sensor Pixel Area 35.50µm2 vs 15.28µm2 132% larger pixel area
Bluetooth Yes vs No Connect your camera to other devices via Blueetooth
Storage Slot 2 vs 1 Extra storage slot
Support for UHS Memory Cards UHS-II vs none Read/Write in Ultra High Speeds
Common Strengths of Sony Alpha a6500 and Sony Alpha A7 III
Wireless Connection Yes vs Yes Better connectivity
Image Stabilization Sensor-shift vs Sensor-shift All the lenses are stabilized
Articulating Screen Yes vs Yes Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
Touch Screen Yes vs Yes Easy control of camera functions
Viewfinder Yes (Electronic) vs Yes (Electronic) Better framing and control
RAW Support Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Max Resolution 24 MP vs 24 MP Bigger prints and more details
LCD Screen Resolution 922k dots vs 922k dots Higher resolution screens
Continuous Shooting 11.0fps vs 10.0fps Fast shooting speeds
Microphone Port Yes vs Yes High quality audio recording option
Environmental Sealing Yes vs Yes shoot at tough conditions
AE Bracketing Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
NFC Connection Yes vs Yes Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices
Smartphone Remote Control Yes vs Yes Remote control your camera with a smartphone
Common Weaknesses of Sony Alpha a6500 and Sony Alpha A7 III
Sony A6500 vs Sony A7 III: Physical Specs Comparison

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony A6500 and Sony A7 III. Sony A6500 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 7mm narrower, 29mm shorter and 21mm thinner than Sony A7 III.

Sony A6500 vs Sony A7 III Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A6500 and Sony A7 III.
Sony A6500 vs Sony A7 III Camera Size Comparison - Top View

Sony A6500 vs Sony A7 III Detailed Size Comparison

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Sony A6500 is significantly lighter (197g ) than the Sony A7 III which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since Sony A7 III has a Full frame sensor and Sony A6500 has a smaller APS-C sensor, Sony A6500's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Sony A7 III lenses.

Weight Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

A6500
A7 III
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

A6500
A7 III
Min
Average
Max
Sony A6500 vs Sony A7 III: Sensor Comparison

Both Sony A6500 and Sony A7 III have 24.0 MP resolution sensors but Sony A6500's sensor is APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) and Sony A7 III's sensor is Full frame (35.8 x 23.8 mm ).

Since Sony A7 III's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Sony A6500.

Below you can see the A6500 and A7 III sensor size comparison.

Sony A6500 vs Sony A7 III Sensor Size Comparison


As seen above, Sony A7 III has a 2.3x Larger sensor area than Sony A6500. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

What types of Photography are Sony A6500 and Sony A7 III Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A6500 and Sony A7 III for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Sony A6500 for Portrait Photography

EXCELLENT

Sony A7 III for Portrait Photography

EXCELLENT
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Sony A6500 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Sony A7 III for Street Photography

EXCELLENT
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.8 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Sony A6500 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Sony A7 III for Sports Photography

EXCELLENT
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Fast Continuous Shooting: 11.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
425 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
693 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 610 shots
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Read the details

Sony A6500 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Sony A7 III for Daily Photography

EXCELLENT
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
453g
Body Thickness 53mm
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.8 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
650g
Body Thickness 74mm
Read the details

Sony A6500 for Landscape Photography

GOOD

Sony A7 III for Landscape Photography

GOOD
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details


Sony A7 III vs Sony A6500 Comparison of Available Lenses
Which camera has more lenses?

Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. Both Sony A6500 and Sony A7 III have 83 native lenses available but be careful that since Sony A7 III has a full frame sensor, only 46 of these lenses can cover the full frame sensor of A7 III.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Both Sony A6500 and Sony A7 III has Sensor based Image stabilization which means that all the lenses will be stabilized in these bodies.

Lens Type # of Sony A6500 Lenses # of Sony A7 III Lenses
Standard Zoom 9 9 (7 Full Frame)
Standard Prime 13 13 (5 Full Frame)
Wideangle Zoom 4 4 (3 Full Frame)
Wideangle Prime 27 27 (14 Full Frame)
Telephoto Zoom 6 6 (5 Full Frame)
Telephoto Prime 10 10 (7 Full Frame)
SuperZoom 8 8 (1 Full Frame)
Wideangle Fisheye Prime 1 1 (0 Full Frame)
Macro Prime 4 4 (3 Full Frame)
Perspective Control Prime 1 1 (1 Full Frame)
Telephoto Mirror Prime n/a n/a
TOTAL 83 83 (46 Full Frame)
Sony A6500 vs Sony A7 III: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Sony A6500 and Sony A7 III, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Sony A6500 and Sony A7 III scores compare:

Sony A6500
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #8 out of 114 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #61 out of 1131 in all Cameras
Sony A7 III
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #0 out of 49 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #0 out of 1131 in all Cameras

Sony A7 III has a higher Overall Score thanks to its better image quality and more features compared to Sony A6500. On the other hand the Sony A6500 beats Sony A7 III in two significant areas: Value for Money and Compactness.
If you are a price conscious buyer and looking for a small and relatively low priced camera where you can take everywhere with you, Sony A6500 is the right choice for you.
If you are after the better photographic performance with all the advanced features, definitely get the Sony A7 III

Sony A6500
Sony A6500
$1,298.00

Sony A7 III
Sony A7 III
$1,998.00

Sony A7 III vs Sony A6500 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Sony Alpha a6500 Sony Alpha A7 III
Brand Sony Sony
Announced 2016-10-06 2018-02-27
Body Type Rangefinder-style mirrorless SLR-style mirrorless
Price $1,298.00 $1,998.00
Sensor
Type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Size APS-C Full frame
Dimensions 23.5 x 15.6 mm 35.8 x 23.8 mm
Area 366.60mm2 852.04mm2
Megapixels 24 megapixels 24 megapixels
Max Resolution 6000 x 4000 6000 x 4000
Max Native Light sensitivity 25,600 ISO 51,200 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity 51200 ISO 204800 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 100 ISO 100 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity - 50 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 425 693
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Sony E Sony E
Number of Available Lenses 83 83
Screen
Type Tilting Tilting
Size 3″ 3″
Resolution 922k dots 922k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution 2,359k dots 2,359k dots
Viewfinder Coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.7 0.78
Photography Features
Max Shutter Speed 1/4000s 1/8000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization Sensor-shift Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 6.00 m (at ISO 100) no built-in flash
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 11.0 fps 10.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 3840 x 2160
Video Formats MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Yes Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 453g 650g
Dimensions 120 x 67 x 53mm 127 x 96 x 74mm
Battery Life 350 shots 610 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording With Downloadable App
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 85 96
DxO Color Depth 24.5 25.0
DxO Dynamic Range 13.7 14.7
DxO Low Light ISO 1405 3730
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