Both Canon M5 and Sony A6500 have APS-C sized 24.0 MP resolution sensors so sensor size and resolution is not a differentiator between these two cameras.
Below you can see the M5 and A6500 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon M5 and Sony A6500 Cameras
As seen above, Sony A6500 has a 1.1x Larger sensor area than Canon M5. 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.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Canon M5 and Sony A6500 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that A6500 has a better overall score of 85, 8 points higher compared to M5's score of 77.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Canon M5
77
23.4 bits
12.4 Evs
1262 ISO
Sony A6500
85
24.5 bits
13.7 Evs
1405 ISO
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Canon M5
or the
Sony A6500 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
