Nikon L21 vs Sony A6500

Below is a thorough comparison of the Nikon L21 and Sony A6500, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by brands Nikon and Sony. There exists a large gap between the resolutions of the L21 (8MP) and A6500 (24MP) and the L21 (1/2.3") and A6500 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The L21 was unveiled 7 years prior to the A6500 and that is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Nikon L21 being a Compact camera and the Sony A6500 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving through a in-depth comparison, below is a quick view of how the L21 matches up vs the A6500 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Nikon Coolpix L21 & Sony Alpha a6500. The full galleries are available at Nikon L21 Gallery & Sony A6500 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you will need to consider its weight and dimensions. The Nikon L21 has got physical measurements of 92mm x 67mm x 28mm (3.6" x 2.6" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 169 grams (0.37 lbs) whilst the Sony A6500 has dimensions of 120mm x 67mm x 53mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.1") and a weight of 453 grams (1.00 lbs).

Contrast the Nikon L21 and Sony A6500 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have chosen at the time. Here is the front view over all size comparison of the L21 compared to the A6500.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the L21 and A6500 is 93 and 81 respectively.

Typically, it's difficult to see the difference between sensor measurements merely by going over a spec sheet. The graphic below might offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the L21 and A6500.

Clearly, both the cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The L21 with its tinier sensor will make shooting shallower DOF tougher and the Sony A6500 will deliver greater detail having an extra 16 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop photographs a little more aggressively. The older L21 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.