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Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500

Portability
61
Imaging
77
Features
89
Overall
81
Nikon Z6 Mark II front
 
Sony Alpha a6500 front
Portability
81
Imaging
68
Features
85
Overall
74

Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500 Key Specs

Nikon Z6 II
(Full Review)
  • 25MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3.2" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51200 (Push to 204800)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Nikon Z Mount
  • 705g - 134 x 101 x 70mm
  • Launched October 2020
  • Previous Model is Nikon Z6
Sony A6500
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600 (Increase to 51200)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 453g - 120 x 67 x 53mm
  • Announced October 2016
  • Superseded the Sony A6300
Photography Glossary

Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500 Overview

Here is a complete review of the Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500, former being a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by rivals Nikon and Sony. The resolution of the Z6 II (25MP) and the A6500 (24MP) is pretty comparable but the Z6 II (Full frame) and A6500 (APS-C) feature different sensor sizes.

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The Z6 II was introduced 4 years later than the A6500 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Nikon Z6 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A6500 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go straight into a thorough comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the Z6 II scores versus the A6500 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Nikon Z6 II over the Sony A6500

 Z6 II A6500 
AnnouncedOctober 2020October 2016Fresher by 49 months
Screen dimension3.2"3"Bigger screen (+0.2")
Screen resolution2100k922kSharper screen (+1178k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony A6500 over the Nikon Z6 II

 A6500 Z6 II 

Common features in the Nikon Z6 II and Sony A6500

 Z6 II A6500 
Manual focus Dial exact focus
Screen typeTiltingTiltingTilting screen
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500 Physical Comparison

If you're looking to carry your camera regularly, you're going to have to factor its weight and proportions. The Nikon Z6 II has got physical dimensions of 134mm x 101mm x 70mm (5.3" x 4.0" x 2.8") along with a weight of 705 grams (1.55 lbs) while the Sony A6500 has measurements of 120mm x 67mm x 53mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.1") and a weight of 453 grams (1.00 lbs).

See the Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are employing at that time. Here is the front view dimension comparison of the Z6 II and the A6500.

Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500 size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the Z6 II and A6500 is 61 and 81 respectively.

Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500 top view buttons comparison

Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500 Sensor Comparison

Often, it is very difficult to imagine the gap in sensor sizing only by checking out specs. The visual underneath should offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the Z6 II and A6500.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The Z6 II with its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field easier and the Nikon Z6 II will show greater detail using its extra 1MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop photographs much more aggressively. The younger Z6 II should have an edge when it comes to sensor tech.

Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500 sensor size comparison

Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500 Screen and ViewFinder

Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Nikon Z6 II Portrait photography features
Sony A6500 Portrait photography features
86
manual focus
megapixel count amazing (25MP)
big sensor size (Full frame)
has face detection focus
exports RAW formats
80
has manual focus
decent megapixels (24MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
has face detect autofocus
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Nikon Z6 II Street photography details
Sony A6500 Street photography details
78
tilting screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
big sensor size (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
supports focus by touch
weather proof
very good high ISO (51,200)
85
screen tilts up and down
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
saves RAW files
comes with touch to focus
weather sealing
good high ISO (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Nikon Z6 II
Sports photography with Sony A6500
82
high shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count amazing (25MP)
big sensor size (Full frame)
has tracking autofocus
weather proof
supports phase detect auto focus
low battery power (410 shots)
77
silent shutter (1/32,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (24MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
has tracking focus
weather sealing
comes with phase detect autofocus
bad battery (350 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Nikon Z6 II Travel photography information
Sony A6500 Travel photography information
66
weather proof
has bluetooth
supports focus by touch
megapixel count amazing (25 megapixels)
low battery power (410 per charge)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
74
weather sealing
connects via bluetooth
comes with touch to focus
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
built-in flash
bad battery (350 CIPA)
screen isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Nikon Z6 II
Landscape photography with Sony A6500
82
manual focus
change lenses (Nikon Z mount)
nice screen size (3.2")
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count amazing (25MP)
big sensor size (Full frame)
very good high ISO (51,200)
exports RAW formats
weather proof
has double storage slots
low battery power (410 shots)
80
has manual focus
change lenses (Sony E mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (24MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
good high ISO (25,600)
saves RAW files
weather sealing
bad battery (350 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Nikon Z6 II Vlogging features
Sony A6500 Vlogging features
36
touchscreen enabled
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
has face detection focus
good video quality (3840 x 2160 pxls)
comes with external mic port
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
39
has touchscreen
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
has face detect autofocus
high quality video (3840 x 2160 pxls)
does have microphone jack
screen isn't selfie friendly
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Nikon Z6 II vs Sony A6500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Nikon Z6 II and Sony A6500
 Nikon Z6 Mark IISony Alpha a6500
General Information
Brand Name Nikon Sony
Model Nikon Z6 Mark II Sony Alpha a6500
Class Pro Mirrorless Advanced Mirrorless
Launched 2020-10-14 2016-10-06
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor - Bionz X
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Full frame APS-C
Sensor measurements 35.9 x 23.9mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 858.0mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 25 megapixel 24 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 5:4, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 6048 x 4024 6000 x 4000
Max native ISO 51200 25600
Max boosted ISO 204800 51200
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW images
Min boosted ISO 50 -
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points 273 425
Lens
Lens mount Nikon Z Sony E
Available lenses 15 121
Crop factor 1 1.5
Screen
Screen type Tilting Tilting
Screen size 3.2 inches 3 inches
Screen resolution 2,100k dot 922k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution 3,690k dot 2,359k dot
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.8x 0.7x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30s 30s
Maximum shutter speed 1/8000s 1/4000s
Maximum silent shutter speed - 1/32000s
Continuous shooting speed 14.0 frames per second 11.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range no built-in flash 6.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash settings Front-curtain sync, slow sync, rear-curtain sync, red-eye reduction, red-eye reduction with slow sync, slow rear-curtain sync, off Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Rear Sync., Slow Sync., Red-eye reduction (On/Off selectable), Hi-speed sync, Wireless
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/200s 1/160s
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 25p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 24p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 120p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 100p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 60p / 56 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 50p / 56 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 30p / 28 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 25p / 28 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 24p / 28 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Max video resolution 3840x2160 3840x2160
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB Yes USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 705 gr (1.55 lbs) 453 gr (1.00 lbs)
Dimensions 134 x 101 x 70mm (5.3" x 4.0" x 2.8") 120 x 67 x 53mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 85
DXO Color Depth score not tested 24.5
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 13.7
DXO Low light score not tested 1405
Other
Battery life 410 photographs 350 photographs
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2, 5, 10 or 20 secs) Yes
Time lapse recording With downloadable app
Type of storage CFexpress Type B / XQD SD/SDHC/SDXC + Memory Stick Pro Duo
Storage slots 2 Single
Pricing at launch $1,997 $1,298