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Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500

Portability
86
Imaging
54
Features
76
Overall
62
Olympus PEN E-PL8 front
 
Sony Alpha a6500 front
Portability
81
Imaging
67
Features
85
Overall
74

Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL8
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 357g - 115 x 67 x 38mm
  • Announced September 2016
  • Previous Model is Olympus E-PL7
  • Newer Model is Olympus E-PL9
Sony A6500
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600 (Bump to 51200)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 453g - 120 x 67 x 53mm
  • Announced October 2016
  • Succeeded the Sony A6300
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Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500 Overview

Lets look closer at the Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a huge gap among the image resolutions of the E-PL8 (16MP) and A6500 (24MP) and the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and A6500 (APS-C) feature totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL8 was introduced at a similar time to the A6500 which means that they are of a similar generation. Both the cameras offer the identical body type (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before getting straight into a in depth comparison, below is a short view of how the E-PL8 grades versus the A6500 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL8 over the Sony A6500

 E-PL8 A6500 
Screen resolution1037k922kCrisper screen (+115k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony A6500 over the Olympus E-PL8

 A6500 E-PL8 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL8 and Sony A6500

 E-PL8 A6500 
AnnouncedSeptember 2016October 2016Same generation
Manual focus Very accurate focus
Screen typeTiltingTiltingTilting screen
Screen sizing3"3"Equivalent screen measurement
Selfie screen Neither has selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500 Physical Comparison

In case you're aiming to carry around your camera, you will want to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL8 has outside measurements of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") and a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) while the Sony A6500 has proportions of 120mm x 67mm x 53mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.1") having a weight of 453 grams (1.00 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you choose during that time. Following is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL8 and the A6500.

Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL8 and A6500 is 86 and 81 respectively.

Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it can be hard to see the contrast in sensor sizes simply by seeing specs. The image below will help provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL8 and A6500.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-PL8 having a smaller sensor will make shooting shallower DOF more difficult and the Sony A6500 will produce greater detail using its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop shots far more aggressively.

Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-PL8
Portrait photography with Sony A6500
72
you can focus manually
good megapixels (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
has face detection focus
supports RAW formats
80
you can focus manually
good resolution (24 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
has face detection autofocus
delivers RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 Street photography features
Sony A6500 Street photography features
84
has a tilting screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
offers touch focus
good ISO range (25,600)
85
tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
supports focus by touch
weather proofing
great ISO range (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 as a Sports photography camera
Sony A6500 as a Sports photography camera
67
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good megapixels (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
has tracking autofocus
has no phase detect auto focus
77
quiet mode (1/32,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good resolution (24 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
has tracking autofocus
weather proofing
supports phase detect autofocus
not so great battery life (350 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 as a Travel photography camera
Sony A6500 as a Travel photography camera
71
offers touch focus
good megapixels (16MP)
display is not selfie friendly
74
weather proofing
has bluetooth
supports focus by touch
good resolution (24 megapixels)
built-in flash
not so great battery life (350 per charge)
display isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 Landscape photography information
Sony A6500 Landscape photography information
80
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
good ISO range (25,600)
supports RAW formats
79
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Sony E mount)
nice screen size (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good resolution (24MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
great ISO range (25,600)
delivers RAW files
weather proofing
not so great battery life (350 per charge)
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 as a Vlogging camera
Sony A6500 as a Vlogging camera
35
touchscreen enabled
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
has face detection focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
display is not selfie friendly
lack of external microphone jack
39
built-in touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
has face detection autofocus
high res video (3840 x 2160 pixels)
comes with external microphone support
display isn't selfie friendly
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Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony A6500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL8 and Sony A6500
 Olympus PEN E-PL8Sony Alpha a6500
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha a6500
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Advanced Mirrorless
Announced 2016-09-19 2016-10-06
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic VII Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 24MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4608 x 3456 6000 x 4000
Highest native ISO 25600 25600
Highest enhanced ISO - 51200
Minimum native ISO 200 100
RAW support
Minimum enhanced ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 81 425
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Number of lenses 107 121
Crop factor 2.1 1.5
Screen
Type of display Tilting Tilting
Display size 3" 3"
Display resolution 1,037k dots 922k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359k dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.7x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Fastest quiet shutter speed - 1/32000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 8.0 frames per sec 11.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range no built-in flash 6.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes no built-in flash Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Rear Sync., Slow Sync., Red-eye reduction (On/Off selectable), Hi-speed sync, Wireless
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video data format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 357g (0.79 lbs) 453g (1.00 lbs)
Dimensions 115 x 67 x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") 120 x 67 x 53mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.1")
DXO scores
DXO Overall 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 350 photos 350 photos
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom) Yes
Time lapse recording With downloadable app
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC card SD/SDHC/SDXC + Memory Stick Pro Duo
Card slots 1 1
Price at release $500 $1,298