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Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A6500

Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
26
Overall
32
Olympus VG-160 front
 
Sony Alpha a6500 front
Portability
81
Imaging
67
Features
85
Overall
74

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A6500 Key Specs

Olympus VG-160
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 125g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Introduced January 2012
Sony A6500
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • 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
  • Introduced October 2016
  • Replaced the Sony A6300
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Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A6500 Overview

Below is a thorough comparison of the Olympus VG-160 and Sony A6500, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Advanced Mirrorless by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a substantial gap among the sensor resolutions of the VG-160 (14MP) and A6500 (24MP) and the VG-160 (1/2.3") and A6500 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor size.

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The VG-160 was introduced 5 years prior to the A6500 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus VG-160 being a Compact camera and the Sony A6500 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving through a in-depth comparison, below is a quick overview of how the VG-160 scores against the A6500 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VG-160 over the Sony A6500

 VG-160 A6500 

Reasons to pick Sony A6500 over the Olympus VG-160

 A6500 VG-160 
IntroducedOctober 2016January 2012More recent by 57 months
Focus manually More exact focus
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution922k230kCrisper display (+692k dot)
Touch display Easily navigate

Common features in the Olympus VG-160 and Sony A6500

 VG-160 A6500 
Display dimension3"3"Identical display size
Selfie screen Neither contains selfie screen

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A6500 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to lug around your camera, you need to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus VG-160 has got outer measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") with a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) while the Sony A6500 has measurements of 120mm x 67mm x 53mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.1") along with a weight of 453 grams (1.00 lbs).

Check out the Olympus VG-160 and Sony A6500 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Here is the front view proportions comparison of the VG-160 versus the A6500.

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A6500 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the VG-160 and A6500 is 96 and 81 respectively.

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A6500 top view buttons comparison

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A6500 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it's difficult to see the gap in sensor measurements merely by checking out technical specs. The graphic below will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the VG-160 and A6500.

As you can tell, both of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The VG-160 having a smaller sensor will make getting shallow DOF harder and the Sony A6500 will provide extra detail using its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The older VG-160 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A6500 sensor size comparison

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A6500 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A6500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus VG-160
Portrait photography with Sony A6500
33
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
offers face detect focusing
focusing manually not possible
lack of manual mode
external flash not possible
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
80
manual focus
decent MP (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
comes with face detection focusing
delivers RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus VG-160 Street photography highlights
Sony A6500 Street photography highlights
56
lighter than average (125g)
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
85
tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
provides focus by touch
weather proofing
good ISO range (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus VG-160
Sports photography with Sony A6500
26
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
lack of shutter priority mode
lack of image stabilization
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
low battery power (165 CIPA)
doesn't have phase detect AF
77
silent shutter (1/32,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent MP (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
comes with tracking autofocus
weather proofing
comes with phase detect AF
low battery life (350 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus VG-160 Travel photography features
Sony A6500 Travel photography features
65
lighter than average (125g)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
rather wide (26mm)
does not have Time Lapse mode
low battery power (165 shots)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
slow max aperture (f2.8)
74
weather proofing
has bluetooth
provides focus by touch
decent MP (24MP)
has built in flash
low battery life (350 CIPA)
screen isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus VG-160
Landscape photography with Sony A6500
36
rather wide (26mm)
screen size is good (3 inch)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
focusing manually not possible
cannot change lenses (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
lack of manual mode
lack of image stabilization
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
low battery power (165 per charge)
does not have Time Lapse mode
79
manual focus
swap lenses (Sony E mount)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent MP (24MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
good ISO range (25,600)
delivers RAW files
weather proofing
low battery life (350 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VG-160 Vlogging info
Sony A6500 Vlogging info
30
rather wide (26mm)
offers face detect focusing
lighter than average (125g)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
lack of image stabilization
low quality video (1280 x 720 resolution)
does not have mic support
39
built-in touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
comes with face detection focusing
high quality video (3840 x 2160 pxls)
does have external microphone jack
screen isn't selfie friendly
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Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A6500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VG-160 and Sony A6500
 Olympus VG-160Sony Alpha a6500
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model Olympus VG-160 Sony Alpha a6500
Class Small Sensor Compact Advanced Mirrorless
Introduced 2012-01-10 2016-10-06
Body design Compact Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip - Bionz X
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 24MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4288 x 3216 6000 x 4000
Max native ISO 1600 25600
Max enhanced ISO - 51200
Lowest native ISO 80 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Number of focus points - 425
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens Sony E
Lens focal range 26-130mm (5.0x) -
Maximal aperture f/2.8-6.5 -
Macro focus range 7cm -
Amount of lenses - 121
Crop factor 5.8 1.5
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Tilting
Screen size 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dot 922 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.7x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 4s 30s
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000s 1/4000s
Fastest silent shutter speed - 1/32000s
Continuous shutter speed - 11.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 4.80 m 6.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Rear Sync., Slow Sync., Red-eye reduction (On/Off selectable), Hi-speed sync, Wireless
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash sync - 1/160s
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30,15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 180 (30,15 fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Max video resolution 1280x720 3840x2160
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 125 gr (0.28 lbs) 453 gr (1.00 lbs)
Dimensions 96 x 57 x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") 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 165 pictures 350 pictures
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model LI-70B NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes
Time lapse feature With downloadable app
Storage media SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/SDXC + Memory Stick Pro Duo
Storage slots Single Single
Pricing at release $90 $1,298