Sony A500 vs Sony A6500

Here is a in depth assessment of the Sony A500 and Sony A6500, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Advanced Mirrorless and they are both offered by Sony. There is a big difference among the sensor resolutions of the A500 (12MP) and A6500 (24MP) but both cameras offer the same sensor sizes (APS-C).

Photography Glossary

The A500 was launched 8 years before the A6500 and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony A6500 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting into a thorough comparison, here is a brief introduction of how the A500 grades versus the A6500 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 and Sony Alpha a6500. The complete galleries are provided at Sony A500 Gallery and Sony A6500 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to carry your camera regularly, you'll need to factor its weight and volume. The Sony A500 comes with external measurements of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs) whilst the Sony A6500 has sizing 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 Sony A500 and Sony A6500 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are utilising during that time. Underneath is a front view overall size comparison of the A500 versus the A6500.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the A500 and A6500 is 63 and 81 respectively.

Often, it is very difficult to visualise the difference in sensor sizing simply by going through specs. The graphic underneath might provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the A500 and A6500.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras provide the same sensor dimensions but not the same resolution. You should anticipate the Sony A6500 to provide more detail utilizing its extra 12MP. Greater resolution can also help you crop pics more aggressively. The older A500 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.