Sony India has unveiled its new flagship APS-C sensor camera, the α6500 (model ILCE-6500).
As the latest addition to Sony’s line-up of award winning mirrorless cameras, the new α6500 shares the same unrivaled 4D FOCUS™ system as the α6300 camera, which can lock focus on a subject in as little as 0.05 seconds, the world’s fastest AF acquisition time.
Similar to the α6300, the new α6500 features 425 phase detection AF points that are densely positioned over nearly the entire image area – the world’s highest number of AF points on any interchangeable lens camera.
Additionally, the new α6500 features Sony’s acclaimed in-camera 5-axis optical image stabilisation, making it the first Sony APS-C sensor camera to offer all of the benefits of advanced in-body stabilisation, including a shutter speed advantage of approximately 5 steps. It also offers touchscreen AF capabilities for focus point selection and adjustment.
High-speed continuous shooting at up to 11 FPS with high-capacity buffer memory of 307 shots
The new α6500 can shoot images at up to 11 frames per second with continuous autofocus and exposure tracking, and up to 8 frames per second in a live-view shooting mode that makes it easy to track fast moving subjects. At the same time, it combines all of the benefits of an electronic viewfinder with the immediacy of an optical viewfinder.
The camera can shoot at these high speeds for up to 307 frames thanks to its expanded buffer, which, along with the fast response speeds described above, are all achieved with the support of a new front-end LSI chip that has been added to the camera. This new front-end LSI also serves to enhance both still and video image quality.
Ceaseless clicks with In-camera 5-axis optical image stabilisation
One of the most exciting developments in the new α6500 is the implementation of 5-axis image stabilisation for the first time in a Sony APS-C sensor camera. Through a total revision of the internal design of the camera, this newly developed stabilisation system fits entirely within a body that is nearly the same size as the α6300.
This innovative 5-axis system provides a shutter speed advantage of 5 steps3, ensuring that the full resolving power of the sensor can be realised, even in challenging lighting conditions.
The shake compensation provided by the system works with a variety of lenses, including E-mount lenses without OSS (Optical SteadyShot™) stabilisation and A-mount lenses when used with a compatible mount adapter. When an E-mount lens with OSS is mounted, pitch and yaw are compensated in the lens and horizontal, vertical and roll axes are also compensated in the camera body, resulting in optimal 5-axis stabilisation.
Furthermore, with a simple half press of the shutter button, the effect of the image stabilisation can be monitored in the viewfinder or on the LCD screen, allowing framing and focus to be accurately checked and continually monitored. This is available even when a lens without built-in shake compensation is attached.
Blending flexibility with new Touch Screen functionality
The new α6500 comes equipped with touch screen functionality, allowing users to lock focus on a subject simply by touching it on the screen. This is a powerful complement to its advanced AF system and video shooting capabilities.
A first for Sony cameras, the α6500 features touchpad functionality. When utilising the viewfinder for framing and shooting, the LCD screen can be used as a touch pad. Simply drag a finger across the screen to shift the focus point from one area to another.
AF Capability with 425 phase detection AF points
Sony’s new α6500 camera utilises the same 4D FOCUS system as the α6300 – a Fast Hybrid AF system that combines high-speed phase detection AF with extremely accurate contrast AF, allowing it to capture and lock on to moving subjects in as little as 0.05 seconds1. It also features 425 phase detection AF points and High-density Tracking AF Technology, which significantly improves subject detection and tracking performance.
Thanks to faster internal processing capabilities enabled by the front-end LSI, the maximum buffer for high-speed continuous shooting for the α6500 is an impressive 307 frames4, greatly increasing the chances to catch that decisive moment.
The camera’s 425 phase detection AF points, focusing tracking and accuracy are also available when using non-native A-mount lenses with Sony’s LA-EA3 mount adaptor. Additionally, it includes silent shooting, Eye AF in AF-C mode, AF in focus magnifier modes, Expand Flexible Spot AF and more.
4K movie recording
The new α6500 becomes the latest Sony interchangeable lens camera to offer internal 4K movie recording, as it can shoot 4K (3840 x 2160p) video in the popular Super 35mm format on the full width of the image sensor. When shooting in this format, the camera uses full pixel readout without pixel binning to collect 6K of information – approximately 2.4x (20MP equivalent) as many pixels as 4K UHD, and then oversamples the information to produce high quality 4K footage with exceptional detail and depth.
The α6500 also focuses exceptionally fast during movie shooting thanks to its Fast Hybrid AF system, which enables touch focusing for professionally smooth focus shifts, whilst also offering adjustable AF transition speed and AF tracking sensitivity. The camera supports the XAVC S codec during video shooting, which records at a high bit rate of up to 100 Mbps during 4K recording and 50 Mbps during Full HD shooting – ensuring maximum detail and clarity in both video formats.
Other professional calibre video features include the ability to record Full HD at 100fps at up to 100 Mbps. This allows footage to be reviewed and eventually edited into 4x slow motion video files in Full HD (25p) resolution with AF tracking.
New on the α6500 is the incorporation of a ‘Slow and Quick’ (S&Q) mode that supports both slow motion and quick motion. In this mode, frame rates from 1 fps to 100fps can be selected in 8 steps for up to 50x quick motion and 4x slow motion recording. Footage shot in this mode can be previewed after shooting without the need for a PC-based post processing.
Enhanced Operability and Reliability
The new α6500 has a refined design, maintaining the mobility of the α6000 series while adapting much of the usability of Sony’s acclaimed α7 II series. The new model features the same high contrast, high-resolution 2.4 million dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder™ as the α6300 that offers exceptional corner-to-corner visibility.
New hardware features on the α6500 include a magnesium alloy body and a high-durability shutter with a tested life span of approximately 200,000 release cycles.
It also has several design features that are borrowed from the α7 II series of full-frame cameras, including a robust lens mount, a recessed grip to improve handling, a larger release button, and ten total custom buttons including ‘C1’, ‘C2’ and ‘C3’. The new α6500 also has an improved operation feel for its mode and control dials and rear face buttons, as well as a softer eyepiece cup for more comfortable usage.
On the software front, there is a new overall user interface that allows for a much smoother process for searching and adjusting menu settings, as well two new metering modes – Highlight, where exposure metering is focused on the brightest area of the frame, and Entire Screen Avg, which maintains an average metering for the entire image.
The newly launched α6500 camera will be available in all Sony Center, Alpha flagship stores and major electronic stores across India.
