Sony a6000, a6300 & a6500 Showdown: Which Camera Suits You Best?

Published: October 31, 2016

Sony-a6000-a6300-a6500-Showdown

With the flagship a6500 scheduled to begin shipping early December, the Sony a6000 Series hits three. Which Sony a6000 Series mirrorless camera suits you best?

Sony a6000, a6300 & a6500 all offer 24MP sensors capable of 11 Frames per Second continuous shooting in a compact, lightweight mirrorless body. But they offer three distinctly different levels of features and price points. Here’s a look at how they compare to help answer which camera is best for you.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Sony-a6000-body

Sony a6000 ($548 Body Only) | Size: 4.7 x 2.6 x 1.8″ | Weight: 12.13 oz with battery and memory card

Sony-a6300-body

Sony a6300 ($998 Body Only) | Size: 4.7 x 2.6 x 1.9″ | Weight: 14.25 oz with battery and memory card

Sony-a6500-body

Sony a6500 ($1,398 Body Only) | Size: 4.7 x 2.6 x 2.1″ | Weight: 15.98 oz with battery and memory card

ROUND-BY-ROUND

Round 1: Image Sensor

WINNER: Sony a6300/a6500. While all three cameras feature 24 MP Exmor CMOS image sensors, Sony a6300 & a6500 have an improved sensor that features a thin copper-wiring layer and large photodiode substrate designed for light collection efficiency resulting in less noise at High ISOs.

Sony-a6300-copper-wiring


Round 2: Image Stabilization

WINNER: Sony a6500. The only a6000-Series model featuring 5-Axis Image Stabilization using an all-new mechanism designed specifically for Sony APS-C mirrorless sensors. You’ll get 5-axis IS with native E-mount lenses (and 8-pin Sony A-mount glass on LA-EA adapters) and 3-Axis Image stabilization with any other lenses – including lenses that were never stabilized before.

Sony-a6500-5-Axis-Image-Stabilization


Round 3: Auto-Focus Points

WINNER: Sony a6300/a6500. Featuring 425 Phase-Detection + 169 Contrast Detection AF points (compared to 179 Phase-Detection + 25 Contrast Detection AF points on a6000) for extremely wide and dense AF point coverage throughout the frame. High-density Tracking AF Technology seamlessly activates AF points to track subjects moving within frame with precision.

Sony-a6500-AF-Points


Round 4: Processing Power & Buffer Size

WINNER: Sony a6500. With the most in-class processing horsepower, a6500 adds a a new LSI Processor & much larger buffer to allow for long bursts of up to 107 RAW images (or 233 JPG Extra Fine) at 11 FPS. Think of it as the a6000 Series with a Hemi-engine.


Round 5: Autofocus Speed

WINNER: Sony a6300/a6500. At a blazing fast 0.05 seconds, both the a6300 and a6500 feature the World’s Fastest Autofocus!


Round 6: Third-Party Autofocus Performance

WINNER: Sony a6300/a6500. If you’re planning to use Canon, Nikon or Sony A-mount lenses, go with a6300 or a6500 since they enable Phase-Detection AF with 3rd-party lenses on Smart Adapters.

Sony-Smart-Adapters


Round 7: Touch Focus

WINNER: Sony a6500. Only Sony a6500 has touch focus. Sony a6000 and a6300 do not. If touch Focus is important to you, a6500 is your champ.

Sony-a6500-touch-focus


Round 8: Video Resolution

WINNER: Sony a6300/a6500. Feature full pixel readout without pixel binning for 2.4x oversampled 4K movie resolution from the full width of the sensor. Sony a6000 shoots 1080 HD video.

Sony-a6300-oversampled-4K


Round 9: Silent Shooting

WINNER: Sony a6300/a6500. Sony a6300 and a6500 have Silent Shooting Mode. Sony a6000 does not. Bear in mind that the standard Electronic-Front Shutter is extremely quiet – but only Silent Shooting mode is totally silent…


Round 10: Expected Shutter Life

WINNER: a6500. The Sony a6500 shutter is rated at 200,000 shots – double the expected shutter life of a6000 and a6300, according to Sony. [PLEASE NOTE: This is just an estimate. I’ve greatly exceeded the expected shutter life of many Sony cameras.]

Sony-a6500-Shutter


Round 11: Weight & Size

WINNER: Sony a6000. Weighing in at just 12.13 oz with battery and memory card, Sony a6000 is the lightest of the a6000-Series bodies. The added weight of a6500 comes from the 5-Axis Image Stabilization mechanism. Grip size also grows from 1.8″ on a6000 to 2.1″³ on a6500. In this instance, I’d argue BIGGER IS BETTER!


Round 12: Price

WINNER: Sony a6000. If price is your bottom line, Sony a6000 weighs in at five bills and change. This makes it the lowest-priced contender in the Sony a6000 Series line-up.

AND THE WINNER IS…

Sony a6000, a6300 & a6500 are all great cameras. Pick the camera with the features – or price – that’s best for you!

Order Sony a6000 from B&H Photo | Amazon | Adorama
Order Sony a6300 from B&H Photo | Amazon | Adorama
Order Sony a6500 from B&H Photo | Amazon | Adorama

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7 thoughts on “Sony a6000, a6300 & a6500 Showdown: Which Camera Suits You Best?”

  1. As someone who owned all three.. This is pretty set. I used the touch screen more than I expected. I also love that I can tie spot metering to focus point on A6500.

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