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Sony A6500 vs Canon 80D

Introduction

The Sony A6500 is a versatile mirrorless camera that throughout its existence has became one of the best cameras in the mirrorless APS-C series mainly because of the fact that this unit does a highly effective job in tracking moving subjects, and photographers can use it for shooting a variety of different types of photography genres!

On the contrary, we have the Canon EOS 80D which was launched on the market as a direct successor of the well-known 70D, and this model sits in the middle of Canon’s DSLR line-up, making it perfect for enthusiasts who want to improve their shooting skills before they evolve into professionals.

I’d suggest getting into action right away in order to better understand what makes the Sony A6500 and Canon EOS 80D worthy of considering, what are their advantages, disadvantages, and what should you expect from them in terms of performance!

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Head To Head Comparison

Sony A6500

Design-wise, the Sony A6500 has a fairly compact and lightweight construction that measures 2.6 x 4.7 x 2.1″ (HWD), weighs around a pound without a lens and its body is made of metal and plastic which is definitely a good combination, but what’s even better is that the area around its buttons is sealed against dust and weather, hence, you can use this camera in various situations without a problem!

Once you take a look at this camera, if you’ve had a chance to shoot with its predecessor, the A6300, you will notice many common things that both cameras share, however, what makes the Sony A6500 stand out from its predecessor, is its deeper grip which comes handy especially when it comes to having a convenient hold in your hands.

On the front, you won’t find a huge number of controls since this part is mostly clean, this stands for the top part as well, although on these areas you will find an EVF, hot shoe, release and lens button, and a few other programmable C1 and C2 buttons.

On the rear, there are more controls and they occupy the top-right portion of the body, while on the top-left corner instead of the center, there is an XGA OLED viewfinder with 2.36-million dots that will provide you a sight of outstanding clarity!

Slightly below, you can notice the presence of a 3″ LCD tilting touchscreen with 922k-dots which offers an aspect ratio of 16:9 instead of 3:2, and therefore, the way you will record videos will be extremely easy and pleasant! Otherwise, the screen is bright and I think that you will be satisfied. Personally, I didn’t like its touchscreen because it doesn’t offer anything special, it is only useful for adjusting the focus point, and if you want to zoom something or swipe through photos, well, the results will be quite disappointing.

Moreover, the connections include a Micro Type-D HDMI port, multi-interface shoe, USB 2.0, microphone jack, internal mic, and the most important part – it is Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, and GPS-enabled, which by default means that you will have a quick and enjoyable transfer of your photos and videos!

Speaking of the performance, the Sony A6500 combines a 24.2MP APS-C Exmor sensor, an impressively wide 425-point phase-detection AF, 5-axis in-body image stabilization, continuous shooting rate of up to 11 fps, and it is powered by Sony’s Bionz X Image processor that sets the noise to the minimum throughout the ISO sensitivity range of 100-51,200.

The image quality is fantastic and Sony deserves my credit here. Namely, when shooting JPGs, keep in mind that the blur is at the lowest levels at ISO 100, however, at ISO 1600, details remain well-defined, the noise is low, but once you reach the highest points, the blur becomes significant (ISO 51,200), so try to avoid it as much as you can. Instead of going through ISO 51,200, you can reach ISO levels between 12,800 and 25,600 because the details are still strong although some presence of grain can is pronounced a bit.

In addition, the Sony A6500 outputs an impressive performance especially if you shoot street photography, performs quite good for sports, but, after some analysis I’ve concluded that its weakness is portrait photography, although the performance isn’t disappointing.

When it comes to the video recording, this model records Full HD videos at 120p/100p/60p and all the way down to 24p, HD videos at 30p/25p and 4K videos at 30p/25p/24p which is awesome. Thanks to the integrated 5-axis in-body image stabilization, the footage looks outstandingly good, and even videographers would be satisfied by having this camera!

Lastly, the battery can withstand up to 310 shots through the viewfinder, or 350 shots through the LCD monitor, which is kind of disappointing because I’ve expected more, but keep in mind that having extra batteries would still do the job, but of course, for a price.

Sony A6500 Sample Images:

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Canon 80D

The Canon 80D is larger and heavier than the A6500, because it measures 4.1 x 5.5 x 3.3″ and weighs about 1.6 pounds without a lens, however, its body is quite strong as a result of the inclusion of magnesium-alloy and the weather sealing which in comparison to the A6500, is relatively stronger.

Furthermore, there is a plethora of controls spread across the camera’s body which is normal, considering its large dimensions. On the top, you can find an Information LCD screen, 6 mode presets, and a shutter button, while on the left, there is a single button that sits next to the hot shoe.

On the rear, positioned on the top-center, there is a glass pentaprism viewfinder that provides 100% frame coverage and offers an excellent view especially if you’re shooting a subject that is moving. Slightly below, you can find a 3″ vari-angle LCD touchscreen with a resolution of 1.04m-dots that, and if we compare it with A6500’s screen, I think that the 80D is more touch sensitive and convenient to use.

Connection-wise, the Canon EOS 80D includes mini USB, mini HDMI, microphone input, headphone output, wired remote control, single memory card slot that supports SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards as well as Wii-Fi and NFC support which is pretty close to the A6500, but here, the A6500 is slightly better because of the fact that it is Bluetooth and GPS-enabled, something that the 80D lacks.

In terms of the performance, the Canon 80D incorporates a 45-point AF, 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor, ISO range that stretches from 100-12,800 which is expandable up to 25,600, continuous shooting rate of 7 fps, and a DIGIC 6 image processor that provides fast processing speeds for your ultimate user experience!

Moreover, the Canon 80D performs pretty well under very low light conditions, and I really appreciate it due to the fact that this camera is capable enough to maintain an accurate focus while controlling the noise even if you shoot through ISO 16,000!

If you shoot through ISO 6400, you will have an opportunity to notice that the noise is handled appropriately, however, at the highest setting of ISO 25,600, as expected, images loss their details and the overall image equality isn’t the best, but still, it may be better than some of the cameras on the market.

I would also like to make a quick comparison here between the Sony A6500 and the Canon 80D. Well, for portrait photography, I think that the 80D is pretty average and the A6500 receives more points. For sports photography, 80D’s and A6500’s results are similar, although Canon 80D may perform a bit better thanks to its fast max shutter speed of 1/8000s opposed to Sony’s 1/4000s.

When it comes to the video quality, the Canon 80D records 1080p60 videos in MP4 format, and the overall quality of the video is satisfying. You can notice numerous details that look well-defined and when we add the fact that you have an option to take advantage of the full exposure manual control, personally, I think that you will like it. However, in comparison to Sony A6500 which has a 4K ability, without a doubt, I can say that the 80D underperforms here.

Finally, the camera’s battery is capable enough to deliver up to 960 shots through the optical viewfinder and about 300 shots through the Live View LCD, and clearly, it wins the race because Sony A6500’s battery is quite poor.

My biggest hobby is driving sports cars and knowing everything about them. Since my profession is photography, i take a lot of photos of cars. I have more than 13 different cameras, and when i do car photoshoots, nothing even comes close to the 80D. Definitely recommend it!

Canon 80D Sample Images:

 

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Sony A6500 vs Canon 80D Feature Comparison

  Sony A6500 Canon 80D
Camera Type Mirrorless DSLR
Megapixels 24.2 24.2
ISO Range 100-51,200 100-25,600
Flip-Out Screen Yes Yes
AF Points 425 AF points 45 AF points
Viewfinder Yes Yes
Touchscreen Yes Yes
Video Recording Yes Yes
Sensor Size APS-C CMOS APS-C CMOS

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Conclusion

In the end, I would like to note that the quality of both cameras is uncompromised, because Sony and Canon have proved themselves yet again that nobody should be surprised regarding the quality of their products and the reason why are they among the best manufacturers in the camera world.

Even though you have already decided about the next camera that should enrich your shooting arsenal, still, I will provide you with some brief advantages of the cameras in order to finalize what you have already thought.

First of all, let’s make a distinction between both cameras. The Sony A6500 is a mirrorless camera, hence, if you love this type of cameras, naturally, it would be your choice. On the other side, Canon 80D is a DSLR camera that packs an APS-C CMOS sensor same as the Sony A6500.

However, Canon 80D has a greater screen resolution, more max shutter speed, larger flash coverage, and a longer-lasting battery when compared to the A6500.

On the contrary, the Sony A6500 has a greater ISO range, better continuous shooting rate, performs better than the EOS 80D in terms of low light ISO performance, has more connection options and as a cherry on the top, it outperforms the 80D with its 4K video capability and the inclusion of a built-in image stabilization.

At glance, the result looks “tie”, but yet again, I’d go for Sony A6500 mainly because of its versatility.

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