• APS-C 366.6mm2
  • 24.2 megapixels
  • ISO 100 - 25,600
  • 4/3 226.2mm2
  • 20.4 megapixels
  • ISO 200 - 6400
  • Detailed specifications
  • Sony Alpha ILCE-A6500
  • Olympus OM-D E-M5 III
Links
Prices: Compare Prices Compare Prices
Manufacturer URL: Manufacturer website Manufacturer website
Predecessor: Sony A6300
A6300 vs A6500
Olympus E-M5 II
E-M5 II vs E-M5 III
Successor: Sony A6600
A6500 vs A6600
 
General
Model Number: A6500 E-M5 III
Alternate Model Number(s): ILCE-6500 E-M5 Mark III
Camera Format: Compact System Camera Compact System Camera
Currently Manufactured: Yes Yes
Retail Price: $1299.99 $1199.99
Street Price: $1,198.00 $924.48
Date Available: 2016-11-15 2019-11-30
Tripod Mount: Yes Yes
Weight: 16.0 oz (453 g)
includes batteries
14.6 oz (414 g)
includes batteries
Size: 4.7 x 2.6 x 2.1 in.
(120 x 67 x 53 mm)
4.9 x 3.4 x 2.0 in.
(125 x 85 x 50 mm)
Waterproof: No No
Waterproof Depth: n/a n/a
Image Sensor
Sensor Type: CMOS Live MOS
Sensor Manufacturer: Sony  
Effective Megapixels: 24.2 20.4
Sensor Format: APS-C 4/3
Sensor size: 366.6mm2 (23.50mm x 15.60mm) 226.2mm2 (17.40mm x 13.00mm)
Approximate Pixel Pitch: 3.92 microns 3.36 microns
Focal Length Multiplier: 1.5x 2.0x
Aspect Ratio: 3:2 4:3
Color Filter Type: RGBG RGBG
Anti Aliasing Filter: Fixed None
Self-Cleaning: Yes Yes
Sensor shift image stabilization: Yes Yes
On-Sensor Phase Detect: Yes Yes
DxO Sensor Score: 85  
DxO Color Depth Score (bits): 24.5  
DxO Dynamic Range Score (evs): 13.7  
DxO Maximum Effective ISO Score (iso): 1,405  
Image Capture
Image Resolution: 6000 x 4000 (24.0 MP, 3:2),
6000 x 3376 (20.3 MP, 16:9),
4240 x 2832 (12.0 MP, 3:2),
4240 x 2400 (10.2 MP, Other),
3008 x 2000 (6.0 MP, 3:2),
3008 x 1688 (5.1 MP, 16:9),
12416 x 1856 (23.0 MP, Other),
8192 x 1856 (15.2 MP, Other),
2160 x 5536 (12.0 MP, Other),
2160 x 3872 (8.4 MP, Other)
5184 x 3888 (20.2 MP, 4:3),
3712 x 2784 (10.3 MP, 4:3),
2624 x 1968 (5.2 MP, 4:3),
1824 x 1368 (2.5 MP, 4:3),
1024 x 768 (0.8 MP, 4:3),
8160 x 6120 (49.9 MP, 4:3),
10368 x 7776 (80.6 MP, 4:3)
Image File Format: JPEG (EXIF 2.3), RAW (14-bit compressed ARW 2.3), RAW+JPEG JPEG (EXIF 2.31), 12-bit lossless compressed RAW (.ORF), RAW + JPEG
Continuous-mode frames/second: 11.1 30.0
Video Capture
Can take movies: Yes Yes
Movie Resolution: 3840x2160 (30p/​25p/​24p)
1920x1080 (120p/​100p/​60p/​60i/​50p/​50i/​30p/​25p/​24p)
1280x720 (30p/​25p)
4096x2160 (24p)
3840x2160 (30p/​25p/​24p)
1920x1080 (60p/​50p/​30p/​25p/​24p)
1280x720 (60p/​50p/​30p/​25p/​24p)
1920x1080 (120p/​100p)
3840x2160 (5p)
1920x1080 (15p/​10p/​5p)
1280x720 (30p/​15p/​10p/​5p)
Movie File Format: XAVC S / AVCHD format Ver. 2.0 compliant / MP4; Audio: LPCM, 2ch / Dolby Digital (AC-3), 2ch, Dolby Digital Stereo Creator / MPEG-4 AAC-LC, 2ch MOV (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 with stereo sound), AVI (Motion JPEG)
Composite Video Out: No No
NTSC/PAL Switchable Video: n/a n/a
Video Usable as Viewfinder: n/a n/a
HD Video Out: Yes Yes
HD Video Connection: HDMI HDMI
Lens & Optics
Lens Mount: Sony E Micro Four Thirds
Lens: n/a n/a
Focal Length (35mm equivalent):    
Focal Length (actual):    
Zoom Ratio:    
Aperture Range:    
Integrated ND Filter: No No
Normal Focus Range:    
Macro Focus Range:    
Filter Thread: n/a n/a
Thread Type: n/a n/a
Optical Image Stabilization: No No
Digital Zoom: Yes Yes
Digital Zoom Values: Up to 4x; up to 2x Clear Image Digital Zoom 2x (3x in movie mode)
Auto Focus
Auto Focus: Yes Yes
Auto Focus Type: Hybrid Contrast/Phase Detection: Wide (425 points phase-detection AF, 169 points contrast-detection AF), Zone, Center, Flexible Spot (Small / Medium / Large), Expanded Flexible Spot Advanced Dual FAST AF: Hybrid Phase-detect/Contrast-detect AF, 121 AF points, all cross-type; All target, group target (25, 9 or 5-area), single target (normal/small)
Auto Focus Assist Light? Yes Yes
Manual Focus: Yes Yes
Viewfinder
Viewfinder: EVF / LCD EVF / LCD
Viewfinder Type: EVF type; 1.0cm (0.39-inch) 2.3M-dot XGA OLED, 100% coverage, 1.07x mag. (0.70x 35mm eq.), 23mm eyepoint, -4 to +3 diopter EVF; 2.68M-dot OLED, 1.20x - 1.37x magnification, 100% coverage, 27mm eyepoint, -4 to +2 diopter, eye sensor
Focus Peaking: Yes Yes
EVF Resolution: 2,359,296 dots 2,360,000 dots
Viewfinder Magnification (35mm equivalent): 0.70x 0.68x
Viewfinder Magnification (nominal/claimed): 1.07x 1.37x
Display
Eye-level Viewfinder: Yes Yes
Rear Display: Yes Yes
Rear Display Size (inches): 3.0 3.0
Rear Display Resolution: 921,600 dots (307,200 px) 1,037,000 dots (345,667 px)
Touchscreen: Yes Yes
Articulating Screen: Yes Yes
Tilt Swivel Screen: No Yes
Selfie Screen: No Yes
Max Playback Zoom: 16.7x 14.0x
Top Deck Display: No No
Exposure
Maximum ISO (native): 25600 6400
Minimum ISO (native): 100 200
ISO Settings: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600, expandable to 51200 AUTO ISO: LOW (approx. 64) - 6400 with customizable upper limit (200 - 6400); Manual ISO: Low (approx. 64) - 25600, 1/3 or 1 EV steps selectable
Auto ISO Mode: Yes Yes
White Balance Settings: Auto WB (with new Ambience, Standard and White options), Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent (Warm white/Cool white/Day white/Daylight), Flash, C. Temp 2500 to 9900K, C Filter G7 to M7 (15-step), Custom, Underwater; AWB micro adjustment Auto, Sunny, Shadow, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Underwater, Flash, Custom WB (Kelvin), One-touch WB (4); WB Tuning: +/-7 steps along A-B / G-M axis
Shutter Speed Range: 1/4000 - 30 sec 1/32000 - 60 sec
Bulb Mode: Yes Yes
Exposure Compensation: +/- 5.0EV in 0.3EV steps +/- 5.0EV in 0.3EV steps
Metering Modes: 1200-zone Evaluative, Center-weighted, Spot Digital ESP metering (324-area multi pattern metering), Center weighted average metering, Spot metering, Spot metering with highlight control, Spot metering with shadow control
Program Auto Exposure: Yes Yes
Aperture Priority: Yes Yes
Shutter Priority: Yes Yes
Full Manual Exposure: Yes Yes
Creative Exposure Modes: Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports Action, Sunset, Night Portrait, Night Scene, Hand-held Twilight, Anti Motion Blur, HDR, Sweep Panorama, Movie/High Frame Rate Custom, Scene (Portrait, e-Portrait, Landscape + Portrait, Night + Portrait, Children, Night Scape, Sport, Hand-held Starlight, Fireworks, Light trails, Sports, Panning, Landscape, Sunset, Beach & Snow, Backlight HDR, Candlelight, Silent, Macro, Nature Macro, Documents, Multi Focus Shot), Art Filter (Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Color, Light Tone, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama, Cross Process, Gentle Sepia, Dramatic Tone, Key Line, Water Color, Vintage, Partial Color, Bleach Bypass, Instant Film, Soft Focus Effect, Pin-Hole Effect, White Edge Effect, Frame Effect, Star Light Effect, Blur Effect, B&W Effect, Picture Tone, Shade Effect), Underwater Wide/Underwater Macro, HDR1/2, Live Bulb, Live Time, Live Composite, Focus Stacking
Self Timer: 2 , 10, 10 (3 or 5 frames) seconds 2, 10, Custom seconds
Time Lapse (intervalometer):   Yes
High Resolution Composite: No 80.0 megapixels
Flash
Built-in Flash: Yes No
Flash Modes: Auto, Off, Fill-flash, Rear sync, Slow sync, Red-eye reduction: On/Off Flash Auto, Redeye, Fill-in, Flash Off, Red-eye Slow sync.(1st curtain), Slow sync.(1st curtain), Slow sync.(2nd curtain), Manual 1/1 (FULL) - 1/64
Flash Guide Number (ISO 100): 6.0 m / 19.7 ft. 9.0 m / 29.5 ft.
Flash Range Description: Guide Number is 6m/19.7 ft at ISO 100; Range is lens aperture dependent Bundled FL-LM3 flash has GN of 9m/ISO 100
Max Flash Sync: 1/160 1/250
Flash Exposure Compensation: +/- 3.0 EV in 0.3EV steps +/- 3.0 EV in 0.3EV steps
External Flash Connection: Multi Interface Shoe Hot Shoe
Built-In Wireless Flash Control: No No
Image Storage
Usable Memory Types: MS PRO Duo / SD / SDHC / SDXC SD / SDHC / SDXC
UHS Support: UHS-I UHS-II
Other Memory:    
Dual Card Slots: No No
RAW Capture Support: Yes Yes
Uncompressed Format: RAW (14-bit compressed ARW 2.3), RAW+JPEG 12-bit lossless compressed RAW (.ORF), RAW + JPEG
Movie File Format: XAVC S / AVCHD format Ver. 2.0 compliant / MP4; Audio: LPCM, 2ch / Dolby Digital (AC-3), 2ch, Dolby Digital Stereo Creator / MPEG-4 AAC-LC, 2ch MOV (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 with stereo sound), AVI (Motion JPEG)
Included Memory: No memory included No memory included
Included Memory Type:    
Connectivity
Built-In Wi-Fi: Yes Yes
NFC: Yes No
Bluetooth: Yes Yes
Built-In GPS: No No
Microphone Jack: Yes Yes
Headphone Jack: No No
External Connections: USB 2.0 High Speed,Bluetooth,WiFi USB 2.0 High Speed,Bluetooth,WiFi
PictBridge Compliant: No Yes
DPOF Compliant: Yes Yes
Remote Control: Yes Yes
Remote Control Type: Optional wired, IR or Wi-FI Optional wired or via Wi-Fi/Bluetooth
Connections (extended): Micro (Type-D) HDMI, Multi Interface Shoe, Multi Micro USB Micro HDMI (Type-D), Micro-B USB 2.0, 3.5mm external mic jack, 2.5mm wired remote jack
Performance Timing
Cycle time for JPEG shooting in single shot mode (seconds per frame, max resolution): 0.62  
Cycle time for RAW shooting in single shot mode (seconds per frame):    
Buffer size for RAW shooting in single shot mode (frames):    
Cycle time for RAW+JPEG shooting in single shot mode (seconds per shot): 0.59  
Camera penalizes early shutter press? No
JPEG shooting speed in burst mode (fps, max resolution): 11.1 30.0
Buffer size for JPEG shooting in burst mode (frames, max resolution): 231 26
RAW shooting speed in burst mode (fps): 11.1 30.0
Buffer size for RAW shooting in burst mode (frames): 110 23
RAW+JPEG shooting speed in burst mode (fps): 11.1 30.0
Buffer Size for RAW+JPEG shooting in burst mode (frames): 101  
Shutter lag (full AF, wide/mid): 0.18 seconds  
Shutter lag (full AF, tele):    
Shutter lag (full AF, live view - DSLR):    
Shutter lag (prefocused, live view - DSLR):    
Shutter Lag (manual focus): 0.127 seconds  
Shutter lag (full AF, with flash): 0.29 seconds  
Shutter Lag (prefocused): 0.019 seconds  
Shutter Lag (notes):    
Startup Time: 1.3 seconds  
Play -> Record Time: 0.9 seconds  
Flash cycle time, full power: 3.0 seconds  
Power
Battery Life, Stills (CIPA Rating Monitor/Live View): 350 shots 310 shots
Battery Life, Still (CIPA Rating OVF/EVF): 310 shots  
Battery Life, Video:   60 minutes
Battery Form Factor: Proprietary NP-FW50 Proprietary BLS-50
Usable Battery Types: Lithium-ion rechargeable Lithium-ion rechargeable
Batteries Included: 1 x Proprietary NP-FW50 Lithium-ion rechargeable 1 x Proprietary BLS-50 Lithium-ion rechargeable
Battery Charger Included (dedicated charger or AC/USB adapter): No Yes
Dedicated Battery Charger Included: No Yes
Internal Charging Supported: Yes Yes
Software
Included Software: Free downloads of Image Data Converter (Win only), Capture One Express (for Sony) Olympus Workspace, Capture, Updater downloads
OS Compatibility:    
Miscellaneous
Notes & Features: