EOS-1D X Mark IIIvs A6500
Canon
EOS-1D X Mark III (2020)
Starting from £3500 new
Best for Professional Sports, Wildlife & Press Photography
View EOS-1D X Mark III
Sony
A6500 (2016)
Starting from £649 new
Best for Travel, street & versatile everyday photography
View A6500
GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?
Professional Sports, Wildlife & Press Photography — EOS-1D X Mark III (2020): Canon's DSLR masterpiece — 20fps live view, 5.5K RAW, 191 cross-type AF points, and dual CFexpress. Almost certainly the finest optical viewfinder camera ever made.
Travel, Street & Versatile Everyday Photography — A6500 (2016): The first Sony APS-C with IBIS — the A6500 added in-body stabilisation, touch AF, and a far deeper buffer to the A6300's already strong formula.
Who should buy what
EOS-1D X Mark III (2020)
- Sports and wildlife photographers with a Canon EF lens collection
- Professionals who prefer the optical viewfinder experience
- Press photographers who need 20fps, weather sealing, and Ethernet
- Canon historians who want to mark the end of the EOS-1D DSLR era
A6500 (2016)
- Travel photographers who want IBIS in a compact weather-sealed E-mount body
- A6300 owners who need the stabilisation or touch AF the A6300 lacked
- Street and documentary photographers who want a capable compact with weather sealing
- Sony E-mount shooters looking for a capable used body at an accessible price
Quick take: The a6500 has the highest resolution at 24mp; the a6500 is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | EOS-1D X Mark III (2020) | A6500 (2016) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,500 | £649 |
| Sensor | 20.1MP full-frame CMOS | 24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS |
| Resolution | 20.1MP | 24.2MP |
| Video | 5.5K RAW, 4K 60fps (crop), 4K 60fps (full-frame via firmware) | 4K/30p (full pixel readout), 1080p/120p |
| Autofocus | 191-point all cross-type OVF AF; 525-point Dual Pixel CMOS AF (Live View) | 425 phase-detect + 169 contrast-detect AF points, face/eye detection |
| Stabilisation | — | IBIS — 5-axis, up to 5 stops (first Sony APS-C with IBIS) |
| Burst Rate | 16fps mechanical, 20fps live view | 11fps |
| Battery Life | ~2850 shots (CIPA) | ~310 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 1250g (body only) | 453g (with battery and card) |
| Dimensions | 158 × 167.6 × 82.6mm | 120.0 × 66.9 × 53.3mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | Yes |
| Viewfinder | OVF 0.76× magnification, 100% coverage | EVF, OLED 2.36M dots, 0.70× magnification |
| Screen | 3.2" fully articulating touchscreen, 4.15M dots | 3.0" fully articulating touchscreen |
| Mount | Canon EF | Sony E-mount |
| Memory Cards | Dual CFexpress Type B slots | Single SD UHS-I slot |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 5GHz, Bluetooth 4.2, USB-C 3.1 Gen 2, Ethernet | USB, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | EOS-1D X Mark III | A6500 |
|---|---|---|
| Sports & Action | ||
| Wildlife | ||
| Wedding & Events | — | |
| Portrait | ||
| Vlogging & Video | ||
| Street | ||
| Landscape | — | |
| Travel | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
More comparisons with EOS-1D X Mark III
Camera family history