EOS R1vs A6500
Canon
EOS R1 (2024)
Starting from £5999 new
Best for Professional sports, wildlife & photojournalism
View EOS R1
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 & Photojournalism — EOS R1 (2024): Canon's ultimate professional camera — 40fps, a class-leading EVF, and AI AF that simply doesn't miss.
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 R1 (2024)
- Professional sports and news photographers who cannot miss a shot
- Wildlife photographers needing the fastest AF and burst available
- Photojournalists requiring reliable pro-grade build and connectivity
- Canon R3 owners or 1D X Mark III users upgrading to mirrorless flagship
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 is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | EOS R1 (2024) | A6500 (2016) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £5,999 | £649 |
| Sensor | 24.2MP Full-Frame Stacked CMOS | 24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS |
| Resolution | 24.2MP | 24.2MP |
| Video | 6K RAW/60p, 4K/120p, 1080p/240p | 4K/30p (full pixel readout), 1080p/120p |
| Autofocus | Dual Pixel CMOS AF III — 100% coverage, deep learning subject detection | 425 phase-detect + 169 contrast-detect AF points, face/eye detection |
| Stabilisation | IBIS — up to 8 stops combined | IBIS — 5-axis, up to 5 stops (first Sony APS-C with IBIS) |
| Burst Rate | 40fps electronic, 12fps mechanical | 11fps |
| Battery Life | ~530 shots (CIPA) | ~310 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 1470g (with battery) | 453g (with battery and card) |
| Dimensions | 159.5 × 143.9 × 87.3mm | 120.0 × 66.9 × 53.3mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | Yes |
| Viewfinder | EVF, 9.44M dots, 0.90× magnification | EVF, OLED 2.36M dots, 0.70× magnification |
| Screen | 3.2" fully articulating touchscreen | 3.0" fully articulating touchscreen |
| Mount | Canon RF mount | Sony E-mount |
| Memory Cards | Dual CFexpress Type B | Single SD UHS-I slot |
| Connectivity | USB-C (10Gbps), Wi-Fi 6GHz, Bluetooth, Ethernet, HDMI | USB, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | EOS R1 | A6500 |
|---|---|---|
| Sports | — | |
| Wildlife | ||
| Photojournalism | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | ||
| Wedding | — | |
| Portrait | ||
| Travel | — | |
| Street | — | |
| Sports & Action | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
More comparisons with EOS R1
Camera family history