D6vs A6500
Nikon
D6 (2020)
Starting from £3200 new
Best for Professional Sports, Press & Wildlife Photography
View D6
Sony
A6500 (2016)
Starting from £649 new
Best for Travel, street & versatile everyday photography
View A6500
GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?
Professional Sports, Press & Wildlife Photography — D6 (2020): Nikon's final and finest DSLR — the D6 brought 105 all-cross-type AF points, 14fps, and built-in LAN to the F mount. The last word in optical viewfinder photography.
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
D6 (2020)
- Sports, wildlife, and press photographers who prefer an optical viewfinder
- Professional Nikon shooters with a substantial F-mount lens collection
- Photojournalists who need built-in LAN for wire transmission
- Nikon system professionals seeking a used flagship at under-new-price value
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 | D6 (2020) | A6500 (2016) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,200 | £649 |
| Sensor | 20.8MP full-frame BSI CMOS | 24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS |
| Resolution | 20.8MP | 24.2MP |
| Video | 4K UHD 30fps | 4K/30p (full pixel readout), 1080p/120p |
| Autofocus | Multi-CAM 3500FX III — 105 AF points, all cross-type | 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 | 14fps mechanical | 11fps |
| Battery Life | ~3580 shots (CIPA) | ~310 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 1450g (body only) | 453g (with battery and card) |
| Dimensions | 160 × 163.5 × 92mm | 120.0 × 66.9 × 53.3mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | Yes |
| Viewfinder | OVF 0.72× magnification, 100% coverage | EVF, OLED 2.36M dots, 0.70× magnification |
| Screen | 3.2" fixed touchscreen, 2.36M dots | 3.0" fully articulating touchscreen |
| Mount | Nikon F mount | Sony E-mount |
| Memory Cards | Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD slots | Single SD UHS-I slot |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, Ethernet (built-in), USB 3.1 | USB, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | D6 | A6500 |
|---|---|---|
| Sports & Action | ||
| Wildlife | ||
| Wedding & Events | — | |
| Street | ||
| Portrait | ||
| Landscape | — | |
| Travel | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
More comparisons with D6
Camera family history