Pentax 17vs A6500
Pentax
Pentax 17 (2024)
Starting from £400 new
Best for Film photography enthusiasts & diptych storytelling
View Pentax 17
Sony
A6500 (2016)
Starting from £649 new
Best for Travel, street & versatile everyday photography
View A6500
GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?
Film Photography Enthusiasts & Diptych Storytelling — Pentax 17 (2024): The best new film camera of the decade — manual controls, a sharp lens, and a half-frame format that doubles your roll and forces a new way of seeing.
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
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 pentax 17 is the most affordable; only the a6500 is weather sealed. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | Pentax 17 (2024) | A6500 (2016) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £400 | £649 |
| Sensor | 35mm half-frame (18 × 24mm) | 24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS |
| Resolution | — | 24.2MP |
| Video | N/A — film camera | 4K/30p (full pixel readout), 1080p/120p |
| Autofocus | Zone focus (0.35m / 1m / 3m / ∞) | 425 phase-detect + 169 contrast-detect AF points, face/eye detection |
| Stabilisation | N/A — film camera | IBIS — 5-axis, up to 5 stops (first Sony APS-C with IBIS) |
| Burst Rate | Manual wind-on | 11fps |
| Battery Life | 2× CR2 lithium batteries | ~310 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | ~165g (without batteries) | 453g (with battery and card) |
| Dimensions | 113 × 66 × 44mm | 120.0 × 66.9 × 53.3mm |
| Weather Sealed | No | Yes |
| Viewfinder | Optical viewfinder with half-frame framelines | EVF, OLED 2.36M dots, 0.70× magnification |
| Screen | N/A | 3.0" fully articulating touchscreen |
| Mount | 35mm film (ISO 25–3200 via DX coding + manual dial) | Sony E-mount |
| Memory Cards | 35mm 135-format film cartridge | Single SD UHS-I slot |
| Connectivity | N/A | USB, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | Pentax 17 | A6500 |
|---|---|---|
| Street | ||
| Travel | ||
| Portrait | ||
| Everyday | — | |
| Landscape | — | |
| Low Light | — | |
| Wildlife | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | — | |
| Sports & Action | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
More comparisons with Pentax 17
Camera family history