Who should buy the A6500?

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

How much does the A6500 cost in the UK?

The A6500 starts from £410 in the UK. Prices are tracked live on GearFrame.

Sony

Sony A6500

Name: A6500
Brand: Sony
Availability: InStock

The Sony A6500 was the first Sony APS-C mirrorless camera to feature in-body image stabilisation — a significant step forward in the A6000 line. It combined the 24.2MP Exmor CMOS sensor with 5-axis IBIS, a fully articulating touchscreen (also a first for the APS-C line), and a dramatically improved buffer (up to 307 JPEGs) over the A6300. A weather-sealed magnesium body with an 11fps burst rate and Sony's 425-point phase-detect AF made it the most complete APS-C Sony available at the time.

GearFrame's Take

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.

Used from

£410

Check price at eBay

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RetailerPrice

Used

eBay used

Lowest Buy It Now · marketplace

£345

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Wex Photo Video used

£410

Check on Wex Photo Video →

New

No new stock at our retailers

eBay

Lowest Buy It Now · marketplace

£382

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Amazon

—

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Prices are synced live from UK retailers. Not every product will be stocked by every retailer; older models may only be available second hand.

Value & Depreciation

£1500

Launch price

→

£649

Today

57%

Value drop

Over ~10 years, this camera has cost roughly £85/year to own (buy at launch price, sell today). That's one of the lower cost-per-year cameras in its class.

What fits the Sony A6500

See all 316 accessories that fit →

Battery NP-FW50 310 shots per charge (CIPA) From £22.99 · Ansmann NP-FW50 Battery (replacement for Sony NP-FW50) Every NP-FW50 battery and charger →

Memory card

SD Single slot Cheapest at V30 / U3+: £15.99 · Lexar Professional 1066x 64GB SD

Top mode needs V30 / U3 (maker's minimum) Video log: S-Log2, S-Log3 SD cards and speeds →

Filter size Depends on the lens. The commonest threads on Sony E lenses: 67mm66 77mm43 82mm40 62mm37 72mm27 52mm24 49mm22 58mm19 Number = lenses with that thread. Your lens's size is on its product page. All filter sizes →

Core

Released

2016

Sensor

24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS

Resolution

24.2 MP

Mount

Sony E-mount

Dimensions

120.0 × 66.9 × 53.3mm

Weight

453g (with battery and card)

Weather Sealed

Yes

Performance

Autofocus

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

11fps

Battery Life

~310 shots (CIPA)

Features

Video

4K/30p (full pixel readout), 1080p/120p

Viewfinder

EVF, OLED 2.36M dots, 0.70× magnification

Screen

3.0" tilting touchscreen

Memory Cards

Single SD UHS-I slot

Connectivity

USB, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth

Detailed Specs

Sensor Format

APS-C

Viewfinder Type

Electronic

Screen Type

Tilting

Touchscreen

Yes

Card Slots

Battery Life (CIPA)

310 shots

Dimensions

120 × 67 × 53mm

Weight (Grams)

453g

Autofocus Type

On-sensor phase detect (hybrid)

Subject Detection

Face, Eye

Max Burst Rate

11.0fps

In-Body Stabilisation

Yes (5.0 stops)

Maximum Native ISO

25600

Max Video Resolution

Max 4K Frame Rate

30fps

10-Bit Video

Log Profile

Yes (S-Log2, S-Log3)

Built-in Microphone Input

Yes

Headphone Jack

Select up to 2 cameras to compare against the A6500. It's always pinned as the baseline.

Select 1–3 cameras to compare

2 lenses compatible with the Sony E-mount mount.

Fujinon

MK 18-55mm T2.9 (Sony E)

From £3,499

Fujinon

MK 50-135mm T2.9 (Sony E)

From £3,799

Who should buy this

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

GearScore™ — Suitability by Genre

Base score — computed from verified specs for an enthusiast shooting photo and video. Camera Match adjusts it for your skill level and priorities.

Portrait

6.6

Street

7.1

Travel

6.4

Wedding & Events

5.2

Filmmaking

5.1

Documentary

5.8

Sports & Action

6.6

Landscape

5.5

Wildlife

7.3

Casual

4.8

Food

6.3

Macro

5.7

Architecture

5.4

Astrophotography

5.3

✅ Great For

🦅

Wildlife 7.3 Strong on autofocus, lens reach / ecosystem and viewfinder. 11fps and 425 PDAF points handle wildlife well. No animal eye AF (that came with A6600).

🌆

Street 7.1 Strong on discreet body, autofocus and viewfinder. Compact, weather sealed, and fast AF make it a capable and discreet street camera.

⚠️ Not Ideal For

📷

Casual 4.8 Held back by ease of use and generation.

📝 How suitability scores are calculated GearScore™ genre scores are calculated from this camera's verified specifications — autofocus, sensor, weight, weather sealing and more — weighted by what matters for each type of photography. Where a spec sheet misses something (e.g. a manual-focus rangefinder for street), we apply a documented editorial adjustment. Scores are not based on customer reviews. See our full methodology →