Olympus PEN-F vs Sony Alpha 6500

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

PEN-F compared with Alpha 6500
OlympusPEN-FSonyAlpha 6500
Overview
ReleasedFebruary 2016November 2016
Image and sensor
Camera typeMirrorlessMirrorless
Sensor formatFour ThirdsAPS-C
Sensor typeLive MOSExmor CMOS
Sensor dimensions17.4 × 13 mm23.5 × 15.6 mm
Effective resolution20.3 MP24.2 MP
Largest image5184 × 38886000 × 4000
RAW recordingYesYes
Standard ISO range200–25600100–25600
Sensor detailApproximately 21.77 total megapixels; no optical low-pass filter; Supersonic Wave Filter dust reductionApproximately 25.0 million total pixels; 3:2 aspect ratio
Image formatsJPEG, 12-bit losslessly compressed ORF RAW and RAW+JPEG; High Res Shot combines eight shifted exposures into 8160×6120 JPEG or 10368×7776 RAW, separately from ordinary native-resolution photographsJPEG, compressed RAW and RAW+JPEG; ARW 2.3; 14-bit RAW support
ISO detailISO 200–25600; expanded LOW equivalent to ISO 80ISO 51200 is expanded; Auto ISO limits configurable
Image processorTruePic VIIBIONZ X with front-end LSI
Lens and shooting
Lens mountMicro Four ThirdsSony E-mount
StabilisationSensor shiftSensor shift
Maximum continuous burst20 fps11 fps
Autofocus81-area contrast detection; single, continuous and tracking AF, manual focus, face and near-eye priority; touchscreen AF targeting pad, magnification and four-colour focus peaking425 phase-detection and 169 contrast-detection points; Lock-on AF and Eye AF with AF-C; EV −1 to 20 at ISO 100 with F2 lens
ShutterMechanical 1/8000–60 seconds; electronic 1/16000–60 seconds; electronic first curtain 1/320–60 seconds, switching to mechanical at faster speeds; Bulb/Time up to 30 minutes and Live Composite up to three hours30 seconds to 1/4000 second plus Bulb; electronic first curtain and silent shooting; flash sync 1/160 second
Burst detailSilent H+ electronic shooting up to 20 fps; mechanical high up to 10 fps with focus and exposure fixed at the first frame and stabilisation off; low up to 5 fps with continuous autofocus. Maker mechanical-high buffer approximately 39 RAW or 45 large-normal JPEG with specified Toshiba UHS-II card and lensUp to 11 fps Hi+ with AF/AE tracking; 8 fps live view. Current Japanese sheet lists Hi+ buffers of 301 Standard JPEG, 269 Fine JPEG, 233 Extra Fine JPEG, 107 RAW or 100 RAW+JPEG; launch press claim of 307 Fine JPEG applies to Hi mode.
Stabilisation detailFive-axis sensor shift, rated up to 5 CIPA stops with M.Zuiko Digital ED 14–42mm F3.5–5.6 EZ at 42 mm; compatible with Sync IS lenses. Movie M-IS1 adds electronic correction and a crop; M-IS2 uses sensor shift aloneFive-axis sensor shift; five-stop CIPA pitch/yaw claim with Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA and long-exposure noise reduction off; correction depends on lens
FlashNo built-in flash; supplied camera-powered FL-LM3 bounce flash, guide number 9.1 at ISO 100 or 12.9 at ISO 200; mechanical synchronisation up to 1/250 second and electronic up to 1/20 second; hot shoe and wireless RC flash controlBuilt-in pop-up flash; guide number 6 at ISO 100 in metres; Multi Interface Shoe
Exposure controlsP/A/S/M, four custom mode-dial positions, HDR, exposure and focus bracketing, Live Composite and Live Time; front Creative Dial accesses monochrome profiles, colour profiles, Art Filters and Color Creator; no in-camera focus stackingPASM, auto and scene modes, Sweep Panorama, DRO and Auto HDR
Video
Highest video resolution1920 × 1080 at 60 fps3840 × 2160 at 30 fps
Video detailMOV H.264 Full HD 60/50/30/25/24p; 60p is 59.94 fps. ALL-I Full HD up to 30p at approximately 77 Mbps; maximum MOV clip approximately 29 minutes. 4K 5 fps is assembled time-lapse output, not ordinary 4K video; VGA high-speed capture up to 120 fpsXAVC S 4K at up to 100 Mbps; 30p/24p NTSC or 25p PAL. Full HD up to 120p NTSC/100p PAL; S-Log2, S-Log3 and S&Q modes.
AudioBuilt-in stereo microphone, 16-bit 48 kHz linear PCM, recording-level control and wind-noise reductionStereo microphone and 3.5 mm microphone input; no headphone output
Screen and viewfinder
ViewfinderElectronicElectronic
Screen size3″3″
Screen dots1,040,000921,600
TouchscreenYesYes
Tilting screenYesYes
Display detailVari-angle display with forward-facing selfie position; Japanese maker table rounds resolution to 1.04 million dots, while both reviews specify 1.037 millionScreen tilts approximately 90° up or 45° down; touch focus and touchpad
Viewfinder detailApproximately 2.36-million-dot OLED, 100% coverage; 1.08× magnification in styles 1/2 or 1.23× in style 3 with a 50 mm lens at infinity; simulated optical-viewfinder display remains electronic0.39-type OLED, 2,359,296 dots; approximately 0.70× 35 mm-equivalent magnification
Connections and design
Wi-FiYesYes
Bluetooth–Yes
Battery life (maker's claim)330 photographs350 photographs
Body weight373 g (better)410 g
Release detailMaker announcement scheduled Japan sale for 26 February 2016. The Society of Photographic Science and Technology of Japan's retrospective records actual February 2016 release; month precision retained because a worldwide first-sale day is not establishedSony's North American announcement states shipping in November 2016; month precision is retained. Hong Kong availability was December 2016.
Recording mediaOne SD slot; SDHC/SDXC and UHS-I/UHS-II supportOne shared SD/Memory Stick slot; SDHC/SDXC UHS-I
PortsUSB 2.0 Hi-Speed proprietary multi-connector for USB, AV and optional RM-UC1 remote; micro-HDMI Type D and hot shoe. Photography Blog's mini-HDMI wording differs from the maker's Type D specificationMulti/Micro USB, Micro HDMI Type D, microphone input and Multi Interface Shoe
Wireless connectionsWi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n; smartphone remote shooting, image transfer and location tagging through Olympus Image Share2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth smartphone location linking
Battery life detailBLN-1 rechargeable battery; approximately 330 CIPA photographs with stabilisation on and specified Toshiba SDHC card. Movie life approximately 80 minutes under JEITA conditions or 140 minutes without zoom and other operations, repeatedly recording maximum-length clipsNP-FW50; CIPA approximately 350 photographs with LCD or 310 with viewfinder
ChargingSupplied BCN-1 external battery chargerIn-camera USB charging and USB power supply
Dimensions124.8×72.1×37.3 mm, excluding protrusions120.0 × 66.9 × 64.4 mm; depth from grip to monitor 53.3 mm
Weight detailApproximately 373 g body only or 427 g with supplied battery and memory cardApproximately 410 g body only; 453 g with battery and memory card
MaterialsMagnesium top and front covers, aluminium bottom cover and machined dials; synthetic leather covering. No weather sealing, reported by Photography Blog; plastic rear buttons, reported by Digital Camera WorldMagnesium alloy body with dust and moisture resistance; not guaranteed in all conditions
ColoursSilver with black covering or black–
In the boxBody, FL-LM3 flash, BLN-1 battery, BCN-1 charger, USB cable, shoulder strap, software and documentationNP-FW50 battery, AC-UUD12 adapter, shoulder strap, body cap, accessory shoe cap, eyepiece cup and Micro USB cable (Japanese specification); kit lens where selected

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