Canon EOS R50 vs Sony Alpha 6500

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS R50 and the Sony Alpha 6500, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Canon EOS R50 was introduced in February 2023 and Sony Alpha 6500 was introduced in October 2016. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS R50 over Sony Alpha 6500.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 6500 over Canon EOS R50.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Canon EOS R50 and Sony Alpha 6500 have 3.0" screens with 1,620k dot and 922k dot resolutions respectively. Canon EOS R50 has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Sony Alpha 6500 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Canon EOS R50 has a built-in 0.39" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution and Sony Alpha 6500 has a built-in 0.39" Electronic viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Canon EOS R50 features a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 22.3 x 14.9 mm and a total area of 332.3 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 32,000 and expands to 100 - 51,200 in boosted mode. Sony Alpha 6500 features a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 243.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600 and expands to 100 - 51,200 in boosted mode.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Canon EOS R50 is equipped with DIGIC X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. Sony Alpha 6500 is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS R50 has Canon RF lens mount and Sony Alpha 6500 has Sony E lens mount. They both have APS-C sensor but because of a small size difference their crop factors (also called lens multiplier) differ from each other. Canon EOS R50 has the crop factor of 1.6x which means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.6. Sony Alpha 6500 has the crop factor of 1.5x which means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Sony Alpha 6500

Sony Alpha 6500 has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g 2.4 GHz on Canon EOS R50, 802.11b/g/n 2.4 GHz on Sony Alpha 6500) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth

Canon EOS R50 and Sony Alpha 6500 have built-in Bluetooth (version 4.2 on Canon EOS R50, version 4.1 on Sony Alpha 6500) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

NFC on Sony Alpha 6500

Sony Alpha 6500 has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Canon EOS R50 has a Micro HDMI and Sony Alpha 6500 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS R50 comes with LP-E17 battery pack with battery life of 370 shots and Sony Alpha 6500 comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 350 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS R50 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slot. Sony Alpha 6500 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Canon EOS R50 has Electronic 1st curtain shutter and Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/4000 sec with electronic 1st curtain shutter on Canon EOS R50, and up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha 6500. Canon EOS R50 can shoot continuously up to 15.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 12.0 fps with electronic 1st curtain shutter. Sony Alpha 6500 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS R50 has Dual Pixel CMOS AF II system with 651 focusing points and Sony Alpha 6500 has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 425 focusing points. Canon EOS R50 has detection range from -4 to +20 EV and Sony Alpha 6500 has detection range from -1 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Both cameras' exposure metering ranges from -2 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Canon EOS R50 and ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 6500. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS R50 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 6500.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 6m at ISO 100 on Canon EOS R50 and 6.00 m at ISO 100 on Sony Alpha 6500. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Intelligent Hot Shoe to Canon EOS R50 and via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection to Sony Alpha 6500. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Canon EOS R50 and 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha 6500.

Canon EOS R50 body has dimensions of 116 x 86 x 69 mm (4.57 x 3.39 x 2.72") and Sony Alpha 6500 body has dimensions of 120 x 67 x 53 mm (4.72 x 2.64 x 2.09"). Canon EOS R50 weighs 375 g (0.83 lb / 13.23 oz) and Sony Alpha 6500 weighs 453 g (1.00 lb / 15.98 oz).

Canon EOS R50

Sony Alpha 6500

116 mm

86 mm

120 mm

67 mm

86 mm

67 mm

69 mm

53 mm