Sony Alpha 6500 vs Nikon Coolpix S8100

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 6500 and the Nikon Coolpix S8100, 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.

Sony Alpha 6500 was introduced in October 2016 and Nikon Coolpix S8100 was introduced in September 2010. 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 Sony Alpha 6500 over Nikon Coolpix S8100.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon Coolpix S8100 over Sony Alpha 6500.

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

Sony Alpha 6500 and Nikon Coolpix S8100 have 3.0" screens with 922k dot and 921k dot resolutions respectively. Sony Alpha 6500 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Nikon Coolpix S8100 has a Fixed screen Sony Alpha 6500 also features 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.

Electronic Viewfinder on Sony Alpha 6500

Sony Alpha 6500 has a built-in 0.39" Electronic viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 1.07x (0.71x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Nikon Coolpix S8100.

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 366.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600 and expands to 100 - 51,200 in boosted mode. Nikon Coolpix S8100 features a 12.1 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 160 - 3,200.

Nikon Coolpix S8100 has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Sony Alpha 6500 is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. Nikon Coolpix S8100 is equipped with Expeed C2 processor and can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3968 x 2232, 3264 x 2448, 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization. On Sony Alpha 6500 it means that you are still getting vibration reduction when it 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 on Sony Alpha 6500

Sony Alpha 6500 has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz) 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 on Sony Alpha 6500

Sony Alpha 6500 has a built-in Bluetooth (version 4.1) 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 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Sony Alpha 6500 has a Micro HDMI and Nikon Coolpix S8100 has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 6500 comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 350 shots and Nikon Coolpix S8100 comes with EN-EL12 battery pack with battery life of 220 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 6500 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot. Nikon Coolpix S8100 has a single SD/SDHC card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha 6500, and up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon Coolpix S8100. Sony Alpha 6500 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps. Nikon Coolpix S8100 can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 6500 has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 425 focusing points and Nikon Coolpix S8100 has . Sony Alpha 6500 has detection range from -1 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 6500 ranges from -2 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 6500 and ±2 range on Nikon Coolpix S8100. You can also do exposure lock and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 6500 and exposure bracketing on Nikon Coolpix S8100.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 6.00 m at ISO 100 on Sony Alpha 6500. Sony Alpha 6500 also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha 6500.

Sony Alpha 6500 body has dimensions of 120 x 67 x 53 mm (4.72 x 2.64 x 2.09") and Nikon Coolpix S8100 body has dimensions of 104 x 60 x 30 mm (4.09 x 2.36 x 1.18"). Sony Alpha 6500 weighs 453 g (1.00 lb / 15.98 oz) and Nikon Coolpix S8100 weighs 180 g (0.40 lb / 6.35 oz).

Sony Alpha 6500

Nikon Coolpix S8100

120 mm

67 mm

104 mm

60 mm

67 mm

60 mm

53 mm

30 mm