Sony Alpha 6500 vs Olympus Tough TG-5

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 6500 and the Olympus Tough TG-5, 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 Olympus Tough TG-5 was introduced in May 2017. 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 Olympus Tough TG-5.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus Tough TG-5 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 Olympus Tough TG-5 have 3.0" screens with 922k dot and 460k 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. Olympus Tough TG-5 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 Olympus Tough TG-5.

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. Olympus Tough TG-5 features a 12 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 100 - 12,800 and expands to 100 - 12,800 in boosted mode.

Olympus Tough TG-5 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. Olympus Tough TG-5 is equipped with TruePic VIII processor and can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization (2.5 stops of compensation in Olympus Tough TG-5). 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 GPS on Olympus Tough TG-5

Olympus Tough TG-5 has a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) technology which allows you to automatically tag the location where you took your photos. You can later categorize, organize, and search for photos based on location. This is very useful for travel and outdoor photographers for documenting the locations where images were captured.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in GPS.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (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 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 Olympus Tough TG-5 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 6500 comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 350 shots and Olympus Tough TG-5 comes with LI-92B battery pack with battery life of 340 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 6500 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot. Olympus Tough TG-5 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I compatible) card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha 6500, and up to 1/2000 sec on Olympus Tough TG-5. Sony Alpha 6500 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps. Olympus Tough TG-5 can shoot continuously up to 20.0 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 6500 has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 425 focusing points and Olympus Tough TG-5 has 25 focusing points. 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. You can also do exposure lock and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 6500 and exposure bracketing on Olympus Tough TG-5.

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 Olympus Tough TG-5 body has dimensions of 113 x 66 x 32 mm (4.45 x 2.6 x 1.26"). Sony Alpha 6500 weighs 453 g (1.00 lb / 15.98 oz) and Olympus Tough TG-5 weighs 250 g (0.55 lb / 8.82 oz).

Sony Alpha 6500

Olympus Tough TG-5

120 mm

67 mm

113 mm

66 mm

67 mm

66 mm

53 mm

32 mm