Sony Alpha 6500 vs Pentax K-500

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 6500 and the Pentax K-500, 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 Pentax K-500 was introduced in November 2013. 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 Pentax K-500.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-500 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 Pentax K-500 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. Pentax K-500 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.

Viewfinder

Sony Alpha 6500 has a built-in 0.39" Electronic viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution and Pentax K-500 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. They both have 100% coverage.

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. Pentax K-500 features a 16.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.7 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 246.5 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,600.

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

Sony Alpha 6500 is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. Pentax K-500 is equipped with PRIME M processor and can take pictures up to 4928 x 3264 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4224 x 2816, 3456 x 2304, 2688 x 1792 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Sony Alpha 6500 has Sony E lens mount and Pentax K-500 has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount. Due to their APS-C sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is equal to 1.5x. This 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

The cameras have a built-in in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when cameras are 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. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 6500 comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 350 shots and Pentax K-500 comes with 4 x AA battery pack with battery life of 710 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 6500 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot. Pentax K-500 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha 6500, and up to 1/6000 sec on Pentax K-500. Sony Alpha 6500 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps. Pentax K-500 can shoot continuously up to 6.0 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 6500 has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 425 focusing points and Pentax K-500 has 11 (9 cross-type) 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. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 6500 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-500.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 6.00 m at ISO 100 on Sony Alpha 6500 and 12.00 m at ISO 100 on Pentax K-500. They also accept 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 and 1/180 sec on Pentax K-500.

Sony Alpha 6500 body has dimensions of 120 x 67 x 53 mm (4.72 x 2.64 x 2.09") and Pentax K-500 body has dimensions of 130 x 97 x 71 mm (5.12 x 3.82 x 2.8"). Sony Alpha 6500 weighs 453 g (1.00 lb / 15.98 oz) and Pentax K-500 weighs 646 g (1.42 lb / 22.79 oz).

Sony Alpha 6500

Pentax K-500

120 mm

67 mm

130 mm

97 mm

67 mm

97 mm

53 mm

71 mm