Sony Alpha 6500 vs Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 6500 and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V, 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 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V was introduced in February 2014. 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 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V 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 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V have 3.0" Tilting screens with 922k dot and 921k dot resolutions respectively. Tilting screen makes cameras very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. 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 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V has a built-in Electronic 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. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V features a 20.3 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 80 - 12,800.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V 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. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V is equipped with Bionz X processor and can take pictures up to 5184 x 3888 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3,648 x 2736, 2592 x 1944, 5184 x 3456, 3648 x 2432, 2592 x 1728, 3888 x 3888, 2736 x 2736, 1920 x 1920, 5184 x 2920, 3648 x 2056, 920 x 1080, 7152 x 1080, 4912 x 1920, 11520 x 1080 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 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 GPS on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V 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

Cameras have 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. Sony Alpha 6500 has a Micro HDMI and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V 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 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V comes with NP-BX1 battery pack with battery life of 300 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 6500 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Pro Duo/Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha 6500, and up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V. Sony Alpha 6500 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V 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 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V has 9 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 and ±3 range on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 6500 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 6.00 m at ISO 100 on Sony Alpha 6500 and 8.50 m ISO Auto on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection to Sony Alpha 6500 and via Wireless connection to Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V. 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 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V body has dimensions of 130 x 93 x 103 mm (5.12 x 3.66 x 4.06"). Sony Alpha 6500 weighs 453 g (1.00 lb / 15.98 oz) and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V weighs 660 g (1.46 lb / 23.28 oz).

Sony Alpha 6500

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V

120 mm

67 mm

130 mm

93 mm

67 mm

93 mm

53 mm

103 mm