Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Comparison
| change cameras » | |||||
|
vs |
|
|||
| Sony Alpha a6500 | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | ||||
| check price » | check price » | ||||
Megapixels
24.20
22.30
Max. image resolution
6000 x 4000
5760 x 3840
Sensor
Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
23.5 x 15.6 mm
36 x 24 mm
Sensor size comparison
Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera.
Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the
sensor, the better the image quality.
Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.
Learn more about sensor sizes »
Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.
Learn more about sensor sizes »
Actual sensor size
Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »
|
|
vs |
|
| 1 | : | 2.36 |
| (ratio) | ||
| Sony Alpha a6500 | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | |
Surface area:
| 366.60 mm² | vs | 864.00 mm² |
Difference: 497.4 mm² (136%)
5D Mark III sensor is approx. 2.36x bigger than Alpha a6500 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations.
There is a 4 year gap between Sony Alpha a6500 (2016) and Canon 5D Mark III (2012).
All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.
The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered.
The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.
Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Relative pixel sizes:
vs
Pixel area difference: 23.56 µm² (156%)
A pixel on Canon 5D Mark III sensor is approx. 156% bigger than a pixel on Sony Alpha a6500.
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one
square cm of the sensor.
Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers,
click here.
Specs
Sony Alpha a6500
Canon 5D Mark III
Total megapixels
25.00
23.38
Effective megapixels
24.20
22.30
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
Yes
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100-25600 (expandable to 51200)
Auto, 100 - 25600 in 1/3 stops, plus 50, 51200, 102400 as option
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot, Partial
Exposure compensation
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/8000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic
Optical (pentaprism)
White balance presets
8
6
Screen size
3"
3.2"
Screen resolution
921,600 dots
1,040,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
3840x2160 (30p/25p/24p)
1920x1080 (30p/25p/24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS PRO Duo
Compact Flash Type I (UDMA compatible), SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
NP-FW50 Lithium-ion battery
Lithium-Ion LP-E6 rechargeable battery
Weight
453 g
950 g
Dimensions
120 x 66.9 x 53.3 mm
152 x 116 x 76 mm
Year
2016
2012
Choose cameras to compare
Popular comparisons:
- Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Sony Alpha a6000
- Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Sony Alpha 7 II
- Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Sony Alpha a6300
- Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Canon EOS 80D
- Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Nikon D750
- Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Canon EOS 5D Mark III
- Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Nikon D7200
- Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Sony Alpha NEX-7
- Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II
- Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Sony Alpha NEX-6
- Sony Alpha a6500 vs. Fujifilm X-T2
Diagonal
Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height
| Diagonal = √ | w² + h² |
Sony Alpha a6500 diagonal
w = 23.50 mm
h = 15.60 mm
h = 15.60 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 23.50² + 15.60² | = 28.21 mm |
Canon 5D Mark III diagonal
w = 36.00 mm
h = 24.00 mm
h = 24.00 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 36.00² + 24.00² | = 43.27 mm |
Surface area
Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.
Alpha a6500 sensor area
Width = 23.50 mm
Height = 15.60 mm
Surface area = 23.50 × 15.60 = 366.60 mm²
Height = 15.60 mm
Surface area = 23.50 × 15.60 = 366.60 mm²
5D Mark III sensor area
Width = 36.00 mm
Height = 24.00 mm
Surface area = 36.00 × 24.00 = 864.00 mm²
Height = 24.00 mm
Surface area = 36.00 × 24.00 = 864.00 mm²
Pixel pitch
Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the
next measured in micrometers (µm). It can be calculated with the following formula:
| Pixel pitch = | sensor width in mm | × 1000 |
| sensor resolution width in pixels |
Alpha a6500 pixel pitch
Sensor width = 23.50 mm
Sensor resolution width = 6045 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 6045 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 23.50 | × 1000 | = 3.89 µm |
| 6045 |
5D Mark III pixel pitch
Sensor width = 36.00 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5784 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 5784 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 36.00 | × 1000 | = 6.22 µm |
| 5784 |
Pixel area
The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
| Pixel area = | sensor surface area in mm² |
| effective megapixels |
Alpha a6500 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 3.89 µm
Pixel area = 3.89² = 15.13 µm²
Pixel area = 3.89² = 15.13 µm²
5D Mark III pixel area
Pixel pitch = 6.22 µm
Pixel area = 6.22² = 38.69 µm²
Pixel area = 6.22² = 38.69 µm²
Pixel density
Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
One could also use this formula:
| Pixel density = ( | sensor resolution width in pixels | )² / 1000000 |
| sensor width in cm |
One could also use this formula:
| Pixel density = | effective megapixels × 1000000 | / 10000 |
| sensor surface area in mm² |
Alpha a6500 pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 6045 pixels
Sensor width = 2.35 cm
Pixel density = (6045 / 2.35)² / 1000000 = 6.62 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 2.35 cm
Pixel density = (6045 / 2.35)² / 1000000 = 6.62 MP/cm²
5D Mark III pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 5784 pixels
Sensor width = 3.6 cm
Pixel density = (5784 / 3.6)² / 1000000 = 2.58 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 3.6 cm
Pixel density = (5784 / 3.6)² / 1000000 = 2.58 MP/cm²
Sensor resolution
Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher
than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications.
Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula.
For sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.
1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.
2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.
2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
| (X × r) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000 → |
|
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
Alpha a6500 sensor resolution
Sensor width = 23.50 mm
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 24.20
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 4003 × 1.51 = 6045
Resolution vertical: X = 4003
Sensor resolution = 6045 x 4003
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 24.20
| r = 23.50/15.60 = 1.51 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 4003
Sensor resolution = 6045 x 4003
5D Mark III sensor resolution
Sensor width = 36.00 mm
Sensor height = 24.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 22.30
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3856 × 1.5 = 5784
Resolution vertical: X = 3856
Sensor resolution = 5784 x 3856
Sensor height = 24.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 22.30
| r = 36.00/24.00 = 1.5 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 3856
Sensor resolution = 5784 x 3856
Crop factor
Crop factor or focal length multiplier is calculated by dividing the diagonal
of 35 mm film (43.27 mm) with the diagonal of the sensor.
| Crop factor = | 43.27 mm |
| sensor diagonal in mm |
Alpha a6500 crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.21 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 1.53 |
| 28.21 |
5D Mark III crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.27 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 1 |
| 43.27 |
35 mm equivalent aperture
Equivalent aperture (in 135 film terms) is calculated by multiplying lens aperture
with crop factor (a.k.a. focal length multiplier).
Alpha a6500 equivalent aperture
Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for
fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for
Sony Alpha a6500, take the aperture of the lens
you're using and multiply it with crop factor.
Crop factor for Sony Alpha a6500 is 1.53
Crop factor for Sony Alpha a6500 is 1.53
5D Mark III equivalent aperture
Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for
fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for
Canon 5D Mark III, take the aperture of the lens
you're using and multiply it with crop factor.
Since crop factor for Canon 5D Mark III is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.
Since crop factor for Canon 5D Mark III is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.
Enter your screen size (diagonal)
My screen size is
inches
Actual size is currently adjusted to screen.
If your screen (phone, tablet, or monitor) is not in diagonal, then the actual size of a sensor won't be shown correctly.
If your screen (phone, tablet, or monitor) is not in diagonal, then the actual size of a sensor won't be shown correctly.