Sony’s popular APS-C and RX100 lines were updated today with the brand new flagship a6500 and RX100 Mark V.
The new ILCE-6500 sits at the top of the APS-C E-mount lineup, sporting the same 4D FOCUS system and 425 phase detect autofocus points as the a6300, which lock onto subjects as fast as 0.05 seconds. The 11 frames per second continuous shooting mode is also the same but the buffer has been upgraded to a 300 JPEG or 100 RAW file capacity.
The biggest new addition is the inclusion of 5-axis image stabilization, a first for Sony’s APS-C cameras. Sony claims their in-body image stabilization technology is good for up to 5-stops of compensation when the camera is used with newer, compatible lenses.
At the heart of the a6500 is Sony’s 24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor, which has an ISO range of 100-25600 (expandable to 51200 for stills), and the BIONZ X image processor.
The a6500 also gained a touchscreen, which can be used to navigate the menu as well as touch-to-focus in both photo and video modes. When you’re looking through the viewfinder, the touchscreen acts like a touch pad for changing focus points.
Speaking of video mode, the a6500 shoots UltraHD 4K (3840×2160), using the full pixel readout without pixel binning, oversampling 6K to produce high-quality 4K video with bit rates up to 100Mbps. Full HD 1080p can be shot up to 120 frames per second for 5x slow motion when slowed to 24fps.
Sony’s popular RX100 also received a refresh with the new Mark V, giving the 1.0″ sensor camera lineup a boost in overall speed when it comes to autofocus and continuous shooting.
The Mark V features a 20.1 megapixels 1.0″ Exmor RS BSI CMOS sensor with a native ISO range of 125-12800 and a BIONZ X image processor. Upgrades to the autofocus system mean that the MkV has hybrid AF system with 315 focusing points covering 65% of the frame. Autofocus speed clocks in at a blazing 0.05 seconds, the fastest of any compact camera. Continuous shooting goes all the way up to 24 frames per second at full 20.1MP resolution.
Video capabilities are just as impressive, shooting UltraHD 4K video with full pixel readout and no pixel binning. You can also pull 8MP stills from 4K footage.
At the top is a 2.36m dot OLED electronic viewfinder to go with the 3-inch, 1.23m dot LCD screen on the back, which flips up vertically for selfie mode.
The lens is a ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T* lens, equivalent to a 24-70mm with a F1.8-2.8 aperture.
The a6500 will be available starting in November for an MSRP of $1749.99 (body only) while the RX100 Mark V arrives later in October with an MSRP of $1249.99.