Sony cameras are pretty great, and apparently the a6500 replacement will blow your socks off.
There’s no doubt about the fact that Sony’s cameras have turned the camera world upside down. From Full Frame to APS-C, Sony cameras have been star performers. The APS-C based A6500 really turned heads when it was released thanks to it’s svelte body, in-camera image stabilization, 4K video, and its incredibly fast autofocus system, but apparently there’s more to come. In a recent interview Sony said that the replacement for the a6500 will ‘exceed all expectations’. Join us after the break to find out more, and to find out what we would like to see in its replacement.
In a recent article posted on Photo Rumors, the out takes from a recent interview with Sony officials were posted. During the interview, questions about the replacement for the Sony a6500 were asked, and while no specific information was given to the interviewer, Sony did make a comment that stated that the replacement will exceed all expectations. Sony cameras have always been packed full of the latest and greatest technology, and with the a6500 being their flagship APS-C camera, one can only imagine what might be crammed into the next new model that will replace it.
Going off of what the newly launched a6400 had packed inside of it, we would say that there are some tasty things to come. One has to assume that the replacement will have the same incredibly fast autofocus system that both the Sony a6400 and the Sony a9 have, and I think that seeing as the design language didn’t change at all with the a6400 we would have to assume that unfortunately, the overall shape and size of the new body will remain the same.
“Sony. Please. Work some magic and move a few buttons around so we can have a thumb stick to select one of the zillions of autofocus points the camera will probably have.”
We would like to see a slightly larger body though that could house a larger battery. Not having to carry around a ton of spare batteries would be worth a little extra heft, and honestly a deeper grip would be welcomed too.
For the a6500 replacement to really cement itself as the leader of the Mirrorless APS-C world it will need to have a higher Megapixel sensor that meets or exceeds the level set by the Fujifilm X-T3, while also having the same, or better image stabilization system. An increase in the maximum shutter speed from 1/4000 to 1/8000 would also be welcomed, as would an increase in burst rates too.
“Dual card slots are a must for every camera in this day and age, and honestly there is no reason to only include one.”
Seeing as the A6500 was super popular with the vlogging crowd it will again need to be able to match the X-T3 when it comes to video, so 10-bit 4K HDR video recording capabilities will be a must. This would also mean that a better, faster image processing unit must be included in the new camera too. Following on with that line of thinking the camera would need to be the first of the Sony cameras to have a full tilting, rotating screen, and there will need to be a headphone jack to go with the mic jack that has always been there. These things would make the new camera a video monster.
Dual card slots are a must for every camera in this day and age, and honestly there is no reason to only include one. If they do go with two slots I would not be surprised if one of them was for XQD cards. At the very least, the card slots should be rated for U3 SD cards. While Sony cameras have always had some level of weather sealing, we would love to hear that the replacement for the a6500 is fully weather sealed. This would make the camera so much better for wildlife, street, and sports photography as when you’re outside you just never can tell what mother nature is going to do.
A thumb control stick. Sony. Please. Work some magic and move a few buttons around so we can have a thumb stick to select one of the zillions of autofocus points the camera will probably have. This will make life so much easier when it comes to navigating menus too. While you’re at it, please also include a much higher resolution EVF, and a higher resolution LCD that’s also easier to see when outside in full sunlight.
The pop up flash has always been pretty worthless on Sony cameras too so that should make way for another control dial, or an easy to read display like the one that can be found on the Fujifilm X-H1. Even if it’s smaller, it will still be nice to have an ‘at-a-glance’ display.
With these features, the replacement camera for the A6500 would just about be the perfect APS-C camera. Sony cameras have always led the line in the past, but if they want to take back the APS-C crown from Fujifilm they will probably need to include all of these features, and possibly even more.
It’s always fun to make a wish list of features you’d like to see in a camera, so we ask you, what would you like to see in the replacement for the A6500? Let us know in the comment section below.
