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Mirrorless: Canon EOS M5 vs. Sony Alpha a 6500


Canon EOS M5 vs. Sony Alpha a6500  

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  1. 1. Canon EOS M5 vs. Sony Alpha a6500

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    • Sony Alpha a6500
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I currently use a Canon EOS 40D. Main issue is weight of camera and lenses. I've tried camera cross-shoulder bags and backpacks. More weight than I'd like...neck issues too. Second issue is low top ISO, so I'm too limited in capturing quality low light images. I don't like shooting with a flash.

 

I travel regularly and need to be able to shoot close-ups, portraits, street scenes, landscapes, moving animals...just about anything and everything. I've found it impossible to have a single lens take care of all my needs. So I believe I will be investing in 2 lenses as well.

 

Any thoughts on Canon EOS M5 vs. Sony Alpha a 6500? Both address my two current issues, but may well create new ones.

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The Canon is a capable camera but suffers from a relatively restricted choice of native lenses. You can fit an adapter and use Canon DSLR lenses but this adds weight, bulk and expense and kind of defeats the object.

The Sony is to my mind a slightly more capable camera, which also has a fairly short list of decent, affordable lenses.

You have not mentioned the M4/3 world: here there are a number of compact, lightweight camera bodies, and a range of native lenses which I would describe in the present company as vast.

If you are contemplating a smaller, lighter outfit then M4/3 set-ups from Olympus or Panasonic really ought to be on your shopping list.

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I use the Canon M5 mirrorless but primarily with older Canon lens, I really enjoy it. There's also a newer M6

You should go to a store and check them both out (as well as Fuji, Olympus, etc.)

[/QUOTE]

I wasn't aware of the M6 until I saw it on Canon's site this past week. Not sure I can deal with the lack of an electronic viewfinder. Good to know you like your Canon M5.

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Agree on all points. Here's the killer. I went into a local camera store earlier today and asked to take a look at the Sony a6500. The store did not carry the Canon M5.

 

I asked the sales person where the AV and TV shooting mode options were located on the a6500, as I didn't see them. She couldn't find them....she was going thru the menus. I've read one big draw back is the poor user interface, which I experienced with a Sony point and shoot some time ago. Not a great sign to me. I'll check out the user guide.

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I wasn't aware of the M6 until I saw it on Canon's site this past week. Not sure I can deal with the lack of an electronic viewfinder. Good to know you like your Canon M5.

 

The Canon M6 has a viewfinder (it's detachable and sold separately)

And I don't suffer from native lenses, the "pancake" lens and EF-S crop lens are plenty small

 

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Agree on all points. Here's the killer. I went into a local camera store earlier today and asked to take a look at the Sony a6500. The store did not carry the Canon M5.

 

I asked the sales person where the AV and TV shooting mode options were located on the a6500, as I didn't see them. She couldn't find them....she was going thru the menus. I've read one big draw back is the poor user interface, which I experienced with a Sony point and shoot some time ago. Not a great sign to me. I'll check out the user guide.

 

Time out. Sony doesn't use TV and AV. It's S and A. They're on the big wheel on top of the camera. There is no need to go into the menus for that.

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I have not fiddled with the Canon, but it seems like a late attempt to leap into the mirrorless game. I like Sony cameras but am open to Olympus and other mirrorless brands. Canon makes very good dslrs. Other companies, I would think, make better mirrorless cameras.
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There are fewer things with high quality these days, even if you are willing to pay for it. Sony/Zeiss/Leica/Fujicon lenses and S&W revolvers are notable exceptions. The Smith is assembled to an accuracy 1/10th the width of a human hair, and these lenses will capture that precision at arm's length. Sony has kit lenses on the order of Canikon, but you don't have to settle for for them unless you choose.
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I have not fiddled with the Canon, but it seems like a late attempt to leap into the mirrorless game. I like Sony cameras but am open to Olympus and other mirrorless brands. Canon makes very good dslrs. Other companies, I would think, make better mirrorless cameras.

 

perhaps, but all the old (and cheap !) Canon lenses work great with the Canon mirrorless cameras ..... sweet

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All those old (and not so cheap anymore) Canon FD and FL lenses work great on Sony NEX and A-series mirrorless cameras, also. That was the main reason why I bought a NEX 7 -- so I could use my decent sized collection of Canon FD and FL lenses on a digital camera. When I bought my NEX, Canon was up to the M2 or M3 -- somewhere around there. The NEX was vastly superior. Edited by mwmcbroom
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Well, yes and no. I mentioned the relative state of things when I bought my NEX because those were the choices I had available to me at the time. Something else to consider if buying into a Sony mirrorless system is you're sort of in the upgrade path if you ever choose to go full frame. I'm wondering if Canon will ever offer full frame with their M-mount. Also, various Sony models, like my NEX 7, have a viewfinder buillt in. It isn't an option, the way it is wth the M series. Some may not feel the need for a VF, but for me it was a necessary feature.

 

Hey, I've been a dedicated Canon user for 35 years. I still shoot FD as well as EOS and I have a Canon DSLR. But I got tired of waiting for Canon to get its acto together and release a decent mirrorless. It seems that they've finally got something now, but I got tired of waiting. But as you say, my situation is largrely irrelevant for somebody who's looking to buy a first mirrorless.

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All those old (and not so cheap anymore) Canon FD and FL lenses work great on Sony NEX and A-series mirrorless cameras, also. That was the main reason why I bought a NEX 7 -- so I could use my decent sized collection of Canon FD and FL lenses on a digital camera. When I bought my NEX, Canon was up to the M2 or M3 -- somewhere around there. The NEX was vastly superior.

 

perhaps, I've heard 'non-native' lens on a Sony system may not have so great "AF". - again I would also suggest handling before buying

 

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Well, certainly Canon FD and FL lenses, which are manual focus, will not AF on a Sony. These are the lenses I was referring to in the above quote. As I also mentioned in the above quote, one of the main reasons why I bought a NEX was so I could use my MF Canons on a digital camera. Frankly, I am not at all interested in using my Canon EF lenses on my NEX so I really don't care about their AF performance. However I have read that, when using a Sony E-Mount AF converter, Canon EF lenses operate very well.
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Well, certainly Canon FD and FL lenses, which are manual focus, will not AF on a Sony. These are the lenses I was referring to in the above quote. As I also mentioned in the above quote, one of the main reasons why I bought a NEX was so I could use my MF Canons on a digital camera. Frankly, I am not at all interested in using my Canon EF lenses on my NEX so I really don't care about their AF performance. However I have read that, when using a Sony E-Mount AF converter, Canon EF lenses operate very well.

 

OK, you don't care about "AF" ..... whatever works for you

I would suggest to anyone contemplating using "non-native" lens - EF, EFS, or any other brand on a Sony system to google "Sony converter AF"

 

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Hang on, I didn't write "I don't care about AF (with respect to my NEX)" either. In fact, I wish 3rd party makers, such as Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina offered something more for the APS-C Sony mirrorless cameras than they currently do. There's a real dearth when it comes to reasonably priced offerings, say lenses priced $350 or less. So I get to browse through lenses that I simply can't afford. It's annoying. The fact that I can mount just about any MF lens made to my NEX ends up making it the worthwhile camera that it is. Edited by mwmcbroom
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Hang on, I didn't write "I don't care about AF (with respect to my NEX)" either. In fact, I wish 3rd party makers, such as Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina offered something more for the APS-C Sony mirrorless cameras than they currently do. There's a real dearth when it comes to reasonably priced offerings, say lenses priced $350 or less. So I get to browse through lenses that I simply can't afford. It's annoying. The fact that I can mount just about any MF lens made to my NEX ends up making it the worthwhile camera that it is.

 

OK, so you care about manual focus lens on Sony and the dearth of reasonably priced non-native AF lens options for Sony.

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